Don't Eat the Teacher

Author/Illustrator: Nick Ward

About the Author:

Nick Ward is the author and illustrator of many children's books. Ward had his first book published in 1979. He also write under the pseudonym of Charlie Small, who is the main character in one of his series. 

Genre: Fiction
Grade Level: 1-3

Synopsis:
Don’t Eat the Teacher is about a young shark named Sammy who is starting a new school.  When Sammy gets excited he bites things.  The morning he is going to start school he gets so excited that he bites the table and his mom says don’t do that at school and be good.  When Sammy got to school all of the new things they did excited Sammy and he kept biting everything, the books, the paintings, and he almost even bit the teacher! The teacher was very understanding of Sammy’s problem though and always told him it was alright. Sammy vowed to try harder the next day and when his mom asked him what he learned that day he said a lot!

Pre Reading Activity:

Before reading explain to the students what habits are and that everyone has a habit whether it is good or not so good.  Have the children list what some of their habits are.

Post Reading Activity:

After reading have the children write about one of their habits that they want to get rid of.  Have them write why it is a bad habit and how they will try to change that habit into a good one.

Reflection:

This book has a very good moral to the story.  It is about so much more than not biting things but it is about a child that cannot get rid of a bad habit.  Everyone has a habit that they may want to get rid of or change but this books points out how extremely hard it is. I also think its shows a lot when the teacher is very understand every time he does bite something and tries to help instead of getting angry.