The Educator Guide for Freddy and the French Fries: Fries
Alive! has been prepared to provide educators pre-reading
activities along with prompts and questions aligned with each
level of Bloom's Taxonomy, from knowledge to evaluation.
Freddy
and the French Fries: Fries Alive!
Educator Guide
Freddy and the French Fries: Fries Alive!
by David Baldacci; with art by: Rudy Baldacci
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company (www.lb-kids.com)
ISBN: 0-316-15998-0
Price: $12.99 ($18.99 in Canada)
Pages: 160
Trim size: 5 1/8" x 7 1/8"
Middle Grade: Ages 8-12
About the Book
Meet Theodore, Wally, Curly, Ziggy, Si, and Meese -- French fries you'll
love so much you won't want to eat them! But shoestring, waffle, wedge,
curly and crinkle-cut potatoes were never more irresistible than in David
Baldacci's zany adventure about five giant fries that come to life.
It all begins when Freddy Funkhauser, an offbeat nine-year-old with a knack
for science, embarks on an ambitious plan to win new customers for the family
business, The Burger Castle. But when his secret invention ends up working
better than he'd ever dreamed, his plans go wildly awry as his kooky
companions wreak havoc in every corner of Freddy's world.
A master crafter of thrills, bestselling novelist David Baldacci now turns
his tremendous talent to side-splitting storytelling in this hilarious adventure
about fame, friends, and family.
Note from the Author
With
all the literacy programs I've been involved with, and my experiences with
Wish You Well, the novel, and Wish You Well, the Foundation,
I believe that I know how to reach kids through books. Built into the Freddy
stories are strong examples of friendship and teamwork and the idea that simply
because people may look different from you and me doesn't mean they're somehow
bad people; it celebrates the strength and excitement of diversity. It also
highlights using your brain in a "smart is definitely cool" way. Also in Freddy
are viable reading tools, so subtly placed into the story that kids won't
even know they're learning. While I‘ve learned in my speeches that the
best way to make a serious point is to attach it to a bit of humor, I've found
that a "not knowing you're learning anything experience," can be some of the
most fertile ground in education. These reading tools include a vocabulary
enhancement exercise and a word separation skill.
About the Author
David Baldacci is the New York Times bestselling author of several
novels and many international hits including Absolute Power and The
Christmas Train, as well as the critically acclaimed Wish You Well,
which is currently taught in schools across the country and has been adopted
for use by state and national reading programs. He lives in Virginia. His
Web site is www.david-baldacci.com.
Pre-Reading Activities
Inventors
What does an inventor do? Who are some of your favorite inventors? What
did they invent? Why are inventors so important? If you were an inventor,
what would you invent?
Friendship
Everyone can be a friend in disguise. Create a class list, leaving room
for people to write after each name. Reproduce and pass the class list out
to the students. Instruct the students to write one nice thing about every
one of their classmates. Once completed, collect the sheets and compile
a personal list for each student. It should serve as a reminder that everyone
can be a friend as well as a keepsake of the positive and not the negative
about people.
Teamwork
Set the class up in groups of 3 or 4. Provide them with the following vocabulary
list:
Give them 15 minutes to try and define the words as a team, without a dictionary.
Take note which teams correctly define the most words. Then allow the teams
to use the glossary at the end of the Freddy and the French Fries
"Reading Guide" to look up the actual definitions
of the words. Let them know they can keep this glossary as a reference to
look up the words while reading Freddy and the French Fries: Fries Alive!
Knowledge
List the names of the fries and discuss three characteristics for each (color,
shape, super powers)
How did Nanny Boo Boo get her name?
Name two things that Freddy's dad invented and what they were used for?
Comprehension
Describe what caused the Fries to come alive.
Identify the differences between Patty Cakes and Burger Castle.
Describe how Ziggy can put himself back together.
Application
The Patty Cakes and Burger Castle floats were described in detail in the
book. Draw one or the other of the floats.
Examine the drawings in the book. Do the pictures match how you thought
the characters/scenes looked?
Analysis
Identify some themes from Freddy (friendship, teamwork, loyalty, bullying)
and discuss how they play into the storyline.
Freddy's dad always reminded him that a good scientist always thinks
about all aspects of an invention before he invents it. Did Freddy think about
everything before creating the Fries? What would you have done? What are some
things that Freddy didn't think about?
Synthesis
Luck is on Freddy's side often in the book. When do you think he had his
luckiest break... and what do you think might have happened if he hadn't been
so lucky?
Howie Kapowie tells important information to the Spankers that could get
Freddy in a lot of trouble. Why do you think that Howie was so scared of Adam?
Evaluation
Freddy seems to get bullied a LOT in Freddy and the French Fries.
Compare different occurrences in the book to something you may have seen in
real life. Explain why reading about bullying and actually seeing it feels
different
When the Fries first get to Pookesville, they are feared and hated because
they are different and strange looking. Can you think of a time when you made
a judgment based on someone's appearance? Or when someone judged you based
on your appearance? What do the Fries' story and your own experiences tell
you about making these quick conclusions?
Friends play an important part in the book. Select the top 2 instances in
the book where Freddy needed their help the most? Why are YOUR friends important
to you?
Look
for the next Freddy adventure in January 2006
Freddy and the French Fries: The Mystery of Silas Finklebean
0-316-15999-9 • $12.99 ($17.99 in Canada)
In this sequel to Freddy and the French Fries: Fries Alive!, everything
is going great for Freddy and the Funkhouser family, as Freddy's French fry
pals have helped them face up to their mean rivals, the Spankers. The trouble
is, big bully Adam spanker isn't about to let Freddy get the upper hand. As
Freddy hatches a plan to set Adam straight, he discovers the lab of long-lost
scientist Silas Finklebean, along with instructions on how to build a time
machine. With Finklebean's help, Freddy and the Fries are determined to prove
themselves to Adam once again.
Freddy
and the French Fries: Fries Alive!
With
all the literacy programs I've been involved with, and my experiences with
Wish You Well, the novel, and Wish You Well, the 
Look
for the next Freddy adventure in January 2006
