The Terrible Two Activity Guide

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GUIDE TO

among other things


MAKING YOUR OWN
Pranking Notebook!

THE BOOK IN QUES

TION

INCLUDES ONE CRISP,


NEW DOLLAR BILL!*

Based on the book by

MAC BARNETT
and JORY JOHN
ILLUSTRATED BY

KEVIN CORNELL
*There is no dollar bill.

from AMULET BOOKS, New Yor


k
www.terribletwo.com

Welcome, good people,

to the Terrible Twos Guide


to Making Your Own Pranking notebook, which we will henceforth refer by its
acronym, TTGtMYOPN, and which we will pronounce ti-teg-ta-my-o-pin. Say it
with us! Great. Now, this Activity Book has been really fun to make, and we learned
a lot along the way. Like, for instance: the thing we found out about the word
TTGtMYOPN is that after we encoded it with a proprietary steganophographic
encoder ring, hand-delivered the encoded message to Chicago by non-Amtrak
train in the dark of night, and secretly coerced our our old college roommate, Pete
(who really needs to figure out what hes doing with his life), into decoding it without
even realizing hed received it, and then absentmindedly speaking the sounds aloud
to himselfthat the word, TTGtMYOPN, sounded, to Petes newish-but-alreadyserious girlfriend, Hannah, like the Esperanto word for fine-leather-shoe-ofexcellent-craftsmanship-but-not-really-my-style. Now, Petes girlfriend,
Hannah, had spent some time WWOOFing in the ancestral home of Esperanto
before settling down in Chicago to work as a nanny while interning at a public
radio stationand, after consulting her blog entries from her farmer days, various
dictionaries, and no less than three Official Chicago City Linguists, found out that
TTGtMYOPN literally is that word in Esperanto. TTGtMYOPN literally means
fine-leather-something-something-something-etc. Its true. Go ahead. Look it
up yourself. Or, wait. Dont do that right now. Right now, weve got an activity
book to get through.
HERES WHAT YOULL FIND INSIDE
1. A guided activity that walks kids through making their
own Pranking Notebook.
2. Sample worksheets and mini-games for kids to play with.
3. Reading suggestions.
4. Some other things.

TO START
Welcome kids to the space.
Ask if they know what pranks are, if theyve ever done any pranks
before, or if theyve heard any great prank stories.
Encourage them. Get excited, like, Wow, you guys know a lot about
pranksbut there is still a lot to learn. Explain that today youll be making Pranking Notebooks. But before you do that, you should read from
The Terrible Two so they can get a sense of what pranking is all about.
READING
Read the first four chapters (theyre shortabout eight mins altogether),
which will give a sense of the main character, and the humor of the book.
WORKSHEETS
After youre done, you can pass out the worksheets and lead kids through
each part.
The first part is how to make the cover (15-20 mins). Covers are important. What makes for a good cover? Something boring. Encourage kids
to think of boring examples and make the most BORING-looking covers
they can.
Once the covers are completed, circle back and have kids share their
ideas.
After the covers are done, there are interior pages to fold and fill out.
Once those are completed, bind the books using rubber bands.
THE OATH
Lead the kids through the Pranksters Oath. Swear them to secrecy, and
youre done.
SUPPLIES
Art supplies. Pens, paper, etc. Child-safe scissors.
Rubber bands to bind the books.
Packet (pages that follow, to print and hand out).
rubber
band
FOLDED
BOOK

GUIDE TO
among other things
MAKING YOUR OWN

Pranking Notebook!
INCLUDES ONE CRISP,
NEW DOLLAR BILL!*

*Does NOT contain a dollar bill. Where did you hear that?

MAKING YOUR OWN

Pranking notebook
STEP ONE
Design your cover.
STEP TWO
Cut, fold, and fill in your inside pages.
STEP THREE
Take a year off to learn the ancient
art of celestial navigation.
STEP FOUR
Set out to sea with a rowdy but kindhearted
band of pirates, to seek adventure and fortune.
STEP FIVE
Return after many long years away.
STEP SIX
Pick up where you left off with the notebook,
binding the pages with a rubber band.
STEP Seven
Take the Pranksters Oath.
STEP EIGHT
Now go home. Seriously, get outta here. This
event is officially over. Thanks.

DESIGNING YOUR

COVER
THE THING ABOUT DESIGNING A GOOD COVER for
your Pranking Notebook is that it should be BORING. Like, excruciatingly boring. On a scale of one to ten, from least to most boring,
your cover should be a five. Or a six. Because a one or a ten would be
much too interesting.
BELOW and on the following page are some example covers you
could use to cover your Pranking Notebook. Cut, fold, and color them
in. Suggested colors for coloring them include: Beige, Taupe, Mauve,
Gray, Fluorescent Gray, and Hot Beige.

FOLD HERE
CUT HERE

AN

INSIDE YOU WILL LEARN ABOUT


+)$.%9"%!.3s+)$.%9"%!.3s+)$.%9"%!.3s+)$.%9
"%!.3s+)$.%9"%!.3s+)$.%9"%!.3s+)$.%9"%!.3s
+)$.%9"%!.3s+)$.%9"%!.3s+)$.%9"%!.3s+)$.%9
"%!.3s+)$.%9"%!.3s+)$.%9"%!.3s+)$.%9"%!.3s
+)$.%9"%!.3s+)$.%9"%!.3s+)$.%9"%!.3s+)$.%9
"%!.3s+)$.%9"%!.3s+)$.%9"%!.3s+)$.%9"%!.3s
+)$.%9"%!.3s+)$.%9"%!.3s+)$.%9"%!.3s+)$.%9
"%!.3s+)$.%9"%!.3s+)$.%9"%!.3s+)$.%9"%!.3s
+)$.%9"%!.3s+)$.%9"%!.3s+)$.%9"%!.3s+)$.%9
"%!.3s+)$.%9"%!.3s+)$.%9"%!.3s+)$.%9"%!.3s
+)$.%9"%!.3s+)$.%9"%!.3s+)$.%9"%!.3s+)$.%9
"%!.3 s +)$.%9 "%!.3 s +)$.%9 "%!.3 s4(%2% )3 /.%
#(!04%2 /. $/'34(!47!3 ,%&4 /6%2 &2/-!./4(%2
"//+ !.$ 7% &)'52%$ ./ /.% 7/5,$ ./4)#% )& 7%
315%%:%$)4).4(%2%s+)$.%9"%!.3s+)$.%9"%!.3s
+)$.%9"%!.3s+)$.%9"%!.3s+)$.%9"%!.3s+)$.%9
"%!.3 s +)$.%9 "%!.3 s +)$.%9 "%!.3 s +)$.%9 "%!.3

ANNOTATED HISTORY
OF

KIDNEY
BEANS
LIKE, A MILLION
PAGES ABOUT IT

AS WE SAID BEFORE, THERE ARE,

BY

LIKE, AN ENDLESS NUMBER


/&PAGES ABOUT IT!

DR. GARY GRAY

PUBLISHERS OF FINE BOOKS ABOUT KIDNEY


BEANS (AND ONCE WE PUBLISHED ONE BOOK
ABOUT DOGS AS A FAVOR TO AN OLD FRIEND)

FOLD HERE

KIDNEY & BEAN

4(%#2)4)#3!2%LUKEWARM AT BEST!

#14 on the New Paltz Times Pretty-Good-Seller List for One Day!

This is in my top five (out of five) favorite


books on the subject.

IT
DRY YET?
BUT IS

David Obama [not related to the president]

I found the book fairly okay at times.


Edra Erdrich, Author of But Has It Dried Yet?
A Beginners Guide to Watching Paint Dry

I actually might be related to the president.

David Obama (AgainNOT related to the president


and, actually, we only got him to give a blurb because we
thought he was related to the president, but it turns out that
not only is he not related to the president, hes probably not even
a real person. Sorry, David.)

Dont worry about it. I see where


youre coming from.
David Obama (surprisingly chill guy)

A Beginners Guide to

7!4#().'0!).4$29

Also in this series

by

HOW TO WATCH GRASS GROW

Edra Erdrich

COUNTING SAND:
LIKE, AS A FULL-TIME JOB
BEIGE: HOW ONE COLOR CHANGED
AMERICAN HISTORY

CUT HERE
FOLD HERE

GREAT PRANKS

THROUGHOUT HISTORY
MOUNT OLYMPUS, ANCIENT GREECE: The god Zeus really knew how
to COMMIT to a prank. He would literally shape-shift his body for a
good trick. He also threw lightning bolts at earthlings, which, though
technically not a prank, is still pretty cool.
ANCIENT CLEVELAND, OHIO: Recently excavated sites beneath modernday Cleveland, Ohio, show evidence of dinosaurs fondness for practical
jokes. Archaeologists theorize that dinosaur practical jokes could have
included the classic, Look behind you, theres a giant fireball flying out
of the sky that will wipe out all life, and putting things way up high and
asking a T. rex to try and get them down with its tiny, tiny arms.

MORE GREAT PRANKS

THROUGHOUT HISTORY
HOKKAIDO, JAPAN, 1773: Okay, so this one prank happened on the outskirts of Hokkaido, Japan, involving a farmer, a Samurai warrior, and a truly hilarious swapping of some light green
tea with some slightly LIGHTER GREEN tea. And, I mean, you
can see where this is going, right? You cant? Well, maybe you just
had to be there.
MODERN CLEVELAND, OHIO: Recently, an unknown person claiming to be an archaeologist by the name of Dr. Old Q. McDonald
replaced all of the results from months of archaeological digs with
fake notes indicating that dinosaurs were capable of practical jokes.
Dinosaurs probably did not engage in practical jokes. Just saying.

USE THESE BLANK COVERS TO MAKE YOUR OWN


FOLD HERE

CUT HERE

critics arE saying

by

Components of

THE SECRET HANDSHAKE

Pranking is so much more fun with a partner. You need to find


someone you can trust. Someone who complements your style and shares
your views on correct pranking behavior. Once youve chosen someone
someone to walk the walk of the Prankster with you, youll need to develop a secret handshake.
A SHORT LIST OF POSSIBLE MOVES
Fist Bump, High Five, Low Five, High/Low (1-4) Five, Standard Shake,
Left-handed Standard, Behind-the-back Shake, Finger Snap, Foot Shake,
Jazz Hands Shake, Country Music Hands Shake, Chest Bump, Belly
Bump, Subtle Wink, Not-So-Subtle Wink, Double Wink, Full-Body Turn,
Reverse Turn, Somersault, Flip, Cartwheel, and Back Flip.

In the blanks provided, combine moves from the list above, or make up your own. Practice your
handshake with a partner until its second nature. Once youve memorized it, destroy this paper.

MAKING YOUR

INSIDE PAGES
The next two pages you can use for the inside of your Pranking
Notebook. All you have to do is fold them into fourths, and answer
the questions to get started on your pranking career. BONUS: You
can hide super-secret information, codes, maps, and more on the
inside of the folded pages!
Once youve completed your pages, wrap the RUBBER BAND around
the pages, and youve got a book!

*A goat is what pranksters call their victims.


To be a goat, someone has to have it coming.

5.

most goat-likE trait

namE

most goat-likE trait

namE

4.

most goat-likE trait

namE

3.

most goat-likE trait

namE

2.

most goat-likE trait

namE

1.

No self-respecting Pranking Notebook should ever be without at least a


couple pages covered with hastily drawn things connected with dotted
lines. You can draw elements of your prank in the circles provided.

Finally, a plaec to keep track of your goats.*

DIAGRAMS
FOLD HERE

POSSIBLE GOATS
FOLD HERE

MISSION NAME GENERATOR

USEFUL TERMINOLOGY
YAK
Someone who brags about pranking.
RAT

Someone who squeals on a fellow prankster.

GOAT

Someone who should be pranked.

Choose one word from each column (or add your own) to come up
with your secret mission name.

OPERATION

Mayonnaise

LOCKER

TERRIBLE

Lunch Money

MARATHON

HUMONGOUS

Locker Room

FREAKOUT

PURPLE

Squirrel

MIND-BENDING

Justice

LIFE-WARPING

Austro-Hungarian

HYPERBOLIC

Sandwich

PUDDLE
MAELSTROM
SPOILER
COMEBACK

WHO MAKES A GOOD GOAT?


Despots
Tyrants
Preeners
Egomaniacs
School Principals

The

Write your sample Mission Name here.

FOLD HERE

NOTES

NOTES
NOTES

FOLD HERE

NOTES

DOING YOUR

RESEARCH
Once you have your Pranking Notebook assembled, you can use it to
collect research on pranks, schemes, plots, and, of course, potential pranking victims.
You can also use it to collect recipes, distractedly doodle, or to lay over
your eyes to block out the sun when taking an afternoon nap. Recipes
aside, one of the most important things you will collect in the Pranking Notebook will be your observations. A good prank is well-tailored
to its recipient. A keen sense of observation and an eye for detail is key
to crafting a prank that will really get the goat of your Goat. Below
are some exercises to help you become the best observer you can be.
MEMORY VS OBSERVATION
In the space below, draw a picture of
your favorite animal (or a pet) from
MEMORY.

Now, look at a picture of the animal (or


the real thing) and draw what you
OBSERVE.

Do you notice anything different about the two pictures? When you actually LOOKED
at the animal you were drawing, what DETAILS did you see?
USING ALL OF YOUR SENSES
Describe each item on the right using
only one sense (SIGHT, SMELL, TASTE,
TOUCH, or SOUND). Try to get a friend
to guess what the thing is, using only one
sense.

$08t-"3(&$08t
(3"44t8*/5&3t536$,
t-&"'t30$,t5"#-&
t%*/04"63t5"$0t
$-&7&-"/%t#"--00/t
SWEATER

MAKING YOUR

SECRET CODE
It is a well-known fact in certain circles* that coded messages
are an easy way to keep TOP SECRET information from falling into
the wrong hands. If you are planning on working with a partner on your
pranks, a secret code is KEY to a succesful mission. Use the tools below
to make your own secret code so you can avoid detection.
One of the most effective codes is called a Substitution Cipher.
Sounds fancy, right? Its simple, really. Just replace one letter or number
from the alphabet with another random letter or number, and use your
new mixed-up alphabet to write your message! Pick letters from the set on the right,
below (cross them out as you go so you dont accidentally double up) and enter them
into the key provided. Once youve mixed up all of the letters, practice your code by
translating the words below.
Mix up the letters and
numbers from the righthand column

*Mostly pranking circles.

K
E
Y

A=
B=
C=
D=
E=
F=
G=
H=

I=
J=
K=
L=
M=
N=
O=
P=

Q=
R=
S=
T=
U=
V=
W=
X=

Y=
Z=
.=
!=
?=
1=
2=
3=

4=
5=
6=
7=
8=
9=
0=

A
F
K
P
U
Z
2
7

B
G
L
Q
V
.
3
8

C
H
M
R
W
!
4
9

D
I
N
S
X
?
5
0

E
J
O
T
Y
1
6

PRACTICE YOUR CODE BY TRANSLATING THE WORDS BELOW

SILLY = _ _ _ _ _

TURN = _ _ _ _

STRING = _ _ _ _ _ _

BACK. = _ _ _ _ _

RUNNING = _ _ _ _ _ _ _

THIS IS = _ _ _ _ _ _

SERIOUSLY = _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

NOT A = _ _ _ _

LOW = _ _ _

JOKE. = _ _ _ _ _

Cross ou
t as
you go.

the

pranksters

oath

On my honor I will do my best


To be good at being bad;
To disrupt, but not destroy;
To embarrass the dour and amuse the merry;
To devote my mind to japes, capers,
shenanigans, and monkey business;
To prove the world looks better turned
upside down;
For I am a prankster.
So be it.

HERE ARE SOME GREAT

PRANK SUPPLIES
0''*$*"-4$)00ANNOUNCEMENT

CUT HERE

Take home an important message from school.

HERE ARE SOME GREAT

PRANK SUPPLIES
URGENT

to

While You Were Out


mEssagE
call back
try again latEr
do nothing
pick nosE
Eat a sandwich
smEll socks

Cut this out and leave a fake phone


message for someone in an office.

HERE ARE SOME GREAT

PRANK SUPPLIES

MANDATORY

PARENT VOLUNTEER
OPPORTUNITY
FOLD HERE

THIS WEEKEND

CUT HERE

Write your special message in the space provided.

AND THAT, PEOPLE, IS

THE END.
Pick up your very own copy of

THE TERRIBLE TWO


by MAC BARNETT
and JORY JOHN
with illustrations by
KEVIN CORNELL
for lots more prank-filled excitement!

(and lots more cows!)

www.terribletwo.com

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