Tag Archive for: maniac magee characters

Maniac Magee Lesson Plans

All students love Jerry Spinelli’s Maniac Magee!  Scroll down to print free Maniac Magee lesson plans and a test.

 The unforgettable characters and the legend of Maniac paired with a plot that deals with real issues and family life create the perfect realistic story.  In the classroom, this book lends itself perfectly for an independent or whole-class study.  Before starting your own Maniac Magee lesson plans, we recommend listing literary techniques and passages from the book to study.  For example, the Finsterwald’s backyard is described in chapter 5 of this novel.  This description is captivating, mainly because of the metaphor, imagery, and humor in it.  After reading the description, we have our students write their own description, mimicking Spinelli’s writing style.   In the students’ description, they must describe the yard as if it is the nicest place in town instead of the worst.  With activities such as this one, students are not only examining the literary elements of imagery and metaphor, but they are also growing as writers by studying the author’s craft.  

You can download the handout for this Maniac Magee writing activity in the link below.

In our teaching unit, the Maniac Magee lesson plans handouts guide students in analyzing literary elements, such as dramatic irony, conflict, and theme.  In addition, we  provide printables that teach students to study the author’s craft by taking a look at things such as Spinelli’s word choice and creation of realistic characters.  

We would like to share some of our printables from our Maniac Magee lesson plans with you.  Just click the link below.  If you like these lesson ideas, consider purchasing our entire unit.  Buy it one time, and use it for years.  Everything will be ready for you to print and teach.  Your planning – done!  We hope you enjoy the free lessons!

Click here to download our FREE sample packet for Maniac Magee which includes handouts for chapters five, six through eight, and a test!