A Wrinkle In Time

Reading Check and Short Answer Questions on key plot points are designed for guided reading assignments, in-class review, formative assessment, quizzes, and more.

Chapters 1-3

Reading Check

1. Who unexpectedly arrives at the Murray household on the dark and stormy night?

2. What comfort drink does Charles Wallace prepare for Meg and his mother?

3. Where do Meg and Charles Wallace go when Meg gets home from school?

4. According to Meg, what happened to her father?

5. Who is Calvin O’Keefe, and how does he meet the Murray children?

Short-Answer Response

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response. 

1. Before she leaves, Mrs. Whatsit mentions a tesseract. How does Meg’s mother respond to that? What does her response imply?

2. Why is Calvin so happy to meet the Murray family? Is he being cruel when he calls Meg and Charles Wallace morons?

Chapters 4-6

Reading Check

1. What does Mrs. Whatsit show the children after flying them to the top of the highest mountain on the planet Uriel?

2. How does Mrs. Who demonstrate a tesser?

3. Where does the Happy Medium live?

4. What do Mrs. Whatsit and Mrs. Who gift to Meg before leaving the children on Camazotz?

5. Where do the children go to find out more about their father?

Short-Answer Response

Answer each of the following questions in a complete sentence or sentences. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Explain how the tesseract works.

2. During the tesser, the children and the Mrs. Ws almost land on a planet where the children can’t breathe. What’s the problem with that planet?

3. How is The Dark Thing impacting Earth? Based on the list of figures listed at the end of Chapter 5, what troubles or powers of darkness might Mrs. Ws be referring to when they explain the nature of the shadow covering Earth?

4. Describe the planet Camazotz.

Paired Resource

What Exactly is a Tesseract? (Hint: Not a Superhero Stone)

• This video from Science ABC presents a visual representation of the 4D shape that Meg could not draw in Chapter 5.
• Connects to the theme It’s Not What Things Look Like; It’s What They Are Like

“Neil deGrasse Tyson - 4D Hypercube Tesseract”

• For the more math-minded, Neil deGrasse Tyson explains the tesseract in geometrical terms.
• The link starts at 1:05:21 when Tyson begins to explain dimensions. The actual information begins at 1:07:26, but the earlier starting point gives context that relates to time travel as L’Engle explains it in the novel.
• This video can be shown in place of or in addition to the one above.
• Why do humans find it difficult to visualize a tesseract?

Chapters 7-9

Reading Check

1. Who or what controls the red-eyed man and Charles Wallace?

2. What reason does the being controlling Charles Wallace give for everyone being happy on Camazotz?

3. How does Meg get through the wall into her father’s prison cell?

4. How does Mr. Murray help Meg and Calvin escape Camazotz?

Short-Answer Response

Answer each of the following questions in a complete sentence or sentences. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. How do the people of Camazotz respond to the children’s ignorant questions about how things work in their city?

2. At the end of Chapter 7, why does Meg say that Charles Wallace is gone?

3. Describe the being that takes over Charles Wallace’s mind.

4. Why does Calvin encourage Meg’s father to tesser them away from Camazotz?

Paired Resource

Wonder of the Day #2840: What Is a Dystopia?

• This Wonderopolis article describes a dystopia and provides literary examples.
• This resource may be paired with the one below.

“Utopia - Dystopia”

• This teacher-created video describes a utopia in student-friendly language.
• Connects to the theme “Like” and “Equal” are Not the Same Thing
• Students should review both resources in order to answer the paired question below.
• Is Camazotz a utopia or dystopia? Does everyone have to be the same for a utopia to exist? Is a utopia really possible? Explain your answer based on the video, article, and evidence from the text.

Brendan Wenzel’s They All Saw a Cat

• This picture book depicts the view several animals have when a cat walks by: from a goldfish in a bowl to a snake to a human child, each animal sees something different.
• This text and ensuing discussion will help students to understand the different ways creatures perceive, a theme L'Engle explores in Chapter 11.
• Relates to the theme It’s Not What Things Look Like; It’s What They Are Like
• How do a creature's size, shape, and senses impact how they perceive the world?

Chapters 10-12

Reading Check

1. What is Meg’s condition when she arrives on the planet Ixchel?

2. Why is Meg in that condition?

3. Where was Mr. Murray headed when he ended up on Camazotz?

4. Who nurses Meg back to health?

5. When and where do the Murrays and Calvin arrive back on Earth?

Short-Answer Response

Answer each of the following questions in a complete sentence or sentences. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. How does L’Engle tell readers that tessering is still dangerous for humans?

2. What impact does the Dark Thing have on Meg’s spirit?

3. Why is Meg the best person to go back and save Charles Wallace?

Recommended Next Reads

Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wind in the Door

• The second book in the Time Quintet series
• The novel follows Meg Murry as she seeks to heal a strange disease contracted by her genius six-year-old brother, Charles Wallace.
• Includes similar themes and motifs as A Wrinkle in Time, including time travel, the battle between light and darkness, and good and evil.
• A Wind in the Door on SuperSummary

Rebecca Stead’s When You Reach Me

• This middle-grade novel takes place in 1970s New York City, following the events of a young girl’s life when everything changes.
• Historical realistic fiction with science fiction elements, it draws directly from L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time.
• Themes include time and time travel, Perception Versus Reality, acts of heroism, and coming of age.
• When You Reach Me on SuperSummary