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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Genre Lesson: Realistic Fiction

For Teachers 4th - 6th Standards
As scholars begin identifying stories as realistic fiction, its important they see many examples to solidify their concepts of this genre. Readers begin with a personal connection, thinking of television shows they like and determining...
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Study Guide
Reed Novel Studies

Third Grade Angels: Novel Study

For Teachers 3rd - 6th Standards
A million things to do, a ton of homework ... hyperbole sure does help get the point across! With the novel study for Jerry Spinelli's Third Grade Angels, scholars practice writing their own exaggerated sentences. Additionally, they...
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Activity
Pleasantville Public School

Summer Reading Project

For Teachers 3rd - 4th Standards
Summer means sun, fun, and a good book! Boost scholars' enthusiasm and proficiency in reading with a summer project of their choice—a book jacket, collage, or shoe box diorama. A variety of titles and authors from every genre offers...
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Activity
Curated OER

Maniac Magee: Magic Number Strategy

For Teachers 4th - 6th Standards
Take a break from reading to find the magic number with this vocabulary game using words drawn from Jerry Spinelli's Maniac Magee.  Participants match the definition to the word in each numbered square of the puzzle, then add the number...
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Worksheet
Novelinks

Maniac Magee: Discussion Questions

For Teachers 4th - 6th Standards
Why did they say that? What did they mean? How did they feel? Using the six levels of Bloom's Taxonomy, challenge your young readers to answer the comprehension questions about chapters 41 and 42 of Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli. Each...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Maniac Magee: Problematic Situation

For Teachers 4th - 6th Standards
As part of their reading of Jerry Spinelli's Maniac Magee, class members consider what it would take to survive living on their own. Using the provided worksheet, individuals list their needs and decide where they would seek shelter.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Maniac Magee: Picture Book Strategy

For Teachers 4th - 6th Standards
Who would have thought to explore the concept of race through children's literature?  After reading Bell Hooks' picture book, Skin Again, and chapter sixteen of Jerry Spinelli's Maniac Magee, class members consider whether skin color...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Maniac Magee: Found Poem

For Teachers 4th - 6th Standards
Instruct your readers to scrounge through the pages of Maniac Magee in search for descriptive passages or words they may use to write poetry. As they look for meaningful, sensory descriptors in Jerry Spinelli's novel, readers connect to...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Maniac Magee: Fishbowl Discussion

For Teachers 4th - 6th Standards
Split the class into two groups for a fishbowl discussion using of Jerry Spinelli's Maniac Magee. The first group initiates the conversation by reviewing the important points of Chapter thirteen while group two members are listening,...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Maniac Magee: The Cloze Procedure

For Teachers 4th - 8th Standards
Fill in the blanks with a Cloze activity based on Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli. After listening to a passage read out loud, kids complete the worksheet by using their memories and context clues.
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Unit Plan
Curated OER

Maniac Magee: A 5th Grade Literature Guide

For Teachers 4th - 8th Standards
There's no need to run around trying to plan a unit for the book Maniac Magee, the work has already been done for you. Through a series of whole class, small group, and independent lessons and activities, students practice synthesizing...
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Activity
Curated OER

Maniac Magee Comprehension Questions

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Supplement your Maniac Magee lesson plans with a packet of student materials. Included here is a variety of questions about the text. Pupils complete multiple choice and short-answer questions and choose from a variety of extension...
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Workbook
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Storytelling World

Maniac Magee

For Students 4th - 8th Standards
Add to children's enjoyment of the award-winning novel Maniac Magee with this fun collection of resources. From sequence of events and fact or fiction worksheets, to writing newspaper articles and creating advertisements based on the...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Textual Analysis Lesson: Segregation: Past or Present?

For Teachers 4th - 6th Standards
Are your scholars reading Jerry Spinelli's Maniac Magee? If so, use this textual analysis packet and lesson guide to drive deeper thinking about the characters, create personal connections, and apply historical contexts to the text....
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Lesson 4: Theme Matters

For Teachers 5th - 6th Standards
This useful approach to determining themes based on specific details from a book is aimed at readers of Jerry Spinelli's Maniac Magee. It could also easily be adapted for use with other books or readings. The class identifies recurring...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Memoir Writing Based on Jerry Spinelli's Milkweed

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Using chapter 1 of Jerry Spinelli's Milkweed, middle schoolers write a personal memoir based on Spinelli's style and a Six Trait writing activity. The lesson suggests several ways to activate prior knowledge, including a picture book and...
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Spinelli's Maniac Magee (excerpt): Reading and Critical Thinking Practice

For Students 4th - 6th
A brief, dialogue-rich passage from Jerry Spinelli's novel Maniac Magee is accompanied by a well-written literacy assessment tool. Thematic content lends itself to age-appropriate discussions about race relations and social justice....
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Introduction to Myths, Fables, and Legends

For Teachers 7th - 9th
Middle schoolers identify elements of myths, fables, and legends as they read an example of each.  After reading an example of each type of story, they list elements from each.  They compare and contrast these features by completing a...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Counting Up/Down Stories

For Teachers 6th - 10th
Mirroring Jerry Spinelli's style in Wringer, chapter 5, pupils use the "counting up/down technique" to recall an important moment in their lives. In the book, the character is being punched, and between blows he remembers details that...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

"Knot" the Whole Truth: Writing a Modern-Day Story with a Tall Tale's Voice

For Teachers 5th - 9th
Beyond Paul Bunyan and his blue ox, tall tales can be a great way to teach young writers about word choice and voice in their writing. Using Jerry Spinelli's Maniac Magee  and the Six-Trait Writing process, they begin to write their own...
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Interactive
Curated OER

Maniac Magee

For Students 4th - 6th
A 10-question interactive online quiz checks comprehension of Jerry Spinelli's lively novel. Several inference-based questions demand more than just fact recollection. Unlimited chances to try missed questions again encourage rereading....
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Rest in Peace, Maniac Magee

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Scholars read Maniac Magee and create epitaphs for each of the major characters using precise words reflecting the individual characters personality and nature. They will learn what an epitaph is and practice writing their own. They can...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Lesson 5: Character and Relationship Changes

For Teachers 5th Standards
For this reading comprehension lesson, 5th graders, after reading the novel, Maniac Magee, by Jerry Spinelli analyze characters and their roles in other peoples lives. Students interact with plot conflicts and character relationships....
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Identifying Plot Conflicts

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders determine plot conflicts. In this plot conflicts lesson students read Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli. Students search for 'Character vs. Character' and 'Character vs. Self' conflicts within the story.