Smashie McPerter and The Mystery of The Missing Goop Teachers' Guide
Smashie McPerter and The Mystery of The Missing Goop Teachers' Guide
Smashie McPerter and The Mystery of The Missing Goop Teachers' Guide
N. G R I F F I N
illustrated by
K ATE H I N DLE Y
HC: 978-0-7636-8535-5
Also available as an e-book
Common Core
Connections
vocabulary
instruction,
math
activities,
and
more
to
Smashie McPerter and the Mystery of the Missing Goop Candlewick Press Teachers Guide www.candlewick.com
Illustrations 2016 by Kate Hindley
page 1
Discussion Questions
1. How do Smashie and Dontel crack the code on the back of the jar of hair goop?
Explain how the code works.
2. A lot of the characters in the book have very big imaginations. How do these
add to the story? Give three examples of characters imaginations getting
carried away.
3. Ms. Early loves to tell her students that motion sparks the notion. What does
this phrase mean? How do Smashie and Dontel prove it to be true?
4. Give three reasons that Smashie and Dontel work so well together. Give three
examples of times they approached doing something differently.
5. What is Smashies role in the Hair Extravaganza and Musicale? How does she
feel about it? What advice does she receive from her mother regarding the
show? How does this advice prove to be helpful?
6. Why does Smashie want to add herself to the list of suspects? How does Dontel
talk her out of it?
7. Look back through the book and find three examples of figurative language.
Explain their meanings.
8. What does the phrase taxing a suspect mean? List the characters Smashie
and Dontel tax and write a sentence explaining why they think each one is a
suspect.
9. Why did Charlenes mother stop working at Carloss fathers hair salon? How
do Smashie and Dontel help clear up this misunderstanding?
10. Who is the Herr Goop thief ? Why did he or she do it? How was he or she able
to pull off this mystery?
Smashie McPerter and the Mystery of the Missing Goop Candlewick Press Teachers Guide www.candlewick.com
Illustrations 2016 by Kate Hindley
page 2
Vivacious Vocabulary
The author uses sophisticated language throughout Smashie McPerter and the
Mystery of the Missing Goop. Review the following list of vocabulary words found in
the book. Ask students if they can guess each words meaning by rereading it in the
context of the story. Then have them use dictionaries to check their answers and/
or define each word. Since there are so many vocabulary words, you may choose
to review these words over a few class periods and assign some for homework.
abruptly
earnest
mangled
salver
afoot
espionage
mercifully
sarcastically
agog
fez
modestly
satisfaction
amiably
figuratively
muddled
scarcely
anguished
filbert
nefarious
sidled
anticipation
flaring
noble
skeptical
bellowed
forefather
palpable
soberly
betrayed
forestall
parameters
sparing
blackmailed
forthcoming
patent
stealthy
bleak
fretted
peculiar
surefire
breakthrough
glinted
pell-mell
systematically
bulky
grimly
pelting
tactfully
careered
gusto
pivoted
thrash
chaos
hastily
plagued
tweak
choreographer
hesitate
plaintive
undercurrent
churning
implications
potent
unison
confided
impromptu
preoccupied
unruly
craning
incredulous
promptly
upheaval
credenza
indignant
punctuated
vigorous
crestfallen
instance
quivering
whence
culmination
insults
rational
wilted
determinedly
intercept
resolutely
zestily
devised
interlude
retaliated
discreetly
intrigue
revelation
dread
lair
sabotage
After your students are familiar with the vocabulary list, invite them to choose
fifteen to twenty of the words to use in writing their own mystery stories.
Smashie McPerter and the Mystery of the Missing Goop Candlewick Press Teachers Guide www.candlewick.com
Illustrations 2016 by Kate Hindley
page 3
Hearing Homophones
Homophones are words that sound
the same but have different meanings
and/or spellings. There are many
homophones found throughout
Smashie McPerter and the Mystery of
the Missing Goop, such as Herr and hair
(Herr Goop/hair goop, pages 2930).
Have your students skim the book
and note as many homophones as
they can find. Then ask them to think
of other words that are homophones.
Compile a list of all the examples
on the board.
Smashie McPerter and the Mystery of the Missing Goop Candlewick Press Teachers Guide www.candlewick.com
Illustrations 2016 by Kate Hindley
page 4
Directions
1. Lay the numeral cards facedown in a pile on a table between two students.
2. One child draws a card from the top of the number card deck and lays it on the
table. This number will be their TENS number.
3. The other child draws a number from the top of the deck and puts it beside the
first numeral. This second number will be the ONES number. Children should
print the number they made with the two cards at the top of the Tens|Ones
page where it says OUR NUMBER.
4. The first child rolls the die. The number he or she rolls should be written in the
TENS place in the first row of the Tens|Ones sheet. The children should take
that many tens from the manipulatives they are using.
5. Together, the children must figure out how many ones they need to make the
rest of the number. For example, if the number they made with the number
cards is 62, and the child rolls a 5 for five tens, they would need 12 ones to make
62. The children should use manipulatives to help them, unless they are at a
point in their learning where that is unnecessary. This may vary from pair to
pair.
6. Both children write the math expression or sentence they created. They should
write the total number in the total column as well (in the example above, they
could write 50 + 12 = 62 or 50 + 12 in the math sentence or expression column
and 62 in the TOTAL column).
7. Then the next child takes a turn rolling the die and the process is repeated.
8. If a number is rolled that has already been used for the number of tens, the
child rolls again. The process repeats until a usable number appears.
9. When all possible combinations have been made, the children should discuss
and then answer the question at the bottom of the page.
10. Now the children can take a new sheet, make a new number, and start again.
11. When the students have played the game long enough to have completed
a sheet for at least one number, call them together to discuss the question
at the bottom of the page. How can they know they created all the possible
combinations for their number?
Smashie McPerter and the Mystery of the Missing Goop Candlewick Press Teachers Guide www.candlewick.com
Illustration 2016 by Kate Hindley
page 5
Name:
Date:
Ones
Total
How do you know youve made all the possible combinations for your number?
Smashie McPerter and the Mystery of the Missing Goop Candlewick Press Teachers Guide www.candlewick.com
Illustration 2016 by Kate Hindley
page 6
1. The first child rolls the 13 die. Whatever number comes up is entered in the
HUNDREDS spot in the OUR NUMBER area on the Hundreds|Tens|Ones
sheet.
2. The second child rolls a 16 die, and that number is entered in the TENS spot in
the OUR NUMBER area on the Hundreds|Tens|Ones sheet.
3. The third child rolls a 16 die, and that number is entered in the ONES spot in
the OUR NUMBER area on the Hundreds|Tens|Ones sheet.
4. The children should now have a three-digit number to work with at the top of
the page.
5. Children should use manipulatives to make the number in as many ways as they
can. For example, 263 can be made with 2 hundreds, 6 tens, and 3 ones. But it
can also be made with 2 hundreds, 5 tens and 13 ones. Challenge the students
to make as many combinations of hundreds, tens, and ones as they can to make
their number. They do not always have to use hundreds, tens, and ones to make
the number. For example, 263 can be made with 2 hundreds, 0 tens, and 63 ones.
Once children have the hang of the game, they dont have to build the number
with manipulatives unless they need to.
6. Then the children write the math sentence or expression for their combination.
(In the example above, they would write 200 + 0 + 63 or 200 + 0 + 63 = 263.)
They should also write the sum in the TOTAL column and the number of
manipulative pieces they used in its own column.
7. Once they have made as many combinations as they can think of (some groups
may want or need another sheet), they should work on the two questions on the
sheet. Each trio of children should discuss the questions among themselves.
8. Facilitate a whole class discussion, starting with two or three groups sharing a
few ways they made their numbers. Compare strategies between the groups.
Then discuss the final two questions as a whole group.
Smashie McPerter and the Mystery of the Missing Goop Candlewick Press Teachers Guide www.candlewick.com
Illustration 2016 by Kate Hindley
page 7
Name:
Date:
Hundreds
Tens
Ones
Math
Sentence or
Expression
Total
Number of
Manipulative
Pieces Used
Smashie McPerter and the Mystery of the Missing Goop Candlewick Press Teachers Guide www.candlewick.com
Illustration 2016 by Kate Hindley
page 8
Smashie McPerter and the Mystery of the Missing Goop Candlewick Press Teachers Guide www.candlewick.com
Illustration 2016 by Kate Hindley
page 9