The Whipping Boy, by Sid Fleischman: A Novel Study

This is a 17 page ready-to-use packet designed for teachers to use with students in grades 4-8 who are reading The Whipping Boy, by Sid Fleischman. It includes a 11 page student booklet (along with answer key) designed to reinforce essential reading and writing skills (vocabulary, comprehension, inference, summarizing, and reasoning). Also included is a short end-of-book quiz and answer key as well as vocabulary bookmarks for students to use while reading.

To create the student packets, just copy and give three staples on the left side. The booklet is divided into three reading assignments with questions and tasks to go with each one. It 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 classroom students were responsible for completing one reading assignment with the accompanying questions each week. They would be given three, 40 minute periods per week to complete one assignment. 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 be what works best for you. For example, instead of using this as class work, the packet could also be used as homework. Also, instead of creating a booklet, the pages can be copied and handed out singly as separate assignments. You might like to have readers who are more challenged by the work do partner reading and complete tasks together.



The Whipping Boy a nutshell:

This is a delightful fantasy in which Prince Horace (commonly called "Prince Brat") is well known for his poor and spoiled behavior. Jemmy is his whipping boy and receives all the whippings that the prince should be getting...hence he doesn't appreciate the prince's errant ways! When the prince decides to run away, their real adventures and life lessons begin.

Appropriate for students in grades 4-8. Reading level approximately 5-6th grade. Challenging vocabulary!
(Created by Jean Martin)

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