Pre-reading journal activity:
· Create two columns and list qualities/personality traits of adults vs. children
· Describe an example of how children and adults look at things in different ways.
Read to Chapters 1-4 (pp. 3-19)
Post-reading journal activity:
· Choose an idea from today's chapters and create a (minimum) one page essay in your journal relating to it. You may use an idea of your own or the quotes or essay prompt to get started.
Quotes:
· Grown-ups never understand anything by themselves, and it is tiresome for children to be always and forever explaining things to them.
· To forget a friend is sad. Not everyone has had a friend.
Essay:
· Do you feel adults' remarks can strongly affect children's lives? Write about a time when an adult said something that encouraged or discouraged you from developing your talents.
Pre-reading journal activity:
· Recall a situation that was really important to you - a "matter of consequence" - and tell how you and at least one other person disagreed on your opinion about it.
Read to Chapters 5-7 (pp. 19-31)
Post-reading journal activity:
· Choose an idea from today's chapters and create a (minimum) one page essay in your journal relating to it. You may use an idea of your own or the quotes or essay prompt to get started.
Quotes:
· Before they grow so big, the baobabs start out by being little.
· The danger of the baobabs is so little understood...
· It is such a secret place, the land of tears.
Essay:
· What bad habits or small problems can you think of that need to be taken care of while they are little? (problems in friendships, getting behind in schoolwork, etc.) List the "baobabs" of our planet and/or country. How would you uproot them? What things in today's society might be the roots of "baobabs" to come?
Pre-reading journal activity:
· Write about an encounter with a manipulative friend. How do you feel around someone who uses you or always has to be the center of attention?
Read to Chapters 8-10 (pp. 31-47)
Post-reading journal activity:
· Choose an idea from today's chapters and create a (minimum) one page essay in your journal relating to it. You may use an idea of your own or the quotes or essay prompt to get started.
Quotes:
· One must require from each one the duty which each one can perform.
· It is much more difficult to judge yourself than to judge others. If you succeed in judging yourself rightly then you are indeed a man of true wisdom.
Essay:
· A parable is a story told in symbols with a meaning beyond the characters and the events of the tale. Write about several "symbols" encountered in the story so far and their meaning beyond the action of the story.
Pre-reading journal activity:
· Write your personal definition of "importance" and give examples of what it means to you. What makes people, places, events or things important?
Read to Chapters 11-15 (pp. 47-66)
Post-reading journal activity:
· Choose an idea from today's chapters and create a (minimum) one page essay in your journal relating to it. You may use an idea of your own or the quotes or essay prompt to get started.
Quotes:
· conceited man: "To conceited men, all men are admirers."
· tippler: "...[drink] to forget that I am ashamed of drinking."
· businessman: "I own the stars because nobody else before me ever thought of owning them."
· lamplighter: "There is nothing to understand... orders are orders."
· geographer: "The geographer is much too important to go loafing about."
Essay:
· Satire is a form of writing that uses sharp wit to expose or attack human foolishness. Choose at least two of the people the Little Prince visited and tell what human frailties the author is making fun of. If you were a government official, businessman, or one of the other workers, how would you respond to the author's criticism of you and your attitude toward the importance of your work?
Pre-reading journal activity:
· Which is more lonely: sitting in the middle of a party where you feel out of place or all alone in your room doing something you enjoy? Explain your answer.
Read to Chapters 16-19 (pp. 67-75)
Post-reading journal activity:
· Choose an idea from today's chapters and create a (minimum) one page essay in your journal relating to it. You may use an idea of your own or the quotes or essay prompt to get started.
Quotes:
· It is also lonely among men.
· They [men] have no roots, and that makes their life very difficult.
Essay:
· The snake is described as no thicker than a finger yet he says he is more powerful than the finger of a king and can carry you farther than any ship can take you. Tell what you think the snake means when he says he can solve all riddles. What is your opinion of the snake's "solution" to problems?
Pre-reading activity:
· What do you expect from your friends? How do you want them to treat you? What kinds of things would cause you to quit being a friend with someone?
Read
to Chapters 20-21 (pp. 76-88)
Post-reading journal activity:
· Choose an idea from today's chapters and create a (minimum) one page essay in your journal relating to it. You may use an idea of your own or the quotes or essay prompt to get started.
Quotes:
· If you tame me, then we shall need each other. To me, you will be unique in all the world. To you, I shall be unique in all the world.
· One only understands the things that one tames... Men have no more time to understand anything.
· There is no shop anywhere where one can buy friendship, and so men have no friends anymore.
· You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed.
· It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.
Essay:
· Prepare a monologue similar to the fox's on taming. List the "rules" of friendship and any special "rites" that should be observed.
Pre-reading journal activity:
· Describe a time when you enjoyed planning for something (for example: a party, a trip, creating something, visiting a friend). How did the actual event compare with your anticipation and preparations?
Read to Chapters 22-25 (pp. 88-99)
Post-reading journal activity:
· Choose an idea from today's chapters and create a (minimum) one page essay in your journal relating to it. You may use an idea of your own or the quotes or essay prompt to get started.
Quotes:
· No one is ever satisfied where he is.
· The eyes are blind. One must look with the heart.
· One runs the risk of weeping a little, if one lets himself be tamed.
Essay:
· It is often hard to see "good times" come to an end or say good-by to a friend. Have you ever had an experience where it seemed like the good memories wouldn't erase the "pain?" Explain why friendships are worth the "risk of weeping a little."
Read Chapters 26-27 (pp. 99-113)
· Decide what stands out most for you in writing and talking about The Little Prince. It may be an idea that was discussed, a new way of looking at things that you discovered, or memories that surfaced during your writing. Choose a category to write about in detail as your final composition for this unit.
Your final composition should:
· explain how what you're writing was prompted by the story;
· give details that will help readers understand what you are explaining;
· tell its own story.
Discover more about...
Antoine de St. Exupéry's life
The facts surrounding St. Exupéry's disappearance
The friend that The Little Prince was dedicated to
The Turkish dictator who made his people change (referred to in the section on the discovery of Asteroid B-612)
Baobab trees of Africa