Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days

Greg is back... and he wants the perfect summer!

Greg Heffley is back in Jeff Kinney's Dairy of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days, the 4th book in the Wimpy Kid series. I have decided what I like most about Greg Heffley's stories is how easy they are to relate to. I know students as young as 3rd grade and as old as 8th grade who have greatly enjoyed reading the series. I also know quite a few adults who got a kick out of reading them and remembering some of their childhood in the process. In this book, Greg is on summer vacation and finding himself quite miserable. All he wants to do is shut himself up in his dark room playing video games, but his mother will not have it! Between his family not having enough money for vacation, terrors at the town pool and a falling out with Rowley all Greg wants is the perfect summer. Too bad his mother's idea of a perfect summer might just ruin Greg's summer all together. Will anyone end up with a perfect summer? Read to find out, I bet you'll find yourself laughing a whole lot while you do!

Reading Level: Fountas and Pinnell: T
                        Lexile: 1010L

Teachers... Here are some resources to help you teach this book...

Web Resources:

• Event Kit: This site was created to help kids have a party for the release of Dog Days. However, there are lots of fun Wimpy Kid games that could be easily used in a classroom.
• Through the Year:This site offers a variety of Wimpy Kid activities that relate to the first 4 Wimpy Kid books. The activities are meant to be used throughout the year. Click on "Click to read" to enlarge (you do not have to subscribe to read).
• Teacher's Guide: This is a really great teacher's guide with activities, writing prompts, quizzes, etc. for teaching Dog Days.

Vocabulary: If you need to preteach these will depend on the age level of your students... traumatic, sermon, paranoid, drastic, confiscated, confession, scam, nauseous

Activities:
Before Reading: In this story Greg and his mom both want to have the perfect summer. What is your idea of a perfect summer?

During Reading: Create a 2 column entry in your journal. As you read, compare Greg's idea of a perfect summer with his mom's idea of a perfect summer.

After Reading: At the end of the book, Greg says: "I guess the person who takes the pictures is the one who gets to tell the story." What do you think Greg means? In partnerships or groups pick a common event, memory, etc. and have each person write a description about that event, day, etc. See how different your descriptions are.

Kinney, J. (2009). Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days. New York: Amulet Books.

Happy Reading (&Running) =)