How to eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell

Genre: fiction
Publisher: Yearling, an imprint of Random House Children's Books a division of Random House
Pages: 116
Awards/Honors: NA

Summary: Billy makes a bet with his friends that he can eat 15 worms (one a day for 15 days). If he wins the bet, Billy, will get $50 which he needs to buy a minibike. Billy and Tom, Billy's supporter, are creating clever ways in which Billy can eat the 15 worms. Alan, who has the pay the $50 if Billy eats all 15 worms is coming up with schemes to keep Billy from winning the bet. Will Billy win the bet or will he "worm" out of it?

Personal Rating ****Great! The book was fun to read and the students were very entertained by it.
Reading Level: 3.7
Interest Level: 9-12 year old

Curriculum:Pre-reading: predict what the story might be about using the title and then the picture on cover. Discuss other books by author the students may know.Brainstorming many, various, and unusual things you may have eaten.
During reading: check for understanding by questioning, complete quizzes after every few chapters
Post: comprehension quiz, Make and eat "chocolate covered worms", make mud for chocolate covered worms then eat, complete a book report on story. Examples of book report ideas: diorama of scene from book, interview one of the characters, create an ad to sell book, dress up as a character from story, small group dramatization, etc.
Writing activities: Keep a daily journal using topics such as: Write a recipe for "How to....", a bet you may have made with a friend, five ways you would eat fried worms, how would you motivate a friend to eat fried worms, etc.

Problems/Difficulties: The book was difficult to read in some chapters. The slang words and pronunciation was difficult for some. At times it was difficult to follow and you had to pay attention to what was happening in each chapter.