Last month, our class had the pleasure of reading the wondrous book Word Nerd ingeniously written by author Susin Nielsen. We had just finished the book a few weeks ago, and it is easily said that it was one of the best books we’ve ever read. With thoughtful characters, in-depth description, and clever plot twists, Susin Nielsen engraved a lively world full of wonders deeply into our thoughts, opening a new world of imagination for all of us.
While reading “Word Nerd”, our class and I did intricate character webs of our most memorable characters, and I did Ambrose, Amanda, Cosmo, and Irene for mine. We also did visualizations, where we drew out the scenes and characters Susin Nielsen illustrated in our minds on paper. Lastly, we made connections to her easy-to-relate-to world of characters, and we absolutely had no trouble with coming up with at least 2. Late last month, we stapled all of those together and drew a title page, making an official “Word Nerd” booklet, and we pinned onto our class bulletin board. 

-Jessica

 

Note from Mrs. Millar:

We definitely found the joy in reading while immersed in Word Nerd!  Division 2 were on the edge of their seats, wondering what was going to happen next.  One lasting memory I will have of reading this book with you was at the end of Chapter 23, as Ambrose is about to be dropped off at home after the best day of his life.  It says:

I got into the back of Cosmo’s car, feeling like a million bucks.  

I had no idea that just five minutes later, everything would come crashing down around me.  And that this time the Higher Power was either helping someone else, or he’d gone to bed early.  

Because this time, there would be no miracle.

This time, I was screwed.

I stopped and asked you (the students) to make predictions.  You thought that either Ambrose’s mom was going to find out he’d been lying to her, or that Silvio was going to show up and hurt/kill someone. I asked them which would be worse?  And the students agreed that it would be worse for Ambrose to face the wrath of his mom!  I thought that was amazing.  It still makes me laugh.

Here are just a few examples of the amazing work you did in your booklets.  

Leave a comment and tell me your favourite parts or lasting memories of Word Nerd.