Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules (ATOM Study Guide)

About the film

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules is a live-action comedy film, based on the book of the same name. It is a sequel to both the book and the film Diary of a Wimpy Kid (Thor Freudenthal, 2010). Like the first film, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules (David Bowers, 2011) draws its style from the witty dialogue, humorous journal entries and cartoon-style illustrations of the books in the series. Zachary Gordon, Robert Capron, Devon Bostick, Rachael Harris, Steve Zahn, Connor and Owen Fielding, Karan Brar, Laine MacNeil, and Grayson Russell are all reprising their roles from the first film, Diary of a Wimpy Kid.

Once again the life of the main character, Greg Heffley, is the focus, and it is quite a saga, filled with a myriad of humorous incidents. This time they centre upon the way Greg deals with the fact that his older brother Rodrick 'rules' – all because he knows something about Greg that is way too embarrassing to be shared.

Like the first book in the series, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules is designed to look like a diary – no, according to Greg it's a 'journal', and in this case it is filled with sketches and cartoons. The story is narrated by Greg through the pages of his diary, er, journal.

In this Wimpy Kid sequel, Greg Heffley, the kid who made 'wimpy' cool, not only begins year seven, but he and his brother Rodrick must learn how to deal with each other, as they cope with their parents' misguided attempts to have them bond! In addition, it is important for Greg to impress Holly Hills ...

However, as Greg's diary soon reveals, his summer break began miserably when he joined the swim team (his father's idea). To add to his misery his friend Rowley went away on yet another exciting summer vacation; and his three year old brother Manny, and his older brother Rodrick, are both continuing to drive him crazy! While Manny is very annoying, Rodrick RULES! Why? Because Rodrick knows about something REALLY embarrassing that happened to Greg during the summer. And he is just revelling in the chance to hold it over Greg's head. Added to all this, Greg must still find ways to deal with the annoyances of school, homework, bullies, the consequences of his poor choices, and of course – parents - all the while desperate for Rodrick to keep quiet.

While it seems that there is no love lost between Greg and Rodrick, when the chips are down it is clear that they do care for one another, and in the end Greg must set aside his animosity towards his older brother to help him when he needs it.

Using the book and film Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules in the classroom

Filled with hyperbole, both the book and the film will appeal to tweens and teens, who will recognise the problems that arise from time-to-time as they navigate their lives both at home and at school.

This study guide provides teachers and students from early primary to lower secondary levels with background information, a range of discussion questions and activities to support the curriculum areas of English, The Arts and SOSE/HISE.