Book of Diversity

Rules
by Cynthia Lord 
Published by Scholastic Inc.
Copyright 2008

Reading Level: Lexile Framework 780L, reading level 4

Suggested delivery: Independent read, read aloud

Vocabulary: fray (8), cringe (25), wince (67), accommodate (69), peril (95), discards (181)

Awards: Newberry Honor Medal, Schneider Family Book Award, Mitten Award, Great Lakes Great Book Award (MI), Maine Student Book Award, Dorothy Canfield Fisher Award (VT), Kentucky Blue Grass Award, Great Stone Face Award (NH), Buckeye Children's Book Award (OH)


"Twelve-year-old Catherine just wants a normal life. Which is near impossible when you have a brother with autism and a family that revolves around his disability. She's spent years trying to teach David the rules — from "a peach is not a funny-looking apple" to "keep your pants on in public" — in order to stop his embarrassing behaviors. But the summer Catherine meets Jason, a paraplegic boy, and Kristi, the next-door friend she's always wished for, it's her own shocking behavior that turns everything upside down and forces her to ask: What is normal?" - Scholastic.com

This book is a heartwarming, humerous, eye opening, realistic, and age appropriate read for students to understand that being different and feeling different is a part of life. This novel can be relateable in many different ways and can help students find acceptance in their own differences.

Pre- Reading: Talk to the students about how there are similarities and differences amoung people. Make a list on the board of differences that students have (wear glasses, only child, hair length, etc.). Then discuss with the students that there are other types of differences that people can have. Tell them that there are students' who's brains work differently than ours, some who need to sit in chairs because they can't walk, or weren't born with the ability to speak or hear. Make sure the students understand that just because they are different, does not make them wierd or outcasts. Tell them that Catherine's brother, David, has autism which means that his brain sometimes does not understand things as easily as we do. Then mention that the character Jason cannot speak, so he uses different items to communicate with his family and friends. 

During Reading: As students read, the students could pause at certain intervals to consider what it would be like to have to take care of a sibling with autism and how they would feel: Would I be embarrased? Would I feel frustrated? Could they do the same things I do? What rules would I make?

Post Reading: After reading, the teacher could discuss with the students how Catherine dealt with having to take care of David. The students could list off a few things that David did with Catherine and how Catherine handled the situations, especially if they were in public. The students could then discuss how they would deal with certain situations, such as if David started yelling how would they try to calm him down and relax him?

Writing Activity: Students could create their own list of rules for David. The students can write a few rules they remember Catherine wrote down in the story and then tell the students to come up with two to three of their own rules for David. After creating the rules the students can explain in a few sentences why their rule would be helpful for someone like David. 

Electronic Resources: 

Morse Code Converter

Students may not understand or might not even be aware of what morse code is. Explain to the students that morse code is a way of  communication for people who cannot speak that is made up of just dots and dashes. Jason used morse code to communicate with people, as well as some noisy objects. This morse code converter is very helpful for students who wants to quickly find out what certain words, sayings, or sentences are in morse code. This website could also be very helpful for those who would like to communicate with someone who cannot speak, such as a family member or another students in their classroom. 

Cynthia Lord's Website

Cynthia Lord, the author of Rules, has her own website with multiple different cites and resources for students and teachers based off Rules and her other books. This specific link includes the background story to Cynthia's reason behind writing Rules and also includes online resources connected to parts of the book.