Movie Link

Zach, this movie is nearly impossible to get my hands on! It played on Nickelodeon a few times, but they never made it into a video or a DVD. Luckily, I was able to find a place where you can watch it online. It is a bit grainy, but I think it will do the trick. Congratulations on making it through the book!

http://www.nick.com/videos/clip/NTV_Maniac_Magee_full.html

Teaching Adults to Read

In Chapter 27, Maniac teaches Grayson how to read. Many adults in our society have never learned to read, There are a lot of reasons why a person might never have learned to read. Why do you think a person may not have learned how to read? How would you begin teaching an adult how to read?

Adventure

Some readers might say that Maniac has a strong spirit of adventure. What does this expression mean?

Narrative Writing

Maniac Magee is written as a narrative, because the author is telling a story. For your next big assignment, you will be writing a narrative essay. Rather than writing about something fictional (not true, like Maniac Magee), you will be writing about something that has happened to you (non-fiction narrative).

You will be working with Mr. Ney to write an essay that I can read that is written as a non-fiction narrative. You will:

1. Brainstorm
2. Use an organizer (either the Time for Kids one below, or the hamburger organizer from earlier this quarter)
3. Create a rough draft
4. Edit the rough draft
5. Submit a final draft

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Here is some information from Time for Kids that might be helpful. The organizers will help you to think about your work and should be completed as you work on your essay.

Nonfiction narrative writing tells a true story about an event or a series of events. It can be about a personal experience or something that happened to somebody else, such as a parent or friend.

To write a personal narrative, follow the steps below:

Think about an experience that happened to you or someone you know that you think others would be interested in.

Choose an experience you want to write about. Think about what you saw, heard and felt. Use an idea organizer to help sort out your thoughts.

As you write, use “I” throughout your story. Most narratives are told using the first-person point of view.

Write an introduction that gets your reader’s attention and tells him or her what your story will be about.

Write about the events in the order in which they happened. What happened first, second, third?

Be sure to add sensory details, such as how something tasted or what something looked like. This will help your reader feel like he or she was there, too. Draw the reader into the experience.

Write a conclusion that ends your story. Tell the reader why this experience was important to you and what you learned from it.

Once you have finished your personal narrative, be sure to review your work.

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Do you have any questions? I know that is a lot of information! Ask any questions here.

Part 1: In Chapter 12 of Maniac Magee, Maniac is willing to say "Hi" to people as he passes them. Even though he does not know these people, he is willing to take a chance to see how they will respond. Have you ever said "Hi" to someone you did not know, or have a conversation in class with someone you do not usually talk to? How did this go for you and how did you feel afterward?

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Part 2: Draft a friendly letter using Thornton Academy email to send to 10 friends, family members and teachers (NOT Mr. Ney or Ms. Broda!) to say "Hi" to them and ask them to read your blog, become a follower, or post a comment to your work. It might be hard to put yourself out there and ask for feedback, but just like Maniac was able to take a chance, I know you can, too!





Click here for some Friendly Letter Tips

Good Luck!

Good luck tomorrow at the Special Olympics. I know you will be doing some running, just like Maniac Magee! Tell me all about it when you come back.

Onomatopoeia

In class, you should have learned about onomatopoeia and found two places were Jerry Spinelli used onomatopoeia in Maniac Magee. Now, here on the blog, let's look at using onomatopoeia in our own writing.

Make a list of onomatopoeic words (at least 10).

Discuss with Mr. Ney how to put each one into an interesting sentence. Write them here in the blog for me to read.