Rules
By: Cynthia Lord
Realistic Fiction
(Chapter Book)
Catherine is a 12 year old girl who just wants a normal life. Her younger brother is autistic and her parents put her in charge of him more often than she would like, and her best friend is in California for the summer with her dad. Catherine spends alot of time drawing in her sketch book and writing down rules for her brother to follow to try and get him to act "normal." When Catherine finds out that a girl her age in moving in next door she starts thinking about all the things that they could do together over the summer. Catherine also meets Jason when she goes with her brother to ocupational therapy. They become good friends and she helps Jason have a more positive outlook on life. Catherine also figures out that her new neighbor Kristi is not what she had hoped for. Read this book to see the changes that Catherine goes through and how her views on some things seem to change.
I would read this book aloud to my students. I would read a chapter or so at the end of the day, so that we could talk as we read about the things going on in this book, such as autism. After we had finished reading the book I would have the students pair up and make 26 word cards like Jason has. I would then ask them to use these cards and see how Jason and Catherine communicated with each other. I feel that this activity would help students develop a greater appreciation for people that my be "different" for them and admire them for the way they accomplish things that we may take for granted, such as talking.
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