Friday, October 17, 2014

Book of the Week: Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day





Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst

Last week this new movie hit theaters nationwide. I am not sure the movie could ever be as great as the book, but to build on the enthusiasm our students have for the movie we using the book next week. If you do not yet know about Alexander, his day starts out with gum in his hair and dropping his sweater in the sink and it only gets worse from there. He gets sick on the way to school, his best friend no longer likes him and his teacher does not enjoy his invisible picture. As things progressively get more terrible he openly warns he moving to Australia. The story ends at bedtime with Alexander contemplating that everyone has bad days, even in Australia.

Vocabulary: Dentist, Terrible, Horrible, Invisible, dessert, shoe store, carpool, seat, Cry-baby, tattling, bullying, loud, Australia, sixteen,

Story Questions:

If you look at the title what can you tell about Alexander?
Why did he have Gum in his hair?
What happens to his sweater?
Have you ever had a bad day? How did it make you feel?
Why didn’t his teacher understand that it was an invisible castle?
Why do you think Paul acted unfriendly to Alexander?
What was wrong at lunch time?
Alexander dreams of running away to Australia but would that solve his problem?
What happened at the shoe store?
Alexander had a cavity, what does that mean?
How does Alexander’s father feel when he comes to visit? Why?
What happens at the end?
Did you like this story? Why or Why not? 
Extension Activities:


You can see the movie trailer here:




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