A Wrinkle in Time Written by Madeleine L’Engle

STORY SUMMARY

Meg Murry is often bored and misunderstood in school. She lives with her scientist mother, her twin brothers Sandy and Dennys, and her youngest brother Charles Wallace. It has been about a year since they last heard from her father, who was work- ing on a top secret science project for the government. Although many say that Mr Murry has abandoned the family, the family does not believe these rumours.

Charles Wallace, only five years old, is wise well beyond his years. In addition to his wealth of knowledge, he uncannily understands the most difficult abstract concepts. His power of intuition is great and he is sensitive to others’ feelings, moods and problems.

Meg and Charles Wallace set out on an adventure to locate their missing father. Their friend Calvin, also possessing unusual abilities, accompanies them in their search. The three youngsters are helped in their quest by three of the most unlikely characters you’ll ever meet!

The search for and rescue of Mr Murry is filled with excitement. The children have many strange, frightening and wondrous experiences. TheyEducation learn a great deal about each other and about themselves!

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Madeleine L’Engle was born in America on 29 November, 1918. Her name was originally Madeleine L’Engle Camp. Because her mother was an accomplished pianist and her father a noted journalist, Madeleine grew up in a creative atmosphere and was encour- aged from a young age to stretch her imagination. At the age of five, she wrote her first stories. She also began to play the piano. Madeleine and her family remained in America until she was twelve years old.

When Madeleine was twelve years old, she and her parents Education moved to Switzerland. Madeleine, an only child, was placed in a boarding school there. Those years were unpleasant for her, but she used the memories of her experiences in the boarding school as the basis for her first published novel, The Small Rain. This book was written soon after her graduation from university in 1941.

For the next few years, the author devoted her talents to writing for the theatre. But in 1946 she met and married actor Hugh Franklin, and temporarily halted her writing career in order to raise their three children.

In 1958, L’Engle decided to resumeBrownlow her writing and within five years created the science-fiction fantasy A Wrinkle in Time. For this effort she received the honoured Newbery Medal. The exploits of the Murry family were continued by the author in A Wind in the Door and A Swiftly Tilting Planet. L’Engle’s other books include A Ring of Endless Light, The Young Unicorns, Meet the Austins and several other books for readers of all ages. In 1984 Madeleine L’Engle was awarded the Regina Medal for “continued dis- tinguished dedication to children’s literature”. MadeleineHawker L’Engle died in 2007. ©

Choose eight vocabulary words from the previous activity. Inside each picture frame, sketch a picture to represent one of the words you have chosen. Exchange with your classmates to solve.

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After defining the vocabulary words in the first part of this activity, choose at least twelve of them to use in a short science-fiction tale. Write your first draft here. Then rewrite it on another piece of paper and draw an illustration to accompany the story. Underline the vocabulary words you use.

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Chapters One and Two: Vocabulary 1.E 4. A 7. B 10. D 13. F 16. J 19. P 2.G 5. M 8. N 11. Q 14. I 17. L 20. R 3.K 6. T 9. C 12. H 15. S 18. O Chapter One: Comprehension and Discussion Questions (Answers may vary.) 1. She is literally explaining her mode of travel. 2. His vocabulary is well advanced. He understands Mother and Meg quite easily. He has advanced physical skills. His diction is advanced. 3. The raging storm causes her distress. The fact that it is a hurricane makes her more frightened. Ghostlike shadows race along the ground. The house shakes. The window rattles in the wind. All of this is harder to endure because she is upset about school. The final straw is the thought of a tramp being outside. 4. Mrs Murry quickly welcomes the stranger inside offering shelter food and warmth. She invites the stranger to stay over night rather than venture hack into the storm. She offers to take off the stranger’s boots. She never remarks on the strangeness of the person’s behaviour or attire. Chapter Two: Comprehension and Discussion Questions (Answers may vary.) 1. He says that he had a compulsion to be there. He feels that perhaps he was meant to meet them. 2. Charles Wallace and Calvin seem to have some extraordinary senses. Mrs Murry, although she doesn’t have these senses herself, understands that her son is special. Meg’s different from the other children her age. Although she doesn’t have the same capabilities as Charles Wallace, she does share some of his intuitive talents; she also shares some of her mother’s basic raw intelli- gence and common sense. She is a dichotomy of sorts. 3. Charles Wallace feels that it is a ‘‘stamp of approval” that the house Educationand its inhabitants are okay. 4. He is afraid it will not go well for him in school if he already knows how to read when he gets to school. He thinks people will hate him if they know he is smart and not stupid as they believe. Chapters Three and Four: Vocabulary Part 1: Part 2: 1. awry 6. short-lived 1. limited 6. cheerful 2. scramble 7. entity 2. foolish 7. silent 3. substantial 8. play 3. remain 8. merry 4. spotted 9. knotted 4. pebbles 9. thick 5. decode 10. angry 5. important 10. drag Chapter Three: Comprehension and Discussion Questions (Answers may vary.) 1. Mrs Whatsit is a relatively younger being and still has the memory of spoken language; there- fore it is not as difficult for her asBrownlow it is for Mrs Which and Mrs Who. 2. Mrs Murry is smart, pretty, caring, attractive and loving. Mrs O’Keefe is unkempt, unattractive, short-tempered, messy and uncaring. 3. He doesn’t mind spending time with younger children. He seems to be less self-centred than many teenagers. He is not boastful. He is very helpful. 4. Answers will vary. Chapter Four: Comprehension and Discussion Questions (Answers may vary.) 1. There are several instances where the reader will understand what has taken place. The follow- ing are some examples (1) “She was alone in a fragment of nothingness.” (2) “She was lost in a horrifying void.” (3) “It wasn’t that part of him came first and then the rest of him followed … It was sortHawker of a shimmering … and then there he was solid and reassuring.” (4) “They had left the silver glint of a biting autumn evening; and now around them everything was golden with light.” (5) “Even travelling at the speed of light it would take us years and years to get here.” (6)© “We don’t travel at the speed of anything … We tesser, or you might say, we wrinkle!” 2. During the trip her heart seems to stop beating and then begin again. At times she is unable to move. Her arms and legs tingle. She seems to choke on her words. After the trip she feels a violent push. She feels a pulse of joy. 3. The Black Thing is a shadow, an evil. It brings feelings of fear, distress, anxiety, confusion, etc. 4.The flowers enable the children to breathe even though the atmosphere has no oxygen. Chapters Five and Six: Vocabulary 1.aberration 3. writhe 5. precipitously 7. substantial 9. illuminating 11. cosmos 2.anticlimax 4. chink 6. eon 8. faltered 10. propitious