The Elephant Man

A C T I V I T I E S

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A C T I V I T I E S

Before Reading

1 Read the story introduction on the first page of the book, and the back cover. H o w much do you k n o w now about the Elephant M a n ? T i c k one box for each sentence.

YES N O

1 People laugh at h im. ED CD 2 H e is very old. ED ED 3 H i s mother loves h im. ED ED 4 People put h im in a cage, like an animal . ED ED 5 Children like h im. ED ED 6 A doctor wants to study him. ED ED 7 H i s name is Joseph Merr i ck . ED EH

2 What is going to happen in the story? C a n you guess? T i c k one box for each sentence.

YES N O PERHAPS

1 The doctor helps the Elephant M a n . ED EH ED 2 The Elephant M a n kil ls somebody. ED ED ED 3 The Elephant M a n lives to be a very

old man. • ED • 4 The Elephant M a n finds a home. ED ED ED 5 The Elephant M a n finds a wife. ED ED ED 6 The Elephant M a n makes some friends. ED ED ED 7 Somebody kills the Elephant M a n . ED ED ED

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A C T I V I T I E S

While Reading Read Chapters 1 and 2, and answer these questions.

1 What did D r Treves see in the window of the shop?

2 W h o did D r Treves give twelve pence to?

3 H o w did D r Treves feel when he saw the Elephant Man?

4 W h y couldn't the Elephant M a n walk well?

5 H o w did D r Treves and Merr i ck get to the hospital?

6 What did D r Treves give Merr ick?

D r Treves wrote about M e r r i c k in a little book. Use these words to complete his sentences. (Use each word once.) Then draw a picture of the Elephant M a n .

bag, big, enormous, fingers, hair, man's, nose, skin, tooth

1 Hi s head is very , and it looks like an enormous

with a lot of books in it.

2 There is not much on his head, and the on

his face cannot move.

3 A n enormous red comes out of his mouth, under

his .

4 The right arm is and the right hand is like a

foot, but the of the left hand are long and

beautiful.

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ACTIVITIES: While Reading

Read Chapters 3 and 4. Choose the best question-word for these questions, and then answer them.

Why I Who I What

1 . . . did the police bring Merr i ck to the hospital?

2 . . . did M r Carr G o m m write to The Times newspaper?

3 . . . did the readers of The Times do?

4 . . . did Merr i ck have a picture of?

5 . . . d id the nurse do when she saw Merr ick?

6 . . . did Merr ick want to live in a lighthouse?

When the police found M e r r i c k (in Chapter 3), they asked him some questions. Complete their conversation. (Use as many words as you like.)

P O L I C E : N o w , M r M e r r i c k . Where do you live, sir?

M E R R I C K :

P O L I C E : D o you have any money, sir?

M E R R I C K :

P O L I C E : W h y not? What happened to your money?

M E R R I C K :

POLICE: Y O U can't stay in prison. Where do you want to go

now?

M E R R I C K :

P O L I C E : Why? D o you k n o w somebody there?

M E R R I C K :

P O L I C E : A h , I see. A l l right, sir. Let's go and see h i m now.

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ACTIVITIES: While Reading

Before you read Chapters 5, 6, and 7, think about Merr ick ' s life. Is it going to be different now? Some of these things are going to happen. C a n you guess which?

H e never goes out. H e visits a lighthouse.

H e reads a lot. H e goes to a theatre.

Hi s mother visits h im. A nurse wants to marry h im.

The Queen visits h im. He is very happy.

H e makes new friends. H e gets very i l l .

Read Chapter 5. W h o said or wrote this, and to whom?

1 ' A beautiful lady smiled at me and shook my hand! '

2 'There is a new visitor to see you today.'

3 'I often read about you in the newspapers.'

4 'I 'm happy every hour of the day!'

5 'I do like visiting you very much. '

6 'It is the best thing in my room, the very best. . .'

Read Chapters 6 and 7. Here are some untrue sentences about them. Change them into true sentences.

1 Merr i ck often went out of the hospital by himself.

2 Merr i ck thought and played like a man.

3 Merr i ck was very pleased with the bad man in the play.

4 Merr i ck did not like staying in the country.

5 Merr i ck usually slept on his back.

6 Nobody was sorry when the Elephant M a n died.

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A C T I V I T I E S — _

After Reading

1 Can you find the eleven words from the story hidden in this word search? Words go from left to right, and from top to bottom.

N V F I S H K W D P U F L O D O C T O R R G H D T S D K G L S D C Y D P E U R F E V O J F I N G E R S Q U H K T E L R I S z N W R A G Y P E

w V T G G L M T F N B I R D S H M K Y D

Q E Y J Q U E E N S

N o w use ten of the words from the word search to complete this passage.

Joseph Merr i ck , the Elephant M a n , lived in the London

. H e was a very man but most of the

liked h im. Alexandra was one of his . One

summer he stayed in a house in the . H e saw

in a stream, and talked to and a . 'He was very

happy there,' Treves said.

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ACTIVITIES: After Reading

2 Here is a conversation between D r Treves and the new nurse (see pages 17 and 18). The conversation is in the wrong order. Write it out in the correct order and put in the speakers' names. The nurse speaks first (number 2).

1 'Yes. I started work this morning. '

2 ' D r Treves, D r Treves! He lp ! '

3 'I dropped his food on the floor and ran out. I

was afraid. Is he very il l? '

4 ' O h , doctor, there's a horrible creature in M r

Merr ick ' s room! '

5 'What's the matter, nurse? W h y are you

screaming?'

6 ' A l l right, doctor. Thank you. '

7 'That's M r Merr ick , nurse! H e looks like that.

What did you do in the room?'

8 'It's got an enormous head wi th an elephant's

tooth in its mouth, and a big horrible arm!'

9 ' N o , M r Merr ick isn't i l l , but he's very ugly.

N o w sit down and listen to me, nurse. Is this your

first day here?'

10 'What does this horrible creature look like?'

11 ' W e l l , don't be afraid of M r Merr i ck . H e isn't

horrible. He's a nice, k ind man. N o w go back in that

room, and talk to h im. A l l right?'

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ACTIVITIES: After Reading

3 Here is a new illustration for the story. F ind the best place in the story to put the picture, and answer these questions.

The picture goes on page .

1 Where is the Elephant M a n going in this picture? 2 Where was he before this?

3 What happened to him when he arrived?

N o w write a caption for the illustration.

Caption:

SO

ACTIVITIES: After Reading

4 Here is a newspaper story about the Elephant M a n . Use the linking words below to complete the story. (Use some of the words more than once.)

but I and I because I so I when

Last night Joseph Merrick, the famous 'Elephant M a n ' ,

died. Merr ick did not have an easy life. His mother gave

him to a man called Silcock, Silcock took him from

town to town, to make rnoney. Silcock left him in

Belgium, Merr ick came back to England. H e was not i l l ,

he could not work, the London Hospital gave

him a home. There, people were kind to him for the first

time in his life, he had many friends.

'He had a very ugly body,' said his friend D r Treves,

' we all liked him he was a good, k ind man. '

5 The Elephant Man is a true story. Which of these sentences do you agree (A) or disagree (D) with? Can you say why?

1 It is a very sad story.

2 It is a sad story, but a happy one too.

3 Joseph Merrick ' s mother was a bad woman, because she

gave her son to Silcock.

4 Very ugly people, like Joseph Merr ick , can never have a

happy life.

5 Doctors and hospitals can do wonderful things now, SO

people like Joseph M e r r i c k don't have unhappy lives.

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A B O U T T H E A U T H O R

T i m Vicary is an experienced teacher and writer, and has

written several stories for the Oxford Bookworms Library.

Many of these are in the TbflO/ft & A d v e n t u r e series, such as

White Death (at Stage 1) or , » k e r h e ElePhant Man, in the

True Stories series, such as fhe C o l d e S t P l a c e °» Earth (also

at Stage 1), which tells the stOW o f t h e r a c e between Scott and

Amundsen to the South Pole. He has also published two long

novels, The Blood upon the Hose a n d C a t a n d M o u s e -

T i m Vicary has two childr e n > a n d k e e P s d oS s> cats, and horses. He lives and works in York , ifl the north of England.

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