JAMES PATTERSON'S
EDUCATOR'S
GUIDE
ABOUT THE BOOK
Sammy enjoys having his mom’s robots help around the
house, but when she builds a new robot named E (for
Egghead) and insists Sammy take him to school, Sammy
is furious. An outsider who is frequently bullied, Sammy
knows that taking the know-it-all robot to school will not
win him any popularity contests, and Sammy does his best
to distance himself from E. As Sammy anticipated, E has a
meltdown in science class, and, deciding that the robot is
not quite ready for school, the principal sends him home.
But Sammy’s mom corrects E’s malfunctions and when E
returns to school, he becomes an instant hit. Suddenly all
the kids love E, and he protects Sammy and his friend, Trip,
from the bullies. E even helps Sammy and Trip become popular. Sammy finally warms up to the new robot and routine
until someone robotnaps E—only to return him days later in
pieces. Though he is heartbroken, Sammy’s mother assures
him that she will be able to repair the damage and restore
E to his former fun-loving, intelligent self that Sammy and
the kids at school have come to love.
CURRICULUM CONNECTIONS
Science
In small groups, ask
students to investigate
the current use and
availability of personal
robots. Each group
should research three
areas in which personal robots are used and explain the
personal robot in use. Then ask students to develop an idea
for a personal robot and to draw their robot. Have students
write a proposal to explain the purpose of the robot, the
features of the robot, and how it would be developed, marketed, and sold. Students can then present their proposal
and sketches to the class. Encourage students to submit
their proposals to a company in the robotics field.
PRE-READING ACTIVITY
Brainstorm with students a list of all of the movies and
television shows that have robots as characters such as
Star Wars, Transformers, Iron Giant, and Wall-E. Then, ask
students to name activities the robots can perform and to
decide whether the robots are helpful or destructive. Share
with students and encourage them to name other areas in
which robots are used such as in factories and space exploration. Then ask students to consider and describe how the
robotics field could expand to other household applications.
Correlates to CCSS Writing: Text Type and Purposes: W.3.3, W.4.3,
W.5.3, and Production and Distribution of Writing: W.3.4, W.4.4,
W.5.4; Language. Conventions of Standard English: L.3.1, L.4.1, L.5.1
and L.3.2, L.4.2, L.5.2 and Knowledge of Language: L.3.3, L.4.3, L.5.3.
Health
Maddie has a disease called severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID). In small groups, ask students to research the
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HOUSE OF ROBOTS
EDUCATOR'S GUIDE
Correlates to CCSS Reading Literature: Craft and
Structure: RL.3.4, RL.4.4, RL.5.4 Writing: Text
Type and Purposes: W.3.1, W.4.1, W.5.1, and
Production and Distribution of Writing: W.3.4,
W.4.4, W.5.4; Language: Conventions of Standard English: L.3.1, L.4.1, L.5.1 and L.3.2, L.4.2,
L.5.2 and Knowledge of Language: L.3.3, L.4.3,
L.5.3 and Vocabulary Acquisition and Use: L.3.4,
disease and to include the following: a definition
of the disease, the disease’s symptoms, the precautions
needed to protect the patient, relevant statistics about its
frequency and prognosis, and a possible cure for the disease. Each group should prepare a multimedia presentation
for the class including the above information and a case
study of a specific patient. Have each group’s presentation
featured for one week in the school library or other visible
school forum.
L.4.4, L.5.4.
Writing
E clearly possesses human characteristics as well as the
ability to function as a human. Ask students to draw a
character map of E, naming his character traits and including his thoughts, words, actions, and interactions with
other characters as text support for those traits. Then have
students write a series of journal entries as E’s “robot log”
using information from the character map. Entries should
be told through E’s voice and should focus on the events
from the book that highlight his character traits.
Correlates to CCSS Writing: Research to Build and Present Knowledge:
W.3.7, W.4.7, W.5.7 and Production and Distribution of Writing:
W.3.4, W.4.4, W.5.4; Language: Conventions of Standard English:
L.3.1, L.4.1, L.5.1 and L.3.2, L.4.2, L.5.2 and Knowledge of Language:
L.3.3, L.4.3, L.5.3.
Art
Sammy’s dad is an award-winning illustrator/cartoonist
who draws ninja-warrior robots. With a partner, ask students to create a three-to-five panel comic strip using ninjawarrior robots or one of the robots Sammy’s mother has invented for use in their home. The dialog should be succinct,
but convey a series of connected ideas conveying humor or
narrative that relates to House of Robots. Upon completion,
the comic strips should be displayed in the classroom.
Correlates to CCSS Reading Literature: Key Ideas and Details: RL.3.3,
RL.4.3, RL.5.3, Language: Conventions of Standard English: L.3.1, L.4.1,
L.5.1 and L.3.2, L.4.2, L.5.2 and Knowledge of Language: L.3.3, L.4.3,
L.5.3
THEMATIC QUESTIONS
Family
Correlates to CCSS Writing: Text Type and Purposes: W.3.1, W.4.1,
W.5.1, and Production and Distribution of Writing: W.3.4, W.4.4,
W.5.4; Language: Conventions of Standard English: L.3.1, L.4.1, L.5.1
What role do Sammy and Maddie’s parents play in helping to establish a supportive family environment? Why do
Sammy and Maddie have such a special bond? What does
Maddie do for Sammy that no one else can do? How does
and L.3.2, L.4.2, L.5.2 and Knowledge of Language: L.3.3, L.4.3, L.5.3.
Language Arts
Sammy and Maddie love words and often use synonyms to
help convey a thought or idea. Sammy makes a list of his
mom’s favorite words on page 91, and E uses synonyms in a
sentence on page 147, “…do not worry, brood, or fret.” Ask
students to find an unfamiliar word in the book and using
a thesaurus make a list of at least three synonyms. Then
have students select one of the four words as the subject of
a poem. Students need to include all the synonyms in the
context of the poem as well as images from life that give
meaning to the word and the synonyms. Have students
share and post their poems.
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HOUSE OF ROBOTS
EDUCATOR'S GUIDE
Discussion Questions
Sammy help Maddie see the outside world?
What sacrifices do each of the family members
make for each other? Ask students to write a thematic
statement based on the answers to these questions and to
support their statement with a text summary. Have students meet in small groups to share their favorite thematic
statement and summary from the three major themes:
family, friendship, and peer pressure.
1. What is Maddie’s attitude toward her
illness? How does her attitude help
Maddie and her family?
2 Why is E sent home from school? How
does Sammy feel about E’s release from
school? What is Sammy’s mother’s
response?
Friendship
Sammy is Trip’s best friend, and Trip is Sammy’s second
best friend after Maddie. How do Sammy and Trip help
each other manage the bullies at school? Why does Trip
get his feelings hurt and pull away from Sammy? What role
does E play in restoring their relationship? What character traits does E possess that help him become a friend to
both Sammy and Tripp? Ask students to write a thematic
statement based on the answers to these questions and to
support their statement with a text summary.
3. Why does Sammy dislike E so much? How does Sammy
demonstrate his contempt for E?
Peer Pressure
6. On page 231, Sammy learns that it is harder to stand up
to bullies when E isn’t there to back him up. How does
Trip feel when Sammy doesn’t stick up for him? What
emotions does Sammy experience as a result of this
encounter with Cooper?
4. What event occurs that makes Sammy change his mind
about E? What is the result of Sammy’s change of
heart?
5. What is the reaction of the students when E is kidnapped?
What reason does Cooper give for dismantling E?
How does the
author use both
positive and negative peer pressure
to motivate his
characters to action? What role
does Cooper Elliot
play in showing
the readers a negative example of peer pressure? What
character uses peer pressure in a positive way? How does
peer pressure ultimately affect both Trip’s and Sammy’s
standing in their school? Ask students to write a thematic
statement based on the answers to these questions and to
support their statement with a text summary.
7. When Dr. Scientrific visits science class, he sets a
twenty-dollar bill on fire. Why doesn’t the bill burn up?
How does Cooper ruin the experiment?
8. Sammy is convinced the black SUV that has been following E has something to do with his kidnapping. What do
the drivers of the SUV have to do with E?
The above questions correlate to CCSS Speaking & Listening: Comprehension and Collaboration: SL.3.1, SL.4.1, SL.5.1; Reading Literature:
Key ideas and Details: RL.3.1, RL.4.1, RL.5.1; Language: Conventions
of Standard English: L.3.1, L.4.1, L.5.1 and Knowledge of Language:
L.3.3, L.4.3, L.5.3
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HOUSE OF ROBOTS
EDUCATOR'S GUIDE
9. What is E’s ultimate purpose? How does Sammy feel
knowing that he plays a small role in making a dream
come true for Maddie?
about the author
10. Why does Sammy’s mother want to keep E’s special
mission a secret from Sammy? How do Sammy’s parents respond to E’s success?
The above questions correlate to CCSS Speaking & Listening: Comprehension and Collaboration: SL.3.1, SL.4.1, SL.5.1; Reading Literature:
Key ideas and Details: RL.3.1, RL.4.1, RL.5.1; Language: Conventions
of Standard English: L.3.1, L.4.1, L.5.1 and Knowledge of Language:
DEBORAH FEINGOLD
L.3.3, L.4.3, L.5.3
JAMES PATTERSON has had more
#1 bestsellers--for children--than
any living writer. He is the author
of the Middle School, I Funny,
Treasure Hunters, and Daniel X
novels, as well as House of Robots.
His blockbuster fiction for adults,
featuring enduring characters
like Alex Cross--in addition to his
many books for teens, such as the
Maximum Ride series--has sold
more than 300 million copies
worldwide. He lives in Florida.
Middleschoolbooks.com
Educator’s Guide prepared by Susan Geye.
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