Maniac Magee Essay Topics will get students engaging with meaningful topics the novel raises: > Family & Home > Courage > Racism: East End vs. West End They can then choose to write an essay or deliver a speech on their ideas from Maniac Magee. The grading rubrics are included for easy, effective grading and feedback. TEXT: Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli LEVEL: 4th-8th COMMON CORE: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.1, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.1 ···················································································· This resource can be purchased as part of MANIAC MAGEE Unit Teaching Package bundle. ···················································································· Enjoy MANIAC MAGEE! And remember, if Maniac can wave at people, so can we!

Maniac Magee activity seekers will love this Life Story of an Old Person Memoir Activity. Maniac and Grayson develop a relationship across generational lines. During their times together, Grayson tells Maniac a lot of stories from his life. Learners, you will interview an older person from your life. It is best if you are in an ongoing relationship with the older person. Listen to a few stories from their life about interesting times, particularly times that hold a deep memory like when Grayson’s teacher said he’d never be able to read anything or when he struck out Willie Mays. Then tell the story, using real detail, emotion, and creativity to tell a quality story that readers are interested to read. TEXT: Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli GRADE LEVEL: 4th-8th COMMON CORE: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.1,3 ···················································································· This resource can be purchased as part of MANIAC MAGEE Unit Teaching Package bundle. ···················································································· When your story is done, your teacher will tell you how to publish it. They might have you email the story to them, post it to Edmodo or Blackboard, or post a link to the class’s Twitter feed ... or some other method. Enjoy Maniac Magee! And remember, if Maniac can wave at people, so can we!

Maniac Magee activity seekers will love this Man Who Struck Out Willie Mays Creative Writing Activity. Maniac and Grayson enjoy an amazing moment at the buffalo pen when they celebrate Christmas by giving each other gifts. Maniac gives Grayson a book he wrote himself entitled The Man Who Struck Out Willie Mays (see chapter 25 for the whole story). After reading chapter 31, learners will write this story. Tell it the way you think Jeffrey Magee would have told it. Use the appropriate details from the story about Grayson’s life and what baseball was like at the time. Maybe even do a little Willie Mays and minor league baseball research. Whatever you need to do, use your creativity to tell a great version of the story. The best stories will include reality, history, and creativity in the details and emotions. TEXT: Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli GRADE LEVEL: 4th-8th COMMON CORE: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.1,3 ···················································································· This resource can be purchased as part of MANIAC MAGEE Unit Teaching Package bundle. ···················································································· When your story is done, your teacher will tell you how to publish it. They might have you email the story to them, post it to Edmodo or Blackboard, or post a link to the class’s Twitter feed ... or some other method. Enjoy Maniac Magee! And remember, if Maniac can wave at people, so can we!

Maniac Magee activity seekers will love this Two Mills Times Newspaper Design Activity. Chapter 19 mentions their town newspaper, The Two Mills Times, and its influence on their small town. After reading chapter 19, learners will design a front page of the Two Mills Times newspaper. Using details from the story, they will write the stories, create the interesting headlines, even take pictures ... whatever you need to do to create a compelling front page. Use real details, emotions, and creativity to create a quality newspaper page that readers are interested to read. TEXT: Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli GRADE LEVEL: 4th-8th COMMON CORE: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.1,3 ···················································································· This resource can be purchased as part of MANIAC MAGEE Unit Teaching Package bundle. ···················································································· When your story is done, your teacher will tell you how to publish it. They might have you email the newspaper to them, print it out and post it on the classroom wall, post it to Edmodo or Blackboard, or post a link to the class’s Twitter feed ... or some other method. Enjoy Maniac Magee! And remember, if Maniac can wave at people, so can we!

Maniac Magee activity seekers will love this Myth Creation Contest. After reading the legend of Cobble’s Knot and what happens with it, learners will engage in a creative writing contest. They will think about something on their school campus or in their town and make a tall tale myth about it, a legend about its history and fame. The best myths will include reality, exaggeration, and humorous awe in the details. TEXT: Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli GRADE LEVEL: 4th-8th COMMON CORE: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.1,3 ···················································································· This resource can be purchased as part of MANIAC MAGEE Unit Teaching Package bundle. ···················································································· They can either write out the legend or film it. Get creative with the writing and the filming. Don’t do any low quality film job. Your effort will show and will count as part of your assessment. When your story or video is done, your teacher will tell you how to publish it. They might have you email the myth to them, or upload the video version to YouTube, or post it to Edmodo or Blackboard, or post a link to the class’s Twitter feed ... or some other method. Enjoy Maniac Magee! And remember, if Maniac can wave at people, so can we!

Maniac Magee contains strong situations of youth living homeless and also other various socio-economic statuses. Learners will connect emotionally with this activity as they learn more about kids like them, living without homes. TEXT: Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli GRADE LEVEL: 4th-8th COMMON CORE: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.2,3,6,7 Answer Key Included! ···················································································· This resource can be purchased as part of MANIAC MAGEE Unit Teaching Package bundle. ···················································································· Any time after your students have read chapter 28, this activity will lead students to read some information and assess a video about the homeless youths in the United States. Students will learn about the number of youths, the reasons they end up on the streets, and the risks on their lives. A great activity to engage them during the reading journey. INCLUDED: * URL links to fantastic homeless research articles * URL links to YouTube interviews and documentaries about homeless youths * a 1-page analysis activity of the article and and a 1-page writing response to the scenes in the video Enjoy MANIAC MAGEE! And remember, if Maniac can wave at people, so can we!

Maniac Magee has so much nonfiction to include in the novel study. In this informational text, learners will study The Children's Crusade that Maniac read all about in the book he borrowed from Amanda Beale. TEXT: Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli GRADE LEVEL: 4th-8th COMMON CORE: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.2,3,6,7 Suggested Answer Key Included! ························································································ This resource can be purchased as part of MANIAC MAGEE Unit Teaching Package bundle. ························································································ When page 13 & 29 rolls around, we learn about a book that Amanda Beale lends to Maniac Magee for him to read. The topic is The Children's Crusade, which ends up super interesting to Maniac. This activity will lead students to read some information about The Children's Crusade in which a youth led 30,000 people across Europe on a journey to the Holy Land to try to convert the Muslims and reclaim Jerusalem. Students will learn what The Children's Crusade is, what it was for, how it failed epically, and how Maniac might be on a crusade of his own. A great activity to engage them during the reading journey. INCLUDED: * a 1-page article on The Children's Crusade * a 1-page analysis activity of the article Enjoy Maniac Magee! And remember, if Maniac can wave at people, so can we!

Maniac Magee Vocabulary for chapters 36-46 contains 15 words from the text. Students engage in the language of the story and understand what the vocabulary and context of what they're reading (includes page numbers for students to easily find the words in context of the novel). TEXT: Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli GRADE LEVEL: 4th-8th COMMON CORE: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.4 ··················································································· This resource can be purchased as part of MANIAC MAGEE Unit Teaching Package bundle. ··················································································· Students are challenged to find the word on the page, figure out its meaning from the sentence, and write their own definition without using a dictionary. INCLUDED: > 15-Word Vocabulary List from chapters 36-46 of Maniac Magee > 15-Question Quiz from chapters 36-46 of Maniac Magee Questions are matching and require the student to read a line from the novel, understand the meaning of the words, and fill in the blank with correct-meaning word. Enjoy Maniac Magee! And remember, if Maniac can wave at people, so can we!

Maniac Magee Vocabulary for chapters 36-46 contains 15 words from the text. Students engage in the language of the story and understand what the vocabulary and context of what they're reading (includes page numbers for students to easily find the words in context of the novel). TEXT: Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli GRADE LEVEL: 4th-8th COMMON CORE: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.4 ·················································································· This resource can be purchased as part of MANIAC MAGEE Unit Teaching Package bundle. ·················································································· Students are challenged to find the word on the page, figure out its meaning from the sentence, and write their own definition without using a dictionary. INCLUDED: > 15-Word Vocabulary List from chapters 36-46 of Maniac Magee > 15-Question Quiz from chapters 36-46 of Maniac Magee Questions are matching and require the student to read a line from the novel, understand the meaning of the words, and fill in the blank with correct-meaning word. Enjoy Maniac Magee! And remember, if Maniac can wave at people, so can we!

Maniac Magee Vocabulary for chapters 19-29 contains 15 words from the text. Students engage in the language of the story and understand what the vocabulary and context of what they're reading (includes page numbers for students to easily find the words in context of the novel). TEXT: Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli GRADE LEVEL: 4th-8th COMMON CORE: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.4 ·················································································· This resource can be purchased as part of MANIAC MAGEE Unit Teaching Package bundle. ·················································································· Students are challenged to find the word on the page, figure out its meaning from the sentence, and write their own definition without using a dictionary. INCLUDED: > 15-Word Vocabulary List from chapters 19-29 of Maniac Magee > 15-Question Quiz from chapters 19-29 of Maniac Magee Questions are matching and require the student to read a line from the novel, understand the meaning of the words, and fill in the blank with correct-meaning word. Enjoy Maniac Magee! And remember, if Maniac can wave at people, so can we!

Maniac Magee Vocabulary for chapters 10-18 contains 15 words from the text. Students engage in the language of the story and understand what the vocabulary and context of what they're reading (includes page numbers for students to easily find the words in context of the novel). TEXT: Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli GRADE LEVEL: 4th-8th COMMON CORE: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.4 ·················································································· This resource can be purchased as part of MANIAC MAGEE Unit Teaching Package bundle. ·················································································· Students are challenged to find the word on the page, figure out its meaning from the sentence, and write their own definition without using a dictionary. INCLUDED: > 15-Word Vocabulary List from chapters 10-18 of Maniac Magee > 15-Question Quiz from chapters 10-18 of Maniac Magee Questions are matching and require the student to read a line from the novel, understand the meaning of the words, and fill in the blank with correct-meaning word. Enjoy Maniac Magee! And remember, if Maniac can wave at people, so can we!

Maniac Magee Vocabulary for chapters 1-9 contains 15 words from the text. Students engage in the language of the story and understand what the vocabulary and context of what they're reading (includes page numbers for students to easily find the words in context of the novel). TEXT: Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli GRADE LEVEL: 4th-8th COMMON CORE: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.4 ·················································································· This resource can be purchased as part of MANIAC MAGEE Unit Teaching Package bundle. ·················································································· Students are challenged to find the word on the page, figure out its meaning from the sentence, and write their own definition without using a dictionary. INCLUDED: > 15-Word Vocabulary List from chapters 1-9 of Maniac Magee > 15-Question Quiz from chapters 1-9 of Maniac Magee Questions are matching and require the student to read a line from the novel, understand the meaning of the words, and fill in the blank with correct-meaning word. Enjoy Maniac Magee! And remember, if Maniac can wave at people, so can we!

Maniac Magee Vocabulary for the Complete Novel studies 75 words from the text. Students engage in the language of the story and understand what the vocabulary and context of what they're reading (includes page numbers for students to easily find the words in context of the novel). TEXT: Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli GRADE LEVEL: 4th-8th COMMON CORE: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.4 ····················································································· This resource can be purchased as part of MANIAC MAGEE Unit Teaching Package bundle. ····················································································· Students are challenged to find the word on the page, figure out its meaning from the sentence, and write their own definition without using a dictionary. INCLUDED (75 words total): > Five 15-Word Vocabulary Lists from Maniac Magee > Five 15-Question Quizzes from Maniac Magee Questions are matching and require the student to read a line from the novel, understand the meaning of the words, and fill in the blank with correct-meaning word. Enjoy Maniac Magee! And remember, if Maniac can wave at people, so can we!

Maniac Magee pop quizzes, comprehension checks, exit tickets ... use these 13 simple quizzes however you'd like. Printable & Powerpoint versions provided for simple implementation. Make sure students are staying on track reading the novel. TEXT: Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli GRADE LEVEL: 4th-8th COMMON CORE: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.2 ·················································································· This resource can be purchased as part of MANIAC MAGEE Unit Teaching Package bundle. ·················································································· This Maniac Magee Pop Quiz Bundle includes: * 12 Pop Quizzes for Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli (1 quiz per couple of chapters) * 27-slides of PowerPoint Quizzes & Keys * 24-pages of Printable Quizzes & Keys * The quizzes also work great as Exit Tickets or Comprehension Check packets. The purpose of the questions is not to trick the students. But since some students may have read Maniac Magee or watched the movie in the past, each question is crafted to see if the students read the chapter sometime recently. They are easily remembered, short-term answers. I've quality tested the quizzes with students. Students who recently read the chapters = should get 4-5 correct Students who did not recently read = should get 0-3 correct NOTE: This file has been updated to include both the PowerPoint Show and the customizable .ppt file. Enjoy MANIAC MAGEE! And remember, if Maniac can wave at people, so can we!

Maniac Magee writing prompts never fail to get conversation started. And not just any surface conversation! In response to the 42 questions, students will write a short quickwrite essay in a journal writing format. Questions like these get kids thinking deeply about life and talking deeply about the things that really matter. Watch our YouTube video tutorial showing deeper into how to teach this resource. TEXT: Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli GRADE LEVEL: 4th-8th COMMON CORE: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.1; CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.1 ·················································································· This resource can be purchased as part of MANIAC MAGEE Unit Teaching Package bundle. ·················································································· MANIAC MAGEE QUICKWRITE WRITING TOPICS: * Legends - (before) PART 1 * Caretakers (ch.1) * Hi (ch.2) * Stunned (ch.3) * Football (ch.4) * Bullying (ch.5) * Athletes (ch.7) * Nicknames (ch.8) * Feelings (ch.9) * Fight (ch.10) * Beale (ch.11) * Address (ch.12) * Bathtub (ch.13) * Names (ch.14) * Known (ch.15) * Colors (ch.16) * Racism (ch.17) * Runaway (ch.18) * Dare (ch.19) * Legendary (ch.20) * Sides (ch.21) PART 2 * Animals (ch.22) * School (ch.23 * Story (ch.24) * One Shot (ch.25) * Books (ch.26) * Read (ch.27) * Home (ch.29) * Better (ch.30) * Presents (ch.31) * Funeral (ch.32 * Waiting (ch.33) * Help (ch.34) * Clean (ch.35) * Important (ch.36) * Bad (ch.38) * Angry (ch.40) * No More (ch.41) * Introduce (ch.42) * Peace (ch.44) * Hero (ch.46) * Live (ch.46) Enjoy MANIAC MAGEE! And remember, if Maniac can wave at people, so can we!

Using examples from the novel Maniac Magee, students will study conjunctions (coordinating, subordinating, and correlative) and interjections. They will learn to locate the various conjunctions and interjections in the sentences. TEXT: Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli LEVEL: 4th-8th COMMON CORE: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.1 ANSWER KEY: Included ·················································································· This resource can be purchased as part of MANIAC MAGEE Unit Teaching Package bundle. ·················································································· MANIAC MAGEE RESOURCES INCLUDED: * 2-page activity practicing the conjunctions and interjections using examples from the novel * answer key Enjoy Maniac Magee! And remember, if Maniac can wave at people, so can we!

Maniac Magee is ripe with examples for students to study prepositions without ever feeling like they switched over to a grammar unit. They will locate prepositions and prepositional phrases in the sentences, and they will practice using the appropriate preposition for the meaning of the sentence. TEXT: Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli LEVEL: 4th-8th COMMON CORE: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.1 ANSWER KEY: Included ·················································································· This resource can be purchased as part of MANIAC MAGEE Unit Teaching Package bundle. ·················································································· MANIAC MAGEE RESOURCES INCLUDED: * 1-page activity practicing the prepositions using examples from the novel * answer key Enjoy Maniac Magee! And remember, if Maniac can wave at people, so can we!

Using examples from the novel Maniac Magee, students will study commas used with direct address. They will learn to locate direct address in the sentences and use appropriate commas. TEXT: Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli LEVEL: 4th-8th COMMON CORE: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.2 ANSWER KEY: Included ····················································································· This resource can be purchased as part of MANIAC MAGEE Unit Teaching Package bundle. ····················································································· MANIAC MAGEE RESOURCES INCLUDED: * 1-page activity practicing the commas with direct address using examples from the novel * answer key Enjoy Maniac Magee! And remember, if Maniac can wave at people, so can we!

Maniac Magee is ripe with examples for students to study prepositions without ever feeling like they switched over to a grammar unit. Using examples from the novel, students will study commas used with introductory elements at the beginnings of sentences. They will learn to locate the introductory elements in the sentences and use appropriate commas. TEXT: Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli LEVEL: 4th-8th COMMON CORE: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.2 ANSWER KEY: Included ············································································· This resource can be purchased as part of MANIAC MAGEE Unit Teaching Package bundle. ············································································· MANIAC MAGEE RESOURCES INCLUDED: * 1-page activity practicing the commas with introductory elements using examples from the novel * answer key Enjoy Maniac Magee! And remember, if Maniac can wave at people, so can we!

Using examples from the novel Maniac Magee, students will study commas used with commas used in a series (list). They will learn to locate the lists in the sentences and use appropriate commas. TEXT: Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli LEVEL: 4th-8th COMMON CORE: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.2 ANSWER KEY: Included ······················································································· This resource can be purchased as part of MANIAC MAGEE Unit Teaching Package bundle. ······················································································· MANIAC MAGEE RESOURCES INCLUDED: * 1-page activity practicing the commas in a series using examples from the novel * answer key Enjoy Maniac Magee! And remember, if Maniac can wave at people, so can we!