Report to the Principal's Office, by Jerry Spinelli: A Book Club Guide

This is a 23 page, ready-to-use packet intended to guide students in grades 4-6 as they read Report to the Principal's Office, by Jerry Spinelli. Included are a vocabulary bookmark, a 14-page student booklet, a 20-point book test, and an answer key for both the booklet and the test. The student booklet is divided into four reading assignments with questions and tasks to go with each one. The questions and tasks in this booklet reinforce the skills that good readers need to understand and maintain. They include comprehension, questioning, visualization, point-of-view, summarizing, connecting to the text, identifying character traits, and understanding similes. The packet gives students essential practice in writing to explain their thinking and to demonstrate their understanding.
The student booklet is designed for independent work so that students may be working on this in class while the teacher is meeting with another group. In my 4th grade classroom students were responsible for completing one reading assignment with the accompanying questions each week. They would then meet once a week with me (or an aide or a parent) along with the other students reading the same book (we called this a "book club meeting") to discuss the book and review the assignments. What worked for me may not work for you...so feel free to create your own routines!

REPORT TO THE PRINCIPAL'S OFFICE in a nutshell:

This high-interest, easy-to-read book by award-winning Jerry Spinelli is ideal for reluctant readers or students who just enjoy a humorous, no-holds-barred look at the wild side of life as a sixth grader. All of the students, teachers, and even the principal are new to Plumstead Middle School. Some of the characters have eagerly awaited the opening of this new school while others have dreaded it and are out to get revenge. Whether readers love school or hate it, they will surely identify with Eddie, Sunny, Salem, and Pickles as they begin life in middle school. Created by Jean Martin.

Appropriate for students in grades 4-6. Reading level is 4th grade.

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