The Invisible Boy Activities for the Primary Classroom

The Invisible Boy is a story about compassion, inclusion, and the power of kindness. In this story, Brian feels that he is invisible to his teacher and his peers. But when he goes out of his way to make Justin, the new boy feel welcome, Justin helps Brian feel included and seen by all. Here are some activities you can pair with The Invisible Boy.

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About This Book

Written by: Trudy Ludwig
Illustrated by: Patrice Barton

Meet Brian, the invisible boy. Nobody ever seems to notice him or think to include him in their group, game, or birthday party . . . until, that is, a new kid comes to class.

When Justin, the new boy, arrives, Brian is the first to make him feel welcome. And when Brian and Justin team up to work on a class project together, Brian finds a way to shine.

This is a great book to read when building classroom community!

The Invisible Boy Activities

This book companion focuses mainly on comprehension and vocabulary. These 12 comprehension questions will help guide your discussion of the story. There is also an option to have students respond to these questions in writing.

I added graphic organizers to help students work on summarizing and retelling the story. This spinner activity is great for working on story elements.

Since the story centers around Brian and Justin, I included several graphic organizers to focus on these two characters. Students can not only describe each of these boys, but they can also compare and contrast themselves to these characters.

I selected 12 vocabulary words or phrases to focus on in this story. Each vocabulary card has a matching definition. These can be used in a pocket chart display or students can play a memory matching game for further practice.

The Invisible Boy Directed Drawing & Writing

To help extend the message of this story, I have added this directed drawing and writing activity. Students can choose one of the suggested writing prompts, or select their own. I have included a handwriting lines option, too.

Since Brian felt invisible at the beginning of the book, I thought it would be fun to add an extra element to the directed drawing to keep with the feel of the story. I stapled a piece of white tissue paper to the top of the drawing.

When put on display, the tissue paper can be lifted to take a closer look at the drawing. This step is completely optional. If you don’t have access to tissue paper, wax paper works, too.

You can find all of these activities in my book companion for The Invisible Boy. If you like this resource, you might also enjoy these book activities.