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Maniac Magee

 

Step 1: About Jerry Spinelli

- Born on February 1, 1941

- Born in Norristown, Pennsylvania

- Most well known books: Maniac Magee & Wringer

- Wrote 30 books

- Has 6 kids

- Has 21 grandkids

- lst book: Space Station Seventh Grade

- Married Eileen Mesi

- Went to Gettysburg College                                

- Went to John Hopkins University                             

- Wanted to become a football player

- Wrote poem about winning football game

- Decided to become a writer

- Adult novels rejected

- Has an MA

- Spent most of his time writing

- Published first book in 1982

- Became a writing editor                                                                                                               For more about Jerry Spinelli, click the picture above

- Takes him about a month to write a book

- Has a younger brother

 

Step 1: About the Book

 

My favorite part was when Jeffrey untied Cobble's Knot. This was a very serious moment for Jeffrey. Since the west side and the east side didn't like each other, Jeffrey thought doing this could unite the two sides. This was my favorite part because it was very suspenseful to me. - Mars Bar Deas

 

My favorite part of Maniac Magee was when Maniac ran away from Aunt Dot and Uncle Dan. They were looking so hard for him, even though they hated each other. He ran off because he didn't like the way he was living in Hollidaysburg. - Cydney Tatad

 

My favorite part of Maniac Magee was when Maniac slept at the buffalo pen. I'm not exactly sure why, but I think I liked it because I like animals. I also think that it was because it was a cute scene of bonding time with an adorable baby animal. - Cherry Payne

 

Step 2: Spelling and Vocabulary Terms

 

1. vow

2. zany

3. spree

4. rookie

5. dovetail

6. goad

7. beseech

8. musicale

9. shinny

10. prone

11. nonchalantly

12. suffice

13. phantom

14. frenzy

15. pallbearer

16. lumber

17. emanations

18. claptrap

19. reluctant

20. extort

 

Step 3: Grammar Terms

 

1. characterization

2. hyperbole

3. irony

4. idiom

5. jargon

 

Step 4: Writing Journals

 

      For our WJ's in Quarter 2, we started off with WJ #6 having our academic goals for the quarter. We had to give three academic goals we wanted to achieve for the quarter. From WJ #7 to #15, we had to work on the parts of speech. For WJ #7, we had to list all 3 articles: a, the, and an. For the next few WJ's, we had to watch Schoolhouse Rock videos. For WJ #8, we had to list all 7 conjunctions. For WJ #9, We had to make a complete list of interjections. For WJ #10, we had to make a complete list of pronouns. For WJ #11, we had to make a complete list of prepositions. For WJ #12, we had to make a complete list of adverbs. For WJ #13, we had to make a complete list of verbs. For WJ #14, we had to make a complete list of adjectives. For WJ #15, we had to make a complete list of nouns.

 

Step 4: Analyzing Quotes

 

"One-oh-one Band Shell Boulevard." - Maniac Magee

I chose this quote because it was when Maniac Magee was with Grayson. I like Grayson and it represented that Maniac finally had another home. - Cherry Payne

 

"Kid's gotta be a maniac" - People of Two Mills

This is my favorite quote because to me, this quote starts off the whole Maniac Magee legend. To this person, this meant that Jeffrey was so skilled and talented that he was also a maniac. To me, this also means that Jeffrey was so skilled and amazing that he was also like a maniac. - Mars Bar Deas

 

"That's how much you know. They got cops that look like kids. That's how they catch kids." - Russell McNab

I picked this quote because I thought it was hilarious with the logic that Russell had about Maniac being a cop. - Cydney Tatad

 

"When someone says or does something you like, say Amen" - Maniac

This is my  favorite quote. - Two-Bit Schutz

 

Step 5: Projects Review

 

      For Q2, Mrs. Tehranie split the class into 4 groups. She called them Survivor tribes. My group consisted of Two-Bit, Cydney, and Mya. Since we read Maniac Magee, my group decided to make a game show for the book. The game show included poetry, questions about the book and author. My job was to be the host. Cydney's job was to manage the slides. Two-Bit was the timekeeper, and Mya was the scorekeeper. - Mars Bar Deas

 

      We (Gazelles) had done powerpoint using a template we found on the internet. It was a game called Survivor. We filled out our questions and answers. We also filled out the mental and physical challenges and the final question. I was the scorekeeper and the rest of my tribe read out the questions and answers. We all got a good grade. - Cherry Payne

 

      For our 2nd quarter project, we had to do a presentation on Maniac Magee. We had to use 20 spelling words from the unit and 3 literary terms. We also had to have 2 different types of questions. My tribe did a game with a few poems in it. We had to put 3 facts about Jerry Spinelli and 5 facts about the book in the presentation. - Cydney Tatad

 

Step 6: What Do You Know?

 

1. Where is Maniac from?

                     Bridgeport

2. What is Maniac allergic to?

                     Pizza

3. What did Amanda call Mars Bar at the end of the book? (Not Mars Bar Deas)

                      Snickers

4. How did Maniac's parents die?

                trolley fell off the trestle

5. What are the names of Amanda's siblings?

                                             Hester and Lester              

6. When Maniac first came to Two Mills, where did he stay?

                                          The Deer Shed in the Zoo

 

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