The
Book
Nook
Books by Author
Jerry Spinelli






Some Books by Jerry Spinelli
Maniac Magee
Stargirl
Loser
Wringer
Milkweed
Crash

 		 There's a Girl in my Hammerlock
Who Put that Hair in my Toothbrush?
Knots in my Yo-Yo String
Space Station Seventh Grade
The Library Card


 
Activities:  (Starred examples are a required task.) 
*1.  Choose a book from the choices listed above, and read it.
*2.  Read Jerry Spinelli's biography at this site.  List 3 careers Spinelli wanted to have.  Write down 3 ways Spinelli gets ideas for his stories, and give examples of each.  Share these with your teacher.
3.  Visit this link, and read the review.  After finishing one of Spinelli's books, write your own review of it in the same style as the example at this site.  Upon approval from your teacher, post your review at Amazon.com. Go to the Amazon web site, type in the title of the book you reviewed, and click on the Write a Review link on the left side of the page. Click on Use our Kid's Review Form link, and follow the steps.
4.  Visit Jerry Spinelli's official web site.  This is an awesome site; take some time and explore it.  Make either the Stargirl Gift, or Mr. Hatch's Brownies, and share them with your class.
5.  Read Spinelli's novel Stargirl.  Find someone else in your class who has read the book and together visit this link.  Discuss 5 of the questions listed at this site with each other.  If no one else in the class has read the novel, write your answer to 5 of the questions, and turn it in to your teacher.  Make a poster advertising this book and encouraging others to read it.
6.  In Maniac Magee, Amanda and Maniac were friends, and by the end of the book Maniac and Mars were becoming friends.  What do you to consider to be important qualities in a friendship? Use the Inspiration software to create a Friendship web.  Put the word Friendship in the center of the page, and branch off from the word with the qualities that you came up with.  Note:  If you do not have access to Inspiration write a 2-3 paragraph essay explaining what you believe are the qualities of friendship.  Give the finished product to your teacher.
7.  After reading Stargirl, visit this site.  Choose and complete 2 of the activities listed on the page, and 2 of the puzzle links on the page.
8.  The story Wringer centers around pigeons. After reading the book visit this site to learn more about pigeons. Click here to get directions on how to make a bird feeder.
9.After finishing Crash, visit this link and complete the activities.
10.  Read Spinelli's novel Milkweed.  With the help of others who have read the novel, design a classroom museum about the time period depicted in the story.
  • Your first task is to make a list of items, scenery, maps, and related books that you would include in this museum.  Then draw a rough draft of how you might arrange these items in the classroom
  • Your second task is to come up with some activities that you can tie into the museum--letters, diaries of characters from the novel, a newspaper from the time period, an audio guide (on tape) of the items in the museum with period music in the background. 
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