Rebel McKenzie

Written by Candice Ransom

Published by Hyperion an Imprint of Disney Book Group, 2012

Rebel McKenzie wants nothing more than to go to the Ice Age Kids' Dig and Safari but when her parents do not have the money to send her, her dreams are crushed. That doesn't stop her from coming up with a plan, which ends her up in spending the summer at her sisters babysitting her nephew. How will Rebel McKenzie's summer end up?
Lexile Level: HL610L
Age Range: 9-13 years
Page Count: 273
Suggested Delivery: Individual or Small Group Reading
2013 Children's Choice List

Key Words: Sassy, Summer, New Friendships, Enemies, Family.

Internet Resources:
Candice Ransom's Website
http://www.candiceransom.com/index.html
This is the link to the authors website. The students can explore different books that the author has written if they liked Rebel McKenzie. There is also an author interview for the book that the students may want to watch to get some insight into the character.
Paleontology Website
http://www.amnh.org/explore/ology/paleontology
For the students who want to know more about what paleontology is and learn about it can explore this website. There are games they can play, stories, hands on activities that they can do, as well as videos that they can watch. It is very interactive and informational at the same time.

Vocabulary:

• Rebel: a person who rises in opposition or resistance against someone else. 
• Paleontology: a branch of science concerned with fossils of animals and plants. 
• Beauty Pageant: a beauty contest. 
• Safari: an expedition to observe something in its natural habitat.
• Quaint: strange or unusual in an interesting or pleasing way. 
• Peering: to look over something with difficulty at someone or something.

Teaching Suggestions:

1. Have the students write about something that they have always wanted to do, and ask them to describe what they would be willing to go through to get to do that thing, just as Rebel McKenzie had to in order to get to the dig. 
2. In the book Rebel McKenzie has a Field Notebook at the end of some chapters. Ask the students to go out on the playground and make their own field observation in their writing journal like Rebel McKenzie. 

Reading Strategies:

1. Before: Students will learn the mnemonic device for reading fiction of SCOOP Setting, Character, Oh no (problem/plot), Order of events, Problem solved. This will be written down for the students to use after they have read the book so that they can fill it out when completing a summary of the text. 
2. During: Have the students use the split page note taking technique while reading this book with the main characters on the left side and then anything they find out about that main character on the right side. This will help the students who do not know what to look for when taking notes, they will have a focus which will help them for later activities.
3. After: After reading the book have the students break into groups of 3 and rehearse a Readers Theater script from the book. Here is a link to an already made Readers Theater script. Students will then be asked to preform this in front of the class. After they will be asked to come up with their own Readers Theater script as a class for one of the scenes they liked the best. 

Writing Activity:
At the end of the book there is a beauty pageant in which the main characters are in. I would have the students become the judges of the beauty pageant and using information from the text decide which of the main characters they think should have won. They would write a page response detailing who should win and why.