Overview Chart
Comprehension Skills
and Strategies
Literary Concepts
Comparing and Contrasting
Characterization
Drawing Conclusions
Conflict
Making Inferences
Descriptive Language
Predicting Outcomes
Fantasy and Magic
Stating Personal Reactions
Foreshadowing
Understanding Character Actions
and Traits
Mood
Author’s Purpose
Plot
Setting
Suspense
Theme
Management System
The Dark Is Rising and the accompanying guide may be used in the following
manner:
Whole Class: Have the whole class read the book together. The class then responds
to the literature through discussions and activities. For this system, each child has a
copy of the book.
Small Group: Divide the class into reading groups. The groups can be set up by
interest level, topic, or ability. (Remember to have some fluent readers in each group
to share their reading with less-fluent readers.) Each group responds to the
literature through discussions and activities. For this system, each child in the
group has a copy of the book.
Read Aloud: Read the book aloud to the whole class or small group. This will help
less-fluent readers and allow children to hear the language and appreciate the author’s
technique. For this system, only the person reading aloud has a copy of the book.
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Scholastic Book Guides: The Dark Is Rising © Scholastic Teaching Resources
Story Overview
Will Stanton awakens on his eleventh birthday to enter a strange world that changes
his life forever. Will walks back in time and meets Merriman, a wise old man who
identifies Will as one of the Old Ones—immortals who must fight for the Light against
the Dark. Merriman explains that during the coming twelve days of Christmas, the
Dark will be rising. Will’s destiny is to find the six signs of the Light which will help
defeat the Dark.
Will is given the first sign—an iron crossed circle—as a birthday present; the second
sign—a bronze circle—he takes from the Walker, a mysterious man tormented by his
own struggles against the Dark. On Christmas Eve, Merriman takes Will back in
time again to read the Book of Gramarye which contains all the knowledge of the Old
Ones. With this new wisdom. Will finds the third sign—a wood circle—and uses his
powers to ward off the evil Rider, the leader of the Dark.
Christmas morning at the Stanton house is marred by a visit from the Rider in
disguise. Will feels the powers of evil rising as he trudges through the heavily falling
snow to the village church, where he again defeats the Dark and finds the fourth
sign—the Sign of Fire.
A paralyzing snowstorm forces Will and other villagers to take refuge in the Manor.
There, Merriman takes Will back in time to find the fifth sign—another Sign of Fire—
which finally breaks the Dark’s cold grip on the earth. Will rides the great white
mare of the Light to encounter the black Rider and defeats him. Then Will finds the
sixth sign—the Sign of Water—and goes with Merriman to the Great Park to meet the
Hunter. As the legend of the Old Ones had foretold, the Hunter drives away the Dark
in a great battle.
The Old Ones gather in a ceremony to join in a sacred circle the six signs of the
Light that Will, the Sign-Seeker, has rescued from the forces of the Dark.
Scholastic Book Guides: The Dark Is Rising © Scholastic Teaching Resources
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About the Genre
Fantasy
The Dark Is Rising is a classic story of fantasy in which a young boy suddenly finds
himself playing a key role in the ageless battle between the Light and the Dark. This
conflict between good and evil lies at the heart of all great fantasy. Like the story’s
hero, young readers are drawn into a strange world that is unlike reality and yet
symbolizes its deepest struggles.
Author Susan Cooper drew on the English and Celtic myths of her native British Isles
in weaving her story of fantasy. She wrote that her fantasies are “a distillation of all
the things that have taken deepest root in my imagination since I was a child.”
Fantasy allows young readers to escape from the reality of their own lives and enter
the world of the author’s imagination. And, in turn, the reader’s own imagination is
stirred to new ideas and, perhaps, new truths about life.
Fantasy is a broad genre, with stories as rich and varied as a writer’s imagination.
The characters in fantasies can include ordinary people interacting with imaginary
creatures, people with magical powers, and animals that talk and act like humans.
The setting of a fantasy story may move from the real world to an imaginary world or
may take place in an entirely fantastical place. The plot of a fantasy often includes
magical objects, a struggle between good and evil, and a happy resolution of conflicts.
Bibliography
Baum, Frank. The Wizard of Oz. New York: Scholastic, 1984.
Carroll, Lewis. Alice in Wonderland. New York: Scholastic, 1985.
Hurwood, Bernhardt J. Eerie Tales of Terror and Dread. New York: Scholastic, 1974.
Key, Alexander. The Forgotten Door. New York: Scholastic, 1986.
Lewis, C. S. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. New York: Scholastic, 1987.
Mahy, Margaret. The Haunting. New York: Scholastic, 1984.
Roberts, Willo Davis. The Girl with the Silver Eyes. New York: Scholastic, 1982.
Wright, Betty R. Christina’s Ghost. New York: Scholastic, 1987.
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Scholastic Book Guides: The Dark Is Rising © Scholastic Teaching Resources
About the Author
Susan Cooper has achieved success as a journalist, a children’s book writer, and a
playwright. Born in Burnham, England, in 1935, she grew up under the shadow of
World War II. The German air raids that terrorized her childhood had a great effect
on her later writing, which often deals with the conflict between the forces of good
and evil.
Cooper’s book-filled childhood ended with admission to Somerville College at the
University of Oxford. She writes of her experience there: “I spent three years gazing in
constant wonder at some of the most beautiful buildings in the world; being happy;
reading and writing; discovering people, scholarship, and myself.” She became the
first woman editor of the university newspaper.
After Oxford, Cooper went to London and landed a job as a writer for the Sunday
Times. During her busy life as a journalist, she found time to write Over Sea, Under
Stone, the first of the five-part fantasy series to be called The Dark Is Rising.
At the age of 27, Susan Cooper left her beloved England to move to America with her
new husband, an American college professor. She had two children, did occasional
writing, and then came back to the fantasy series she had begun with her first
children’s book. The five books in this series are titled: Over Sea, Under Stone; The Dark
Is Rising; Greenwitch; The Grey King; and Silver on the Tree. The Dark Is Rising was
named a Newbery Honor Book, and The Grey King was awarded the Newbery Medal.
Cooper entered a new stage of her career in the 1980s when she collaborated with
Hume Cronyn on the Broadway play entitled Foxfire. In recent years her writing has
included several television plays and more children’s books, including The Selkie Girl.
About the Illustrator
Alan Edwin Cober, both an artist and illustrator, was born in New York City on May
18, 1935. Cober studied at the University of Vermont and the School of Visual Arts in
New York. He was named Artist of the Year in 1965 by the Artist Guild of New York
and received various awards for books from the American Institute of Graphic Arts
from 1965–72. The New York Times has cited his books Winter’s Eve and Mr. Corbet’s
Ghost on its list of best illustrated books of the year. Cober has received various gold
medals from the Society of Illustrators and the Art Director’s Club and has also been
honored with medals for magazine illustration and in national drawing competitions.
He continues to work from his home in Ossining, New York.
Scholastic Book Guides: The Dark Is Rising © Scholastic Teaching Resources
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The Dark Is Rising
Lesson
1
Chapters 1–3 Pages 1–56
Synopsis
On the day before his eleventh birthday, Will Stanton receives a strange iron circle and
a warning that the next day will be beyond imagining. The next morning, Will enters
another dimension of time where he meets the evil Rider, the mysterious Walker, the
Lady, and Merriman—the first of the Old Ones. Merriman tells Will that he is the last
of the Old Ones, immortals who must fight for the Light against the Dark.
Will learns of his special destiny; he is the Sign-Seeker who must find the six Signs
of the Light. Merriman explains that the Dark is rising during the twelve days of
Christmas. After surviving his first test against the Dark, Will goes back to reality
and celebrates his eleventh birthday with his large family.
Before Reading
Tell students that they will be reading The Dark Is Rising, a fantasy that takes place
in a world of conflict, magic, and suspense. Explain that the book is the second in a
series of five titles also known as The Dark Is Rising. The books were written by
Susan Cooper, a British author, who used the myths and legends of the British Isles
in weaving her tale of fantasy.
Explain that the genre of fantasy includes stories with events, characters, or settings
that could not occur or exist in the real world. In fantasy, the rules of reality do not
apply. Unlike many fantasies, The Dark Is Rising does not contain fantasy creatures
or talking animals that behave like humans. The main characters are both humans
and immortals living in a fantasy world with three important characteristics:
■
a setting that shifts in time and place
■
the presence of magical powers
■
a great conflict between good and evil
Ask students to volunteer the names of fantasy books they have read or are familiar
with. Write the titles on the board, asking students to explain why they would
characterize each book as a fantasy.
Use the activity that is best suited for your class.
Option 1: Explore the genre of fantasy by drawing on students’ prior knowledge of
literature. Have students work with partners and choose one of the fantasy titles
from the board or another fantasy story with which they are familiar. Draw the
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Scholastic Book Guides: The Dark Is Rising © Scholastic Teaching Resources
following chart on a large piece of paper or on the board, adding a blank row for
each pair of students to complete. You may wish to use Alice in Wonderland as an
example to fill in the three categories on the chart. Have students discuss their titles
and then fill in as many categories on the chart as are appropriate for their book.
Elements of Fantasy
Title
Unusual Characters
Magical Events
Strange Settings
Alice in
Wonderland
White Rabbit,
Cheshire Cat,
Card soldiers
Alice grows bigger
and smaller
the rabbit hole,
Queen of Hearts’
garden, etc.
Option 2: Discuss with students the elements that are common to fantasies. Point
out that many fantasies start out being realistic and then change to an imaginary
world. Remind students that a fantasy departs from reality in its setting, characters,
or events. Ask them to discuss possible ideas for unusual characters, magical
events, or strange settings.
Distribute copies of The Dark Is Rising and call students’ attention to the cover
illustration. Ask students what clues they can find in the picture to the fact that the
book is a fantasy. Discuss the ghostly-looking horseman, the birds, and the symbol
on the boy’s arm. Have students predict what roles all these might play in the book.
Then discuss with students the title of the book. Ask them to predict what the Dark
might be and how it might relate to the illustration.
During Reading
Ask student volunteers to read aloud the first part of the chapter entitled
“Midwinter’s Eve,” from page 3 to the break on page 12. Tell students to listen for
clues that something strange and out-of-the-ordinary is about to happen.
After the reading, ask students to name the events in the story that hinted at, or
foreshadowed, strange things to come. Ask them to predict what might happen to
Will on his birthday.
Assign students pages 12–56 for independent reading. Explain that a quest is a
mission in search of something. Then write the following question on the board:
“What is Will’s quest?” Ask students to read for the answer to that question.
Literary Concepts
Discuss the elements of fantasy: Ask students if they correctly predicted what
would happen to Will on his birthday. Let them know that this prediction was
difficult because its outcome was based on the author’s imagination.
Divide the class into three cooperative learning groups and assign each group one of
the three major elements of fantasy in the book: the setting, the magic, and the
conflict between good and evil. Ask each group to review the pages they have just
read for information about their topics.
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Discuss setting: Tell students that the setting is the time and place of a story. Have
the group that was assigned to study the story’s setting fill in a chart similar to the
one that follows, and explain it to the class.
World of Reality
Time
present
World of Fantasy
Place
Will’s house and
village in the
English countryside
Time
500 years ago
Place
same place but long
ago with an old
manor house and
no village
Discuss magic: Explain to students that the use of magic in fantasy follows a logic of
its own. Characters are given certain powers and must use them according to the rules
established by the author. Have the group responsible for studying the story’s magic
fill in the details in the following chart and explain it to the class.
Will
Merriman
Magical Powers
Old Lady
The Rider
Discuss the conflict between good and evil: Explain to students that many great
fantasies are based on the conflict between good and evil in the world and in the
hearts and minds of humans. Fantasy writers choose various characters or ideas to
represent this conflict. Have the group responsible for studying the story’s conflict
between good and evil fill in the names of the characters on a graphic similar to this
and explain it to the class.
Conflict Between
Good
Evil
The Light
The Dark
Summarize the discussion by asking students to watch for the ways each of these
elements of fantasy is developed in the rest of the book.
Points to Ponder
1. Do you think Will really experienced the fantasy part of the story, or could he have
dreamed it? Give reasons to support your answer. (Understanding Fantasy)
2. Why do you think Will was able to react so calmly to the strange happenings in his
life? How would you have reacted? (Understanding Character Actions/Stating
Personal Reactions)
3. Why do you think the author chose to have Will move in and out of his real time
rather than enter the fantasy world and stay there? (Understanding Fantasy)
4. What do you think Merriman means when he says “Any great gift of power or talent
is a burden”? How might Will’s powers be a burden to him? (Making Inferences)
5. Have you ever felt that the dark was rising in your own life? Describe your
experience. (Stating Personal Reactions)
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After Reading
Choose from the following activities:
1. Imagine you are Will. Write journal entries describing your experiences in these
first three chapters.
2. Make a drawing or collage entitled “The Dark Is Rising.” Use symbols, objects, and
colors that represent for you the meaning of the title.
3. Write a short fantasy with a setting that is 500 years ago in the place where you
live. Use yourself as the main character. Try to describe how things might have
looked five centuries ago.
4. Imagine a birthday present for Will on his eleventh birthday. The present can
have magical powers for him to use against the Dark. Describe the present in
a paragraph, and draw a picture of it.
Sign-up Sheet
Name
Activity Number
Date Started
Date Completed
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The Dark Is Rising
Lesson
2
Chapters 4–7 Pages 57–127
Synopsis
Will meets the Walker on a lonely lane and receives from him the second sign, the
Sign of Bronze. Will almost loses the sign to the dairy-girl Maggie, an agent of the
Dark, but is rescued by Merriman.
On Christmas Eve, Will goes caroling with his family through the heavily falling snow
to the manor house of the village. There he meets Merriman, who takes him back in
time and gives him the Book of Gramarye to read; it contains all the knowledge of
the Old Ones. Later, Will witnesses Hawkin, a human whom Merriman treated as a
son, attempt to betray the Old Ones to the Dark.
Back in the present, Will discovers the third sign, the Sign of Wood. He then goes
home to dream of Christmas Day.
Before Reading
Tell students that they will learn more about Will’s character and how it is changing
in this part of the book. Explain that the way an author lets a reader know about a
character is called characterization. In some books, the author states information
about a character directly, for example, that the character is selfish or brave. But in
The Dark Is Rising, the author presents information about Will indirectly, through his
thoughts, words, and actions. As readers, we have to draw our own conclusions
about Will by paying careful attention to what he thinks, says, and does.
Point out that in all good novels, the main characters grow and change. In The Dark
Is Rising, Will’s character grows and changes as a result of his quest, or mission, and
the conflicts he endures.
Use the activity that is best suited for your class.
Option 1: Divide the class into cooperative learning groups of three or four students
each. Ask each group to discuss what they know about Will’s character so far. Then
ask each student in a group to compose one question they would like to ask Will that
would probe some aspect of his character. An example might be: “How do you feel
about being the Sign-Seeker?”
After the groups have discussed and completed their list of questions, collect them
and choose one question for each group to prepare an answer to from Will’s point of
view. Have each group choose a spokesperson to answer the question. Encourage
students to discuss the responses.
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Scholastic Book Guides: The Dark Is Rising © Scholastic Teaching Resources
Option 2: Remind students that Will is beginning to change as a result of his goal,
or mission, to seek the signs of the Light. Ask them to identify a goal that they now
have or have had in the past that brought about a change in their characters. Have
them fill out a graphic similar to the following:
Goal: to act in the school play
How This Goal Changed Me
felt more confident
became more disciplined
made new friends
Ask students to write one or two paragraphs that describe their goal and how it
changed their character.
During Reading
Assign students pages 48–111 for individual reading. To guide their reading,
ask students to think about how Will changes as the result of the new knowledge
he gains.
Literary Concepts
Discuss character and plot: Remind students that Will is learning and changing as
a result of the important events that happen in this part of the story. Ask students
to list these important experiences. Write their responses on the board in a list
similar to the following:
Will’s Important Experiences
Will starts the fire on Tramps’ Alley.
Will encounters the Walker.
Will is tricked by the witch-girl, Maggie.
Will reads the Gramarye.
Will witnesses Hawkin’s betrayal.
Divide the class into groups of three or four students and assign each group one of
the events from the list. Ask each group to discuss and answer the following
questions:
■
What did Will learn from this experience?
■
How do you think the experience will change him?
Have the groups report their answers to the whole class. Conclude the discussion by
inviting students to describe personal experiences that have taught them something
about people or life.
Discuss characterization and inner conflict: Tell students that another way we
can learn about Will is to look at the conflicts he has in his own thoughts. Ask a
volunteer to read aloud the passage from the story that begins on page 123 with the
paragraph “They sang . . .” and ends with the first paragraph on page 124.
Scholastic Book Guides: The Dark Is Rising © Scholastic Teaching Resources
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Explain that an inner conflict is a struggle a person has with his or her own feelings.
Ask students what sort of struggles Will is having within himself about his new
powers and his quest. Organize students’ responses in a chart similar to the
following:
Will’s Feelings About His New Identity
pride in his new knowledge and
importance as an Old One
Fear about his coming struggles
against the Dark
happiness about feeling part of
the chosen group of Old Ones
desire to be a normal boy again
Points to Ponder
1. If Will had to make the choice, do you think he would choose to live with his
family or with the Old Ones? Give reasons for your answer. (Understanding
Character Traits/Drawing Conclusions)
2. Explain the meaning of Merriman’s words: “He [Hawkin] will have a sweet picture
of the Dark to attract him, as men so often do, and beside it he will set all the
demands of the Light, which are heavy and always will be.” (Making Inferences)
3. How is Will’s behavior different when he is with the Old Ones from when he is
with his family? Do you change your behavior to fit the company around you?
(Comparing and Contrasting/Stating Personal Reactions)
4. What role do you think Hawkin will play in the rest of the story? Do you think
Hawkin is a good or bad person? (Predicting Outcomes/Making Judgments)
5. Why does Will feel melancholy about his responsibilities after reading the book of
Gramarye? When do you think most young people begin to feel the burden of
responsibilities in their lives? (Making Inferences/Stating Personal Reactions)
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After Reading
Choose from the following activities:
1. Work with a small group to act out a scene from this part of the book. Choose a
scene with three or four characters, assign the parts, and decide on the speeches
and action. Present the scene to the rest of the class.
2. Write a brief character sketch in which you portray a person through indirect
characterization. Create your character by describing his or her actions,
appearance, words, and thoughts.
3. Create an original ornament based on your initial, like the ones Farmer Dawson
carved for the Stanton children. Draw your design first. Then cut it out of heavy
paper, or make it with another kind of material.
4. Write a journal entry from Will’s point of view during Christmas Eve night.
Use his own words to describe the conflicting emotions he would be feeling.
Sign-up Sheet
Name
Activity Number
Date Started
Date Completed
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