Are you looking for a funny, engaging, and thought-provoking novel to enhance your students’ literacy skills and foster their love for reading? If so, consider using “Wayside School is Falling Down” by Louis Sachar in your classroom. This beloved children’s book, first published in 1989, has stood the test of time and captivated generations of readers with its quirky characters, imaginative plot, and subtle humor.
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How Wayside School is Falling Down can benefit your students:
Engaging Storyline: Wayside School is Falling Down is a hilarious and engaging book that will capture your students’ attention from the very beginning. The storyline follows the antics of the students and teachers at Wayside School, a school that was accidentally built 30 stories high with one classroom on each floor. The zany adventures that ensue are sure to entertain your students while also teaching important lessons.
Promotes Reading Comprehension: Wayside School is Falling Down is a challenging yet accessible book that can help students improve their reading comprehension skills. By following the misadventures of the students and teachers of Wayside School, students can learn to identify and analyze plot elements, such as exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution. They can also practice making predictions, connections, inferences, and evaluations based on the text. Moreover, the book’s witty and ironic tone can help students appreciate the subtleties of language and humor, as well as develop their sense of empathy and imagination.
Cultivates Critical Thinking and Creativity: Wayside School is Falling Down is not only a fun book but also a clever one that challenges students to think critically and creatively. For instance, the book presents absurd situations, such as a teacher turning into an apple or a student floating away with balloons, that require students to suspend their disbelief and imagine alternative explanations. It also features complex characters, such as Mrs. Jewls, the eccentric teacher who teaches on the 30th floor, who can inspire students to question stereotypes, assumptions, and conventions. By engaging with such challenges, students can enhance their problem-solving skills, their ability to see things from different perspectives and their confidence in their own ideas. You can also use the book as a jumping-off point for creative writing assignments or art projects.
Teaches Important Life Lessons: Wayside School is Falling Down teaches important life lessons in a fun and engaging way. Through the book’s various characters and situations, your students will learn about the importance of honesty, teamwork, and perseverance.
Boosts Vocabulary and Language Skills: Wayside School is Falling Down is an excellent book for boosting vocabulary and language skills. The book includes plenty of new words and phrases that your students may not be familiar with, which can help expand their vocabulary. Additionally, the book’s engaging storytelling will help your students develop their language skills, including grammar, sentence structure, and more.
Try a free sample of the novel study for Wayside School is Falling Down
By using Wayside School is Falling Down in your classroom, you can provide your students with a fun and engaging reading experience while also teaching important life lessons and developing essential academic skills. So if you’re looking for a book that will benefit your students, Wayside School is Falling Down is an excellent choice.
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!
Sideways Stories from Wayside School is a beloved children’s book written by Louis Sachar. It’s a funny and engaging book that is perfect for elementary school students. Using Sideways Stories from Wayside School in your classroom is an excellent way to provide your students with valuable opportunities to learn, grow, and develop essential skills.
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How can Sideways Stories from Wayside School Benefit Your Students?
Engages Students’ Creativity and Imagination: Sideways Stories from Wayside School engages students’ creativity and imagination. The book is full of imaginative characters, wacky scenarios, and unexpected twists and turns that will keep students on their toes. They will be encouraged to think outside the box and come up with their interpretations which will help them develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
Engaging and Entertaining: Children will be hooked by the book’s humor and will enjoy reading about the peculiar characters and bizarre events that take place at Wayside School.
Improves Reading Comprehension: Sideways Stories from Wayside School is a perfect book for improving students’ reading comprehension. The chapters are short, easy to follow, and filled with humor, making them ideal for reluctant readers. By reading the book, students will be able to develop their vocabulary, improve their reading fluency, and gain a better understanding of different literary devices, such as foreshadowing, irony, and symbolism.
Teaches Valuable Life Lessons: Each chapter in Sideways Stories from Wayside School has a valuable lesson to teach. For example, in one story, a student learns the importance of honesty, while in another, a student learns the value of friendship. These lessons of honesty, kindness, and friendship are presented in a way that is fun and engaging, making it easier for students to understand and apply them in their daily lives.
Fosters a Love of Reading: Sideways Stories from Wayside School can help foster a love of reading among your students. The novel is engaging and fun, which will encourage students to read more and develop a love for books. This love of reading can have a significant impact on their academic and personal lives, as it will open up new worlds of knowledge and imagination.
Fosters a Classroom Community: Reading Sideways Stories from Wayside School as a class read-aloud can foster a classroom community joined through the humor in the book.
Using Sideways Stories from Wayside School in your classroom is an excellent way to engage students’ creativity, improve their reading comprehension, teach valuable life lessons, and foster a love of reading. By incorporating this book into your curriculum, you can help your students develop critical thinking skills and a lifelong love of learning.
Try a free sample of the novel study for Sideways Stories from Wayside School
Whether you use this book for the whole class, small group, or individual instruction, you will find your students laughing and truly enjoying reading. They are so much fun and really open up the reading world for those reluctant readers!
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!
Over forty years ago Louis Sachar brought us the wacky Wayside School with Sideways Stories From Wayside School. He followed up with Wayside School is Falling Down and Wayside School Gets a Little Stranger. Reading these books for read-aloud was one of my favorite things to do as a teacher. The laughter they’d bring out of all students was infectious and the joy really bonded our classroom into a community. I was overjoyed to learn that after forty years Louis the yard teacher (Louis Sachar) has returned to Wayside School with Wayside School Beneath the Cloud of Doom and it’s just as wacky and funny as ever before! Wayside School Beneath the Cloud of Doomby Louis Sachar stands out as a gem to engage and inspire students.
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The Benefits of Using Wayside School Beneath the Cloud of Doom in Your Classroom:
Sparks Imagination and Creativity:Wayside School Beneath the Cloud of Doom transports readers to the zany and imaginative world of Wayside School, a place where the unusual becomes the norm. By integrating this novel into their teaching, educators can tap into the boundless creativity of their students. The book’s absurd and unpredictable scenarios encourage young minds to think outside the box, fostering an environment where imaginative ideas are embraced. Students are given the opportunity to explore unconventional solutions, break away from traditional thinking, and unleash their innate creativity.
Develops Critical Thinking Skills: At its core, the Wayside School series is filled with puzzles, mysteries, and unexpected twists. This offers an excellent platform for teachers to foster critical thinking skills in their students. As the story unfolds, readers are presented with perplexing situations that require them to analyze, deduce, and problem-solve. Teachers can guide their students in deciphering clues, predicting outcomes, and engaging in lively discussions that challenge their reasoning abilities. This novel provides a valuable opportunity for educators to encourage students to think critically and approach problems from multiple perspectives.
Enhances Language Skills: A well-written book is a treasure trove for language development, and Wayside School Beneath the Cloud of Doom is no exception. Sachar’s masterful storytelling captivates readers with vivid descriptions, clever wordplay, and humorous dialogue. By incorporating this novel into their curriculum, teachers can elevate language skills through activities like vocabulary exploration, character analysis, and writing exercises. The book’s engaging narrative will encourage students to expand their vocabulary, improve their reading comprehension, and develop a love for language.
Promotes Social and Emotional Learning: Education is not just about academics; it also encompasses the emotional growth of students. Wayside School Beneath the Cloud of Doom portrays a diverse cast of characters, each with their own quirks and challenges. This provides an opportunity for teachers to facilitate discussions about empathy, compassion, and inclusivity. Students can reflect on the characters’ emotions and experiences, cultivating social and emotional learning skills. By exploring themes such as friendship, resilience, and problem-solving, educators can foster a positive and supportive classroom environment.
Enhancing Teamwork and Collaboration: Collaboration and teamwork are integral skills that prepare students for success in the real world. Wayside School Beneath the Cloud of Doom portrays a group of students who must work together to overcome obstacles and achieve their goals. Teachers can utilize the book to inspire cooperative learning activities, encouraging students to collaborate, communicate, and contribute their unique strengths to solve problems. Through the experiences of the characters, students learn the value of teamwork, effective communication, and the power of collective effort.
Encourages a Love for Reading: One of the greatest gifts a teacher can give their students is a love for reading. Wayside School Beneath the Cloud of Doom is an enchanting and hilarious tale that captivates young readers and instills in them a passion for literature. By immersing students in a world filled with laughter, adventure, and whimsy, teachers can ignite a lifelong love for reading. This novel serves as a gateway to further exploration of literature and encourages students to explore other works by Louis Sachar and beyond.
Wayside School Beneath the Cloud of Doom by Louis Sachar is an exceptional resource for teachers seeking to create an engaging and enriching learning environment. From nurturing creativity and critical thinking to promoting empathy and teamwork, this whimsical novel offers a multitude of benefits for both educators and students. By incorporating this book into their classrooms, teachers can spark imagination, encourage analytical thinking, foster emotional intelligence, and enhance collaboration among their students. Embrace the magic of Wayside School Beneath the Cloud of Doom and unlock a world of endless possibilities in education.
I offer a complete novel study to accompany Wayside School Beneath the Cloud of Doom 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.
Try a free sample of the novel study for Wayside School Beneath the Cloud of Doom
You can purchase this novel study at the following locations:
You can also buy all four units together in a discounted bundle!
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!
One of my favorite children’s authors is Louis Sachar. I love his quirky sense of humor, and even more, I love sharing this humor with my students and giggling right along with them! I have many “inside jokes” with my students where the humor brings us together as a community. I am a big advocate for humor in children’s literature because it draws out those reluctant readers and shows them how truly enjoyable reading can be. Often this spark gets these students exploring other forms of literature and leads them on a journey of a lifelong love of reading. One of my favorite Louis Sachar books is Sideways Stories From Wayside School. Even though I have read this book, and the two sequels, more times than I can count, I still get a chuckle each and every time. The Wayside School series is great for a class read-aloud or to use as a novel study.
Sideways Stories is told from the point of view of Louis the Yard Teacher, which Louis Sachar based on himself. He spent a college semester working as an aid in an elementary school and spent some of that time as “Louis the Yard Teacher”. Sachar also based most of his characters from the book on students he worked with during that time. Sideways Stories was Louis Sachar’s first book, published in 1978, but it took several years to gain widespread popularity.
Wayside School was an architectural mistake. It was mistakenly built 30 stories tall with only one classroom per story. The story revolves around the class on the 30th story. The book begins by telling us the story of the teacher on the 30th story, Mrs. Gorf. Mrs. Gorf has a special talent that leads to her demise and is replaced by Mrs. Jewls in chapter 2. Mrs. Jewls is a sweet but somewhat naive teacher, which leads to big laughs. A lot of humor comes from Mrs. Jewls’ seeming lack of common sense. The other teacher discussed in the last chapter is Louis the Yard Teacher. All the rest of the chapters (there are 30, of course!) detail a student. Each student is unique in some ironic, humorous way.
I have used this book in several different ways in my classroom. First, I have used it as a read-aloud to spark a sense of community. Reading, discussing, and laughing together brings a class together. I can read this at the beginning of the year and still have kids quoting it or bringing up a joke at the end of the year. I have yet to find a child who did not thoroughly enjoy this book.
Reasons to Use the Wayside School Series for Novel Studies
Engaging storytelling: The Wayside School series is full of humor and unique storytelling that keeps students engaged and entertained.
Relevant themes: The books explore themes such as friendship, perseverance, and individuality that are relatable to students and promote important life lessons.
Easy-to-follow narrative: The books are written in a simple and straightforward style, making them accessible to students of all reading levels.
Diverse characters: The series features a diverse cast of characters, offering students the opportunity to see themselves and others represented in literature.
Cross-curricular connections: The Wayside School series can be used to connect with other subjects, such as history, mathematics, and social studies, making it a versatile tool for teachers.
Try a free sample of the novel study for Sideways Stories from Wayside School
Whether you use these books for the whole class, small group, or individual instruction, you will find your students laughing and truly enjoying reading. Even if you don’t use these units in your class, include them in a class library for your students to read or read as a class read-aloud. Whatever you do, make sure your students have access to these books! They are so much fun and open up the reading world for those reluctant readers!
You can purchase this novel study bundle which contains both a printable and a Google Drive™ format at the following location:
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!
