The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

Use these questions or activities to help gauge students’ familiarity with and spark their interest in the context of the work, giving them an entry point into the text itself.

Short Answer

1. What was life like for families living on farms in America’s Midwest in the late 19th century?

Teaching Suggestion: You may decide to provide your students with these links to explore as part of their prereading homework assignments, assign them computer lab time for the same purpose, or bring up these resources on a smart board or other projection system in your classroom.

• “1850s Pioneer Farm” is a museum website that provides general information on what the average pioneer farm looked like and what methods 1850s farmers used.
• “Life on the Farm” describes the various hardships faced by farmers moving west to farm on the Great Plains.

2. What are some traditional fairy tales you know? What are some common features of these stories?

Teaching Suggestion: This question encourages students to consider typical tropes in fairy tales, including good versus evil, characters’ attempts to safely reach home or family, and moral lessons. These resources are best explored together in class, as the chosen examples also illustrate the violent and distressing content typical of traditional fairy tales; Baum decided to move away from these trends.

• “Grimm’s Fairy Tales: Hansel and Gretel” provides both text and a 16-minute audio reading of the traditional fairy tale “Hansel and Gretel.” The story includes typical features such as protagonists in conflict with evil, scheming characters and protagonists trying to return home—both of which also figure in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Baum critiques gratuitous violence; students may consider whether some elements in this fairy tale may be considered too disturbing for a young audience.
• “Little Red Riding Hood,” in this traditional telling, encapsulates Baum’s critique of gratuitously violent fairy tales aimed at teaching a moral lesson. Students should consider whether this story is enjoyable and whether it is effective at teaching the desired lesson that one should be wary of strangers.

Differentiation Suggestion: For advanced students, a more challenging and detailed version of “Hansel and Gretel” is available at this site.

Personal Connection Prompt

This prompt can be used for in-class discussion, exploratory free-writing, or reflection homework before reading the novel.

Imagine that you live with your family—whom you love dearly—on a drought-ravaged farm in the Midwest in the late 1800s. You are transported to a wonderful, magical land featuring abundant fruit, lush flowers, and flowing brooks, as well as friendly and enchanted creatures and witches. Would you choose to remain in the magical land, knowing that you would never see your family and friends again, or would you attempt to return home? What aspects of home would you miss? How would you feel about the fact that your family has no idea about what happened to you?

Teaching Suggestion: It might be beneficial to allow some quiet reflection time or a brainstorming session before beginning the written response. Later, students might return to their written response to compare what they imagined to the setting descriptions in the story.