All of you who have been introduced to the fabled Miss Switch must know that she is also the wildly popular (though very prickly!) teacher of Pepperdine Elementary School's fifth and sixth grade. (That she also happens to be a witch is beside the point!) As a teacher, she thinks you should not only enter her mind-sharpening contest, but should sharpen up your minds with a few other things as well. Therefore, she hopes you will tell your own teachers about some of the ways she thinks this can be done, if your teachers haven't found this page on their own. And here are those ways!
Teacher’s Guide
for Miss Switch Online
by Barbara Brooks Wallace
Pre-reading- check these questions out before you even crack open the book.
Have you read any of the other Miss Switch books by Barbara Brooks Wallace? What do you remember about them if so? Which characters do you think will be back again?
If not, do you think it will be easier or harder to follow along with the story? Why?
Prediction Guide: (See if you can guess what will happen before it even does! Remember in prediction, it doesn’t really matter if you’re right or not. In fact, the best books are the one where you are usually WRONG!!)
Chapters 1-3
1. Do you think Rupert is right, that Mrs. Switch will not be back? Why or why not.
2. Who do you think is behind Computowitch.com? Why?
3. How will Miss Switch appear if she does return?
Chapter 4-6
1. Who is Miss Blossom? Is she somehow involved or not? What makes you think so?
2. Where is Miss Switch? How do you know she is near?
3. Is Miss Blossom really Saturna? What makes you think so?
Chapter 7-9
1. Will someone figure out Miss Blossom’s disguise? Who?
2. How will Saturna get back at Rupert and the 6th grade?
3. Will Rupert be able to keep the secret of her identity?
4. Will Grodork be able to cast a spell that works? Why or why not?
Chapter 10-13
1. What will happen at the play?
2. Will Saturna become more vengeful? Why?
3. Will they shrink at the museum? Why or why not.
Chapter 14-18
1. Will Fred go to the museum? What makes you think so?
2. What will be the medium for the shrinking spell?
3. How will they find it? Who will find it?
4. Will Saturna return again?
5. Will Grodork and Neptuna live happily ever after?
6. Will Miss Switch return again?
Baffle your BRAIN: Trivia and other questions from Miss Switch Online!!
Perhaps you can make up a quiz on your own? Pretend you are Miss Switch at Pepperdine Elementary and practice your career skills!
Here are some examples….
Knowledge:
1. What subject is Rupert P. Brown III the best at in school? Why?
2. Describe Miss Blossom.
3. What is the name Rupert calls his friend Amelia?
4. You can sometimes taste a spell in strawberry, but NEVER in what flavor punch?
Comprehension:
1. Explain why Saturna wants to destroy the 6th grade.
2. Give examples of how things go wrong for Saturna throughout the book.
3. Give two words that best describe Pepperdine’s new principal.
Application:
1. Assess the reasons a computer can crash.
2. Choose your favorite character in the book, and describe why you chose them.
3. What mode of transportation would you like to have that Rupert got the chance to ride on?
Analyze:
1. Compare Miss Switch to Miss Blossom. How are they alike? How different?
2. Outline the major events in the novel.
3. What was the name of the bewitchment that ruined Romeo and Juliet?
4. Who was the hero of the day? Who else could have done it?
Synthesize:
1. Anticipate what the next Miss Switch book could be about. Where would it be set? What could happen next time? Who would be in the story?
2. What would happen if your teacher starting doing strange things? How could you figure out if she was a witch too?
Evaluate:
1. If you’ve read the other Miss Switch books, decide which one is your favorite and why.
2. Which chapter in Miss Switch Online is your favorite? Why? What makes the story so good at this part?
3. What can you learn about your own writing by studying this chapter?
Multiple Intelligence Projects for
Miss Switch Online
by Barbara Brooks Wallace
Verbal/Linguistic
Match these latin roots with their meanings: (Answers at the bottom of this page!!)
___1. Video A. woman
___2. Totus B. hour
___3. Memoria C. cause (reason)
___4. Altitudo D. people
___5. Stella E. to see
___6. Populus F. star
___7. Fabula G. all
___8. Causa H. memory
___9. Femina I. altitude (height)
___10. Hora J. story (fable)
Mathematical/ Logical
Using the root words above, (or any others you’re interested in looking up) create your own spell that will do something just for you! For example, Totus Homeworkus immedius!!
OR
Design your own board game based on the Miss Switch books. (It could be a knock-off of a popular game that already exists like SORRY, or Candyland)
Visual/ Spatial
Using a piece of graph paper to guide your design, illustrate your favorite scene from Miss Switch Online! Figure out how to create pictures using only these shapes: square, triangle, rectangle, and diamond.
Body/Kinesthetic
Create a dialogue between you and your pets. If you don’t have any pets, pretend the neighborhood animals can talk with you. Write down what they might say to you about your day, your room, and what their life is like. Be sure to describe them in a way that we can tell they have personalities of their own.
Musical/ Rhythmic
Pretend you are choosing the music for the Miss Switch Online after school special! Choose which scenes you will “score” and in a brief explanation, tell the director why you think these are good choices.
Interpersonal
Pretend you and your friends are going to act in the after school special. Who would you choose to be Rupert? Miss Switch? Saturna? Miss Tuna and Mr. Dorking? Why do you think they would be good in these roles?
Intrapersonal
Write a letter to Miss Switch and tell her about your school. Tell her what you liked best about her latest book, and what you hope she’ll be doing in her next one. Would you like her to be your teacher? Then, tell her so!
Answers: (1E, 2G, 3H, 4I, 5F, 6D, 7J, 8C, 9A, 10B)
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MISS SWITCH ONLINE Word Find!!
M X K R U R C Q Q H K G F D E
N I C O Q S A J C S S D B L G
P X S U O U D T S A F F F V B
I B B S C P I C T E C M R C B
W Y L H T W S U S P L S O M X
R C O Q S U R Y C A M X M V M
S W S S J N N T G R K O I N Z
Z N S M A J F A E G X E T W A
O I O S S O Z K D H D F C J G
M A M L I R L P Z M P J B S F
C J J O E Z F D N E I E O R E
M R D O R K I N G V J J X D Z
T R E P U R D Y P F S N Y I K
X X H F P O E B W U U O K W N
R O N N W J C D I F Z L W O J
BLOSSOM GRAPE MISSSWITCH
MISSTUNA MRDORKING RUPERT
SATURNA SPOOK
