Educators' Resources
Welcome to the My Weird Classroom Club — your classroom will never be the same again!
The first rule of this club is that the weirder you are, the better. Since there is no other school in the world that is weirder than Ella Mentry School, it’s the model you and your students will want to follow. Join this weirdly wonderful classroom club to receive exclusive insider benefits like breaking book news, terrific teaching guides, awesome activity sheets and marvelous unbelievable updates.
Educators across the country have found that even the most reluctant students – who, like A.J., think school is pointless and boring – are eager to learn when the lesson is presented in the context of Dan Gutman’s My Weird School books. The accessible and engaging stories are filled with hilarious school-themed antics and characters that can be easily integrated into existing classroom practices through discussions and activities. The My Weird Classroom Club will provide you with the tools needed to extend themes and ideas found in the books through cross-curriculum connections and instruction.
Just because you may not consider yourself a weird teacher doesn’t mean that your students don’t!
So, start weird-ing out your classroom by joining the My Weird Classroom Club today.
But it won’t be easy!
Check out all of our weird (and very useful) educator resources, up-to-date Dan Gutman news, and wonderfully wacky classroom tips.
Finished reading Miss Child Has Gone Wild!? Now your students can fill in the blanks with their own zany words to write their own adventure stories about running loose in the zoo.
Kick-start students’ imaginations with this create-a-comic activity. Students can draw their own interpretations of a wacky scene from Miss Child Has Gone Wild!
Are your students ready for the weirdest crossword puzzle they’ve ever seen? If they’ve read Mr. Harrison Is Embarrassin’!, they will be.
Mr. Harrison is named after one of the Fab Four (can you guess which one?). Challenge your students to complete the titles of these Beatles songs, all sprinkled throughout the text of Mr. Harrison Is Embarrassin’!
Engage and entertain your students by easily integrating the My Weird School series into your existing curriculum. The discussion questions and activities found in this teaching guide provide excellent language arts, social studies, science, and math support. As you work with the books, encourage your students to be as weird and creative as possible!
Print out these My Weird School trading cards that feature some memorable characters from the wacky series. You can give these to students as rewards or print out a set for each student to color and then hold a My Weird School game day.
A lot of weird things happen at Ella Mentry School. Even the words sometimes turn weird. Use this My Weird School word scramble to help test comprehension, vocabulary, and spelling skills.
Maze
A.J. and his friends are late for school! Print out a maze for each student. Then hold a maze race to see who can complete the maze in the shortest amount of time. Give the winner and the student who demonstrated the most improvement a weird surprise!
Have your students keep track of how many tales from the three My Weird School series they’ve read. Print off a checklist for each student to fill out and grade each book according to its weirdness factor.
Turn your students into journalists! After reading Mrs. Lilly Is Silly, use this newspaper template to help your cub reporters keep their fingers on the pulse of the school.
After reading Mr. Burke Is Berserk!, your students can follow in Mr. Burke’s footsteps by combining words to make new ones. FUNTASTIC!
What would happen if buried treasure were discovered under your school, just like in Mr. Burke Is Berserk!? X marks the spot in this treasure map activity.
Imagine that your life is a reality TV show, like in Ms. Beard Is Weird! How would your school be different if you could add some spice to your day?
After reading Ms. Beard Is Weird!, create a poster advertising a reality TV show ALL ABOUT YOU!
Run For Class President
After reading Mayor Hubble Is in Trouble!, write a slogan and design a poster for your own campaign for class president.
Observe the amazing morphing messages! Just like in Miss Kraft Is Daft!, see what happens before your very eyes when a message is passed from person to person, like a game of Telephone.
Double Trouble Rhyme Time
After reading Miss Kraft Is Daft!, use these rhyme starters to write a poem that’s so funny it will cause a ruckus.
How well do you know the My Weirdest School books?
In My Weirdest School #12: Ms. Hall Is a Goofball!, the new lunch lady at Ella Mentry School is obsessed with getting A.J. and his friends to eat healthy!