Reading Unit based on Frindle by Andrew Clements.

Focused on the following Common Core State Standards:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.3.1
Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis
for the answers.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.3.2
Recount stories, including fables, folktales, and myths from diverse cultures; determine the central message,
lesson, or moral and explain how it is conveyed through key details in the text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.3.3
Describe characters in a story (e.g., their traits, motivations, or feelings) and explain how their actions
contribute to the sequence of events
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.3.4.A
Use sentence-level context as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase.


Frindle is the book chosen for this unit because the juxtaposition of the two main characters lends itself
to character analysis and the made up word Frindle provides a way of thinking about the origin of words
and context of their use in sentences.


This unit is based on daily class readings coupled with class discussions, individual work, and
group/partner work. Each of the corresponding assignments goes with a particular chapter or chapters
in the book and should be completed in order.





Introduction to the book- Day 1


Class Discussion of Character Traits/ Introduction to the book
Ask the following questions, allowing for multiple answers and further discussion.

Lets use a character from a book we have previously read as a class for an example, Mr. Willy Wonka.
How would you describe him?
How do we know all of those things about him?
The way we describe someone is called their personality or character traits.

Today we are going to start reading a book called Frindle by Andrew Clements. While we read this book
we are going to be looking for character traits in the book. While we read I want you to pay attention to
things the character says and does that might help you understand their character trait
(Teacher- after completing the following assignment read Chapter 1)



You are going to use the following list of character traits to describe yourself. Then you are going to
switch with a partner and they will write down what traits they would use to describe you. You are also
going to include the reasons why you chose each of those traits. You cant just say someone is cool, you
have to explain why. This list includes both good and bad character traits. Today, we are only going to use
good character traits to describe our partners. We will use some of the negative traits later when we refer
back to this list, but we dont want to hurt anyones feelings today. If you dont know what one of the
traits means, feel free to look it up in your dictionary.

Sample Character Traits
active
adventurous
affectionate
ambitious
angry
annoyed
anxious
attentive
bad
bold
bored
bossy
brainy
brave
bright
brilliant
busy
calm
careful
careless
cautious
cheerful
childish
clever
clumsy
concerned
confident
confused
considerate
cooperative
courageous
cowardly
cruel
curious
dangerous
daring
demanding
dependable
determined
discouraged
dishonest
disrespectful
doubtful
eager
easygoing
efficient
embarrassed
encouraging
energetic
evil
excited
expert
fair
faithful
fearless
fierce
foolish
friendly
frustrated
funny
gentle
giving
gloomy
good
graceful
grateful
greedy
grouchy
grumpy
guilty
happy
harsh
hateful
healthy
helpful
honest
hopeful
hopeless
humorous
imaginative
impatient
impolite
inconsiderate
innocent
intelligent
jealous
kindly
lazy
leader
lively
lonely
loving
loyal
lucky
mature
mean
messy
miserable
mysterious
naughty
nervous
nice
noisy
obedient
obnoxious
old
peaceful
picky
pleasant
polite
poor
popular
positive
precise
proper
proud
quick
quiet
reliable
religious
responsible
restless
rough
rowdy
rude
satisfied
scared
secretive
selfish
serious
sharp
short
shy
silly
skillful
sly
smart
sneaky
spoiled
stingy
strange
strict
stubborn
sweet
talented
tall
thankful
thoughtful
thoughtless
tired
tolerant
touchy
trusting
trustworthy
unfriendly
unhappy
upset
useful
weak
wicked
wise
worried
young



Name _________________________________________________________

Character Trait: _____________________________________________
Evidence: _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Character Trait: _____________________________________________
Evidence: _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Character Trait: _____________________________________________
Evidence: _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Partner __________________________________
Character Trait: _____________________________________________
Evidence: _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Character Trait: _____________________________________________
Evidence: _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Character Trait: _____________________________________________
Evidence: _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Identifying Root words: Complete after reading Ch. 5.

Nick Allen tries to get out of homework by asking Mrs. Granger who says dog means dog? While it didnt
work as a way to stall the class, Nicks question is actually a very good one. Mrs. Granger goes on to
explain that all words came from somewhere, most of them going back to Latin, Greek or Hebrew. Today
we will help answer Nicks question by looking at the root words that make up some of the words we use
on a regular basis.

Working with words: The teacher will introduce each prefix by making a word web. In the middle of the
web the teacher will write the prefix and its definition. The legs of the web should include words given
to the teacher by the students. The legs should include a word that uses the prefix and a short definition.
As an extension, the teacher can have the students identify the word as a noun, verb, adjective, adverb,
etc. After the teacher has completed the web for each prefix being introduced, the students can write a
sentence using one of their chosen words at the bottom of the Word Web.

Activity: Next, he/she will have the students complete a word sort. The students will cut/paste their
words onto their Sorting Mat. After the students have sorted their words, have the students highlight the
prefix in one color and the root word in another color.




discover


misread

biped

bicycle

biweekly


dislike


disarm


misspell

bimonthly

misunderstand


disobey

mistake


binoculars

mistrust

discolor


dismount


misstep

bisect

disrupt


mistreat

biannual


Sorting Mat




bi-


mis-



dis-













































Root Word Web
Write the root word and its meaning in the center of your web. Write words using the root word with
different prefixes in the outer legs of the web. At the bottom, write a sentence using one of the words.














_____


Choose a word from above and create a sentence. Remember good sentences have at least 6 words.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________






Invent Your Own Words!
(Complete after reading chapter 8)
Word in English: _____________________ Your synonym: ____________________________
Pronunciation: _______________________ Word origin: ______________________________
Part of Speech: _______________________
Definition: _____________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
Picture


Word in English: _____________________ Your synonym: ____________________________
Pronunciation: _______________________ Word origin: ______________________________
Part of Speech: _______________________
Definition: _____________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
Picture


Quotations and Inferences: Complete after reading Chapter 11
Authors use the things that characters say to show us what their
character traits. This makes stories a lot more interesting than if the
author just said Nick is smart.
Choose a character. Find 4 quotations that the character says. Make an
inference about the characters traits based on what they said.
Example: Mrs. Granger says, Look it up! Thats why we have the
dictionary!
My inference: Mrs. Granger is smart because she loves using
dictionaries!


























Character Quotation:


My Inference:


Character Quotation:


My Inference:


Character Quotation:


My Inference:


Character Quotation:


My Inference:



Character Map: Nick Allen (complete after reading
Ch. 12)






















Trait:
Trait:
Trait:
Evidence: Evidence: Evidence:
Evidence: Evidence:
Evidence:
Evidence: Evidence: Evidence:
Character Map: Mrs. Granger
(complete after reading Ch. 12)






















Character Feelings: Complete after reading Chapter 14
Trait:
Evidence: Evidence: Evidence:
Trait:
Evidence: Evidence: Evidence:
Trait:
Evidence: Evidence: Evidence:

The way a character feels about events in a story is one way that authors give the
reader clues about the characters traits. Choose a main character from the book.
Choose 6 events that have happened in the story and explain how the character
feels after each event.






























Character Report Card: Complete after reading Chapter 15
Character:
Event: Character feelings:
Event: Character feelings:
Event: Character feelings:
Event: Character feelings:
Event: Character feelings:
Event: Character feelings:
Nicks Report Card
Imagine you have been given the job of grading Nicks character. Consider the
traits listed below and give Nick a grade in each of the following areas. Use the
comments section to explain why you gave the character that grade.
For example: If I were to grade Nick on his leadership, I would give him a B
because he leads his whole class, but he doesnt consider the
consequences of getting them all into trouble.


Character Trait Grade Comments
Determination
Study Habits
Creativity
Friendship
Leadership
Respect

Final Project
Each student will create a final project to show their understanding of the story focusing
on the characters. They will present their project to the class. They can choose from one
of the following options:
1. Create life-sized models of two of your favorite characters and dress them as they are dressed in
the book. Crouch down behind your character and describe yourself as the character. Tell what
your role is in the book and how you relate to the other character you have made.
2. Create a sculpture of a character. Use any combination of soap, wood, clay, sticks, wire, stones, old
toy pieces, or any other object. An explanation of how this character fits into the book should
accompany the sculpture.
3. Interview a character from your book. Write at least ten questions that will give the character the
opportunity to discuss his/her thoughts and feelings about his/her role in the story. Have a friend
or parent help you videotape the interview to be played for the class.
4. Write a diary that one of the storys main characters might have kept before, during, or after the
books events. Remember that the characters thoughts and feelings are very important in a diary.
You will need to create the diary to show the class. Include pictures of the character and doodles
they might have drawn in their diary.

Final Project Rubric
Visual
Representation
5 points
Visual aid
accurately
represents the
characters from
the story.
3 points
Visual aid is sloppy
or misrepresents
the characters
from the story.
1 point
Visual aid is
thrown together
and does not
represent
character traits.
Written
Summary of
Project
5 points
Written Summary
accurately explains
your understanding
of the characters
and the story.
3 points
Written summary
is missing
important pieces of
information about
the characters or
the story.
1 point
Written summary
doesnt include
information about
the characters and
is missing
important events
from the story.
Oral
Presentation
5 points
The student is
organized and
prepared and speaks
clearly.
3 points
The student is
somewhat prepared
but the presentation
is organized. The
student mumbles or
speaks too softly.
1 point
The student is not
prepared. They are
not ready for this
presentation and
they seem to be
making it up as they
go.

The following discussion questions can be used to supplement instruction after the
corresponding chapter, or they can be used as a written assessment of student
comprehension.

Chapter 1: Do you think Nick is a troublemaker? Why or why not?
Chapter 3: Why do you think that Mrs. Granger was not fooled by Nicks question?
Chapter 5: Do you think Mrs. Granger is a good teacher? Why or why not?
Chapter 7: If you were Nick, what would you have done when Mrs. Granger told you not to
disrupt the class anymore by using the word frindle?

Chapter 9: Why do you think Nicks mom defended him when Mrs. Chatham came over?

Chapter 11: Who do you think gave Judy Morgan a copy of the fifth grade class picture?

Chapter 13: Why do you think Nick couldnt quite forget about everything the way everyone else
could?

Chapter 15: Why was Mrs. Granger proud of Nick?