The Teacher from the Black Lagoon Book

On the first day of school, a young boy expects only the worst when he discovers that his new teacher is the "monstrous" Mrs. Green. Learn how fear can drive the best of the imagination in this outrageously funny tale of how rumors can make a student create a monster out of any teacher!

Jeanne K. Pettenati, J.D. - Children's Literature

A young boy fears the worst on his first day of school. He dreams that his teacher, Mrs. Green, is a monster of the worst sort. The kind of teacher who gives homework on the first day of school. The kind of teacher/monster that bites children in half to demonstrate fractions. And the kind of teacher who can singe a student with her fiery breath for asking a question. When the young boy wakes up and sees the real Mrs. Green, he is so delighted that he rushes to the front of the classroom to hug her. This amusing story comes to life with this video. Children may laugh at the absurdity of our young protagonist's nightmare, as his imaginings get more and more frightful. And they may all breathe a collective sigh of relief when he meets the attractive teacher who has supplanted the monstrous Mrs. Green of his nightmare. The producer of this enjoyable video includes a guide with suggestions for before and after viewing activities. The helpful activities include discussing the title of the program and eliciting guesses as to what the story is about before playing the video. After children have an opportunity to view the video, they may discuss why the boy had imagined his teacher might be such a monster and how his monster differed from the real teacher. Other activities suggested include putting on a class play, writing a text/video and using artwork to express feelings about the video. The running time of this production is 9 minutes. 2003 (orig.1989), Weston Woods Videos/Scholastic, Ages 5 to 8.