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. Fatigued from her work on her Miss Know-It-All column, Nikki starts to wonder if she can keep going with it. Soon enough, Brianna and Miss Penelope pop up to see what Nikki's doing. AFter hearing about Nikki's position, Brianna decides to make her own newspaper called the "Some Times". Nikki plays along and reads some of its articles. One of them is about ice cream being served before dinner and the other is about a bear being found in Nikki's room while looking like Nikki. Nikki does not take kindly to Brianna's news story. Nikki feels like she can’t ask Brandon what his hug means because doing so would betray her interest, so she feigns nonchalance and overanalyzes inside. Have you ever wanted to know something but been embarrassed or afraid even to admit you wanted to know? What, if anything, did you do to try to find out the answer to your question?

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? The series, written in a diary format, uses drawings, doodles, and comic strips to chronicle the daily life of its initially 14 (later 15)-year-old protagonist, Nikki Maxwell. [1] 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 finally gets an invitation to Brandon's birthday party on the 31st and thinks about the possibility of them having a romantic Italian dinner. After that, she and Brianna try a new burger joint called Crazy Burger.

In the book, there is a list of positions on Nikki’s school newspaper available for new students. What role would you want on a school newspaper? Why? What role would you be least comfortable serving in, and why? Marcus Marcus is a recurring character in the Dork Diaries series. He is the guitarist of Nikki's band, Actually, I'm Not Really Sure Yet. He appears in Dork Diaries: Tales From a Not-So Talented Pop Star and Dork Diaries: Tales From a Not-So Happy Heartbreaker. He appears to be a shy, nice, and thoughtful character in Dork Diaries and is also known as one of the smartest people in school along with Theodore L. Swagmire III. He also has a crush on Chloe Garcia, and the both of them went on a date at the Sweetheart Dance in Dork Diaries: Tales From a Not-So Happy Heartbreaker.

And the gothic atmosphere is upheld by characters who are both unhinged and have gone mad. Mr.Zimmerman is my personal favorite because he is pure insanity who helps or harms indiscriminately and it is fantastic for drumming up tension, and the little sister does the exact same thing but at home instead of school, giving Nikki no place where she is truly safe as she should be in a gothic novel. Guide was written by Michele Gorman, author of Getting Graphic! Comics for Kids and Getting Graphic! Using Graphic Novels to Promote Literacy with Preteens and Teens.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?