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Annotated bibliography of Clements' novels for children, with suggested activities.

**Bibliography: Andrew Clements ** Clements’ touchstone novel highlights the power of words and features a smart, creative 5th grade boy as the protagonist who challenges the status quo. Activity: Challenge students to research the origin of a word they find intriguing or to create a new word of their own, defining it and using it in a writing sample.
 * //Frindle - //**School Library Journal (September 1, 1996)

Fifth-grader Cara Landry’s writing and production of a school newspaper calls into question the Bill of Rights, freedom of speech, and freedom of the press on an elementary school level. Activity: Have students create their own classroom newspaper, exploring the ideas of what is legitimate news versus what is gossip, slander, or personal information that should not be printed.
 * //The Landry News//** - Booklist (June 15, 1999)

This powerful message about peer pressure shows Jack struggling with his father’s position as the school janitor, and he must decide which is more important, his relationship with his dad or his reputation with his friends. Activity: Discuss as a class the reasons Jack felt embarrassed about his dad’s job, how his classmates (named and unnamed) played into this, and how Jack changed after he found our more of his dad’s history.
 * // The Janitor’s Boy- //**School Library Journal (October 1, 2000)

This novel about a twelve year-old girl who publishes a book she writes under a pseudonym will inspire children to try to achieve great things. Activity: Have the children write in a journal entry about something difficult they would love to do if they knew it was possible.
 * // The School Story- //** Publisher’s Weekly (September 1, 2002)

Rejected by his parents and perpetually left with housekeepers, fifth grader Mark is angry and resentful, refusing to fit in with his new school and classmates and eventually ruining his class’s week-long field trip into the woods. Activity: Students plan a “Week in the Woods” field trip, including a set number of biological and environmental events.
 * //A Week in the Woods – //**School Library Journal (November 1, 2002)

Twelve year-old genius Nora resents the negative hold that testing and grades have on all the kids at her school, so she concocts an elaborate plan to educate students, parents, and school officials of the dangers of labeling people based on their grades. Activity: Students complete a graphic organizer weighing the pros and cons of standardized tests, examining the issue from the perspective of students, teachers, and parents.
 * // The Report Card - //** School Library Journal (March 1, 2004)

Greg develops his own business by selling his original comic books at school, but he must work with his archenemy Maura to keep his business afloat once the school district decides to shut him down. Activity: Students look up the word “capitalism” is several different sources and write about how they see its role in the United States and in their own personal lives. **//Last Holiday Concert//** – School Library Journal (October 1, 2004) A popular boy chooses the wrong day to push his choir teacher too far and ends up having the responsibility for organizing the holiday concert dumped in his lap. Activity: Student work in groups to plan and organize a fictional school event, including publicity, scheduling, expenses, and production.
 * // Lunch Money //** – School Library Journal (August 01, 2005)

Fifteen year-old Bobby awakens to find himself invisible one morning, and while struggling to resolve this situation he meets a blind girl who helps him learn more about his true self. Activity: Students work in groups to write and perform two short plays, one in which a character enjoys being invisible and one in which it is a negative or frustrating experience.
 * // Things Not Seen //** – School Library Journal (March 1, 2002)

Fifth-grader Ted is anxious to solve the mystery of the face that keeps appearing in the old, abandoned Anderson house before he learns his school might be shut down because of low enrollment, and he never dreams the two circumstances are related. Activity: Students write in a journal reflecting on the importance of a school in a community and examining the statement from the book, “If you lose the school, you lose the town.”
 * // Room One //** – School Library Journal (November 1, 2006)

Its boys versus girls in a class competition to see who can speak the fewest words for two whole days, and through this contest the children begin to understand the real power of their words. Activity: Students each write a poem emphasizing the power of words using different themes, such as kindness, anger, whispering, shouting, etc.
 * // No Talking //** – School Library Journal (September 1, 2007)

Jay and Ray Grayson are twins who exploit a clerical error that has only one of them enrolled in their new school, and the events they set in motion teach them invaluable lessons about honesty and being yourself. Activity: Each student designs a creative display (painting, drawing, collage, Glogster presentation, etc.) using the theme “Being Yourself.”
 * // Lost and Found //** – Booklist (August 1, 2008)