How to Eat Fried Worms

How to Eat Fried Worms is a classic story written by Thomas Rockwell. It is currently published by Yearling. Books like How to Eat Fried Worms are an integral part of language arts curriculum. This story is all about a boy named Billy that must eat 15 worms in 15 days in order to win a cash bet.

The story begins with four friends, Billy, Tom, Alan, and Joe making a bet. Billy must eat 15 worms in order to get $50, which Billy needs so he can purchase a dirt bike.

How to Eat Fried Worms’ summary continues with Billy finding new ways to eat each worm presented to him. When the other children see that Billy may win the bet, they devise plans to trick Billy so that he won’t be able to complete the task.

This book is important for children to read because it will invoke discussions on bets and peer pressure. The book also emphasizes seeing a challenge through to the end.

This How to Eat Fried Worms passage reveals the beginning of the bet between Alan and Billy. "You really want to bet? I’ll bet you fifty dollars you can’t eat fifteen worms. I really will."

Another How to Eat Fried Worms passage demonstrates the boys creativity in finding a way to make the worms more pleasurable to eat. "He glopped ketchup and mustard and horseradish on the night crawler, squeezed on a few drops of lemon juice, and salted and peppered it."

Since How to Eat Fried Worms is a story for students currently in the third or fourth grade. First, teachers can allow the children to make fake fried worms. Simply roll out a tootsie roll so that it looks like a worm, smash a few graham crackers, and roll the tootsie rolls in the crackers until they are completely coated. Eat and enjoy. Additionally, teachers can put together a How to Eat Fried Worms spelling list and students can use this list to practice not only their spelling, but also their knowledge of the book. Finally, students can create a compost bin, and learn how to compost with real worms.