Catherine, a twelve year old, wants to live a "normal" life, but finds out through this heartwarming novel that she doesn't quite know what "normal" is. Catherine has a younger brother, David, who has autism. She learns many important life lessons in this tale, all the while teaching her younger brother about some of these lessons and providing him with a list of rules or guidelines to live by.
Rules by Cynthia Lord is a realistic fiction book that can be enjoyed by people of all ages. I include it in my literature collection blog as being a book for an intermediate level reader, but truly feel that anyone (with the right reading level and so on) can read, enjoy, learn from, and love this book. I say this because I for one know that I personally love this book and I read it in my Junior year of college!
The book was published by Scholastic Paperbacks in 2006 and was a Sunshine State Young Readers book from 2008-2009. Being that it is of the realistic fiction genre, I feel that Lord does a magnificent job at creating a vivid and realistic setting that supports the events throughout the story. She also does a fantastic job at using dialogue to help the reader's better understand how the character is feeling at a particular time in the story. There are no illustrations, but there are
Motivational Activities
1) Book Bag: Have students collect 2-3 items that represent each character from
the novel. Decorate the bag but make sure they do not have any clues as to what
is in the bag for which character. Pair students up, switch bags, and then have
them fill out a sheet of which item they believe belongs to which character and
an explanation as to why. When both students are finished have them check
each others answers. Lastly, have them compare and contrast the different
items that each of them bought in.
2) Volunteer: Have a planned day where you can take the students on a field trip to
either a special needs classroom or facility outside of school. Have them read aloud
a few chapters of the book and talk to other people about it. This will really help to
bring the students attention to just how severe cases of Autism or is not audible
(like in Jason's case). It would bring a better sense of understanding and really
drive home how Catherine feels the way she does.
Discussion Questions
1) How does David stand in the way of what Catherine wants for herself? What has
she done to try to resolve that? Do your siblings ever stand in the way of what you want? How? What have you
done to solve that?
2) How are Catherine’s rules good for David? How do her rules hold him back?
How do Catherine’s rules hold her back?
How do Catherine’s rules hold her back?
3) Name at least three characters who exhibit prejudice in RULES. What do they
say or do which shows that prejudice?
4) Do you think it’s true that “Leaving out isn't the same as lying?” If not, is it ever
true?
5) What choices does Catherine make near the end of the book that show growth
on her part?
6) Have you ever had a conflict with a new friend? How did you resolve it?
Have you ever had to choose between two friends? What did you do?
7) Would you feel similar to Catherine if you had a sibling with autism? Why or why not?
Respect
Rules has an element of respect all throughout it. Catherine learns to respect all people who may not be "normal". She teaches the importance of respecting the rules to David and why some people treat him the way they do. She also learns about self-respect and how to not care what anyone thinks about her, her brother, or her relationship with Jason. Respect can be most exemplified by my motivational activity of having the children step into a world that is "different" from what they are used to and learn to respect others as they are and to not just treat them poorly or cast them aside if they have a mental disability, physical impairment, or anything like that.
References
Galda, L., Cullinan, B., & Sipe, L. (2010). Literature and the child (7th ed.). Belmont, CA: Cengage Learning.
Lord, Cynthia. Rules. New York: Scholastic, 2006. Print.
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