Rules
For
David
By Cynthia Lord
PowerPoint By: Madeline Adams
Characters
 Catherine:
A girl who struggles to make her brother normal. She enjoys
drawing and writing rules.
 David:
Catherine's autistic brother who enjoys listening to Arnold
Lobel`s Frog and Toad series.
 Jason:
A boy in a wheelchair who enjoys Catherine's drawings.
 Kristi:
A new girl in town who Cathrine tries to befriend. She enjoys
Makeup and Other girly stuff.
Characters (continued)
 Ryan:
A boy who convinces Kristi that he is nice. He enjoys
laughing at and teasing David. MEANIE!!!!!
 Mom:
David and Catherine`s mother who is very protective of
David. She enjoys spending time with David.
 Dad:
Dad is Cathrine and David`s father who is OBSESSED
with gardening. He enjoys seeing ripe tomatoes.
My Favorite Character is…
 My favorite character is David because he is a
troublemaker. He also does very good for an autistic
little boy (Well… sometimes). He struggles to obey the
rules that Catherine lays out in front of him.
TROUBLE
Problems
A new girl named Kristi moves into the
neighborhood, and Cathrine needs to try to keep
David under control so she can befriend Kristi.
2. Cathrine wants Jason to have word cards that have no
bland so they can have a proper conversation.
1.
Solutions
 You`ll have to read to figure out problem one!
 Cathrine asks Jason`s mom for a stack of card stock so
she can make new cards.
Summery
 A girl named Catherine has an autistic brother named
David, who always
causes trouble:
*He breaks tapes (The kind you listen to)
*He yells out Catherine's rules in front of other people.
*He thinks everything everyone says is true, which
leads to trouble.
*He calls Catherine "Frog", which his Mom doesn`t
approve of.
*He puts toys in the fish tank.
Summery (continued)
Catherine discovers that a new girl, Kristi, is moving in
next door, and she tries to keep David under control so
she can befriend Kristi. Also, she meets a boy named
Jason in a wheelchair. She befriends him and makes
new word cards for his communication book. Will
Cathrine befriend Kristi? Will Catherine be able to
keep David under control? Will she be able to make
more cards for Jason? Find it all out in: RULES!
PLOT
 The plot of Rules is very funny. BEGINNING: It starts
out with David wanting to go to the video store. Then,
Catherine finds out a girl her age is moving in across
the street, and gets excited.
 MIDDLE: A lot happens in the middle. David puts
more toys in the fish tank, Catherine tries to befriend
Kristi, and Catherine meets Jason. She meets him by
drawing a picture of Kristi`s house and giving it to
him. More of these cool events happen in the book!
 END: I can`t tell you . (:
Main events:
 Catherine hears that Kristi is moving in.
 Catherine meets Jason.
 Kristi moves in.
 Catherine tries to befriend Kristi.
 Ryan pulls the gum trick on David.
Rules for David:
 Chew with your mouth closed.
 Say “Thank You” when someone gives you a present, even if you don’t
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like it.
If someone says Hi, you say Hi back.
When you want to get out of answering a question, distract the
questioner with another question .
Not everything worth keeping has to be useful.
If the bathroom door is closed, knock! (especially if Catherine has a
friend over!)
Sometimes people laugh when they like you. Sometimes people laugh to
hurt you.
More Rules for David:
 Sometimes you have to work with what you have.
 Say “Excuse Me” after you burp.
 Don`t stand in front of the TV when other people are
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watching it.
FLUSH!
You can yell on a playground, but not during dinner.
A boy can take off his shirt to swim, but not his shorts.
Its fine to hug mom, but not the clerk at the video store.
Pantless brothers are not my problem.
MORE Rules for David:
 Sometimes people don’t answer because they didn't hear
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you. Sometimes they don’t answer because they didn’t
WANT to hear you.
If you want to get away from someone, check your watch
and say “Sorry! Gotta go!”
If you say something over and over, maybe they’ll give in to
shut you up.
Looking closer can make something beautiful.
Keep your Pants on! Unless mom, dad, or the doctor tells you
to take them off.
If you want to get away with something, don’t announce it
first.
MORE RULES FOR DAVID:
 If you don’t want to do something, say, “Hmm… Ill
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think about it…” and maybe the asker will forget the
whole idea.
Late doesn’t mean not coming.
Don’t use two words when one is good.
If you don’t have the words you need, borrow someone
else's.
If you need to borrow words, Arnold Lobel wrote some
good ones.
Open closet doors carefully, some things fall out.
MORE RULES FOR DAVID!!!
 Before you go into Catherine`s room, Knock!!!
 If you want someone to leave you alone, agree with them.
 If someone is holding something you want, ask for a
turn.
 If you want to get out of answering something, pretend
you didn’t hear.
 Take your shoes off at the doctor, but at the dentist,
leave them on.
 When you say something stupid, gloss it over with
superfast talking and maybe no one will notice.
MORE RULES FOR DAVID!!!!
 Some people think they know you, when they don’t.
 Leaving out isn`t the same as lying.
 If you want someone to think something's not
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important, use “just” a lot.
Crying will get you attention.
If it fits in your mouth, its food.
Scream if you don’t get your share.
If you want to change the subject, confuse the other
person by going off on a wild, chatty detour.
The last two rules
(thank god!)
 When things get confusing, make a joke.
 No toys in the fish tank.
Vocabulary questions
Hi! These are some vocabulary questions for Rules. The
first person to hand in the correct answers (at least 9
out of 11) will get a free copy of one of Cynthia Lord`s
books: Hot Rod Hamster, Rules, or wait until August to
get a copy of her newest book: Touch Blue. Note: you
must have read or have been reading Rules. Enjoy!
Vocabulary questions:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Name the author and title of one of David`s favorite
books.
What are Catherine`s feelings about Jason when she
first meets him, and why?
When Kristi has David dance in Catherine`s room, is
she being mean?
Why does Mom object to David and Catherine
repeating lines from the Frog and Toad series?
Why does Catherine want to be friends with Kristi?
Vocabulary questions:
6. What is Kristi`s reaction when Ryan pulls the gum trick on
David?
7. David calls Catherine “Frog.” What does Catherine call David?
8. What is the card Catherine gave to Jason that she decided she
wouldn't show her Mom?
9. What was Jason’s older brother named?
10. What was Kristi afraid would happen if she went in the pond?
11. What toys did David put in the fish tank?
Activity
 Make a grid with four rows and three columns. Write one of the
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following words in each square of your grid (A different word in every
square):
Dazzling
Watch out!
Incomplete
Complicated
Joke.
Ruined.
Torn.
Excellent.
Yeah right.
Whatever
Run.
Activity (continued…)
 If you were Catherine, what would you draw for these
words? Draw what you think best describes these
words.
Activity example:
Complicated.
Ruined.
Whatever.
Dazzling!
Yeah, Right.
Run.
Watch Out!
Excellent!
Secret.
Incomplete.
Joke.
Torn.
CREDITS
 Book by: Cynthia Lord
 Rules by: Cynthia Lord
 PowerPoint by: Madeline Adams
 Pictures from: clip art
 Vocab. Questions: Cynthia Lord (first four) &
Madeline Adams (5-11)
 Activities: Cynthia Lord
Note: these are all the rules from the book. That’s why
There are so many rule slides.
BYE!!!!!!!