the homework machine activities

The Homework Machine Worksheets and Literature Unit

The Homework Machine

50 pages • 1 hour read

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Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Introduction-Chapter 2

Chapters 3-4

Chapters 5-6

Chapters 7-8

Chapters 9-10

Character Analysis

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Discussion Questions

Summary and Study Guide

The Homework Machine , written by acclaimed American author Dan Gutman was first published in 2007 by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers and is the first of a two-book series. The second book, The Return of the Homework Machine , was published in 2011. Gutman is primarily a children’s fiction writer who has been nominated for and won numerous awards, including 18 for The Homework Machine alone. Gutman is best known for his humorous series, My Weird School , in which there are more than 70 books. He lives in New York City with his family.

The paperback edition used for this study guide was published by Simon & Schuster in 2007.

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Plot Summary

The Homework Machine is told from the perspectives of multiple characters in the format of tape recordings for a police report.

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The four main characters are fifth-grade students who are grouped at the same classroom table because their last names start with D: Sam Dawkins (Snik), Kelsey Donnelly , Judy Douglas , and Brenton Damagatchi . Other than sharing the same last initial, the students have nothing in common. Snik is the cool class smart aleck; Kelsey is laid back and doesn’t care about school; Judy is conscientious and in the gifted program; and Brenton is a loner and genius who designs software and studies psychology in his spare time. Snik pushes people’s buttons, and one day he pushes Brenton too far—implying that Brenton spends all his free time doing homework. Brenton retorts that he doesn’t spend any time doing homework and lets slip that he has invented a homework machine.

Snik calls Brenton a liar, so Brenton invites Snik, Judy, and Kelsey to his house to see for themselves. The group are stunned when Brenton’s machine prints out perfectly completed homework in Brenton’s handwriting. Brenton agrees to let Snik, Judy, and Kelsey join him after school to “do” their homework and even rewrites the software to accommodate their handwriting. The unlikely foursome spends every afternoon together, but they insist that they are not friends and that the only reason they tolerate each other is to use the homework machine, which they name Belch. Judy feels guilty about cheating but enjoys getting A’s and uses the extra time to take up ballet. Kelsey’s vastly improved grades earn her privileges, such as a belly-button piercing, from her mother. As the weeks pass, the D Squad becomes addicted to using Belch and the boundaries between their various social identities begin to blur. Snik shows an interest in “boring” chess, which Brenton plays, and Judy tries to be complimentary about Kelsey’s piercings (while finding them disgusting). Everything seems to be going well. However, things start to rapidly fall apart halfway through the year. Judy and Kelsey’s other friends resent their new associations and “unfriend” them, and their teacher, Miss Rasmussen , suspects that they are cheating.

In addition, a strange man has been stalking the group ever since Brenton designed software to instigate a hugely successful social media-driven “red socks day” that spread across America. Miss Rasmussen springs a surprise test on the class to see whether the D Squad really knows their schoolwork. Sure enough—Kelsey and Snik fail, and Judy gets a C, confirming Miss Rasmussen’s suspicions. Before Miss Rasmussen can report them, Snik’s father, who is in the military, is killed in the Middle East. This tragic event diverts Miss Rasmussen’s attention from the cheating, which seems trivial in comparison. The bond between the D Squad strengthens as the stress of keeping Belch secret increases.

Together they decide to shut Belch down, only to discover that Belch has taken on a life of its own and will not power off. They throw Belch into the Grand Canyon and feel relief as they watch it disappear. However, when backpackers find computer pieces at the bottom of the canyon, the D Squad is called into the sheriff’s office where they confess to everything. The case is closed, but their unlikely friendships continue to strengthen and grow. The stalker turns out to be someone scouting Brenton to offer him a job as an influencer for his company. The company’s clients want to market their products to kids. Brenton simply offers him an idea he would like to influence kids with: “Do your homework” (146).

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The Homework Machine - (Reed Novel Studies)

Subject: English

Age range: 9 - 13

Resource type: Lesson (complete)

Last updated

11 January 2023

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The Homework Machine is a complete 66 page novel study guide. The guide is presented chapter-by-chapter and includes the following distinct sections: Before You Read, Vocabulary, Comprehension Questions (including many higher-level thinking questions); Activities. The novel study includes everything needed to teach the novel including the following concepts / activities: setting, literary devices, research assignments, cloze activities, creative writing assignments, character studies, parts of speech, analogies, synonyms and antonyms, crossword and word search puzzles, studies in conflict, constructing a storyboard and sequence chart. It also contains a complete Answer Key.

You may wish to check out Island of the Blue Dolphins – a free offering on TES done by the author in the same format as The Homework Machine.

The writer of this novel study has had more than 60 curriculum units published. These are available in such outlets as Chapters and Staples and most stores for teachers.

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The Homework Machine

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The Homework Machine

3rd - 5th grade.

17 questions

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No student devices needed.   Know more

What was Judy's first impression of Sam?

He was a nerd.

He is cool.

He has low self-esteem.

He has a positive attitude.

What color did Kelsey dye her hair?

Which of Belch's features amazed the D Squad the most?

Belch could do simple sums (2+2).

Belch appeared to be an ordinary computer and printer.

Belch had a red power light to show when it was running.

Belch could print out homework in a student's own handwriting.

One day, Brenton wants to...

win the Nobel Prize

find a cure for spinal cord injuries

be the first person to live on Mars

get rich designing computer software

How did Miss Rasmussen know the D Squad was cheating?

She gave a surprise test

She analyzed their handwriting

She arranged the students' desks in rows

She held conferences with their parents

After she saw the students wearing their clothes inside out, Miss Rasmussen...

reported them to the principal

wore her clothes inside out too

searched the internet for reasons they might have done that

praised the students for their creativity

Why did Kelsey decide to take charge of the group?

She had always wanted to be in charge

Brenton was too busy working on the homework machine

Kelsey thought Judy wasn't smart enough to lead the group

No one else was being a leader

How does defeating Brenton at chess make Sam feel?

Proud and intelligent

Sad because it reminded him of his dad

Like bragging to everyone

Angry because he thought Brenton lost on purpose

How does Kelsey change at the end of the novel?

She starts wearing only dresses.

She signs up for summer school so she can improve her grades.

She stops hanging out with the D Squad.

She takes out her belly button ring and dyes her hair brown again.

How did the D Squad get caught at the end of the novel?

Judy turned in the group out of guilt.

R Milner told the police about the group and Belch.

Backpackers found pieces of the computer at the bottom of the Grand Canyon.

Brenton invented a new machine and they were all caught.

What was the D Squad's punishment?

Community service

Teaching a lesson to other kids about the consequences of cheating

Redoing all of their homework

Hiking down to pick up all the pieces of Belch

Why did Miss Rasmussen blame herself for what happened?

Judy had told her earlier about Belch.

She had put the D Squad together.

She had taught a lesson on smart computers.

She was naive and should've realized what was happening.

What did R Milner want Brenton to do?

Take over the world

Influence kids to buy certain products

Hack into a government computer

Create an establishment called "McHomework"

Which character in the book do you most relate to?

Ms. Rasmussen

What grade would you give this book?

If you had the opportunity, would you use the homework machine?

Absolutely!

Maybe... if I was feeling desperate

Which of these is a theme (lesson) in the book?

Friendship goes beyond cliques and status.

Sometimes we have to make hard choices between right and wrong.

Everyone goes through difficult times in their lives.

All of the above.

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The homework machine

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• The Homework Machine

Give each student their supplies. Have each student close their eyes. Tell them to close their eyes and get ready to use their imaginations. Tell them they are going to make a picture in their minds and they'll be drawing it later.

Read the class the poem "The Homework Machine" by Shel Silverstein. When you are finished, tell the class to draw and color a picture of what they think the homework machine would look like.

Then the students are done drawing, have a discussion about the poem and their pictures. For primary grades (especially K or 1), questions like "How big do you think the machine is?" and "What kind of noises do you think the machine would make?" are suitable. Older grades can answer questions like "Why do you think the machine didn't work properly?" and "How would you build a homework machine?" Submitted by: Patricia Pruim - Iskut, BC, Canada

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The Homework Machine - (Lesson Plan)

Description

The Homework Machine is a complete 66 page novel study guide. The guide is presented chapter-by-chapter and includes the following distinct sections: Before You Read, Vocabulary, Comprehension Questions (including many higher-level thinking questions); Activities. The novel study includes everything needed to teach the novel including the following concepts / activities: setting, literary devices, research assignments, cloze activities, creative writing assignments, character studies, parts of speech, analogies, synonyms and antonyms, crossword and word search puzzles, studies in conflict, constructing a storyboard and sequence chart. It also contains a complete Answer Key.

Many Links with the Common Core Standards (U.S.)

You may wish to check out Island of the Blue Dolphins – a free offering on Teachers Pay Teachers done by the author in the same format as The Homework Machine.

The writer of this novel study has had more than 60 curriculum units published. These are available in such outlets as Chapters and Staples and most stores for teachers.

Questions & Answers

Reed novel studies.

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