Jim Smiley and his Jumping Frog and Other Stories

pearsonenglishreaders.com © Pearson Education Limited 2015 Jim Smiley and his Jumping Frog and Other Stories - Teacher’s notes 1 of 3

Teacher’s noteslevel 3 Teacher Support Programme

level 2

level 3

level 4

level 5

level 6

easystarts

About the authorIn 1835 Samuel Clemens was born in a small town on the Mississippi river. He grew up with a love of story-telling that would lead him to become one of America’s best-loved writers, under the adopted name of Mark Twain.

Mark Twain started writing at an early age, taking a job with a local newspaper before his curiosity took him further afield. He experienced life as a soldier, goldminer and riverboat pilot before his first successful story, Jim Smiley and his Jumping Frog, was published in 1865.

Further short stories and writing of his many travels abroad soon established Twain as a leading humorist. His greatness as a writer became apparent with the publication of his most famous novels, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884). Both books are heavily influenced by Twain’s own Mississippi childhood. Today these books are considered to be two of the finest novels in the English language.

Although Twain was popular and influential as a writer, his publishing business collapsed and his later years were plagued by financial worry. This, as well as the death of three of his children, brought a tone of bitterness and cynicism to his later writing. To earn money, he went on extensive lecture tours around the United States, which made him even more popular with the American public. He continued to write until his death in 1910. Today Mark Twain is credited with helping to shape America’s vision of itself and he is regarded as a national treasure.

SummaryThis book contains eight short stories written by Mark Twain. All but two of the stories are set in North America during the second half of the nineteenth century and they tell the tales of ordinary American people at this time.

The stories are often funny but there is also a serious message in each one.

Jim Smiley and his Jumping FrogThe first story is about Jim Smiley, an obsessive gambler who plays tricks on both friends and strangers. He does not think about the consequences of his actions and he often treats animals cruelly to win money. Finally another man plays a clever trick on Jim, who learns how it feels to lose money unfairly.

The Other Side of WarThe Other Side of War tells of a group of young Confederate soldiers in the American Civil War who spend their time trying to avoid fighting but end up killing an innocent man. The men are so sickened that they leave the war and return home.

Is He Living or Is He Dead? This story is about a group of struggling artists in France who trick the public into paying high prices for their artwork. In an unjust world they find that it is the only way to make a living.

Passport to RussiaIn Passport to Russia an old gentleman persuades a student, Alfred, to travel with him to Russia. He promises to take care of the travel arrangements, but the friends he claims will help cannot be found. Alfred ends up in Russia with no passport and the threat of a prison sentence. He is saved only by a strange coincidence.

A True StoryA True Story tells of the dreadful life of Twain’s own family servant, Aunt Rachel. Despite always seeming jolly and content, Rachel, we learn, was beaten, sold and separated from her family. People’s appearances can often hide great hardships.

Murder in ConnecticutThis is a clever story in which a writer’s conscience appears as a monster in his own home. After trying unsuccessfully to reason with it, the writer decides to trick the monster and eventually he kills his own conscience. As a result he becomes a monster himself, living cruelly and selfishly for the rest of his life.

Ed Jackson Meets Cornelius VanderbiltIn Ed Jackson Meets Cornelius Vanderbilt Ed’s friends give him a fake letter of introduction to the richest businessman in the country as a practical joke. But Cornelius Vanderbilt welcomes Ed to his home and soon gives him a management job in his new tobacco company.

Mark Twain

Jim Smiley and his Jumping Frog and Other Stories

pearsonenglishreaders.com © Pearson Education Limited 2015 Jim Smiley and his Jumping Frog and Other Stories - Teacher’s notes 2 of 3

Teacher’s noteslevel 3 Teacher Support Programme

level 2

level 3

level 4

level 5

level 6

easystarts

When Ed rewards his friends with jobs in the company, they can’t believe their good luck!

A Dog’s LifeA Dog’s Life tells the sad story of Aileen, a faithful and intelligent pet dog who always strives to do the right thing. Despite saving his son from a fire, Aileen’s owner, Mr. Gray, kills Aileen’s puppy in a cruel experiment. Aileen pines for her puppy and eventually dies of a broken heart.

Background and themes

Mark Twain’s greatest gift to American literature is his ability to write honestly and simply about all types of ordinary people. He created wonderful characters and used them to portray every aspect of human nature with amazing insight and sympathy. His extraordinary range of characters show great courage, generosity and honor as well as cruelty, weakness, stupidity and selfishness.

The right to freedom: Mark Twain believed passionately in the right to freedom for all men. This was an issue of much debate in the United States when he was writing. The American Civil War (1861–65) was fought between the north (which opposed slavery) and the south (which fought to defend its way of life, including keeping slaves). In The Other Side of War Twain shows us that people’s motives were less clear-cut than history teaches. In A True Story he uses the life story of Aunt Rachel to demonstrate the terrible cruelty of slavery.

Trust: Trust is another important theme of Mark Twain’s work. Often the characters who trust others are cheated and suffer dreadfully (eg Aileen in A Dog’s Tale). This might be seen as a more cynical side of Twain’s writing, but in other stories we see how trust and optimism can be rewarded in the right company (eg Ed Jackson’s trusting nature is rewarded by the similarly trusting Cornelius Vanderbilt).

Humor: Humor is an important element of many of these stories, and of Mark Twain’s writing in general. In A Passport to Russia Twain creates an unusual and funny character – Professor Jackson – who cheerfully pulls his new friend, Alfred Parrish, into stranger and stranger situations. Only when Parrish is faced with ten years in prison does the dangerous side of the story’s humor become apparent. Similarly Murder in Connecticut begins humorously, with a funny-looking little monster floating around the writer’s office, but ultimately the story tells a very serious tale about the ease with which many people can commit horrific acts of cruelty.

Discussion activities

Jim smiley and his Jumping Frog, pages 1–5Before reading1 Guess: Talk about the title. Write Jim Smiley and his Jumping Frog on the board.

Tell students that this is the title of the story they are about to read. Have them work in groups to predict what the story is about. Ask each group to share their predictions with the rest of the class.

After reading2 Discuss: Talk about the characters. Have students work in pairs. Have each pair choose

and talk about one of the following characters: Jim Smiley and Simon Wheeler. Give students the following questions:

What do you think of him? Do you like him? Why/why not? Do you know anyone like him?

the Other side of War, pages 6–14Before reading3 Discuss: Talk about the American Civil War. Ask students if anyone knows about the American

Civil War. If yes, ask those students to explain to the rest of the class. If not, have them read the bottom of page 6. Have students discuss in groups which side they would take if they were there in those days.

After reading4 Role play: Perform in groups. Have students work in groups of four or five. They

should look at the picture on page 9 and imagine the conversation between the young soldiers. Some of the soldiers want to attack the house and some of the soldiers don’t want to. What do they do? Have students prepare and act out their own story.

Is He living or Is He Dead?, pages 15–19Before reading5 Research: Find out about French cities and towns. Give students an assignment using the Internet or

other resources, and have them look for the names of French cities and towns. Students could use Google Earth to see the aerial photos. Then, in class, draw a rough map of France on the board and have students talk about cities and towns in France.

After reading6 Discuss: Talk about paintings and painters. Have students discuss in groups. Paintings are more expensive if the painter is not alive.

Why do you think this is so? Mr. Smith says, “Why don’t we help them when they are

alive?” What do you think?

Jim Smiley and his Jumping Frog and Other Stories

pearsonenglishreaders.com © Pearson Education Limited 2015 Jim Smiley and his Jumping Frog and Other Stories - Teacher’s notes 3 of 3

Teacher’s noteslevel 3 Teacher Support Programme

level 2

level 3

level 4

level 5

level 6

easystarts

Passport to russia, pages 20–28Before reading7 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 reading8 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 29–33Before reading9 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 reading10 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 34–40Before reading11 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 reading12 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 41–46Before reading13 Discuss: Talk about practical jokes. How do you feel if your friends play practical jokes on

you?

After reading14 Discuss: Talk about Cornelius Vanderbilt. Do you think he knew that the letter was a joke?

a Dog’s life, pages 47–52Before reading15 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 reading16 Pair work: Have students exchange opinions about

the character. What do you think of Mr. Gray?

Extra activities17 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.