Miss Nelson is Missing by Harry Allard & James Marshall

 

Miss Nelson is Missing

(Sandpiper-1985)

By: Harry Allard & James Marshall

Grade: 1st

Miss Nelson had the worst class in the entire school. Her students wouldn't listen to her, were rude, and never did any of the homework that was assigned to them. One day, Miss Nelson didn't show up to school and the students had a scary, mean teacher (Miss Nelson dressed up) show up instead. The students began to miss Miss Nelson and were wondering where she went. Then, Miss Nelson finally comes back to school and her students were grateful and acting appropriately.I love this book because it teaches students to not take things for granted and to be grateful for the kind people that surround us. It is a great introduction to classroom rules and why it is important to follow them.

Skill Taught: Sequencing


Theme: Respect, Teamwork, Fairness, Responsibility and Kindness

About the Authors: Harry Allard was born in Evanston, Illinois on January 27th. He grew up in California, Long Island, and Chicago. He graduated from Northwestern College in 1943 and then performed active duty in Korea. He then lived in Paris for several years and became so fluent in the language that he got a master's degree and then a Ph.D. in French from Yale in 1973. He taught French at the college level for many years.

Upon his arrival in Boston, he met James Marshall, whose art and friendship inspired Allard's first book, The Stupids Step Out. This successful collaboration paved the way for the publication of other Stupids books and the Miss Nelson series. Miss Nelson is Missing was voted one of the most memorable books of the century.

Mr. Allard lives and works in Massachusetts Harry Allard Bio

Pre-Reading Activities: Go over troubling vocabulary (arithmetic, squirmed, rapped, gobbled, etc).This will make for a smoother read. If you have time, you can start them with a vocabulary journal.

Post Reading Activities:
-After reading the book, the students will divide a piece of paper into three sections and draw and write the beginning, middle and end of the story.
-Brainstorm classroom rooms for Room 207 to follow
-Create a missing poster for Miss Nelson
-Practice fluency doing a reader's theater Miss Nelson is Missing Reader's Theater