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Alexander And The Terrible Horrible No Good Very Bad Day is a great way to teach with movies and books!
I don’t usually get excited when I see kids’ books made into movies because generally I’m disappointed with the movie interpretation (of any book, not just kids’ books).
However, I think that reading a book and then watching the Alexander and the Terrible Horrible movie
can make for fun lessons and activities for kids.
(And, kids generally aren’t that disappointed over book-movie discrepancies as I am.)
I told my kid that we will get Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day book by Judith Viorst
because I remember how fabulous I thought it was when it first came out.
So, I decided to start looking for ways that we could incorporate it into our homeschool learning and then end it all with seeing the movie and discussing the differences (comparing and contrasting) between the book and movie.
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About Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day Children’s Book
In case you’re not familiar with it, Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day is a children’s book by Judith Viorst and illustrated by Ray Cruz.
It was later made into a major motion picture.
Here’s what it’s all about:
Alexander just knew it was going to be a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.
From the book:
He could tell it was going to be a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. He went to sleep with gum in his mouth and woke up with gum in his hair. When he got out of bed, he tripped over his skateboard and by mistake dropped his sweater in the sink while the water was running. He could tell it was going to be a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.
It was a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. Nothing at all was right. Everything went wrong, right down to lima beans for supper and kissing on TV.
You’ll want to read the book to find out if Alexander’s day gets any better!
(I won’t spoil it for you!)
18 FREE Resources for Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day: Lesson Plans, Ideas and Activities
Here are a bunch of different fun ways to incorporate Alexander and the Terrible Horrible into your learning!
Have fun!
Make an Terrible Horrible recipe
Download cause and effect worksheets
Print puzzles to go with the book and movie
Have fun with an online memory matching
Watch Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day Cartoon:
Download coloring and activity pages from the movie
Get a Thinking Beyond the Text activity
Print Alexander coloring pages
Make and play an Alexander board game
Teach philosophy with the book
Watch a speech from the author
