The Report Card by Andrew Clements touches on a lot of hot topics that can bring about some lively class discussions. It is a great book to use in your classroom or homeschool for a whole class novel study, small book groups, or individual book studies.
We read a lot of books about the underdog, the kid fighting learning problems or disabilities in some way and they are fantastic in helping students gain empathy towards others that may struggle in different ways than we do. The Report Card flips the narrative and discusses what it may be like to be the smartest kid in class. What stigma does that give a student? How might it make them feel as much as an outcast as the student with a learning disability?
The Report Card also brings about the controversial topic of standardized testing and how it affects students of all abilities. How valuable are these tests? Do they cause more harm than good? My personal opinion is a resounding YES, but I digress for this book review. 😉
From the Book Jacket:
Nora Rose Rowley is a genius, but don’t tell anyone. She’s managed to make it to the fifth grade without anyone figuring out that she’s not just an ordinary kid, and she wants to keep it that way.
But then Nora gets fed up with the importance everyone attaches to test scores and grades, and she purposely brings home a terrible report card just to prove a point. Suddenly the attention she’s successfully avoided all her life is focused on her, and her secret is out. And that’s when things start to get really complicated….
Try a free sample of the novel study for The Report Card
I think you will be hard-pressed to find a student who can’t relate to someone in The Report Card. This book will drive some great discussions in your classroom and will help students look at learning and testing in a different light and hopefully realize that a person is so much more than a test score or a grade.
I offer a complete novel study to accompany The Report Card for use in the classroom or homeschool. The unit includes both a printable format and a Google Drive™ format for use in a paperless classroom or with Google Classroom.
You can purchase this novel study at the following locations:
Are you interested in reading about and sharing ideas with other educators on using children’s literature in your classroom? My goal is to bring together teachers and homeschoolers who teach grades 3-8 and use novels with their students. I’d love for you to join me to learn, share, and grow together!
Andrew Clements in the master of school stories that kids can relate to. No Talking, published in 2007, is no exception. It is a great book to use in your classroom or homeschool for a whole class novel study, small book groups, or individual book studies.
No talking, which won the California Young Reader Medal in 2010, is a humorous book about words unspoken, words spoken in anger, and especially about the power of words spoken in kindness. Andrew Clements has created a thought-provoking and entertaining novel that will appeal to the average fifth-grader.
From the Book Jacket:
“You have the right to remain silent.” However…
The fifth-grade girls and the fifth-grade boys at Laketon Elementary don’t get along very well. But the real problem is that these kids are loud and disorderly. That’s why the principal uses her red plastic bullhorn. A lot.
Then one day Dave Packer, a certified loudmouth, bumps into an idea — a big one that makes him try to keep quiet for a whole day. But what does Dave hear during lunch? A girl, Lynsey Burgess, jabbering away. So Dave breaks his silence and lobs an insult. And those words spark a contest: Which team can say the fewest words during two whole days? And it’s the boys against the girls.
How do the teachers react to the silence? What happens when the principal feels she’s losing control? And will Dave and Lynsey plunge the whole school into chaos?
Try a free sample of the novel study for No Talking
No Talking instills an inspiring moral message and creates vivid mental illustrations. The reader is led to be reflective of the type of language they use and how easily communication can be taken for granted. This is a book that can lead to many great class discussions. No Talking inspires and challenges students to become active critical thinkers of how language and communication play an integral part in our lives.
I offer a complete novel study to accompany No Talking for use in the classroom or homeschool. The unit includes both a printable format and a Google Drive™ format for use in a paperless classroom or with Google Classroom.
You can purchase this novel study at the following locations:
Are you interested in reading about and sharing ideas with other educators on using children’s literature in your classroom? My goal is to bring together teachers and homeschoolers who teach grades 3-8 and use novels with their students. I’d love for you to join me to learn, share, and grow together!
Frindle is the first novel by award-winning author, Andrew Clements. It is a great book to use in your classroom or homeschool for a whole class novel study, small book groups, or individual book studies.
Nick is a fifth-grader who is full of creative ideas but isn’t the best at executing them in the most appropriate ways. He’s a student that many kids can relate to and the book has a great lesson about how you can use your creativity for good to lead you to great success.
From the Book Jacket:
Is Nick Allen a troublemaker? He really just likes to liven things up at school — and he’s always had plenty of great ideas. When Nick learns some interesting information about how words are created, suddenly he’s got the inspiration for his best plan ever…the frindle. Who says a pen has to be called a pen? Why not call it a frindle? Things begin innocently enough as Nick gets his friends to use the new word. Then other people in town start saying frindle. Soon the school is in an uproar, and Nick has become a local hero. His teacher wants Nick to put an end to all this nonsense, but the funny thing is frindle doesn’t belong to Nick anymore. The new word is spreading across the country, and there’s nothing Nick can do to stop it.
Frindle explores the question of how language is created, used, and changed. It shows how even a fifth-grader can influence how we use language. I encourage you to introduce your students to Nick and the almighty Frindle! You will love where it takes you!
I offer a complete novel study to accompany Frindle for use in the classroom or homeschool. The unit includes both a printable format and a Google Drive™ format for use in a paperless classroom or with Google Classroom.
You can purchase this novel study at the following locations:
Are you interested in reading about and sharing ideas with other educators on using children’s literature in your classroom? My goal is to bring together teachers and homeschoolers who teach grades 3-8 and use novels with their students. I’d love for you to join me to learn, share, and grow together!
An entertaining and thought-provoking book to use in the classroom during the holidays is The Last Holiday Concert by Andrew Clements!
From the Back Cover: For Hart Evans, being the most popular kid in sixth grade has its advantages. Kids look up to him, and all the teachers let him get away with anything — all the teachers except the chorus director, Mr. Meinert. When Hart’s errant rubber band hits Mr. Meinert on the neck during chorus practice, it’s the last straw for the chorus director, who’s just learned he’s about to lose his job due to budget cuts. So he tells the class they can produce the big holiday concert on their own. Or not. It’s all up to them. And who gets elected to run the show? The popular Mr. Hart Evans.
Hart soon discovers there’s a big difference between popularity and leadership, and to his surprise, discovers something else as well — it’s really important to him that this be the best holiday concert ever, and even more important, that it not be the last.
Try a free sample of the novel study for The Last Holiday Concert
The Last Holiday Concert is a great book to help students develop greater empathy for their teachers and the challenges they face. It also helps students see that things aren’t always as easy as they seem and problems may not always have simple solutions.
Work this fantastic, classic children’s novel into your classroom during this holiday season. You and your students will not be sorry!
You can purchase this novel study which contains both a printable and a Google Drive™ format at the following locations:
Are you interested in reading about and sharing ideas with other educators on using children’s literature in your classroom? My goal is to bring together teachers and homeschoolers who teach grades 3-8 and use novels with their students. I’d love for you to join me to learn, share, and grow together!
From the Back Cover: 
