Rules

"An absorbing tale about valuing people even when it's difficult." -- Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

Lord, C. (2006). Rules. New York: Scholastic Press.

"RULES FOR DAVID
If the bathroom door is closed, knock! (especially if Catherine has a friend over).
Say thank you when someone gives you a present (even if you don't like it).
Don't stand in front of the TV when other people are watching it.
A boy takes off his shirt to swim, but not his shorts.
Some people think they know who you are, when really they don't.
No toys in the fishtank."

Catherine's brother has autism, and although she loves him, she is embarrassed by his actions and feels as though she gets no attention from her parents. In order to make her life easier, she has developed a list of rules for him to follow. Yet even with these rules, she still finds that life with a disabled brother is difficult. She is dragged to all of his therapy sessions and forced to sit in the waiting room. While there, she meets Jason, a nonverbal paraplegic, and befriends him. She designs word cards that he can point to in order to communicate with others. While learning about Jason and dealing with her brother, Catherine learns that she should not be ashamed of their disabilities, but should value them for who they are as people.

Reading Level: 780L
Suggested Delivery: Whole group, small groups, or individual read

Electronic Resources:

"Behind the Book": This site features an article written by Cynthia Lord about her inspirations for Rules. She based many of the characters found in the book on people she has met over the course of her life. Once she knew who all of her characters were going to be, she wrote the first line of the book: "At our house, we have a rule." As soon as she wrote those words, she knew exactly what the book was going to be about. She continues to discuss her writing and the journey she took to write Rules. The site also has links to websites about special needs. There are sites about autism, being a sibling of someone with autism, as well as links to lesson plans that deal with this diverse situation. Students can use the information provided by these links to better understand autism and how it affects everyone involved.

Discussion: This discussion guide provides questions for before and during reading conversations. The before reading questions give readers the opportunity to make text-to-self connections as several questions ask about what rules they must follow and what rules they think the book is going to discuss. The guide divides the during reading questions into three categories: the beginning of the book--a story begins with a character and a problem, the middle--in a story, conflict escalates, and the ending--a story leads to a climax and a resolution. These questions are aimed at inferential comprehension, forcing students to look for deeper meaning within the text. The guide also lists books that can be compared and contrasted with Rules, giving students the opportunity to make text-to-text connections.

Vocabulary: Morse-code, autism, coma, quarrels, occupational therapy, scrawl, bowlegged, poised, varmint, scuffle, tolerant

Reading Strategies:

• Before Reading: Complete the K and W sections of a KWL chart based on students' prior knowledge of autism. This will activate their prior knowledge because they have to discuss what they already know about the disability. This will also serve as a way to get them focused on the material because it sets a purpose for reading. When they fill in the W section with questions they want to answer as they read, they will read the book with the purpose of discovering those answers.
• During Reading: Students can compare the rules that Catherine has created for her brother to the rules that they must follow at home. Are any of the rules the same? Are they different? Why do you think they are different?
• After Reading: Students fill in the L section of the KWL chart started before reading. This will demonstrate their comprehension of the text because they have to use textual support in order to answer their questions and fill in the section.

Inferential Comprehension:  How does art and communication create a relationship between characters throughout the book?