Joined in 2023 
82 
63 About this deal
Why do you think Nikki writes, “Make sure you write in your diary every single day” even if you lose the original diary and have to write in a spare notebook? Why is keeping a diary important? Nikki doesn’t approach her mom about the video problem, her dad about the bug problem, or her friends about either problem. In the previous books, Nikki has also kept her problems to herself—even though her friends constantly prove loyal and helpful. Why doesn’t Nikki share her problems with others? Find three examples in the book that support your answer(s). Nikki worries a lot about being seen doing things like dancing at Queasy Cheesy or getting dropped off in the roach van. Why can a situation be okay when nobody sees, but humiliating if observed? Why do we care? This discussion guide is designed to help your students engage with the text through discussion in small or large groups. The discussion questions can also be used as writing prompts for independent work. The nature of the questions themselves, as well as the variety of suggested response formats and opportunities for interaction with peers, will help students develop proficiency in many of the College and Career Readiness (CCR) anchor standards for Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening, and Language.
In Nikki’s own words, she was trying to “do it ALL” on Halloween, including paint faces at the ballet class Halloween party, attend the Halloween dance with Chloe and Zoey dressed as a bag of trash, and attend the Halloween dance as Brandon’s date, dressed as Shakespeare’s Juliet. Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you took on too much at one time? Were you successful? How would you do it differently if you had to do it over again? Sometimes family or close friends develop their own special ways of communicating through shared gestures and vocabulary, secret handshakes, and other signals. For Nikki, Chloe, and Zoey, the language of friendship already includes jazz hands, the stinkeye, and a lot of acronyms like CCPS (Cute, Cool, and Popular), 4Fs (Friends, Fun, Fashion, and Flirting), and GGG-ing (Giggling, Gossiping, and Glossing). Some of them come from magazines or popular culture, and some seem to be the girls’ own inventions. What are some of your favorite words, phrases, gestures, and inside jokes you share with your family or friends? Nikki discusses some of her fears in Dork Diaries 3. What was your biggest fear when you were little? What about now? Nikki’s mom always wanted to be a ballerina, so she signed up both her daughters for lessons, even though neither of them wanted to attend ballet classes. Have your parents ever forced you to do something you didn’t want to do? How did you respond? Having nothing better to do on the night of the dance, Nikki reluctantly agrees to serve on the dance clean-up comitee with her best friends, Chloe and Zoey, as well as help out a ballet class Halloween party for her little sister, Brianna.
Fountas & Pinnell™ W These books have been officially leveled by using the F&P Text Level Gradient™ Leveling System Nikki feels that her bedroom should be her own private space. At school, she, Chloe, and Zoey use the janitor’s closet for their meetings. Do you have your own bedroom or another special space that feels like it is all your own? If so, who makes up the rules for this special place? If you could have complete dominion over your space, what would be your top three rules? Nikki’s eccentric grandmother comes to visit for Thanksgiving. We learn that she belongs to an elderly Segway gang and takes road trips. If you have grandparents or older friends/family in your life, what do their lives look like? How are they similar to and different from Nikki’s grandma? What characteristic of theirs would you most like to possess when you get older? I’m adjusting to my new school and hanging out with my BFFs Chloe and Zoey. And, get this! My crush, Brandon, has asked ME to be his lab partner—a seriously awesome development. Nikki and her friends help in the library and read a lot. Throughout the Dork Diaries series, they refer to various trends in literature, film, and popular culture, like vampires, werewolves, and zombies. What is your favorite current trend? Least favorite? Why?
Nikki asks her best friends for advice. Their classmates write Miss Know-It-All for advice. Who can you ask for advice? Do you ask different people in different situations, or do you have one go-to person for most any problem? Does anybody come to you for advice? Why or why not?Throughout the Dork Diaries series, Nikki has given many different kinds of gifts to her friends and family, including budget-saving handmade items, last-minute convenience presents, cherished items that are hard to share, and gifts that might also benefit her—like a dinner gift certificate for two. How do you decide what presents to give your friends and family? What’s the best gift you’ve ever given? The worst? Tired of Brianna waking her up in the middle of the night to help her go to the bathroom in fear of the tooth fairy being in there, Nikki decides to make her own fairy repellent so she can keep the tooth fairy away. She sprays Brianna's whole room. When their parents see this, Nikki says there was a really bad pest, assuming a bug, leaving them none the wiser. This whole book is about Nikki’s missing diary. What would you do if your diary went missing? Where would you look? Who would you blame? Even if you don’t keep a diary, imagine you discovered that everyone at school suddenly knew one of your biggest secrets. How do you think that could happen? How would you respond? Nikki loves Lady and the Tramp and easily imagines herself in the classic romantic spaghetti dinner scene. What’s your favorite movie from childhood? How could you imagine yourself in a scene? Describe the setting and any friends you would cast beside you. Would you tweak anything from the original script, or would it play out pretty much the same in your life?
Chloe goes Dumpster diving in search of Nikki’s diary. You’ve probably heard the saying that one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. If you cleaned out your old “junk,” unwanted gifts, and outgrown clothes to sell or donate, what kinds of things would you get rid of? What would you be delighted to spot at a garage sale or discarded at the side of the road?Nikki keeps Brandon’s secret, and she doesn’t even tell him that she knows. If you discovered a big secret about one of your friends, what would you do?
Nikki writes that she is not jealous, because “How juvenile would THAT be?!” Her denial seems a bit too passionate to be believed, though. Do you ever get jealous even though you know you shouldn’t? How do you deal?Nikki imagines what she could do with a love potion...with unfortunate side effects. Meanwhile, Brianna tries to scare Nikki with her toy spider until it's revealed that a real spider is in Nikki's room. While Nikki is working as an LSA during 5th hour, she gets a call from her parents saying she has to go to a funeral for Wilbur Roach, the former president of the company Nikki's dad works for. At the funeral, Nikki gets an unexpected case of the hiccups. Do you think the “thank you for the oatmeal” note Nikki’s mom leaves is sincere, or is she trying to let Nikki know that she is on to her deception but forgives her? Either way, Nikki is very relieved that she’s not in trouble. Have you had a close call where you thought you were busted but ended up being just fine? What happened?
Great Deal 
New Comment