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Book Study
Class Discussion
Did Rowley and Greg make up? Why do you think that?
Assessment Activities
Activity 1: Kahoot Review
Use the Kahoot game for a fun, quick review of the book.
Activity 2: Book Review
Students can use this fun free template by Live Love and Teach to review, rate, and give their opinion of the book.
Activity 3: Student Created Test
Student-generated tests are a way for students to retrieve or recall information and process it in a new way.
Have students collaborate to create a true/false, fill in the blank, and/or multiple choice.
Digital alternatives include Kahoot, Google Forms, and Quizziz. Students could also create a video asking “live” questions.
Final Project: Comic Strip
Help your students become comfortable with writing by using simple projects like comic strips.
Materials you will need:
- Colored pencils, crayons, or markers
- Drawing paper
- Pencils
- Ruler
- Newspaper comic strips (at least one for each student)
Step 1
Distribute the newspaper comic strips to students. Give students time to read their strips and pass them around.
Step 2
Discuss the comic strips’ common features. Create a list on the board. (This could also work for a small group activity with the students sharing out their lists). For example, comics usually feature short conversations between characters, one picture per frame, different perspectives, and a humorous situation or dialogue. Use the image on differenceengine.sg as a discussion springboard.
Step 3
Brainstorm with students to come up with a subject or storyline for their strip. It helps to think about where it takes place—at school, outer space, another country, at home? Encourage students to be creative.
Check out Sunnyville Stories for more ideas.
Step 4
Have students share with a partner their idea and get feedback. Does the other student think it’s funny? How could it be funnier?
Step 5
Students use a ruler to draw a rectangle as wide as the paper. Divide the rectangle into 4-5 squares. The squares should be large enough to include the drawings and the conversational text (speech bubbles, thought bubbles, etc.). Informational text can be included beneath the square.
Step 6
Students draw their pictures in each of the frames, making sure they will have room for speech and thought bubbles.
This article from Imagine Forest gives a quick overview of creating a comic strip and can be used as an assignment or teacher background.
Step 7
Add interest with color and outlines.
Alternate activity: Students can adapt a scene from the book into a comic strip.
Expansion activity: Students can take their comic strip to a higher level by learning how to draw like Jeff Kinney.
Digital Alternatives: Google Slides, Comic Life (free trial here), Canva, and Adobe Spark are just a few digital resources that can be used for creating comics.
Download the rubric.
