Ralph Raccoon is too polite and too nice. His parents have to send him to Bandit School to learn to be a proper bad raccoon. How does Ralph use his “niceness” to succeed?

Hannah Shaw, Alfred A. Knopf, ©2011, 978-0-375-96768-9

Synonym Study

There are many synonyms for people who take things that don’t belong to them. Students might find: pirate, thief, robber, buccaneer, brigand, cheat, crook, con artist, rustler, looter, pilfereer, shoplifter, gangster, highwayman, raider, racketeer, etc. This could also be a good brainstorming activity to build vocabulary.

Once they have a list, ask them to define each one in such a way that people could read the list of definitions and know what each word was being referred to.

The Being Bad Alphabet

Ralph Raccoon hasn’t been bad enough so he has to brainstorm 26 words (one for each letter of the alphabet) that are ways of being bad. A could be for aggravating, B for bragging, C for cursing, and so on. X and Z are notoriously hard—encourage students to use two words if necessary to get them in. Examples: eXtra Noisy or Zealously irritating.

This can be an individual activity or a brainstorming activity to build vocabulary.

For 6 creative writing ideas, click School For Bandits to download.