Parents need to know that jerry spinellis maniac magee is an exciting, moving, and sometimes funny story, brilliantly told, about an orphan boy who runs away from his feuding aunt and uncle at age 8 and makes a. Make sure you use the book to help you answer the questions. Maniac magee is a novel written by american author jerry spinelli and published in 1990. Maniac magee by jerry spinelli chapters 1 4 before you read the chapters. This is a great way to differentiate and extend reading for your students. See more ideas about maniac magee, 5th grade reading and teaching. This study guide consists of approximately 30 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of maniac magee. His life made a dramatic change when his parents were killed when their trolley crashed into a river. A set of 8 project challenges to go with the book, maniac magee, by jerry spinelli. Lexile measure 820l, scholastic guided reading level w. He also confirms that black people use the same kind of toothbrushes as white people do.
Supersummary, a modern alternative to sparknotes and cliffsnotes, offers highquality study guides that feature detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, quotes, and essay topics. Explain that the book they will read is titled maniac magee. The setting, which is where and when a story takes place, in maniac magee is the recent past in the state of pennsylvania. This articles plot summary may be too long or excessively detailed. One way the author of maniac magee used characterization in the novel is by creating specific characters. The author of maniac magee used characterization in the book in a couple different ways. Maniac magee is about jeffrey lionel magees search for home and the racial prejudice in the town of two mills. But the thing maniac magee is best known for is what he did for the kids from the east side and those from the west side. Jeffrey gets the nickname maniac after performing athletic feats of mythic proportions and appearing fearless in the. This permitted use of ed material does not extend beyond the building level. How could we not, when maniac magee finally ends with maniac simply content that finally, truly, at long last, someone was calling him home 46. For many of these characters, it is not clear where these names got started, and besides grayson they seem to have carried these people to a level of fame. Maniac thinks hes kidding at first, but then says that of course they do. Maniac magee jerry spinelli winner of the newbery medal before the story they say maniac magee was born in a dump they say his stomach was a cereal box and his heart a sofa spring.
He becomes a local legend for feats of athleticism and helpfulness, and his ignorance of sharp racial boundaries in the town. Racial prejudice is another major theme of maniac magee. My fourth setting in the book and the movie is cobbles corner, this setting allows the untying of cobbles knot, the big pizza prize for untying the knot, and the. This site provides materials summary, links, outline for the lesson. Maniac tries to find a home, soothes tensions between rival factions on the tough side of town, and becomes a true hero. They say if you knew he was coming and you sprinkled salt on. This humorous yet poignant story tells of a superathletic teenager who bridges his small towns racial gap. He came into this world named jeffrey lionel magee, but when his parents died and his life changed, so did his name.
It stuck with me more than in just a lifelong love of butterscotch krumpets, but also in the sweetness of the main character and the good that he finds in well, everyone. More specifically, it is located in the racially divided town of two mills. The setting, which is where and when a story takes place, in maniac magee is. English language arts literary elements novels reading reinforcement. Maniac magee projectassessmentfocus on setting influence,character, and theme. Times may be hard, and tenyearold bud may be a motherless boy on the run, but bud. Jeffrey lionel maniac magee is an orphan searching for a loving home when he finds himself in a small, segregated town in pennsylvania. Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing. A reason why they are both similar is because they both lived near philadelphia and their towns were both split into the west and east ends. He seems shocked when maniac adds that maniac even drank out of the same glasses as the beales did. Maniac is found by mars bar and amanda as he is sleeping once again in the buffalo pen at the zoo. Without a place to call home, maniac bridges racial boundaries with his super athleticism, knotuntying abilities, and overall good character.
The three parts describe three pivotal periods in the life and growth of the main. Maniac magee projectassessmentfocus on setting influence. This timeline shows the main important events that occurred in the book maniac magee. One that can outrun dogs, hit a home run off the best pitcher in the neighborhood, tie a knot no one can undo. Jerry spinelli is the author of over fifteen immensely popular books for young readers, including eggs, stargirl, space station seventh grade, newbery honor winner wringer, and maniac magee, winner of more than fifteen state childrens book awards in addition to the newbery medal. Which was the solution to a very huge problem in the beale. Maniac magee 6 setting two mills, pennsylvania, in the the nottoodistant past. The author, jerry spinelli, modeled the setting in this book after his hometown, which was also in pennsylvania. The protagonist in most novels features the main character or good guy. After the miles and miles maniac s seenbetterdays sneakers chewed up, the book ends with him heading home to.
The settings where maniac magee takes place and where jerry grew up are similar and different an several different ways. Major themes cliffsnotes study guides book summaries. Maniac magee was born in a dump, his heart is a cereal box, he has an eightinch pet cockroach on a leash. Our elementary school used braidysgm at all grade levels so that by the time students were in upper elementary, they were wellversed in. See more ideas about maniac magee, magee, novel studies. Maniac magee vocabulary included are vocabulary words from the book maniac magee, by jerry spinelli, for all chapters with pages and chapters listed where theyre found. He performs phenomenal athletic feats, yet he shows wisdom and. Maniac magee is a book that stuck with me long after i read it in fifth grade for the first time. Chapters 15 please read the following questions and circle the correct answer.
Because of this, maniac had to move in with his aunt and uncle. Her credit score went from 588 to 781 with this 5 minute trick. Planet book club offers a lesson plan for the novel maniac magee by jerry spinelli. The main character jeffrey maniac magee had a very pleasant and descent life at first. Jeffrey lionel magee s parents died when he was young, and one day he decides he can no longer stand to live with his aunt and uncle and runs away. Book lists by grade level the majority of book recommendations on this site are for readers from 5th 8th grade, but there are over 400 titles and the list continues to grow. Maniac magee edition bookmarks plus are handy little comprehension aids. Maniac magee top 6 settings from page to screen by johomnh. Exploring themes of racism and inequality, it follows the story of an orphan boy looking for a home in the fictional town of two mills. In maniac magee, jerry spinelli writes a young adult novel in which the main character. The purchase of this book entitles an individual teacher to reproduce pages for use in the classroom.
There is also a reproducible worksheet that can be used with all of the words. They say maniac magee was born in a dump they say his stomach was a. Lots of people in maniac magee have nicknames from maniac himself, to mars bar and james hands down, to grayson, who simply goes by his last name rather than his first. They will do this using details left by the author throughout the book and all of the guided pages in this activity. The author created certain characters to play different roles in maniac s the main character life. Maniac magee is about a runaway boy who makes a name for himself in a racist environment. It is an excellent book and very appropriate for upper elementary school. As we read maniac magee, you are required to answer questions over the chapters. Another way the author used characterization in the novel is by creating relationships between the. This onepage guide includes a plot summary and brief analysis of maniac magee by jerry spinelli. There are only about 20 titles on the list for 2nd and 3rd grade, for example, but the 5th grade list alone has about 150 books.
Write their ideas on the board, then have a volunteer look up the word in a dictionary. You might try the following activities with the class before handing out the book. Maniac magee by jerry spinelli the 1991 newbery award winner about an energetic boy who confronts racism and tries to make peace in a troubled part of town. Maniac magee is a very funny, sometimes touching, story of jeffrey lionel maniac magee, a young man who is a legend in his youth.
This youtube playlist was copied from kind2strangerss channel using. Maniac becomes a legend in two mills, a town with an east end for blacks and a west end for whites. Have students predict what the character with this name might be like. Each one contains valuable information for students. So i read this book back in middle school and i cant remember much of it, but i found this answer. An hour after the incident at finsterwalds house, a woman named mrs. A timeline is the chronological order of events that happened.
They say he kept an eightinch cockroach on a leash and that rats stood guard over him while he slept. When maniac jogs into two mills, he says hi to everyone. Maniac magee audiobook book required level s erin compton. At long last, maniac knew that finally, truly, at long last, someone was calling him home. The literal meaning of this quote is that everyone stopped and looked at maniac magee stand up to mars bars because no one would ever dare to do that. Maniac magee audiobook book required level s youtube. The protagonist of maniac magee is a most unusual character living a very different kind of life than most boys his age. Think back on some of your favorite characters from past. Reproduction for use in an entire school system or for commercial use. Maniac magee project assessmentfocus on setting influence,character, and theme. Jerry spinellis maniac magee is a fastpaced novel in three parts, each part subdivided into short chapters. Jeffrey lionel magee is living a normal life until his parents are killed in a tragic trolley accident when hes three.
These challenges are designed to give students an opportunity to be creative and to write and research for a variety of purposes. Reading practice, literacy skills, vocabulary practice. Hes so cool that he has his very own jumprope rhyme. This is a four week reading character study on the book maniac magee by jerry spinelli.
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