Judy Moody Goes to College

McDonald, Megan, and Peter Reynolds. 

Judy Moody Goes to College. Cambridge,

Mass.: Candlewick Press, 2008.

By Megan McDonald

Illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds

Copyright:  2008

Publisher:  Candlewick Press

Reading level:

• Lexile:  600L

• Grade level: 3

Genre:  Fiction

Description:  Comedy and humor, Growing up

Delivery suggestions:  Read-aloud to whole class

Summary:  Judy Moody is a third grader who is struggling with math and losing interest in school.  She desires to have the freedom and fun that older kids have, freedom to do anything they want whenever they want.  So when her parents hire a math tutor for her that attends a nearby college, Judy Moody is in her glory, convincing Chloe to give her a tour of the school.  Judy Moody picks up stylish fashion along with much-needed math help.  Readers will see this rambunctious character getting "big for her britches" as she tells the story with funky, hip language and plenty of humor.

Electronic resources:

• Meet the author:  Students can take a look around the author's interactive website that includes information about each book in the Judy Moody series, as well as dozens of other chapter books and picture books that children will love.  The website also contains a "Fun Stuff' link for children to puzzles, matching games, and "Moodlibs" (spin-off of Madlibs).

Vocabulary:  flunked, mid-life crisis, hogsheads, tarantula, crucial, smeared, flubbed

Teaching suggestions:

• Use this book to get students excited about reading.
• Discuss the fact that Judy Moody struggles with Math and spends time practicing as much as possible in order to get better; make this story as relatable to students as possible.
• Encourage students to read other Judy Moody books in this series during free reading time.

Comprehension strategies:

• Before reading:  
• Prior to reading, have a discussion with the class about what they know about college.
• Introduce the character, Judy Moody, to the student, explaining her desire for freedom and to be allowed to do whatever she wants.  Have the students imagine that they were much older living at college and make a list of pros and cons of having freedom and being on their own.

• During Reading:
• Discuss the type of language Judy Moody uses in the book.  Much of her vocabulary is made-up, spunky words that express her personality, yet they can be tricky to understand.  Make sure to define some of these words as they are read (geck, "sick-awesome", uber, natch, "the bomb") using Judy Moody's own dictionary in the back of the book.

• After Reading:
• After students have read about this very unique and independent young girl who possesses a number of different character traits, they can create individual collages about themselves, which represent the unique qualities they have as well (might be similar or different from Judy Moody).  Provide them with craft materials such as stickers, magazines to cut out, etc. to represent themselves.

Writing activity:

To go along with the collages they have created, students will write a few paragraphs describing the type of qualities they have that are unique to themselves.  They will then type up these writing pieces and paste them to their collages which will be displayed around the classroom.