Tripping Over the Lunch Lady and Other School Stories
Edited by Nancy Mercado
Featuring
“The Desk” by Lee Wardlaw

The first thing Craig and Tabby noticed about their 6th grade classroom that morning was the smell.  An out-of-place smell.  The smell coming from The Desk.  No need to ask which desk.  There was only one they’d wondered about, whispered about, all last week. It belonged to A & W, the new kid with the strange smile and unpronounceable last name.  Who was this mysterious boy? What was his secret?  And what strange things had he hidden inside . . . The Desk?



Discussion Questions and Activities

  • “What’s in Your Desk?”

Open your desk and take a long look.  I’ll wait . . .

Okay, that’s long enough.  Now, take out a sheet of paper and a pencil.  Number the paper from 1 to 5.  After each number write an adjective that describes the inside of your desk.  

For example, here are the adjectives I’d used to describe the inside of my desk:

    1. Raspy (the sound it makes when opened)
    2. Dusty
    3. Chocolate-y (how it smells)
    4. Clogged (with crumpled scraps of paper and notes)
    5. Irritating (it’s so messy, I can’t find anything I need)

Finished with your list?  Great.  Now, turn the paper over and make a list of everything inside your desk. Yes, that’s right.  I said everything!  I promise, I’ll wait. . . .

Here’s what’s inside of mine:

-Two rolls of pennies my son gave me in exchange for a dollar bill
-Two pairs of glasses
-Bar of Scharffen Berger Extra-Dark Chocolate
-Three cat note pads
-Cat stickers
-Paper clips in the shape of cats
-Extra-large orange calculator with extra-large number buttons
-A bug lying up-side-down.  Probably dead.  Maybe sleeping. But he looks pretty
      dried up.
-Library card
-Oh!  Another pair of glasses!
-12 Sharpie pens, two in black, the others in green.
-Packet of Uni-Ball Vision Elite pens, in green
-Small flashlight
-Address labels
-Postage stamps
-Striped paperclips
-Yu-Gi-Oh! Card (Wingweaver, ATK/2750  DEF/2400)
-Orbit Tangerine-Mint gum
-Cat pin
-Four music CDs without their cases
-Stapler
-Tape
-Cat hairs (black)
-Dust
-Business cards (Mine)
-Business cards from people I don’t remember
-iPod earphones, but no iPod

What have you learned about me from the two lists I made about my desk?  What does my desk say about me, my personality, my likes and dislikes, my habits?  Write down 5 things you’ve learned about me.  (Possible answers are at the end of this hand-out.)

Now share with other students in your class the two lists you made about your desk.  Ask them to mention something new they’ve learned about you – your personality, your likes/dislikes, your habits – from these lists.  Are they right?  What could a stranger learn about you just by looking in your desk?  What do you think your desk and its contents say about you?  Discuss.

  • “New Kid on the Block”

If you’ve ever been the new kid in class, answer the following questions:

  1. How did you feel the first day of school?
  2. Did anyone introduce himself or herself to you?  Show you around?  Ask you to eat lunch with them?
  3. Who were your first friends in your new class?  What did you like about them, and what do you think they liked about you?  How did you become friends?
  4. Was anyone mean or rude to you the first few days?  Did anyone tease you, bully you, or ignore you?  How did that make you feel?  What did you do about it?
  5. How long did it take for you to feel comfortable in your new class, like you were a real part of it?  How did that happen?
  6. What was different in your new school from your old school?
  7. What things did you like best at each school?  What things did like least at each school?
  8. If a new kid started school in your class today, what would you do to help him or her get settled, feel comfortable, and make friends?

If you’ve ever had a new kid join your class, answer the following questions:

  • What did you think of the new student?
  • Did you introduce yourself to him or her, offer to show him around, ask her to eat lunch with you, invite him to play at recess?  Or did you ignore him/her and stick with your usual friends?
  • Was there anyone in your class who was mean or rude to the new student?  Did anyone tease or ignore him?  How did the new student react to this?  How do you think he/she felt?
  • Make a list of emotions the new kid might have felt the first day of school.  Discuss.
  • How long did it take you to get to know the new student?  Are you friends now? Why or why not?
  • What could you do in the future to help make a new student feel more at home at your school?For everyone:

What sorts of things could Tabby and Craig have learned about A & W if they had taken the time to get to know him?  Do you think they would’ve become friends?  Why or why not?  What sorts of things do you think they would’ve enjoyed doing together?  What do think they missed out on by not getting to know A & W? 

  • “I Ate A Bug Club”

In one scene in “The Desk”, A & W takes several bugs out of his desk and eats them.  Research bugs as food, answering questions such as:  What kinds of bugs are eaten?  Which bugs taste the best? Which ones are the most nutritious for humans?  In what cultures around the world are bugs regularly eaten? How are these bugs prepared?  Visit the following websites to learn about bugs and to make a tasty bug recipe, such as the Ant Brood Tacos, Chocolate-Covered Crickets or Mealworm Chocolate Chip Cookies.  Share your treats with the class.  Bug-a-licious! 

Mantaka American Indian Council:

Kentucky Bug Connection, University of Kentucky: 

CoolBugStuff.com:

  • Trivia Questions:
    1.  What is A & W’s last name?
    2.  What does Craig say U.F.O. stands for on the school lunch menu?
    3.  What kind of animals do Tabby and Craig take care of in Ms. Chaltas’ class?  What are their names?
     4.  On what old TV show did Tabby’s parents get her and her sisters’ names?

Answers:

Things you might learn about me, Lee Wardlaw, by looking in my desk:

  1. I like cats
  2. I have at least one cat that is black (actually, I have two:  Papaya and Mai Tai)
  3. My favorite color is green
  4. My favorite gum is Orbit Tangerine Mint.  It’s tasty, and it blows great bubbles!
  5. I’m disorganized
  6. I’m messy
  7. I don’t clean very often and I don’t often put things away where they’re supposed to go (see #s 5 and 6)
  8. I tend to lose a lot of things  (see #s 5 and 6 and 7)
  9. I have a son
  10. I like to read
  11. I love chocolate

Trivia:

  • Wajtkiewicz (prounounced voit-KEV-itch)
  • Unidentified Floating Objects
  • White Australian Tree Frogs; Larry, Moe and Curly
  • “Bewitched”
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