PlottingwiththeGrinch
byMaryBlow
Overview:YoucanusemanyotherChristmasbooks,butI
chosetouseHowtheGrinchStoleChristmas!byDr.Seussto
reviewelementsofplotwithmystudents.
Icanstatement:Icanapplymyunderstandingofacademic
vocabularytoanalyzehowtheauthordevelopsplot.
Grades:6-8
CommonCoreStandards:RL.3,L.6,W.3
Materials
• HowtheGrinchStoleChristmas!byDr.Seuss
• Listofdiscussionquestions
• GrinchGramHearts(reproducibleordiecuts)
BeforeReading
Thinkaboutanddiscussthequestion:Whatdoesitmeanwhenapersonisdescribedas
havingabigheart?
DuringReading
ReadHowtheGrinchStoleChristmas!tothestudents.Studentslisten,identifyingthe
elementsofplotandthinkingaboutthepurposetheseelementsserveinthedevelopment
ofthestory.
AfterReadingDiscussionQuestions
Studentscanworkingroupstodiscussthequestions.However,Ididn’thavealotoftime,
soIaskedaquestion,providedtimeforthink-pair-share,andthenstudentsresponded.
Sincethisistheirfirstexperiencewithapplyingacademicvocabularytoanalyzingastory,
theywereencouragedtoreferencetheirnotesduringthediscussions.
1. Identifytheexpositioninthe“HowtheGrinchStoleChristmas!”[Themaincharacter,
theGrinch,isintroduced.ThesettingisMt.Crumpit,justnorthofWho-ville.Themain
conflictisthattheGrinchhatesChristmasandwantstostopit.]
2. WhyistheMt.Crumpitsettingimportanttothedevelopmentoftheplotorstory.[It
isisolated,revealingthattheGrinchisaloof.Hedoesn’tlikepeople.Helives3,000feet
aboveWho-ville,whichsuggeststhathelooksdownontheWhosasthoughtheyare
beneathhim.]
3. Howdoesthesettingscontributetothemood?[TheMt.Crumpitsettingcreatesa
desolate,eeriemood.Itis3,000feetaboveWho-ville,sohighupthatitwoulddeter
anyonefromvisiting.Despitebeingtheholidayseason,itlacksChristmasdecorations.
CreatedbyMaryBlow©2016
Itissnowcoveredandcold,areflectionofthecold,heartlessGrinch.Incontrast,Whovilleispeacefulandwelcoming.ThehomesaredecoratedforChristmasandthepeople
arepeacefullysleeping.Thesettingscombinedareareflectionofthecharacters’
hearts.]
4. Whattypesofconflictsarerevealedinthestory?[Manversussocietyisrevealed
whentheGrinchdislikesthetraditionofcelebratingChristmasandwantstoprevent
Christmasfromcoming.Manversusselfisdepictedattheendofthestorywhenthe
Grinch’spuzzlesovertheWhos’happinessdespitehisstealingChristmas.Hishatred
towardChristmaschangeswhenherealizesthatitismuchmorethanpresents.]
5. WhatdoestheGrinch’sattemptstosolvehisproblemrevealabouthischaracter?
[Heisuntrustworthyandconniving.HemakesaSantyClaussuittopasshimselfoffas
SantaClaus.Whenhecan’tfindanyreindeer,hedisguisesMaxasareindeerandforces
hisdogtobeapartofhisevilplan.]
6. WhatotherdetailsrevealthattheGrinchisameancharacter?[TheGrinchhates
ChristmasandalltheWhosdowninWho-ville.Heisdescribedashavinga“sour,
Grinchyfrown,”whichsuggestsheismiserableallthetime.HebreaksintotheWhos
housesandstealstheirgifts.HeliestoCindy-Lou.]
7. Cindy-Louisaflatcharacter,aninnocentlittlegirl.Whydoyouthinktheauthor
wrotethestorywithaninnocentchildquestioningtheevilGrinchashestealsthe
gifts?[HavingtheGrinchinteractwithaninnocentchildcharacteremphasizesthe
Grinch’sevilnessormeanness.]
8. Whichpartofthestoryistheclimax?[TheclimaxoccurswhentheGrinchbreaksinto
thehomeandstealsthegifts.Heescapes,leavingthereaderwaitingfortheWhosto
findoutthathestoleChristmas.]
9. Inthefallingaction,themaincharacterusuallylearnsalesson(theme).Whatlesson
doestheGrinchlearn?[TheGrinchlearnsthatyoucannotpreventChristmasfrom
coming.Herealizesthatitdoesnotcomefromastore.Itisfoundinourhearts,our
values,andourbeliefssharedwithfamily,whichiswhytheWhosaresingingdespite
thelackofpresents.]
10. Theresolutionorendingofthestoryoftengivesyouapeekintothefuture.What
canyouinferabouttheGrinch’sfuture?[TheGrinchisnotonlyhavingChristmas
dinnerwiththeWhos,butheiscarvingtheroastbeast,afoodhedetests,butobviously
nowenjoys.WecaninferthathebecomesapartoftheWho-villesocietyandbecomes
friendswiththeWhos.]
11. IstheGrinchastaticcharacteroradynamiccharacter?[TheGrinchisadynamic
character.Afterhisheartgrowsthreesizes,hechangesfrommeantoamiable.He
returnsthegifts,trees,andfood,andthenhejoinstheWhosintheirChristmas
celebration.]
CreatedbyMaryBlow©2016
12. TheGrinch’sheartgrowsthreesizesonChristmasday.Whatdoesthissymbolize?
(Apersonwithabigheartiskind,generous,andthoughtful.TheGrinch’sgrowing
heartsymbolizesthesepositivecharacteristicsandthathehaschanged.)
GrinchGramsExtensionActivity
StudentssendGrinchGrams,agift
ofwords,thisholidayseasonto
theirclassmates.Theylearnthat
wordshavethepowertomake
heartsgrow–justliketheGrinch’s
heartgrew.Havethemdraw
classmates’names.Giveeach
studentaheart.Theheartsonmy
bulletinboardaremadewithdie
cutsthatItriplelayered(red,gold,
andwhite)tosymbolizehowthe
Grinch’sheartgrewthreesizes.Youcertainlycandothis,butifyouwanttosaveclasstime,
download“GrinchGramHearts”touseinyourclassroom.
Thestudentsthinkaboutthepersonwhosenametheydrewandwriteonepositive
comment,asentenceortwo,ontheheart.Asanexample,IcreatedGrinchGramsformy
homeroomstudentsandputthemonmyhallwaybulletinboardfortheholidays.When
studentsarefinished,theygivetheirheartstotheirclassmates.Mysixthgradersloveto
decoratelockersonbirthdaysandholidays,sotheyjumpontheopportunitytodecorate
theirlockerswiththeGrinchgrams.
BelowareotherChristmaspicturebooksthatyoumightlikeuseinyourmiddleschool
classroomwhileexploringliteraryelements.
• ChristmasDayintheMorningbyPearlS.Buck,illustratedbyMarkBuehner
• TheChristmasMiracleofJonathanToomeybySusanWojciechowski,illustratedby
P.J.Lynch
• TheGiftoftheMagibyO.Henry,illustratedbyP.J.Lynch
• TheLittleMatchGirlbyHansChristianAndersen,illustratedbyRachelIsadora
• OwlMoonbyJaneYolen,illustratedbyJohnSchoenherr
• ThePolarExpressbyChrisVanAllsburg
• ChristmasintheTrenchesbyJohnMcCutcheon,illustratedbyHenriSorensen
• ChristmasTapestrybyPatriciaPolacco
• ChristmasfromHeaven:TheTrueStoryoftheBerlinCandyBombersbyTomBrokaw,
illustratedbyRobertT.Barrett
• ANewCoatforAnnabyHarrietZiefert
• HomeforChristmasbyJanBrett
CreatedbyMaryBlow©2016