PENGUIN READERS
Teacher’s notes LEVEL 3
Jim Smiley and his Jumping Frog and Other Stories
Mark Twain
About the author
In 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.
Summary
This 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
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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 Frog
The 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 War
The 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 Russia
In 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 Story
A 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 Connecticut
This 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 Vanderbilt
In 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
Jim Smiley and his Jumping Frog and Other Stories - Teacher’s notes 1 of 3

Teacher’s notes LEVEL 3
Jim Smiley and his Jumping Frog and Other Stories
Cornelius Vanderbilt welcomes Ed to his home and soon
gives him a management job in his new tobacco company.
When Ed rewards his friends with jobs in the company,
they can’t believe their good luck!
A Dog’s Life
A 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
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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 1–5
Before reading
1 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 reading
2 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 –14
Before reading
3 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 reading
4 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 –19
Before reading
5 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 reading
6 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?

Teacher’s notes LEVEL 3
Jim Smiley and his Jumping Frog and Other Stories
Mr. Smith says, “Why don’t we help them when they are
alive?” What do you think?
Passport to Russia, pages 20 –28
Before reading
7 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 reading
8 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 –33
Before reading
9 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 reading
10 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 – 40
Before reading
11 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?
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After reading
12 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– 46
Before reading
13 Discuss: Talk about practical jokes.
How do you feel if your friends play practical jokes on
you?
After reading
14 Discuss: Talk about Cornelius Vanderbilt.
Do you think he knew that the letter was a joke?
A Dog’s Life, pages 47–52
Before reading
15 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 reading
16 Pair work: Have students exchange opinions about
the character.
What do you think of Mr. Gray?
Extra activities
17 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.
Vocabulary activities
For the Word List and vocabulary activities, go to
www.penguinreaders.com.