Diary of a Wimpy Kid

Written by Jeff Kinney
Copyright ©2007
Published by Amulet books

Reading Level: Grades 2-8
Grade Level Equivalent: 5.3
Lexile Measure: 970L
Fountas and Pinnell Guided Reading: T
Accelerated Reader Points: 3.0
DRA: 50

Suggested Delivery: Independent Reading

Genre: Fiction, Graphic Novel, humor

Description:
Gregory is starting Middle School. And what he thought would be the best year of his young life turns out to be not as he expected. Follow Gregory as he learns what it means to be a true friend.

5 words/phrases to describe the book: middle school, friendship, growing up, humor, popularity

Technology to enhance learning:

Writing Tips from Jeff Kinney

Jeff Kinney has an entire playlist on YouTube.com where he gives writing tips to aspiring writers. Students who really like the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series would like to see Jeff Kinney talk about writing the books and inspire students to love writing.

Watch the Movie:
The Diary of a Wimpy Kid follows the same storyline as the first book. This would be a great enrichment for students after reading the book.















Before During and After Activities:

Before Reading:
Have students read the description and look at the comics in the book and make a prediction of what will happen in the book.

During Reading:

APPARTS:

AUTHOR

Who created the source?  What do you know about the author?  What is the author’s point of view?

PLACE AND TIME

Where and when was the source produced?  How might this affect the meaning of the source?

PRIOR KNOWLEDGE

Beyond information about the author and the context of its creation, what do you know that would help you further understanding the primary source?  For example, do you recognize any symbols and recall what they represented?

AUDIENCE

For whom was the source created and how might this affect the reliability of the source?

REASON

Why was this source produced and how might this affect the reliability of the source?

THE MAIN IDEA

What point is the source trying to convey?

SIGNIFICANCE

Why is the source important?  Ask yourself, “So what?” in relation to the question asked.

After Reading:

Students can right a Diary Entry as one of the characters. Students can choose any character, besides Greg, and write a diary entry about how Greg is acting in the book. Gregory is not the nicest character in the book. Students would use inferential comprehension to think about how other characters feel about Greg. 

Vocabulary:

Edits: prepare (written material) for publication by correcting, condensing, or otherwise modifying it

Contributors: a person who writes articles for a magazine or newspaper.

Backfired: of a plan or action) rebound adversely on the originator; have the opposite effect to what was intended

Ironic: happening in the opposite way to what is expected, and typically causing wry amusement because of this

Soprano: the highest of the four standard singing voices

Inflate: increase (something) by a large or excessive amount

Bogged: cause (a vehicle, person, or animal) to become stuck in mud or wet ground; (of a person or process) be unable to make progress.

Brainstorming:produce an idea or way of solving a problem by holding a spontaneous group discussion.