Sideways Survival Activity
Wayside Elementary School • Floor 30
Sideways Survival Dossier
Intro & Chapters 1–2
Student Name:
Date:
Assigned Desk:
1
The Builder's Big Mistake
Introduction
The architect was supposed to build a school that was one story high with 30 classrooms side-by-side. Instead, he built it 30 stories high with one classroom per floor, and said he was very sorry.
A. Why is climbing 30 flights of stairs every morning a daily disaster for students?
B. Louis says there is NO 19th story and NO Miss Zarves. Why is this mystery funny?
2
Mrs. Gorf's Apple Transmutation Case
Chapter 1: Mrs. Gorf
Mrs. Gorf had a long tongue, pointed ears, and turned any child who sneezed, giggled, or wiggled into a red apple on her desk!
The Todd Dilemma
Why was Todd constantly getting turned into an apple, even when trying to help?
The Mirror Trap
How did Jenny outsmart Mrs. Gorf when Mrs. Gorf pointed her finger at the class?
Louis's Terrible Treat
What did Louis the yard teacher do with the Mrs. Gorf apple at the end of Chapter 1?
3
Wayside School vs. Ordinary School
Contrast regular school rules with the bizarre logic of Wayside School based on what you have read so far:
School Feature
In a Normal School
At Wayside School
Building Height
Wide 1-story layout with a grassy yard
30 stories tall; playground is only 1 room wide!
Classroom Discipline
Verbal warning, timeout, or office visit
The 19th Story
Consecutive floors: 18, 19, 20...
Sideways Stories from Wayside School • Novel Study Continue to Page 2: Mrs. Jewls & Blueprint Studio → Page 1 of 2
Wayside Dossier • Thirtieth Story
The 30th Floor Field Guide
Page 2 of 2
4
Chapter 2: The Monkey Misunderstanding
Mrs. Jewls
When Mrs. Jewls walked into the 30th floor classroom for the first time, she shrieked and claimed she had never seen so many cute monkeys in her entire life!
A. Why did Mrs. Jewls think the kids were monkeys, and what treat did she offer them?
B. How did Todd and the class prove to Mrs. Jewls that they were really human children?
5
Architectural Blueprint: Design A Missing Floor!
Wayside School has 30 stories (well, 29 actually). Invent a brand new bizarre classroom floor that belongs in the tower!
Floor Number (e.g. Floor 19½ or Floor 13):
Teacher's Quirky Name & Trait:
Odd Subject Taught Here:
One Ridiculous Classroom Rule:
Classroom Sketch & Floor Hazard Map:
Draw classroom layout, weird furniture, or classroom pets
6
Wayside School Survival Scenarios
1. If you accidentally kick your kickball over the fence on the Wayside playground:
A. Louis blows his whistle and gives you a detention
B. There is no yard, so the ball falls down thirty stories
C. Louis chases the ball across town all afternoon
2. To survive your first morning on Mrs. Jewls' 30th floor, you should:
A. Avoid wiggling your ears or eating classroom apples
B. Deliver a letter to Miss Zarves on the 19th floor
C. Pretend to be a chimpanzee so she feeds you bananas
Sideways Stories from Wayside School • Louis Sachar "There is no nineteenth story. There is no Miss Zarves." Page 2 of 2
Sideways Sentences Worksheet
Wayside Grammar Lab • Language Arts
Sideways Sentences Worksheet
Conventions & Editing
Student Name:
Date:
Room:
Proofreader's Tool Belt Use these editor marks before rewriting each sentence:
≡ Capitalize letter
/ Lowercase letter
^ Insert word or mark
○ Fix spelling error
1 Part 1: Fix & Rewrite the Wayside Sentences
Mark the errors, then rewrite each sentence correctly on the lines.
Sentence 1 3 Mistakes to Find
the builder was very sorry he built wayside school thirty stories tall
Sentence 2 3 Mistakes to Find
mrs gorf turned toddlers into shinny red apples on her wooden desk
Sentence 3 4 Mistakes to Find
did todd bebe and calvin run all the way down thirty flights of staires
Sentence 4 3 Mistakes to Find
mrs jewls thinked that all of the children was cute monkeys
Sideways Stories from Wayside School • Grammar & Conventions Turn Over for Louis's Yard Report → Page 1 of 2
Wayside Grammar Lab • Language Arts
The Yard Teacher's Incident Report
Page 2 of 2
2 Part 2: Louis's Playground Memo (Find 6 Errors)
Circle & mark the 6 mistakes
Louis the yard teacher wrote a quick note after recess, but he rushed and made 6 mistakes in capitalization, spelling, and punctuation. Use your proofreader's marks directly on the text to circle each mistake and write the correction right above it:
on friday afternoon, the children at wayside school went out for recess. louis handed out kickballs, jump ropes and hula hoops. suddenly, a ball bounced high into the air and got stuck on the thirtieth flore roof? louis had to climb up all thirty flights of stairs to fetch it
Correction Tracker: Write the 6 corrected words or marks below
3 Part 3: Sentence Architect Challenge
Write 2 original Wayside sentences
Demonstrate your grammar skills by writing two complete, error-free sentences about Wayside School following the clues:
A. Write an Exclamatory Sentence (!) showing excitement or shock about Mrs. Gorf or her classroom:
B. Write an Interrogative Sentence (?) asking a question about the missing 19th floor:
Student Self-Check Checklist:
Capital letters at start & for proper nouns
Correct end punctuation (. ? !)
