Three Judy Moody Books with Activities for the 3rd Grade Classroom
Megan McDonald has created a delightful series for students in first through fourth grade. The main character, Judy, is a unique third grader who experiences a variety of moods. The best thing about Judy is that she tries to figure out how to deal with her moods on her own. This is the reason she designed her own scenic T-shirt that says, “I ate a shark” to show off on the first day.
Students will laugh at the antics of Judy and her brother Stink, her best friend Rocky and classmate Frank-who-eats paste-Pearl. In fact, Judy cracks herself up a lot, too.
Here are three of the Judy Moody books with accompanying activities.
Judy Moody Was in a Mood
It’s the first day of school and Judy is in a mad-face mood! She did not go anywhere all summer; therefore, she does not have a scenic
vacation T-shirt to show off on the first day.
Cross-curricular activities:
1. Math: Frank-who-eats-paste Pearl gives Judy presents on various holidays. Use individual copies of a blank yearly calendar and ask students to circle the dates (with specified colors) of special holidays: Christmas/green; Thanksgiving/brown; Valentine’s Day/red; Independence Day/blue; and so on.
2. Science: Judy got a new “pet”. It’s a Venus flytrap. Have students research what this unusual pet really is. Judy really wanted a two-toed sloth. Students will research facts about a sloth.
3. Math: Judy, Rocky and Stink combine their money to buy things at Vic’s. Provide simple items to buy (with price tags attached) and put play money on a table. Ask students to check the price of an item that they want to buy and count the correct amount of money to pay for it. Students must count the money owed to pay for the desired item.
4. Social Studies: Judy lived in Virginia. Locate Virginia on a map of the United States. Students draw a map of Virginia. Using a resource book in the classroom, such as an atlas or social studies book, have the students mark the major cities, rivers and capital of Virginia.
5. Guidance: Judy jumped to conclusions about her classmate Frank. She thought he was gross because he ate some paste. Judy is forced to go to his birthday party and begins to change her opinion about Frank. What happened? Have students describe a time when they have jumped to conclusions about someone. Was it fair?
Judy Moody Gets Famous
Judy is in a jealous mood because her rival, Jessica, is getting a lot of attention for winning the spelling bee. What will Judy do to get rid of this mood?
1. Writing: 1.Have students use complete sentences to describe how Judy tries to become famous. They should add one more suggestion for Judy to become famous.
2. Have students write a newspaper article about Judy and how she became famous.
Judy Moody, MD: The Doctor is In
Judy always wanted to be a doctor. Her idol is Elizabeth Blackwell, the first woman doctor. Now Judy’s class is doing a human body project. Judy is in a medical mood!
Activities:
1. Health: Use this book as a fun ending to a health unit about the body systems.
2. Reading: Read the biography of Elizabeth Blackwell, the first woman doctor.
3. Writing: Judy had a dream to become a doctor. Ask students to describe the dream they have for themselves. Why? Have them describe what they can do to achieve the dream.
Megan McDonald’s first book of Judy Moody was such a success that she has written many Judy Moody Books and has branched out to books about Judy’s brother, Stink. She is the author of The Sisters Club series and many other individual books. Her humorous characters are beloved by many young readers.
This post is part of the series: Judy Moody: Rare!
Judy Moody is a one-of-a-kind third grader who has a mood for every situation. She is passionate about many things. This book series by Megan McDonald is fun to read and offers opportunities for cross curriculum lessons.
