Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw- Jeff Kinney

Kinney, Jeff. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw. 1 ed. New York: Amulet Books, 2009. Print.

Summary
It's not easy being the weakest kid, just ask Greg Heffley. Greg recounts his triumphs and tribulations in his most prized possesion, his journal. This time around, Greg's father wants his son to toughen up so he enlists Greg in several "manly" activities, including boy scouts and soccer. Can Greg shape up before his father ships him off to military school? And how will he ever be able to do this and impress Holly Hills? All this and more will be found in a Diary of a Wimpy Kid.

Key Vocabulary

• Resolution
• Sarcastic
• Situation
• Taunt
• Humiliation

Electronic Resources

Official Diary of a Wimpy Kid Page

• Kids will absolutely love this page! They can learn all about author Jeff Kinney and read an exclusive interview with him. They can get a behind-the-scenes look at how this book was created. There are videos and audio clips of different interviews with Jeff Kinney as well as a blog. This site could easily inspire kids to create their own blogs as well!

Comic Book Generator for Kids

• Much like Diary of a Wimpy Kid, and other graphic novels, students can create their own comic strips using this site. Offered in both English and Spanish, imaginations can run wild. Kids can use this site to make comics for representations of other books they have read. Comics are a great tool for reading comprehension as well!

Teaching Suggestions

Before Reading: Greg Heffley uses a wide range of vocabulary words, and some might be unfamiliar for kids. These words should be pulled out and explicitly taught before reading. A word wall might be useful for this strategy. Kids can also be taught about the graphic novel genre. What is a graphic novel? Students can preview Diary of a Wimpy Kid, and with their new knowledge of a graphic novel, decide what makes this text a graphic novel. They can also share other graphic novels they may have read.

During Reading: Character sketches are perfect for this type of book. Students can choose a character (Greg, Rodrick, Manny, Mom, Dad, etc...) and create a character sketch or character map. As they read, they can add more details, traits, characteristics, etc... for the character they chose. They may be surprised by how many details they have found by the end of the book. Illustrations can be added to make their character sketches more colorful and vivid.

After Reading: Now that students have read an example of a graphic novel, it's time for them to try their hand at it. Students can create comic strips, similar to the format of Diary of a Wimpy Kid about a specific topic. This encourages kids to be creative as well as informative. Comic strips can be used across content areas as well!