Judy Moody Girl Detective
By Megan McDonald
Published by Candlewick Press
Copyright 2010

Accelerated Reader: 3.5

Suggested Delivery: Small Group Reading

SPELLBINDING, DARING, CLEVER, THRILLING, DIVERTING

After main character Judy finds herself immersed with mysteries solved by the famous mystery sleuth Nancy Drew, Judy Moody decides to take up mystery-solving herself.  With the help of her little brother Stink, Judy attempts to figure out where Mr. Chips, the neighbor’s dog, has disappeared to.  Along with the help of others, this third grade adventure seeker takes on the case and begins by investigating the kennel, handing out badges to her partners and following clues all the way down to the Speedy Market where Judy Moody finds her suspect. 

Judy Moody Activities

This PDF document published by Candlewick Press has several activities to complete for sleuthing students and even directions on how to make your very own detective kit.  It also has pages within the text which relate to the item selected or activities performed. 

Megan McDonald's Official Website

Megan McDonald’s personal website and home of Judy Moody, has all of Megan’s books, links to movies, books and a calendar of events.  A section labeled fun stuff includes puzzles, matching games and is a great site to get the kids more involved in McDonald’s work. 

VOCAB: Independent, Jeepers, Explained, Baloney, Smushed, Kennel, Brilliant, Herring

TEACHING SUGGESTIONS:

-Use this book in science to briefly explain forensic science and the study of crime scene investigation.

-Use this book to teach students how to problem solve and work out issues. 

-Use this book to explain problem solving.

Before: Students will complete a scavenger hunt around the school in teams.  This will open student’s eyes to what it’s like to be a detective.  Once they’ve become interested, explain to them what the novel is about. 

During: While reading the novel, have students choose the most important scene in the chapter and then draw it out.  Student will keep these in a small notebook, that way, they can use this technique to help summarize the book using the most important events.  This also helps students keep events in proper order. 

After:  Following the completion of the novel, students will complete a game of bingo to test their comprehension of the text.  This card will have numerous blocks filled with vocab words, pictures of scenes and other information about the novel.  Question will be asked like:

Q: What word means to have or show great intelligence? A: Brilliant

Q: Who is Mr. Chips A: (a picture of a dog will be present.)

Writing:  Have students choose a character from the book they’d like to be friends with.  Have them write a passage about what they would do together, what they would talk about and why they would want them as a friend.