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The Adventures of Pinocchio
Scouts · 1st–3rd
The Little Man smiles at every boy, yet bites a donkey's ear. Which tells us more about him, the smile or the bite?
The tension The Little Man comes with bows, smiles and sweet names for the boys, while the donkeys he drives kick, bleed and weep.
Notice what the Little Man says and how he smiles, and what he does when a donkey kicks.
A quiet wagon pulled by twenty-four donkeys in laced shoes arrives, driven by a smiling Little Man. Lamp-Wick climbs up, and Pinocchio says no until the shouting boys wear him down. A donkey kicks him, a quiet voice warns him and a donkey weeps like a boy, but the wagon rolls on. In the Land of Toys, where nobody studies, five months pass in play, and the author ends by saying a surprise is waiting.
Start with the wagon that makes no noise. Ask why someone might wrap its wheels in straw and rags.
Retell The student tells the chapter back in order: the quiet wagon, the Little Man, Pinocchio's no and yes, the kick, the whispers, the weeping donkey, the Land of Toys and the five months.
Imitate the author After copying the passage, the student says two short sentences in the same pattern: one that something arrived, and one that says what it did not do and why.
Debate Take sides on the big question: which tells us more about the Little Man, his smile or his bite? Each side uses one line from the chapter.
Purpose Close by asking why the author lets the wagon arrive so quietly.
Easier Read the Little Man's first scene aloud together and talk through discussion questions 2 and 3 only.
On level Talk through all four discussion questions, then have the student give one critical-thinking answer aloud with two details from the chapter.
Harder Ask the student to find one more place where the Little Man's words and actions pull in different directions.
1. Pinocchio says no, then a hundred boys shout, “Come with us and we’ll always be happy.” Why might that change his mind?Inference
What it asks It asks what changes between Pinocchio's no and his yes: the number of voices, the promise of being happy, or his own wish.
The crowd wears him down: it is hard to stand alone against a hundred voices.
shouted the one hundred and more boys in the wagon, all together
beginning to waver and weaken in his good resolutions
He already wanted to go, and the promise of noise and no school was all he needed.
Only think that we are going to a land where we shall be allowed to make all the racket we like from morning till night.
Pinocchio did not answer, but sighed deeply once--twice--a third time.
A strong answer Pinocchio says no, but then one hundred and more boys shout the same promise together, and he starts to waver. He also sighs three times before he says yes, as if part of him already wants to go. A strong answer says whether the crowd or his own wish does more, and uses one thing the boys say or Pinocchio does.
2. The Little Man offers Pinocchio his own seat as coachman. Why might he be so generous to Pinocchio?Character
What it asks It asks why the Little Man gives up his seat, and what he gets from being so generous.
He is being kind: he says he wants to show how much he thinks of Pinocchio.
to show you how much I think of you, take my place as coachman
I’ll walk.
He wants Pinocchio aboard, and sweet talk is how he gets him.
What about you, my love?
With bows and smiles, he asked in a wheedling tone
A strong answer The Little Man says he offers his place to show how much he thinks of Pinocchio, and he is even willing to walk. But the author also tells us he speaks with bows and smiles in a wheedling tone, so the offer may be part of that same charm. The chapter does not settle which, and a strong answer does not settle it either. It says what the Little Man gets out of the offer and points to his words or manner.
3. The donkeys wear laced leather shoes “just like the ones boys wear.” Why might the author tell us that?Author's choice
What it asks It asks why the author gives donkeys boys' shoes, and what that makes the reader think or feel.
It is a funny picture, a silly detail that adds to the fun of the wagon.
had on their feet laced shoes made of leather, just like the ones boys wear
It makes the donkeys seem not quite ordinary, which makes the reader uneasy.
The strangest thing of all was that those twenty-four donkeys
instead of being iron-shod like any other beast of burden
A strong answer The author calls it the strangest thing of all, because ordinary donkeys are iron-shod and these wear laced leather shoes like boys. One reading is that it is a funny picture. Another is that it makes the donkeys seem not quite ordinary, so the reader wonders about them. The chapter does not say why they wear shoes, and a strong answer does not guess a reason. It picks a reading and says what the detail makes the reader feel.
4. Lamp-Wick says, “Only true friends count, after all.” Is he a true friend to Pinocchio? What makes you think so?Moral reasoning
What it asks It asks the student to tell a friend who looks out for you from one who looks out for himself, using Lamp-Wick's own words.
Yes: he wants Pinocchio with him and is glad to share the fun.
Come with us and we’ll always be happy.
Only true friends count, after all.
No: he talks about what Pinocchio owes him and calls himself generous.
If today you are free from pencils and books and school, you owe it to me, to my advice, to my care.
But I am of a generous nature, and I gladly forgive him.
A strong answer Lamp-Wick wants Pinocchio beside him and says only true friends count. But he also says Pinocchio owes him for being free of school, and he calls himself generous while he speaks of the teacher. A strong answer says what makes someone a true friend and decides whether Lamp-Wick fits, using his own words.
1. The boys are packed like sardines and can hardly breathe, yet no one complains. Using two details, tell why they put up with it.
What it asks It asks what keeps the boys quiet in a crowded wagon: the place they are going, or the man who drives them.
They want the country so much that they feel nothing else.
The thought that in a few hours they would reach a country where there were no schools, no books, no teachers
made these boys so happy that they felt neither hunger, nor thirst, nor sleep, nor discomfort
The driver has charmed them, so they put up with his wagon.
No sooner did any boy see him than he fell in love with him
nothing satisfied him but to be allowed to ride in his wagon
A strong answer The boys are piled one on top of the other and can hardly breathe, yet not one word of complaint is heard. The chapter gives two reasons: the thought of a country with no schools, books or teachers makes them forget hunger, thirst and sleep, and any boy who sees the Little Man falls in love with him and wants only to ride. A strong answer picks the stronger reason and uses two different details.
2. A quiet voice warns Pinocchio, and he finds the donkey weeping. Using two details, tell what Pinocchio does about it.
What it asks It asks the student to follow what Pinocchio does after the warnings: how far he goes in following them, and where he stops.
He takes it seriously: he looks for the voice and goes to check the donkey.
Pinocchio, greatly frightened, looked about him to see whence the words had come
He jumped to the ground, ran up to the donkey on whose back he had been riding
He lets it go: after one question to the driver, he gets back on and rides.
Poor beast!
Pinocchio obeyed without another word.
A strong answer Pinocchio does notice. He is greatly frightened, looks around for the voice, jumps down and looks at the weeping donkey, and asks the driver about it. But when the driver says not to lose time, he obeys without another word and the wagon starts again. A strong answer uses one detail from before he asks the driver and one from after, and says what they show.
3. The boys laugh when the donkey kicks Pinocchio, but the Little Man does not. Using two details, tell what the Little Man cares about.
What it asks It asks the student to look at what the Little Man does when the donkey kicks, and to say what he is most concerned with.
He cares about keeping his donkeys in line.
bent over him lovingly and bit off half of his right ear
became so loving toward the little animal that, with another kiss, he bit off half of his left ear
He cares about getting Pinocchio safely on the wagon.
You can mount now, my boy,
Have no fear.
A strong answer The Little Man does not laugh like the boys. Each time the donkey kicks, he bends over lovingly and bites off half an ear, so he cares about keeping the donkey in line. Then he tells Pinocchio to have no fear and says the donkey is now quiet and reasonable, so he also cares about getting Pinocchio aboard. A strong answer picks what he cares about most and uses two different details.