Short summary of book:
This short story is about a little boy who is very nervous about his first day of school because he has been assigned to Mrs. GreenĘs room, and she has the reputation of being a real monster. He falls asleep at his desk and has a humorous and scary dream about his teacher, who looks like a green dinosaur. He wakes up to find a very normal, kind teacher in the room.

Author:
Mike Thaler

Grade level :
Elementary -- Upper Grades (3-5)

Reading level:
Grades 2-5

Book genre:
Realistic Fiction

List the curriculum areas this book covers:
Reading/Language Arts

How you used this book in your classroom:
This is a fun ice breaker for the first day of school. I gather the students around me and begin reading the story. When it comes to the part where the little boy starts his dream and the green monster teacher appears, I turn around, take a plastic mask out of a bag and put it on to read the dream part of the story. I purchased the mask a Halloween time and tried to find one with a green face and rather scary looking. At the end of the boy? dream I remove the mask. My students never know what to make of me on that first day!
After reading the story, we discuss what they have thought about Mrs. Green and what kind of teacher they would like to have. We discuss how a teacher could make it a good year for his/her students and the types of activities, classroom management, etc. that would make students comfortable and successful.
Students are then asked to write a letter to the teacher giving specific suggestions as to how he/she can make it a great year.