Bud, Not Buddy

Summary

Bud is a young boy during the Great Depression who is put in an orphanage after his mother dies. He escapes from an abusive foster home and goes on a journey in search of a man he believes may be his father. Along the way, he meets many people who help him and he uses his humor, ingenuity, and determination to make his way in the world. He eventually finds family, if not his father.

Instructional Activities

• Have groups of students plan a journey for Bud using maps. Each group must decide what things Bud will need before he begins the journey, where he will look for help, and what means he will use to travel.

• Students will make a miniature model of Hooverville and brainstorm ways to help the people who live there.

• Students will invent a band that might have been traveling at the same time as the band in the book, create a name for the band, identify the members and the instruments they play, and create a poster for the band. (From http://eduscapes.com )

• Bud liked to collect rocks. Have each student bring in a rock and write an analogy on the rock with a marker.

• Bud was a fictional character, but his story was based on real life events. Make a chart identifying which elements of the story were real and which were fictional.

• Have a Bud, Not Buddy party. Have students wear clothes in the style of the thirties and play big band music.

• Have each student write their own list of rules for survival.

Web Resources

Rocky the Rock Hound

 Bud, Not Buddy  web-based thematic unit.