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Lesson Plans and Teaching Resources for Sideways Stories from Wayside School

The cover for Sideways Stories from Wayside School Lesson Plans and Teaching Resources

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Use Sideways Stories from Wayside School by Louis Sachar to turn your read aloud or small group work into a time to improve comprehension and talk about the text in purposeful ways.

Sideways Stories from Wayside School is a wacky collection of stories about a class of students at an extraordinary school. While readers will be able to relate to some of the personality characteristics of the students, the events of the story are unlike anything they have experienced in real life. This Book Club resource encourages students to use the story's unusual details to ask and answer questions and make logical inferences to increase comprehension.

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Explore lesson plans and activities to help you teach with Sideways Stories from Wayside School in the drop down below.

Instructional Overview

The instructional overview includes instructional background for asking and answering questions, instructional objectives for each of the Book Club meetings, and a list of the materials and preparation necessary to the Sideways Stories from Wayside School Book Club.

Common Core State Standards Alignment

RL.3.1RF.3.3RL.3.10RL.3.9RL.3.7RL.3.6RL.3.5RL.3.4RL.3.3RL.3.2RF.3.4L.3.6L.3.5bL.3.4aW.3.8SL.3.3SL.3.2SL.3.1dSL.3.1c

TEKS Alignment

3.7F3.9D(i)3.9C3.9B3.9A3.8D3.8C3.8B3.8A3.7G3.9D(ii)3.7E3.7D3.7C3.7B3.7A3.6I3.6H3.6G3.10D3.13H3.13E3.13C3.13A3.10G3.10F3.10E3.6F3.10C3.10B3.10A3.9F3.9E(iii)3.9E(ii)3.9E(i)3.9D(iii)3.1A3.6E3.6D3.6C3.6B3.6A3.1E3.1D3.1C

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Management Resources

The management resources include a Book Club Calendar, conversation prompts, Student Self-Evaluation forms, Reading Response Board (with optional Common Core alignment), and an Expectations for Book Club anchor chart.

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Meeting 1

When students ask questions before, during, and after reading, it helps them understand the text better. Using Louis Sachar's, Sideways Stories from Wayside School, students can practice fine tuning their asking and answering questions skills while enjoying the outlandish story.

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Meeting 2

This Sideways Stories from Wayside School Book Club meeting focuses on learning about two types of questions; thin and thick. Readers will learn to easily differentiate the two types of questions by identifying the role that each type plays in understanding the text.

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Meeting 3

With so many crazy turns in the text, students will have many opportunities to find answers to their thin questions using Louis Sachar's Sideways Stories from Wayside School. A graphic organizer is introduced to assist students with keeping track of their thinking.

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Meeting 4

In order for students to answer thick questions about Sideways Stories from Wayside School by Louis Sachar, they will have to dig deeper into text and analyze the story. Students will continue their use of a graphic organizer and citing the text as they ask and answer questions.

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Meeting 5

When answering thick questions, students may need to use the text and their prior knowledge to make logical inferences. This Sideways Stories from Wayside School Book Club meeting guides readers through the process of making inferences to answer questions while reading.

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Meeting 6

This final Book Club meeting for Sideways Stories from Wayside School by Louis Sachar provides students the opportunity to use their favorite character to practice the asking and answering questions skills they have gained through participation in this Book Club.

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The first page of Asking Questions with A Bad Case of Stripes

Vocabulary Connections with Sideways Stories from Wayside School

This set of vocabulary development resources for Sideways Stories from Wayside School highlights the words that are most important for students to know and understand while reading the book. Through engaging in fun word games, matching words to definitions, and practicing how to categorize words, students will develop the vocabulary necessary to comprehend this story and many others.

Common Core State Standards Alignment

L.3.4a,L.3.5b,L.3.6

TEKS Alignment

3.7E,3.7F,3.3A,3.3B

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Focus Assessment and Rubric

Use this six-question assessment to determine whether or not students understand the key concepts associated with asking and answering questions.

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Comprehension Assessment with Sideways Stories from Wayside School

This 9 question Common Core aligned assessment can be used to determine students' overall comprehension of Sideways Stories from Wayside School and their mastery of the Common Core State Standards.

Common Core State Standards Alignment

TEKS Alignment

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Running Record with Sideways Stories from Wayside School

Use this Running Record to assess oral reading fluency with Sideways Stories from Wayside School. Track meaning, structure, and visual accuracy using the first 100 words of the text to determine whether or not this book is a good fit for the readers in your classroom.

Common Core State Standards Alignment

TEKS Alignment

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Management Resources - Spanish

The management resources include a Book Club Calendar, conversation prompts, Student Self-Evaluation forms, Reading Response Board (with optional Common Core alignment), and an Expectations for Book Club anchor chart.

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About the Book

The cover for the book Sideways Stories from Wayside School

Title: Sideways Stories from Wayside School

Author: Louis Sachar

Genre: Fantasy

Themes: Laugh Out Loud

ISBN: 9781408812464

Publisher's Summary:

Sideways Stories from Wayside School by Louis Sachar offers an imaginative and hilarious reading experience perfect for classroom settings. The book takes young readers to Wayside School, a delightfully quirky building constructed thirty stories high—with one classroom per floor—where nothing is quite what it seems. Each short chapter centers on a different student or teacher from the zany class on the thirtieth floor, introducing readers to memorable characters with unique personalities and peculiar challenges.

Teachers will appreciate how each story stands alone, making it approachable for reluctant or struggling readers, and the humor woven throughout engages students of all reading backgrounds. The book's playful tone and unpredictable scenarios—such as teachers who turn students into apples or students who fall asleep mid-lesson and out the window—spark laughter and curiosity. Yet, beneath the silliness, the stories touch on real classroom themes: individuality, creativity, the importance of kindness, and the value of seeing things from new perspectives.

Sideways Stories from Wayside School is a rich resource for group discussions, creative writing prompts, and extension activities that connect to students' lives. Its episodic structure is ideal for literature circles or read-alouds, allowing teachers to dive into character studies, prediction exercises, and classroom debates about fairness and friendship. This book is a gateway to joyful reading and an excellent starting point for helping students build both comprehension and a love for stories.

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Lesson Plans and Teaching Resources for Sideways Stories from Wayside School