Reviewed by Margo Dill, www.margodill.com, margodll@aol.com

Chapter book for grades 2-4
Ms. Frizzle and her class as main characters
Rating: If you love Ms. Frizzle and her crazy stunts, you will love this book, which is also full of fascinating facts about whales!

Short, short, summary: Ms. Frizzle does it again–she turns the Magic School Bus into a bus-sub and takes her class to see the whales up close during a whale unit. While the class is learning about whales, so is the reader. This Magic School Bus book is complete with diagrams, facts, and pictures of whales, but this book is for a little older reader than the picture book series. Of course, an adventure awaits for Ms. Frizzle’s students when they pair up and go into mini-subs in the Atlantic Ocean! Will they all make it out okay?

So, what do I do with this book?

1. This is the perfect book for making a KWL chart BEFORE you start reading the book. KWL stands for Know, Wonder, and Learn. First your students write down facts they know about whales, or you can do it as a class discussion. Encourage students to offer ANYTHING they know about whales, even if it seems too simple, such as, “Whales live in the ocean.” or “There are different kinds of whales.” or “Whales perform at Sea World.” After writing down what they know about whales, students are ready to fill out the WONDER column. This is for questions they may have about whales. Encourage students to ask thoughtful questions and ones that may be answered in the book such as, “What are some different types of whales?” or “What do whales eat?” or “How do whales breathe?” Now, it’s time to read the book. When you are finished with the book, it is time to fill out the LEARN column. Students should try to answer the questions they asked in the WONDER column as well as adding some facts that they learned. Again, all of these steps can be done as a class discussion, making one class chart, or each student can make his own KWL chart.

2. Students often get confused on what type of book Magic School Bus books are. For example, they offer a lot of real facts, but obviously a bus can not change into a submarine. So, the book is fiction. Discuss with students the realism in the story and the fantasy. Make a chart. On the realistic side, students should list things like “Whales make certain noises,” or “Whales live in the ocean.” On the fantasy side, students should list things like the bus can’t turn into a submarine.

3. Take a unit you are studying in social studies or science, and assign your students to write their own Magic School Bus story. If you are studying simple machines, ask students to brainstorm what the bus could change into. Where could the students go on a field trip with Ms. Frizzle to learn about simple machines? Students will tap into their creativity while also focusing on their science or social studies unit.

If you have used this book with your students or at home, please leave a comment here and tell us what you did.

If you have a book for me to read and review, please email me at margodll@aol.com or leave a comment here.

photo by Peat Bakke www.flickr.com