Summary:
Miss Nelson Is Missing! is a great way to kick off your school year with students. Miss Nelson is a teacher who's class is getting a little out of control. She is "replaced" by Mis Viola Swamp, the meanest substitute ever! The students begin to realize how lucky they were to have Miss Nelson, and want her back. They also think about their behavior and how it needs to improve when Miss Nelson returns.
About the Authors:
Harry Allard co-created one of the most iconic characters (Miss Nelson) of this century. He was born in Evanston, Illinois and grew up throughout the country. His family moved from California, to Long Island and to Chicago. Allard attended Northwestern and was a soldier in the Korean War. James Marshall was also part author of Miss Nelson Is Missing! Marshall was born in San Antonio, Texas. Marshall is a winner of many awards, including the Laura Ingalls Medal. Together Allard and Marshall published the first Miss Nelson book in 1977. Marshall died in 1992 of a brain tumor. Allard resides in Massachusetts.
Genre: Fiction, Humor
Theme/Skill: Manners
Grade Level: K-2 (Lexile Level: 340)
Pre-Reading Activity:
This could be the first activity that a teacher does on the first day of school in their classroom. Sit students down on the carpet and ask them what the world would be like without rules. Then make a list of what would happen if there were not any rules in a school or classroom? Have the students make some predictions about what they think this book is about. Post their predictions for them to see and reflect back on throughout the reading and after.
Post-Reading Activity:
Discuss with students what happened in the story. Who was the main character? What was the problem and the solution? Direct students back to their predictions and speculations. Then explain to them what your rules and expectations are.
This story is just timeless. I used to love reading it as a little girl. I actually knew a teacher in grade school who would do something similar to Miss Nelson, only she pretended her sub was actually her sister who was visiting from Sweden (when in fact it was just her disguised).
ReplyDeleteThat is crazy! I would love to be able to pull that trick on my students. Instead I'm just brutally honest and tell them not to irritate me. This story shows that students need to be appreciative to their teachers.
ReplyDeleteShennen, that is awesome. I never thought of doing that but that could actually work with younger grades and would be interesting to see their reactiions. Marlise, I actually had to use this book for a lesson plan with Le Moyne when little 2nd graders were coming to see the play there. It is such a cute book with so many activities you could use for it.
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