Hank Zipzer – Niagara Falls, or Does It? by Henry Winkler and Lin Oliver

About The Series Inspired by the true life experiences of Henry Winkler, this winning series about the world's greatest underachiever is funny, touching, and deals with learning differences in a gentle and humorous manner.

Annotation For Hank, fourth grade does not start out on the right foot. First of all, he gets called to the principal's office on the very first day of school. Then the first assignment his teacher gives him is to write five paragraphs on "What You Did This Summer." Hank is terrified--writing one good sentence is hard for him, so how in the world is he going to write five whole paragraphs? Hank comes up with a plan: instead of writing what he did on vacation, he'll show what he did. But when Hank's "living essay" becomes a living disaster, he finds himself in detention. Strangely enough, however, detention ends up becoming a turning point in his life. About the Author Henry Winkler is instantly recognizable and admired by audiences of all ages for his role as the Fonz on the long-running series, Happy Days. In addition, he is an award-winning producer and director of family and children's programming. He is also the author of the critically-acclaimed Hank Zipzer series, which follows the everyday adventures of a bright boy with learning challenges.

Lin Oliver is a writer and producer of movies, books, and television series for children and families. She has created more than one hundred episodes of television, four movies, and seven books. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband, Alan. They have three sons named Theo, Ollie, and Cole, one fluffy dog named Annie, and no iguanas.

Book Club Activities

o Learn about Niagara Falls and its’ historic landform significance by visiting the following web site: http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Niagara+Falls

o Have the kids make their very own Niagara Falls like Hank did in school. o Frankie likes to do magic tricks. Have the kids perform any tricks they know. o Hold your meeting at a deli or serve deli type food at your book club meeting!

Discussion Guide for Niagara Falls, or Does It? 1) How would you feel if the principal called you down to his office on the first day of school? Was Hank nervous about it? 2) Why do you think Ms. Adolf picks on Hank? Why does she refuse to call him Hank and continues to call him Henry? 3) Hank’s mother also calls him Henry when she’s mad at him. Do your parents ever call you by a different name when they want your attention? 4) Maybe Hank isn’t a good writer, but his friends say he’s really good with his mouth. What do you think they mean by that? How does Hank perform during presentations? (School presentation and putting on the magic show at McKelty’s). 5) Should Ms. Adolf help Hank write his essay? What strategies does she give him to help write it? 6) Papa Pete likes to take Hank, Frankie, and Ashley to McKelty’s Roll ‘n Bowl, which Hank thinks is a special thing to do.

o Have your grandparents ever taken you somewhere special? o What’s really special about your grandparents?

7) Frankie likes to do magic tricks. Do you know any magic tricks? 8) Hank and his friends use “creativity” for their magic tricks and Ms. Adolf tells Hank she’s looking forward to his “creativity” for writing his assignment.

o How do kids have different learning styles? o How could assignments be differentiated as to help students achieve success with

certain tasks? o What kinds of things have you ever done that were really creative?

9) Papa Pete always says, “There are many roads to Rome.” What do you think he meant by that? 10) Hank thinks he is very lucky in a lot of ways (Chapter 9). What ways is he lucky? In what ways are you lucky? 11) Do you think Principal Love was too hard on Hank for the disaster that happened in class?

o Do you think Hank should have been punished? o If so, what punishment should he have received?

12) Mr. Rock is a very cool teacher and Hank liked spending time with him. Do you know any teachers who are like Mr. Rock? What cool things do they do in class? 13) Mr. Rock suggested to Hank’s parents that he might have some learning issues and that some kids learn in different ways. What might some of those ways be? You may want to discuss learning disabilities and how teachers are trained to help kids. Check out: http://www.kidshealth.org/teen/school_jobs/school/dyslexia.html 14) Hank likes to make different kinds of lists. Did you ever make a list? What was it? How did it help you?

15) Papa Pete plays a minor character in the story. What makes him so memorable? 16) Discuss how Hank conducted his presentation: his adherence to scientific methodology; alternate strategies of creating the model; solutions that would prevent the catastrophe described in the book. 17) One of the authors, Henry Winkler, once said during an interview “something Hank has that doesn’t come from his friends is resilience.” What do you think Henry Winkler meant by that? How do you build your own resilience? 18) What do you think about having Hank as a friend?

o How are Hank’s friends so supportive? o At the end of the book, did you have hope for Hank?

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Courtesy of: Nancy Johnson (781) 793-0920

Thank you to the following sites which helped put this guide together. www.state.lib.la.us/empowerlibrary/2006%203-5%20Niagara%20Falls.pdfhttp://www.hankzipzer.com