Lewis Carroll
Episode of the series British Children Authors
- Illustrated slideshow
- Comprehension quiz (45 questions)
- Cultural notes
Extract · 30 sThe episode
The maths teacher who made Wonderland. Lewis Carroll was not a real name. The man who sent Alice down the rabbit hole was a shy Oxford maths teacher called Charles Dodgson.
Episode worksheets (2)
- Student sheet In your teacher account
- Teacher sheet In your teacher account
Teaching guide
Objective & content
This documentary episode presents Lewis Carroll, whose real name was Charles Dodgson, and shows how a boat trip in 1862 led to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. The script names Alice Liddell, Henry Kingsley and the artist John Tenniel, and follows Carroll from his shy childhood to the book's lasting fame. Learners meet the past simple (with the present simple in the opening and closing) and words such as "pen name", "stammer", "brain teaser", "clergyman" and "nonsense". The main skill is listening to a short life story, and the script explains each new word as it appears, for example "A stammer makes speaking slow and difficult." The target level is CEFR A1-.
Materials & prerequisites
- A student sheet and a teacher sheet, each as a PDF and an HTML file, in the episode's printables.
- Learners should know the present simple and the verb "to be" in the past (was, were); regular past simple endings are met in the episode itself.
Curriculum alignment
The episode is tagged with the cycle 3 axis "child and imagination" (6e) and the axis "imagination, tales and legends". It targets CEFR A1-.
Possible adaptations
- Lower levels: Offer segmented listening and additional visual aids.
- Advanced levels: Encourage an oral summary and a debate in English on the theme.
- Large groups: Organise group work with differentiated roles.
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