"Santa Claus Doesn't Mop Floors": Bailey School Kids Lesson Plan

"Santa Claus Doesn't Mop Floors": Bailey School Kids Lesson Plan
Page content

Begin The Adventures of the Bailey School Kids

You may choose to read Santa Claus Doesn’t Mop Floors to your class. It is certainly enjoyable as a teacher-read book. It would also be great if you have multiple copies of this book so that students can follow along and participate in this book as a read-aloud. The students could then use the books for the follow-up activities.

Before you begin, ask the students to listen for all the pranks that the students do in The Adventures of the Bailey School Kids book.

Comprehension Questions

The students can write on paper or keep a journal to compile the answers to each of the questions in Santa Claus Doesn’t Mop Floors. Students must answer in complete sentences!

Chapter 1

  1. Why did Mr. Dobson quit? (Mr.Dobson quit because the kids smeared peanut butter on the stair railings.)
  2. Who had to clean the school after Mr. Dobson quit? (The students had to clean the school.)

Chapter 2

  1. Who is Mr. Jolly? (He is the new janitor.)
  2. Describe Mr. Jolly. (He has a white beard, smokes a pipe and has twinkling eyes. He wears hot pink shirts and bright green tennis shoes.)

Chapter 3

  1. Who is Eli? (Eli is a little man who visited Mr. Jolly.)

Chapter 4

  1. Why were the students uncomfortable in the school? (The school was really cold.)
  2. Why didn’t Eddie like Christmas? (Eddie’s father refused to celebrate Christmas after Eddie’s mother died.)

Chapter 5

  1. What prank did Eddie do by himself? (Eddie decorated the teacher’s lounge with toilet paper.)

Chapter 6

  1. Lisa thought Mr. Jolly was____? (Lisa thought Mr. Jolly was really Santa Claus.)

Chapter 7

  1. What did Eddie and Lisa do to the school? (They spread whipped cream all over the walls.)

Chapter 8

  1. What happened to Eddie? (Eddie was sick from eating too much whipped cream.)

Chapter 9

  1. Why did Eddie and Howie climb the tree? (They were spying on Mr. Jolly.)

Chapter 10

  1. Who did Eddie fight with? (Eddie fought with Eli.)
  2. What did Mr. Jolly say that Eddie needed? (Eddie needs the Christmas spirit.)

Chapter 11 &12

  1. What was the Christmas miracle? (Eddie’s father came home and said it was time they celebrated Christmas again.)

Because I Said So!

The authors of The Adventures of the Bailey School Kids use many words to replace the word “said”. Write each word on a slip of paper. Have students choose a slip of paper and write a sentence for it. This is a good time to practice the use of quotation marks!

Then have the students read the sentences to the class using the inflection appropriate to their word. For example, you would read it differently if you used the word “whispered” compared to the word ”yelled”.

Word List from Santa Claus Doesn’t Mop Floors:

Moaned, hissed, whined, scolded, screamed, ordered, yelled, snapped, shrieked, squeaked, giggled, shouted, grumbled, groaned, announced, whispered, sputtered, complained, stammered

They Did What?

thumbnail.aspx

The foursome is always doing something to disrupt things in The Adventures of the Bailey School Kids books. Mix the events up on the board. Then have students make a timeline putting the events in order. Here are some of the things that happened in Santa Claus Doesn’t Mop Floors:

  • Spread peanut butter on the stair railings.
  • Spied on the conversation between Eli and Mr. Jolly in the cafeteria.
  • Eddie turned up the thermostat.
  • Eddie dunked Melody’s head in the water fountain.
  • Eddie toilet-papers the teacher’s lounge.
  • Whipped cream is sprayed in the hallway.
  • Eddie fell out of a tree.

New Vocabulary

New Words

thumbnail-1.aspx

Discuss the following words from Santa Claus Doesn’t Mop Floors or use them as a dictionary look-up activity.

Words: shenanigans, lunatic, urchins, reputation, reluctant, threatened, peculiar, eavesdropping, and thermostat.