No Talking by Andrew Clements
The noisy fifth grade boys of Laketon Elementary School challenge the equally loud fifth grade girls to a “no talking” contest.
Book Worms Discussion Date: September 16, 2010
Discussion Questions
Who are the “Unshushables”? How do the teachers at Laketon Elementary feel about the “Unshushables”? Have you ever been part of a noisy group? Why do you think this was the case?
Who is Gandhi and how does he get Dave Packer into trouble? Who helps turn Dave’s experiment into a grade-wide contest? What are the terms of the contest?
Who is Mrs. Hiatt? List some of the unusual steps she has taken to try to handle the fifth-grade class. Have her efforts worked? Has she given up?
What surprises Mrs. Hiatt at the fifth-grade lunch on the second Tuesday of November? How do Mrs. Marlow, Mrs. Akers, and Mr. Burton each react to the surprise?
What challenges do the fifth graders encounter as they get through the first hours of the contest? What loopholes do they find that allow them to make noise? What are the differences between talking and noise? What are some ways people communicate without talking?
What does Dave decide is the right word for the contest? Why do you think he chooses this word? Would you choose this same word to describe the contest?
Why does the author title Chapter 13 “Language Lab”? What experiment does Mr. Burton perform? What is the result of his experiment?
What do the kids discover as they try to keep quiet at home? How do their parents react to the silence?
How do the kids handle Mrs. Hiatt’s “Pledge of Allegiance” trick? Why do they do this? What happens when Mrs. Hiatt demands an end to their contest? What change is happening in the relationships between the fifth graders?
Why doesn’t Mrs. Escobar mind that the kids have disobeyed Mrs. Hiatt? What happens in her math class? What happens in Science, Social Studies, and Language Arts? How do the kids handle their music class on the second day?
How does Mr. Burton feel about Mrs. Hiatt’s efforts to stop the fifth-grade contest? What does Mrs. Hiatt do when she finds out that the contest is still going on at lunchtime? How does she confront Dave? How does Dave respond?
How does Mrs. Hiatt feel about her actions? Can you understand why she acted the way she did? What happens when she asks Dave to her office?
Why is the final chapter entitled “Winners”? Who are the winners in this story? Explain your answer.
How do the relationships between the kids at Laketon Elementary change during the contest?
Do you think the kids in your school talk the way the “Unshushables” do? Would your class be able to spend two days speaking no more than three words at a time? What do you think would be the hardest part of doing that?
Have you ever thought about how we speak to each other? If you were forced to consider your words more carefully like Dave was, how do you think your conversation would change?
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