By Andrew Clements

1. "FRINDLE" By Andrew Clements Theme 5: School Rules “Frindle”

2. Summary Slide • Author’s Purpose and Perspective • Using Decoding/Phonics • Background • Purpose • Author’s Purpose and Perspective • Point of View • Characterization • About the Author • Websites Theme 5: School Rules “Frindle”

3. Author’s Purpose and Perspective The author’s purpose may be to entertain, inform, or persuade. The author’s perspective is the author’s opinion or attitude about a topic. To determine the author’s perspective, you need to figure out how the author feels about the subject and why he or she is expressing this attitude. Good readers look for clues in a story that will help them determine the author’s purpose and perspective. Read the following paragraphs and complete the charts. Theme 5: School Rules “Frindle”

4. Author’s attitude Author’s purpose Author’s style and tone Author’s Perspective 1 What fun it would be to drive a big truck! Just imagine yourself in charge of a giant eighteen-wheeler, driving across the country. You would see new scenery every day and get to know the whole United States. The freedom and excitement of the open road would be yours! Upbeat, happy, excited Positive, sees good points To persuade Theme 5: School Rules “Frindle”

5. Author’s attitude Author’s purpose Author’s style and tone Author’s Perspective 2 The life of a long-distance truck driver is a life of danger, boredom, and loneliness. Drivers face danger every day on the road, where a moment’s carelessness can cause a wreck. At the same time, it is boring to drive day after day along endless, bare stretches of highway. Truck drivers face loneliness, too, when they are separated from their families for long periods. Negative, sees bad points To persuade Gloomy, serious Theme 5: School Rules “Frindle”

6. Use Decoding/Phonics Good readers use decoding/phonics to help them read unfamiliar words. This strategy will help you sound out an unfamiliar word. If you still have trouble, you can look up the word in a dictionary. If you are trying to determine the author’s purpose and perspective, you need to know exactly what the text says. Theme 5: School Rules “Frindle”

7. Background • What qualities should a group leader have? • Why would it be difficult to complete a project if everyone in a group tried to be the leader? • What do you say to your friends when you want to persuade them to help you with something? • Background: Being a Good Leader Theme 5: School Rules “Frindle”

8. Purpose • Read “Frindle” – pages 566 – 575. • Read “Children and Poetry” – pages 576 – 577. • As you read complete the Character Chart about Nick and Mrs. Granger. Theme 5: School Rules “Frindle”

9. Author’s Purpose and Perspective An author might write to inform and to entertain the reader or both. Reread pages 568 and 569. • What does Mrs. Granger talk about? • What word does she talk about? • What non-English words did you learn? • Is this part included to entertain or to inform? • Is Nick an entertaining character or an informative one? Word meanings dog Chien and hund inform Theme 5: School Rules “Frindle”

10. The American cowboy is a symbol of the strength and vigor of the Old West. The cowboys had to be excellent riders and ropers. As skilled as they were, they frequently suffered broken bones as a result of spills from their horses. • The cowboys worked long hours, usually for very low wages, riding the range and herding cattle to market. Their lives were often lonely, and they had to learn to survive on little food and sleep. • The author probably wrote this passage to: • entertain with a story about cowboys. • persuade others to become cowboys. • give facts about herding cattle. • explain why the cowboy is a symbol of strength and vigor. • How does the author probably feel about cowboys? • He admires them for their strength and endurance. • He envies their skills. • He considers them to be over-glorified. • He regrets their disappearance. Theme 5: School Rules “Frindle”

11. Point of View Being able to identify the point of view from which a story is told can help you understand the ideas that an author wants to communicate. Theme 5: School Rules “Frindle”

12. Characterization • Paying attention to each character’s words, motives, and actions will help you understand and enjoy the story. • Motives are the character’s goals or reasons for doing something. • Noticing how the characters react to each other can make them seem more real and will make the story more interesting and clearer. • Reread the first two paragraphs on page 569. Theme 5: School Rules “Frindle”

13. Characterization • Mrs. Granger says that many new words need to be made. This tells me that she wants her students to learn more words than what they find in a dictionary. I think Mrs. Granger is smart and dedicated to encouraging her students to be creative and informed. Theme 5: School Rules “Frindle”

14. Characterization Refer to the introduction and the first two pages of the selection to complete this chart. delay class work teach about words Theme 5: School Rules “Frindle”

15. About the Author • Born in Camden, New Jersey in 1949 • Love of books from parents • Spent summers at cabin in Maine—no television, phone, doorbell • Graduated Northwestern University • “You don’t have to do everything at once…You simply have to do that next good thing, and before you know it, you’re living a good life.” • Harcourt: Clements Theme 5: School Rules “Frindle”

16. Theme 5: School Rules “Frindle”

17. Websites • Reading Skills Rocket: Author’s Purpose and Perspective • Test Tutor: Author’s Purpose and Perspective • Grammar Practice Park: Principal Parts Picnic Theme 5: School Rules “Frindle”

18. Credits • Harcourt Trophies – Distant Voyages, Chicago: Harcourt, 2003. • MacMillan Connections – Landscapes, New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1987. Theme 5: School Rules “Frindle”