Mr. Smith says, “Why don’t we help them when they are
alive?” What do you think?
Passport to Russia, pages 20–28
Before reading
7 Discuss: Talk about passports and travel.
Have students work in groups to talk about their
passports. Ask the following questions:
Do you have a passport?
Which countries can you go to with your passport?
Which countries do you want to go to? Why?
Do you want to go to Russia? Why/why not?
After reading
8 Write: Write about a coincidence.
Alfred Parrish is saved by a coincidence—the secretary
of the consulate lived in Alfred’s family home before
he did. Pre-teach the word ‘coincidence’ to the class
and ask them to work in pairs to talk about a strange
coincidence in their own lives. Then have them work
individually to write about it. This can be done in
class or as a homework assignment. Finally, ask some
students to read their stories to the rest of the class.
A True Story, pages 29–33
Before reading
9 Artwork: Make a poster and talk about slavery in the
United States.
After finishing the book activity 12 (page 58), divide
the students into groups. Have each group make a
poster display on the facts that they found out about
slavery in the United States. When each group is
ready, have a poster session where each group makes a
presentation, and then give students time for
questions and answers later on.
After reading
10 Role play: Perform in groups.
Have students work in small groups. They should
imagine that they are different members of Aunt
Rachel’s family (including Rachel and her husband)
and they have been reunited after the war. They
should ask and answer questions about their different
experiences since they were separated. Encourage
students to use their imagination to make a different
story for each family member.
Murder in Connecticut, pages 34–40
Before reading
11 Guess: Predict the story.
Have students read the first paragraph on page 34.
Then have them guess what the story is about. What
will happen to Aunt Mary? What will happen to the
story-teller?
After reading
12 Pair work: Have students ask each other the
following questions:
When was the last time your conscience told you not to
do something that you wanted to do?
What did you do then?
Ed Jackson Meets Cornelius Vanderbilt,
pages 41–46
Before reading
13 Discuss: Talk about practical jokes.
How do you feel if your friends play practical jokes on
you?
After reading
14 Discuss: Talk about Cornelius Vanderbilt.
Do you think he knew that the letter was a joke?
A Dog’s Life, pages 47–52
Before reading
15 Discuss: Have students talk about dogs in groups.
Do you have a dog? If so, what type of dog is it? What’s
his/her name? If not, do you want to have a dog? Why/
why not?
After reading
16 Pair work: Have students exchange opinions about
the character.
What do you think of Mr. Gray?
Extra activities
17 Research: Find out about famous writers.
Tell students that Mark Twain is one of North
America’s most famous and best-loved writers. Ask
students to tell the rest of the class about a famous
writer from their own country. They should explain
why the writer is famous and give some background
about the types of books he/she wrote and the period
in which the books were written.
18 Pair work: Talk about the pictures in the book.
Put students in pairs. Have each pair choose a picture
from the book and look at it carefully for three
minutes. After three minutes, student A takes the
book and asks student B questions about the picture.
Student B should answer as many questions as
possible without looking at the book.
19 Discuss: Talk about the titles.
Ask students to look at the Contents page. Have them
work in groups to think of a new title for each of the
eight stories. Ask each group to read out their titles
and write them on the board. Then students can
decide which ones are the best.
Vocabulary activities
For the Word List and vocabulary activities, go to