the marvelous homework and housework machine summary

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The Marvelous Homework and Housework Machine

From the book Revenge of the Lunch Ladies

Attention all students! Attention all kids! Hold onto your horses! Hold onto your lids! We have just exactly the thing that you need whenever you’ve way too much homework to read.

The Marvelous Homework & Housework Machine will always make sure that your bedroom is clean. It loves to write book reports ten pages long, then put all your toys away where they belong.

This wonderful gadget will do all your math, then mop up your messes and go take your bath. The Marvelous Homework & Housework Machine is truly like no other gizmo you’ve seen.

It hangs up your clothes on their hangers and hooks, then reads all your boring geography books. It brings you a pillow to give you a rest, then brushes your teeth and prepares for your test.

This thing is amazing. I’m sure you’ll agree. It feeds you dessert while you’re watching T.V. There’s only one thing this device will not do. It won’t eat your Brussels sprouts; they’re, like, P.U.

 — Kenn Nesbitt

Copyright © 2007. All Rights Reserved.

Reading Level: Grade 4 Topics: School Poems , Science and Technology Poems Poetic Techniques: Alliteration , Descriptive Poems , Irony Word Count: 174

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The Marvellous Homework and Housework Machine Questions & Answers

Hi Everyone!! This article will share The Marvellous Homework and Housework Machine Questions & Answers. This poem is written by Kenn Nesbitt. In my previous posts, I have shared the questions & answers of Science and Technology in Our Lives , The Olympics and Uncle Podger Hangs a Picture so, you can go through these posts as well.

The Marvellous Homework and Housework Machine Questions & Answers

Word galaxy.

• Marvellous – excellent
• Gadget – a mechanical device
• Gizmo – device
• Dessert – sweet dish generally taken after the meal
• Brussel sprouts – a green vegetable like a very small cabbage
• PU – (here) excrement/ unpleasant smell

Question 1: In what way is this machine helpful for schoolwork?

Answer: This machine will be helpful in reading homework, writing book reports that are ten pages long, reading boring geography books and doing math.

Question 2: Which one thing will the machine not do?

Answer: The machine will not eat brussel sprouts as they have an unpleasant smell.

Question 3: What work would you give to this Marvellous machine which you find most difficult or boring?

Answer: The most difficult or boring work that I would like to give to this Marvellous machine is to tidy my room and keep my toys in place.

Question 4: Will your mother like you to have such a machine? Give a reason for answer.

Answer: No, my mother would not like me to have such a machine as this would make the person lazy, lethargic, careless and irresponsible. It is important to do all our work ourselves and not be dependent on the machines.

Question 5: Write a few pairs of rhyming words from the poem.

Answer: Kids-lids, need-read, long-belong, hooks-books, rest-test, etc. So, these were The Marvellous Homework and Housework Machine Questions & Answers.

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50 pages • 1 hour read

The Homework Machine

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Summary and Study Guide

The Homework Machine , written by acclaimed American author Dan Gutman was first published in 2007 by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers and is the first of a two-book series. The second book, The Return of the Homework Machine , was published in 2011. Gutman is primarily a children’s fiction writer who has been nominated for and won numerous awards, including 18 for The Homework Machine alone. Gutman is best known for his humorous series, My Weird School , in which there are more than 70 books. He lives in New York City with his family.

The paperback edition used for this study guide was published by Simon & Schuster in 2007.

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Plot Summary

The Homework Machine is told from the perspectives of multiple characters in the format of tape recordings for a police report.

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The four main characters are fifth-grade students who are grouped at the same classroom table because their last names start with D: Sam Dawkins (Snik), Kelsey Donnelly , Judy Douglas , and Brenton Damagatchi . Other than sharing the same last initial, the students have nothing in common. Snik is the cool class smart aleck; Kelsey is laid back and doesn’t care about school; Judy is conscientious and in the gifted program; and Brenton is a loner and genius who designs software and studies psychology in his spare time. Snik pushes people’s buttons, and one day he pushes Brenton too far—implying that Brenton spends all his free time doing homework. Brenton retorts that he doesn’t spend any time doing homework and lets slip that he has invented a homework machine.

Snik calls Brenton a liar, so Brenton invites Snik, Judy, and Kelsey to his house to see for themselves. The group are stunned when Brenton’s machine prints out perfectly completed homework in Brenton’s handwriting. Brenton agrees to let Snik, Judy, and Kelsey join him after school to “do” their homework and even rewrites the software to accommodate their handwriting. The unlikely foursome spends every afternoon together, but they insist that they are not friends and that the only reason they tolerate each other is to use the homework machine, which they name Belch. Judy feels guilty about cheating but enjoys getting A’s and uses the extra time to take up ballet. Kelsey’s vastly improved grades earn her privileges, such as a belly-button piercing, from her mother. As the weeks pass, the D Squad becomes addicted to using Belch and the boundaries between their various social identities begin to blur. Snik shows an interest in “boring” chess, which Brenton plays, and Judy tries to be complimentary about Kelsey’s piercings (while finding them disgusting). Everything seems to be going well. However, things start to rapidly fall apart halfway through the year. Judy and Kelsey’s other friends resent their new associations and “unfriend” them, and their teacher, Miss Rasmussen , suspects that they are cheating.

In addition, a strange man has been stalking the group ever since Brenton designed software to instigate a hugely successful social media-driven “red socks day” that spread across America. Miss Rasmussen springs a surprise test on the class to see whether the D Squad really knows their schoolwork. Sure enough—Kelsey and Snik fail, and Judy gets a C, confirming Miss Rasmussen’s suspicions. Before Miss Rasmussen can report them, Snik’s father, who is in the military, is killed in the Middle East. This tragic event diverts Miss Rasmussen’s attention from the cheating, which seems trivial in comparison. The bond between the D Squad strengthens as the stress of keeping Belch secret increases.

Together they decide to shut Belch down, only to discover that Belch has taken on a life of its own and will not power off. They throw Belch into the Grand Canyon and feel relief as they watch it disappear. However, when backpackers find computer pieces at the bottom of the canyon, the D Squad is called into the sheriff’s office where they confess to everything. The case is closed, but their unlikely friendships continue to strengthen and grow. The stalker turns out to be someone scouting Brenton to offer him a job as an influencer for his company. The company’s clients want to market their products to kids. Brenton simply offers him an idea he would like to influence kids with: “Do your homework” (146).

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This blog started out as an assignment for my Children's Literature class at A&M. However I enjoyed writing so much that I am going to try to keep it up as much as possible. :)

Saturday, February 23, 2008

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