The Witchesby Roald Dahl

Name: ____________________________________

Number: ______

The Witchesby

Roald DahlWelcome to the story of a young boy who becomes involved in the world of witches.

BEFORE YOU READ: Read the front and back covers of the book, and the first few pages to answer these questions.

1. Who is the author of the book? _________________________________________

2. Who is the illustrator of the book? ______________________________________

3. Who is the publisher? _________________________________________________

4. What is the copyright date of the book? ___________________________________

5. What can you tell about the book by looking at the front cover?

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

6. To whom is the book dedicated? ________________________________________

7. Where does the author live? ____________________________________________

8. What other books has this author written?

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

9. How many chapters are in this book? ____________________________________

10. What are you thinking after reading the first page of the book? _________________

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

2

Look at the inside back cover. Answer the questions in complete sentences.

11. Is the author still living? ______________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

12. List one interesting fact about the author: _________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

13. How many pages does this book have? ___________________________________

14. Has the illustrator ever illustrated for Roald Dahl before? ____________________

______________________________________________________________________

15. What question do you have before starting the book? ________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

General DirectionsYou will be working on several skills as you read the story. They are:

ComprehensionReading for Details

WritingVocabulary

Understanding of adjectives

3

Understanding Hints and Guides in the Booklet#1 – Counting Paragraphs

You will need to know how to count paragraphs.Always start your count with the first full paragraph on each page.

Look at page 58 in The Witches.Answer these questions:

1. How many paragraphs begin on this page? _________________

2. What word begins paragraph 2? _________________

3. What word ends paragraph 3? _________________

Look at page 66. Answer these questions:

1. How many paragraphs begin on this page? _________________

2. What word begins paragraph 5? _________________

#2 – Finding Words

terror (pg 112, par. 2) That means that you will find the word terror on page 112 in paragraph 2.

#3 – Writing Complete Sentences

The directions in this booklet will always ask you to answer the questions in complete sentences. Remember that a complete sentence is able to answer these two questions:

Who or what did something? What happened?

You are now ready to read. Enjoy the story!

4

SECTION 1 Chapters 1-4COMPREHENSION: Check the statements that are true.

1. How to recognize a witch?

o Witches wear gloves to hide their blue hands.

o Witches wear wigs to hide their bald heads.

o Witches have blue spit.

o Witches wear dentures to hide their jagged teeth.

o Witches have slightly larger nose holes than ordinary people.

o You will see fire when you look deeply in the eyes of a witch.

o Witches have 8 toes on each foot.

2. Characteristics of Grandmamma:

o Grandmamma is a wonderful storyteller.

o She is from England.

o Grandmamma smokes cigars.

o Grandmamma is very skinny.

o Grandmamma is very old.

o Grandmamma is missing her big toe.

o Her grandson loves her very much.

5

o She is a retired witchophile.

VOCABULARY: Put the letter of the correct definition on the line in front of the word. Use the page and paragraph number to find the word in the story if necessary.

____ 1. ravine (pg. 13, par. 1) a) a clever trick used to deceive others

____ 2. ordinary (pg. 7, par. 4) b) horrifying, shocking, or very upsetting

____ 3. ruse (pg. 36, par. 2) c) ridiculous and unreasonable

____ 4. ghastly (pg. 27, par. 2) d) deep narrow valley

____ 5. stench (pg. 27, par. 2) e) common, not special in any way

____ 6. absurdity (pg.10, par. 5) f) very strong, unpleasant smell

Put the vocabulary words in these sentences.

1. The __________ of the trash ruined the beauty of the park.

2. The lovely flowers grew at the bottom of the steep ____________________.

3. The _____________ of the situation made Carla laugh uncontrollably.

4. The April Fools’ joke was a clever _________ that they would never forget.

5. Charlie’s dog was an _____________ poodle, but he thought it was special in every way.

6. The ____________ accident was so awful that it was remembered in the village for years.

THINKING ABOUT THE STORY: Answer the following questions with complete sentences.

1. When his parents died, who did the author of the story live with? __________________

_________________________________________________________________________

2. Why did the grandmother and grandson go to live in England? ____________________

_________________________________________________________________________

3. What is the Grand High Witch? _____________________________________________

6

_________________________________________________________________________

ADJECTIVES. Definition

An adjective is a part of speech that is used to describe a noun by giving more information about the object in the sentence.

Example: Nobody can have blue spit!

The adjective in this sentence is blue because it describes the spit.

Circle the adjectives in each of these sentences.

1. Within a month, she had turned into a large white chicken.

2. A real witch hates children with a red-hot sizzling hatred.

3. They have claws and bald heads and queer noses and peculiar eyes.

4. The magnificent tree house was like being in a big green cave.

5. I became a very witch-conscious little boy.

Rewrite the following sentences by adding at least one adjective to each noun.

1. The boy walked to the store in the sun.

____________________________________________________________________

2. The giraffe ate the leaves on the tree.

____________________________________________________________________

3. The witch scared the girl.

7

____________________________________________________________________

SECTION 2 CHAPTERS 5 – 7

COMPREHENSION: Put T for true or F for false on the line.

_____ 1. Grandmamma got sick so they cancelled their holiday and went to Hotel Magnificent on the south coast of England instead.

_____ 2. The grandson was playing with his toy cars when he got locked in the ballroom.

_____ 3. The meeting in the ballroom was for The Ladies of the Purple Hat Society.

_____ 4. The dirtier you are, the harder it is for a witch to smell you.

_____ 5. The Grand High Witch burned a witch who disagreed with her.

_____ 6. The grandson’s blinding ambition was to be an owner of the White Mouse Circus.

WRITING A PARAGRAPH: Think about the question and then write a paragraph.

Do you think the grandson is going to get away from the witches? What is going to happen?

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________8

VOCABULARY: Put the letter of the correct definition on the line in front of the word. Use the page and paragraph number to find the word in the story if necessary.

_____ 1. vile (pg. 51, par. 4) a) looking wrinkled, shriveled, or dried up

_____ 2. compromise (pg. 54, par. 5) b) very unpleasant , disgusting

_____ 3. coarse (pg. 63, par. 1) c) gruff-sounding; speech produced from the back of the throat or mouth

_____ 4. putrid (pg. 66, par. 4) d) agreement of less than what was wanted

_____ 5. mesmerized (pg. 66, par. 5) e) decaying with a disgusting smell; rotting

_____ 6. guttural (pg. 69, par. 3) f) lacking taste or refinement

_____ 7. wizened (pg. 66, par. 4) g) absorb someone’s attention

Write YES on the line if the vocabulary word is used correctly.Write NO on the line if the word is used incorrectly.

________ 1. The burglar was transfixed by the sparkle of the diamonds.

________ 2. The newlyweds will compromise on where they will live.

________ 3. The beautiful young lady was wizened and lovely.

________ 4. The pig made a high pitched, smooth, guttural sound.

________ 5. The dead animal gave off a putrid smell.

________ 6. She was so mesmerized that she barely paid attention at all.

________ 7. The soup was so vile that everyone threw it away.

THINKING ABOUT THE STORY: Think about the order in which the witches were revealed to the grandson. Put them in the right order using numbers 1-6.

____ The Grand High Witch removes her mask. ____ The witches remove their shoes.

____ The witches remove their gloves. ____ The ladies itch their scalps.9

____ The Grand High Witch shoots sparks at a witch. ____ The witches remove their wigs.

10

ADJECTIVES. Descriptive adjectives

A descriptive adjective gives a more detailed account of the object suchas size, color, shapes, and emotions.

Circle the descriptive adjectives in the following sentences.

1. We dove into the sea off the lovely smooth granite rocks.

2. Grandmamma smokes those vile black cigars.

3. It was a fearsome and ghastly sight.

4. Her shrunken and shriveled skin looked as though it had been pickled in vinegar.

5. I could see the brown claws curving over the tips of their thin scrawny fingers.

ADJECTIVES. Personal title adjectives

A personal title adjective is a form of adjective that is attached in front of a name.For example, Mr., Uncle, Dr. are all considered adjectives.

Circle the personal title adjectives in the following sentences.

1. Mrs. Spring looked after me and cooked my meals.

2. The Manager, whose name was Mr. Stringer, was a bristly man in a black tail-coat.

3. The Grand High Witch whipped round as though someone had stuck a skewer into her

bottom.

4.11

SECTION 3: Chapters 8 – 10COMPREHENSION: Answer each question using complete sentences.

1. What is the Grand High Witch’s plan to get rid of all the children?

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

2. What does the Formula 86 Delayed Action Mouse-Maker do?

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

3. Why didn’t the witches smell the grandson hiding in the Ballroom?

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

4. What are the ingredients in the Formula 86 Delayed Action Mouse-Maker?

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

5. Who is Bruno Jenkins?

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

6. How did Bruno Jenkins get into the Ballroom?

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

12

VOCABULARY: Put the letter of the correct definition on the line in front of the word. Use the page and paragraph number to find the word in the story if necessary.

_____ 1. leer (pg. 79 , par. 8) a) wild uproar and chaos

_____ 2. cowered (pg. 81 , par. 1) b) faint smell of something

_____ 3. pandemonium (pg. 63, par. 1) c) unpleasant, malicious look

_____ 4. whiff (pg. 88, par. 1) d) cunning and malicious, diabolical

_____ 5. colossal (pg. 104, par. 2) e) spoke very tenderly; exaggerated admiration

_____ 6. cooed (pg. 101, par. 1) f) cringed in fear

_____ 7. concocted (pg. 82, par. 1) g) very large

_____ 8. fiendish (pg. 79, par. 8) h) mix ingredients to make something new

Put the vocabulary words in the sentences and circle the correct answer for the completed sentence.

1. One bottle of Delayed Action Mouse Maker was ________. It can change how many kids into mice?

a. 1b. 500c. 200

2. The __________ Grand High Witch wanted the witches to buy what?a. Toy storeb. Candy storec. Hardware store

3. The witches have __________ amounts of money. How did the witches get all of it?a. They steal it.b. They print it.c. They work for it.

4. The witches have large nose holes so that they can smell children. A __________ smells like?

a. Rosesb. Dog droppingsc. Green beans

13

ADJECTIVES. Possessive adjectives

Possessive adjectives are used to indicate possession. For example:

Do not touch my diary. My is a possessive adjective.

She carried her books. Her is a possessive adjective.

Find the possessive adjective on these pages. List the possessive adjective and the object that it describes.

Page 89

Possessive Adjective Object that it describes

Page 98

Possessive Adjective Object that it describes

Page 100

Possessive Adjective Object that it describes

14

SECTION 4 CHAPTERS 11-14COMPREHENSION: Put T for true or F for false on the line.

____ 1. Any witch over the age of 70 is considered an Ancient One by the Grand High Witch.

____ 2. After tea, the Grand High Witch is going to cook up the potion with the help of the Ancient Ones.

____ 3. The grandson knocked over the large folding screen and was found by the witches.

____ 4. The Grand High Witch poured the whole bottle of potion into the grandson’s throat.

____ 5. The blue potion turned the grandson into a parakeet.

____ 6. As a mouse, the grandson talked the same as he did as a boy.

____ 7. Bruno’s mother is terrified of mice.

____ 8. Bruno’s main interest as a mouse is eating.

____ 9. Grandmamma runs screaming from her grandson, the mouse.

WRITING A PARAGRAPH: Think about the questions and write a paragraph.

What would you do if you were a mouse? Would you try to find a cure?

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

VOCABULARY: Put the letter of the correct definition on the line in front of the word. Use the page 15

and paragraph number to find the word in the story if necessary.

_____ 1. feeble (pg. 106, par. 5) a) outstanding success

_____ 2. hideous (pg. 112, par. 2) b) complete and absolute

_____ 3. guzzling (pg. 119, par. 4) c) physically or mentally weak

_____ 4. triumph (pg. 134, par. 11) d) showing patience and humility, gentle

_____ 5. tremendous (pg. 130, par. 5) e) extremely unpleasant, horrible

_____ 6. sheer (pg. 112, par. 2) f) drink or eat something greedily

_____ 7. meekly (pg. 106, par. 1) g) extremely great or impressive

Put the vocabulary words in these sentences.

1. The Ancient Ones are old and __________.

2. Bruno was busy __________ food.

3. Looking at the Grand High Witch’s __________ face was __________ terror.

4. The plan would be a __________ success.

5. The witches __________ met the Grand High Witch’s glare.

6. Killing all the children would be a __________ for the witches.

ADJECTIVES. Adjective review16

Add adjectives to the sentences from the word bank below.

1. There came a __________ sensation across __________ skin.

2. The change from boy to mouse was an __________ action.

3. I had __________ front paws and a __________ tail.

4. I don’t think it is at all a __________ thing to be a mouse.

5. Every part of her because as stiff as a __________ statue.

6. Grandmamma pulled out a __________ cigar and put it in __________ mouth.

7. I told her how the witches had claws for fingers and ___________ feet had no toes.

8. __________ Stringer, the manager, invited the witches to tea.

9. Children should never have baths. It is a __________ habit.

10. In this __________ bottle, there are __________ doses.

11. Do not forget to put __________ plugs up ___________ nose or you will smell the kids.

12. I looked at Bruno who was a __________ __________ mouse.

13. He spoke with a __________ voice.

WORD BANK

prickling my dangerous bad new Mr. your

long cotton brown little furry 500

her normal instantaneous marble their blue

17

SECTION 5 CHAPTERS 15 – 18COMPREHENSION: Complete the comprehension crossword puzzles.

1

2 3

4 5

6

7

8

9

ACROSS

4. How did the grandson get into the Grand High Witch's room?5. What did the grandson swing on to get to the middle shelf6. Who came to the Grand High Witch for blue bottles of potion?7. Where is the grandson going to pour the contents of the little blue bottle?8. Where is the grandson going to put his plan into motion?9. How many witches are in the dining room?

DOWN

1. What is Bruno's last name?2. Where did the grandson find the blue bottles of potion?3. How many doses does one blue bottle contain?

VOCABULARY: Put the letter of the correct definition on the line in front of the word. Use the page and paragraph number to find the word in the story if necessary.

18

_____ 1. skittering (pg. 139, par. 3) a) unfortunate accident; bad luck

_____ 2. mishap (pg. 151, par. 7) b) noisy confusion; uproar

_____ 3. precious (pg. 156, par. 6) c) to show anger or fear

_____ 4. commotion (pg. 174, par. 1) d) climb quickly

_____ 5. shinny (pg. 166, par. 4) e) change; become different

_____ 6. altered (pg. 152, par. 3) f) run with tiny steps, scamper

_____ 7. bristle (pg. 151, par. 1) g) valuable; very important

WRITING A PARAGRAPH: Think about the question and then write a paragraph.

If you were the author, how would you end this book?

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

ADJECTIVES. Demonstrative Adjectives19

Demonstrative Adjectives is used to demonstrate or indicate certain things.

Example: Those students are going to recess.

Those is the demonstrative adjective. Other demonstrative adjectives could be this, that, these.

Circle the demonstrative adjectives in the following sentences.

1. Those eyes were the saddest things I had ever seen.

2. Take this note to the nurse.

3. I ran fast to that playground.

4. Joe put those dishes in the dishwasher

5. Write in this diary.

THINKING ABOUT THE STORY: Put these events in the right order. Use the numbers 1-6.

_____ The grandson pours the contents from the blue bottle into the soup.

_____ The grandson steals the blue bottle from the Grand High Witch’s room.

_____ The grandson gets the end of his tail chopped off.

_____ Grandmamma lowers the grandson to the floor below with a ball of yarn

_____ Grandmamma attempts to tell Bruno’s parents that he is now a mouse.

_____ The grandson returns to Grandmamma in the dining room.

20

SECTION 6 CHAPTERS 19 - 22COMPREHENSION: Put T for true or F for false on the line.

____1. Mr. Jenkins believes right away that his son, Bruno, is a mouse.

____2. The grandson’s plan to change all the witches into frogs was successful.

____3. Once the witches changed, Grandmamma and the grandson left the hotel right away.

____4. Grandmamma and the grandson moved back to Norway.

____5. As a mouse, the grandson will only live about 9 years.

____6. Grandmamma and the grandson decided to create a White Mouse Circus.

WRITING A PARAGRAPH: Think about the question and write a paragraph.

What if the grandson wanted to be a boy again? Write a recipe (such as the Formula 86 Delayed Action Mouse-Maker that would turn a mouse back into a boy.

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

21

VOCABULARY: Put the letter of the correct definition on the line in front of the word. Use the page and paragraph number to find the word in the story if necessary.

_____ 1. summon (pg. 180, par. 2) a) inventive, clever, imaginative

_____ 2. mischievous (pg. 182, par. 8) b) remarkable act involving courage, skill

_____ 3. asinine (pg. 180, par. 11) c) behaving in a troublesome but fun way

_____ 4. feats (pg. 190, par. 13) d) group of people who attend to an important person

_____ 5. retinue (pg. 202, par. 2) e) thoughtless and impulsive

_____ 6. ingenious (pg. 191, par. 3) f) send for somebody

_____ 7. rash (pg. 183, par. 3) g) ridiculous; lacking sense

Write YES on the line if the vocabulary word is used correctly.Write NO on the line if the word is used incorrectly.

_____ 1. The store owner summoned the police when he was robbed.

_____ 2. The mischievous boy cleaned up his room.

_____ 3. The teacher said that my asinine story was well organized and made sense.

_____ 4. The circus has some wonderful, exciting feats in their show.

_____ 5. The President’s retinue included the Secret Service, his assistant, and a speech writer.

_____ 6. My ingenious magic trick stumped all of the members in the audience.

_____ 7. I worked really hard to organize the rash plan.

22

ADJECTIVES. Indefinite Adjectives

Indefinite Adjectives do not indicate anything specific about the object.

The most common ones are any, many, few, several.

For example, The baby broke several toys. Several is the indefinite adjective.

Circle the indefinite adjective.

1. The witches hated all children.

2. The grandson liked many things about being a mouse.

3. Grandmamma thought that taking a few baths each year was a good idea.

4. Several witches were turned into mice.

5. The grandson found some frogs under the witch’s bed.

THINKING ABOUT THE STORY: Write true or false on the first line, and then give a reason for your answer on the lines after the word because.

The story of the grandson and his face-to-face encounters with the witches was a happy story.

This statement is _______ because ______________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

23

SECTION 7 Review of the BookCOMPREHENSION: The book you read is going to be made into a movie. Create the movie poster using at least four objects from the book.

24

VOCABULARY: People from Europe (England, Norway) have some words that they use that are not normally heard in the United States. Put the letter of the correct definition on the line in front of the word.

_____ 1. sweetshop (p. 79, par. 7) a) annoying person

_____ 2. lavatory (p. 137, par. 5) b) candy store

_____ 3. blighter (p. 149, par. 6) c) heavy fall, tumble

_____ 4. dotty (pg. 159, par. 4) d) underwear

_____ 5. knickers (pg. 171, par. 1) e) bathroom

_____ 6. cropper (pg. 204, par. 11) f) expressing amazement or shock

_____ 7. blimey (pg. 189, par. 1) g) silly, amusingly strange

THINKING ABOUT THE STORY: Write a paragraph to answer the question.

How are the grandson and Grandmamma going to stop the witches?

_____________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

25

ADJECTIVES. Adjective Types

Review Adjective Types:

Descriptive (color, size, shape) Personal titles (Mr., Uncle, Dr.) Possessive (your, my his) Demonstrative (those, this, that) Indefinite (each, every, few)

Read the paragraphs. Circle the different types of adjectives.

My grandmother made me a tiny toothbrush, using a matchstick for the handle, and into

this she stuck little bits of bristle that she had snipped off one of her hairbrushes. “You must

not get any holes in your teeth,” she said. “I can’t take a mouse to a dentist! He’d think I was

crazy!”

“It’s funny,” I said, “but ever since I became a mouse I’ve hated the taste of sweets and

chocolate. So I don’t think I’ll get any holes.”

“You are still going to brush your teeth after every meal,” my grandmother said. And I

did.

For a bath tub, she gave me a silver sugar basin and I bathed in it every night before

going to bed. She allowed no one else into the house, not even Mrs. Spring who used to clean

the house.

Summary: What did you like the best about this book? ______________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

26