Frindle

Andrew Clements

Author Study
Literature Circle

Discussion Questions
By Assignment
 Discussion Questions: Chapters 1-4
1. How does Andrew Clements describe Nick? What does this tell us about Nick?

2. Would you be friends with Nick? Why or why not?

3. What makes Mrs. Granger different from other teachers? How do the students feel
about her?

4. What did Mrs. Granger expect students to have available at home? Why? Doe you agree
with her letter: “...Clear thinking requires a command of the English language, and fifth
grade is the ideal time for every girl and boy to acquire an expanded vocabulary.”
Explain your answer.

5. How did Nick learn new words? Do you approach vocabulary the same way? What is the
purpose of using a dictionary to find the meaning of new words? Are there alternative
methods of learning new words?

6. What was Nick’s first day in Mrs. Granger’s class like? What does this tell the reader
about Mrs. Granger’s personality? About Nick’s personality?

7. What are the benefits of being in class with Nick? What are some possible negative
effects of being in class with Nick?

8. What was Nick’s parents rule about homework? Do your parents have a similar rule?
What are the benefits of a rule like this?

9. Why didn’t Nick use the introduction to the dictionary to write his report? What did he
do instead?

10. Prediction: How will Mrs. Granger and Nick get along throughout their year together?
What clues from the text you’ve read makes you think this?
 Discussion Questions: Chapters 5-9

1. What was Nick’s plan for his oral report? Did it work? How did his classmates respond?
How did Mrs. Granger respond? What would you have done if you were one of Nick’s
classmates? What would you have done if you were Mrs. Granger?

2. What was Nick’s plan? Who was involved in the plan? How did Nick test his plan? Do
you think it will work? Why or why not?

3. How did Nick introduce the word “frindle” to his classmates? How did Mrs. Granger
respond? Why did Nick choose her class to start the plan?

4. Why did Nick have to keep his eyes blank when talking to Mrs. Granger? Do you think
she knew what was going on? Support your answer with examples from the text.

5. What did Nick and his classmates do that upset the teachers? Why might the teachers
be upset by this? How do you think the teachers at MEH would respond?

6. What did Mrs. Granger post on the main bulletin board? What was the consequence she
decided on? Did the students view it as negative or positive? How do you know?

7. What reason did Mrs. Granger give Nick for keeping the word pen? What reason did
Nick have for using the word “frindle”? Which reason is better? Why?

8. When Mrs. Granger met with Nick after school, she made him sign the back of an
envelope with a letter to him. What do you think the letter said? Why did Mrs. Granger
decide to wait to give it to him?

9. What problem did Mrs. Chatham discuss with Nick and his parents? How do you think
Nick felt? His parents? Mrs. Chatham?

10. If “ain’t” is not a proper word, how can it be in the dictionary, as Nick points out? What is
Nick trying to prove when he brings this up with Mrs. Chatham and his parents? Why is
this a good line of reasoning?
 Discussion Questions: Chapters 10-12

1. Who was Judy Morgan? How did she get involved in the frindle controversy? Is this
going to help Nick and his word or harm it? Explain.

2. How did Judy Morgan’s interview with Mrs. Granger go? Did Mrs. Granger appear to be
upset by this frindle controversy? What clues do you find in the text to support your
opinion?

3. What other information did Judy Morgan discover when speaking with students who
had stayed after school? How did Nick avoid an interview with Judy Morgan? What did
she think of his act? What does this newest act tell us about Nick?

4. Why was Judy Morgan’s article so controversial? How did Nick’s parents react? How did
the superintendent react? How did Mrs. Chatham react? How did Mrs. Granger react?
Give specific examples from the text.

5. Who sent Judy Morgan the fifth grade picture? What proof do you find in the text?

6. What chain of events led to Nick’s national TV interview with Alice Lunderson? Do you
think this could really happen? Give an example of something like this.

7. How did Nick’s interview with Alice Lunderson go? Were Nick’s parents too protective?
Why or why not? What would you want your parents to do if you were in Nick’s position?

8. What price did Nick pay for being a local hero? Do you think Nick felt it was worth it?
What would you do if you were in Nick’s place?

9. What was the outcome of the CBS news clip about Nick and his frindle? How do you
think Nick felt? What are some positive results? What are some negative results?

10. How did Bud Lawrence deal with the new popularity of the word frindle? Did Nick’s
father do the right thing concerning the trademark of the word frindle? Why or why not?
Was it a good idea to keep it a secret from Nick? Why or why not?
 Discussion Questions: Chapters 13-15

1. How did Mrs. Granger continue the word battle, even after the note disappeared, the
students stopped staying after, and Nick seemed to have won?

2. Why did Nick have a hard time forgetting all the commotion? Does he remind you of
another character from another book or movie? Explain.

3. What began to scare Nick as a result of his frindle adventure? How did he react to his
fear? If you could talk to Nick, what would you tell him?

4. Mrs Granger noticed the changes in Nick. Did she think they were positive changes?
Why?

5. Why did Nick go to see Mrs. Granger on the last day of school? Did he get what he
expected from her? How did she help him?

6. After talking with Mrs. Granger, Nick begins to listen to his ideas again. Think of an
idea that Nick might have had after the fifth grade. What makes Nick’s ideas so unique?

7. What did Nick do with the money he had earned from the frindle trust fund? What does
this show about Nick’s character?

8. When did the word battle with Mrs. Granger end? Why did she continue the battle when
she was actually excited to see what would happen?

9. What did Nick receive from Mrs. Granger? What did Mrs. Granger receive from Nick?
What did they learn from each other?

10. Now that you know what Mrs. Granger’s real intentions were, try to imagine what she
was thinking when she posted the angry notice, kept the students after school, or
interviewed with the news reporters. What was she thinking in these situations.