Welcome to the first installment of our free novel study for The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Chapter 1: “The Cyclone!” Whether you’re teaching the full novel or using select chapters for skill practice, this post is packed with flexible, classroom-ready ideas. Each chapter includes a summary, targeted teaching strategies, and creative ways to bring the story to life – no matter your teaching style.
Before diving into Chapter 1, be sure to check out these three helpful resources to get started.
Tips on pacing, setup, and how to use the materials across grade levels.
Includes word lists, bookmarks, word wall cards, and more – great for planning ahead.
Get vocabulary practice, comprehension questions, and organizers for this chapter.
🌪️ Summary
Chapter 1 “The Cyclone”
Dorothy lives on the gray, windswept Kansas prairie with her Uncle Henry, Aunt Em, and her cheerful little dog, Toto. Life is quiet and colorless until a sudden cyclone sweeps across the land. As Aunt Em and Uncle Henry rush to the storm cellar, Dorothy is caught inside the house with Toto. The wind lifts the house into the air, spinning it wildly through the sky. Hours pass as Dorothy rides in the eye of the storm, eventually curling up in bed and falling asleep – still airborne.
This chapter introduces the stark setting of Kansas and hints at Dorothy’s resilience and curiosity. The mood is somber and subdued, setting the stage for the vibrant contrast to come.
Chapter 1 “The Cyclone” Projects
Mentor Sentences
One way to turn classic literature into a powerful teaching tool is to pull mentor sentences straight from the text. Instead of random worksheets, students get to see grammar, punctuation, and style in action inside a story they’re already reading.
Here are a few examples you can use right from Chapter 1 of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz:
1. Dorothy lived in the midst of the great Kansas prairies, with Uncle Henry, who was a farmer, and Aunt Em, who was the farmer’s wife.
📌 Teaching Focus: Comma Rules
- Show students how commas set off nonessential information (“who was a farmer” / “who was the farmer’s wife”).
- Have students practice rewriting the sentence without the descriptive phrase to see that the core meaning stays the same.
2. He ran about the room, now here, now there, barking loudly; but Dorothy sat quite still on the floor and waited to see what would happen.
📌 Teaching Focus: Compound Sentences
- Highlight the semicolon and coordinating conjunction (; but) joining two complete thoughts.
- Challenge students to create their own compound sentence with semicolons, modeled after Baum’s rhythm.
3. Uncle Henry never laughed.
📌 Teaching Focus: Short Sentences for Effect
- Even though Baum often uses long, descriptive sentences, this very short one packs power.
- Ask students: Why might the author use such a short sentence here?
- Extension: Have students write a “serious” short sentence in their own descriptive paragraph to mimic the effect.
Teacher Tip: Keep mentor sentence practice quick. Post one of these sentences on the board, read it aloud together, then spend 5–10 minutes noticing the grammar/punctuation feature. Over time, students start to recognize these patterns naturally in their own writing.
Chapter 1: “The Cyclone” Figurative Language
This chapter is rich with figurative language that paints mood and movement.
Examples:
- The sun and wind had changed her, too. → Personification
- Dorothy felt as if she were going up in a balloon. → Simile
- Hour after hour passed away, and slowly Dorothy got over her fright; but she felt quite lonely, and the wind shrieked so loudly all about her that she nearly became deaf.→ Hyperbole
Teaching Focus:
- Have students identify the type of figurative language and explain its effect.
- Create a “Figurative Language Wall” with illustrated examples from the chapter.
- Challenge: Rewrite one figurative sentence as a literal statement and discuss how the tone changes.
Tornado Swirl Art Project
Give students a chance to bring the famous cyclone to life with a tactile art project. Start by providing cardstock or heavyweight drawing paper for durability. Students draw the Kansas farmhouse, the house spinning in the sky, or even the colorful moment the house lands in Oz as their background scene. Next, using a bottle of white school glue (with the nozzle adjusted so only a thin stream comes out), they draw swirling tornado lines directly over the picture. While the glue is still wet, sprinkle salt or sand that has been tinted with watercolor or tempera paint, or even a mix of both. Once dry, the textured tornado will stand out in 3D. For a striking display, arrange the finished tornadoes on a bulletin board in a checkerboard pattern, alternating with short descriptive writings about Dorothy’s journey.
Chapter 1 The Cyclone Focus Skills
Constructed Response Skill – Exploring Setting
Students analyze the setting of Kansas by examining its place, time, importance, and mood. They use textual evidence to describe how the setting influences Dorothy and foreshadows the adventure ahead.
Standards: RL.5.3, RL.6.3, RL.7.3
Language Arts Skill – Latin Root voc/vok
This chapter introduces the root voc/vok, meaning “to call” or “voice.” Students explore how this root appears in words like vocal, invoke, and provocation, using a foldable organizer to define and apply each term.
Standards: L.5.4.b, L.6.1.a, L.7.4.b
Click here to download the FREE Chapter 1 resource.
Next: Chapter 2 – The Council with the MunchkinsGet Four Free Novel Studies!
3 comments
Hello, I clicked on the Free Foldables pic and it brings me here but I don’t see where to click to download them. Are they still available? Thank you so much, Delma Martinez
Author
Each Chapter/Lesson contains one foldable organizer. The pronoun foldables may be found in Chapters 5-9 of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz unit.
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