Judy Blume

Book Bag Activities for
Titles by Judy Blume
By: Darla Haines

Tales of the Fourth Grade Nothing
Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great
Super Fudge
Fudge-A-Mania

Rationale:

I chose these books because they are my favorite books! My third grade teacher read these books to my class. So many things about these books are just burned into my memory! I haven’t read these books since my third grade year, but I can remember everything about these books.

Information about the author: (Source: Judy Blume's Home Base)

Judy Blume spent her childhood in Elizabeth, New Jersey, making up stories inside her head. She has spent her adult years in many places, doing the same thing, only now she writes her stories down on paper. Adults as well as children will recognize such Blume titles as: Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret; Superfudge; Blubber; Just As Long As We're Together; and Forever. She has also written the novels Wifey, Smart Women, and her latest, Summer Sisters, the New York Times No. 1 bestseller. More than 75 million copies of her books have been sold, and her work has been translated into twenty-something languages. She receives thousands of letters a month from readers of all ages who share their feelings and concerns with her.
Judy received a B.S. in education from New York University in 1961, which named her a Distinguished Alumna in 1996, the same year the American Library Association honored her with the Margaret A. Edwards Award for Lifetime Achievement. She has won more than ninety awards, none more important than those coming directly from her youngest readers.
She is the founder and trustee of The Kids Fund, a charitable and educational foundation. She serves on the boards of the Author's Guild; the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, where she sponsors an award for contemporary fiction; and the National Coalition Against Censorship, working to protect intellectual freedom. Recently, she edited Places I Never Meant To Be, Original Stories by Censored Writers. Currently, she is working on a book about the irrepressible Fudge.
Judy lives on islands up and down the East Coast with her husband George Cooper, who writes nonfiction. They have three grown children and one incredible grandchild.

Questions to use with the story:

Who are the characters in the book you are reading?
Where did the book you read take place?
Describe Fudge.
Describe Sheila.
Describe Peter.
How would you help Peter deal with his brother Fudge?
How would you help Sheila overcome her fears?
Identify some of Fudge, Peter, and Sheila’s daily activities.
Decide how the stories could have been different if one of the characters were not in the story.
Compare and contrast the book you’ve just read to one of Judy Blume’s other books.

Ten activities to use with the story:

Find information about Judy Blume on the internet and in the library. Make a bulletin board about her and her books and encourage the kids to find more information about Judy Blume and her books to add to the board.
Have students journal about the book they are reading after each chapter. Encourage them to express their feelings about the book. Also, encourage the students to relate the book to their lives at home.
Have the students interview a fourth grader to find out what that fourth grader goes through every day at school and at home. Then have the student compare their interview they did with the book they are reading.
Have the students do a jigsaw of the four Fudge books. Split the class into 4 groups of 6, so that all 4 groups will each read a different book in the Fudge Series. Then have the students split into 6 groups of 4 to jigsaw about the books they are reading with the rest of the group who is not reading that particular book.
Have students do a nature walk to find the sounds described in the books. Have them record the sounds found in the books with a tape recorder. Afterwards, have the students share their sounds when they get back to the room.
Have a class pet turtle, since Dribble the turtle is in all of the books and is mentioned several times. Have the students take turns taking care of the turtle each week
Let the students have the choice to rewrite a chapter or write a final chapter to end the book in a different way.
Have students read another book by Judy Blume that is not a Fudge book.
Have the students put their books in a reader’s theatre format and let them perform the book for their class or for the school.
Have the students fill out a graphic organizer of the four books while they are in the jigsaw groups.

Props:

I want to have a class pet turtle and have the students take care of it.

Bibliography:

Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume: Living with his little brother, Fudge, makes Peter Hatcher feel like a fourth grade nothing. Whether Fudge is throwing a temper tantrum in a shoe store, smearing mashed potatoes on the walls at Hamburger Heaven, or scribbling all over Peter’s homework, he’s never far from trouble. He’s a two-year-old terror who gets away with everything—and Peter’s had enough. When Fudge walks off with Dribble, Peter’s pet turtle, it’s the last straw. Peter has put up with Fudge too long. How can he get his parents to pay attention to him for a change?
Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great by Judy Blume: Sheila Tubman sometimes wonders who she really is: the outgoing, witty, and capable Sheila the Great, or the secret Sheila, who’s afraid of the dark, spiders, swimming, and dogs. When her family spends the summer in Tarrytown, Sheila has to face some of her worst fears. Not only does a dog come with the rented house, but her parents expect Sheila to take swimming lessons! Sheila does her best to pretend she’s an expert at everything, but she knows she isn’t fooling her new best friend, Mouse Ellis, who happens to be a crackerjack swimmer and a dog lover. What will it take for Sheila to admit to the Tarrytown kids—and to herself—that she’s only human?
Superfudge by Judy Blume: Sometimes life in the Hatcher household is enough to make twelve-year-old Peter think about running away. His worst problem is still his younger brother, Fudge, who hasn’t changed a bit since his crazy capers in Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing. If you ask Peter, Fudge is just an older—and bigger—pain. Then Peter learns that his mom is going to have a baby and the whole family is moving to Princeton for a year. It will be bad enough starting sixth grade in a strange place and going to the same school as Fudge. But Peter can imagine something even worse. How will he ever survive if the new baby is a carbon copy of Fudge?
Fudge-a-Mania by Judy Blume: Peter Hatcher’s summer is not looking good. First of all, Peter’s brother, Fudge—the five-year-old human hurricane—has a plan: to marry Peter’s sworn enemy. Sheila Tubman. Disgusting! Could anything be worse? Yes. Peter’s parents have decided to rent a summer house next to the Tubmans. Which means Peter will be stuck with Fudge and Sheila the Cootie Queen for three whole weeks! Will Peter survive the summer? It may not be the vacation of Peter’s dreams, but as millions of Judy Blume fans know, it won’t be dull. When Fudge is around, anything can happen…and does!

Assessment Plan:

I will have the students fill out graphic organizers about the books while they are in their jigsaw groups. Plus, there will be other assessments as well, but they will depend on the activities the students actually do. Because they will have the choice to do 6 of the 10 activities.

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