Freckle Juice

“The secret recipe for removing freckles has been in my family for years. that's how come none of us have any. I'll sell it to you for fifty cents.”

Freckle Juice

Written by Judy Bloom
          Illustrated by Sonia Lisker
Published by Random House Children’s Books

Freckles, Bully, Physical appearance, Wishful thinking, School

Summary:

Andrew loves freckles, if only he had any! Nicky, a boy in his class, has so many, even a girl Sharon has a few specks on her face.  For a price, Sharon offers him her family’s secret recipe so he too can grow freckles.  The concoction is vial and has uncanny results.

Reading Level: Lexile Measure: 370L

Suggested Delivery: Independent reading
 

Key Vocabulary: Freckles, Appendicitus, Ingredients, Inspected, Reflection, Blur

Teaching Strategies:

a) This novel mainly occurs in Miss Kelly’s classroom.  Have students orally, or in writing, compare and contrast Andrew’s school setting to their own. 

b) Dissect Sharon’s “secret recipe.”  Think about the combination of those ingredients.  If possible, mix them in the classroom, See if you have any students who wish to drink it.  DO NOT LET THEM DRINK THE CONCOCTION.  Instead, tell your volunteers that Andrew does drink it, and to read to see what happens to him.

c) Investigate Sharon as a conniving character.  Discuss her personality traits, actions, physical appearance, and behaviors.  Have the students ever met or encountered anyone similar to Sharon? Incorporate this into your promotion of anti-bullying. 

Comprehension Strategies:

Pre-Reading:
Judy Blume is a renowned children’s book author.  Visit her “Kid’s Page” on the web to explore how she became an author, do trivia, and read tips on writing reports, and more!

During Reading

Similar to how Andrew and Sharon pass the recipe on a note in class, your students are going to pass notes (with permission, for once!).  This can be done at any point during the novel.  Whichever place you believe the students are most engaged and opinionated about the text.  Possibly after he gets “Sharon’s Secret Recipe for Freckle Juice,” or after he drinks the concoction.  This could even be done after reading the entire novel!  In partners, students can choose what they feel is most important to discuss and formulate a question to ask their partner and pass the note, in 5-10 minute intervals, actively engaged in discussing their own comprehension and understanding of the text. 

Post Reading

After reading, students will complete a problem/solution outline in the form of a graphic organizer (see picture below) to represent te problem, attempted solutions and results.  The organizer parallels the 5 W questions (Who?, What?, When?, Where?, Why?), asking: What attempts were made to solve the problem? Did those attempts succeed? Why or why not?.  Use these questions to prompt students to complete the outline.

Writing Activity:

Using their problem/solution outline, completed after reading, the students will illustrate the problem, solution, results and the ending results through drawings accompanied by at least 2 sentences explaining their illustration.  Since the novel contains pictures already, this will scaffold student understanding and provide them with a place to start. 

Electronic Resources:

As I mentioned in my suggested pre-reading strategy, Judy Bloom is a distinguished author, her webpage provides insight into the novel Freckle Juice along with her personal life and other novels.

http://www.judyblume.com/kids.php

Andrew has the biology behind freckles all wrong, learn the kid-friendly truth about freckles!:

http://www.judyblume.com/kids.php

Blume, J., & Lisker, S. O. (1971). Freckle juice. New York: Four Winds Press.