In first grade his teacher told the students how many years until the end of twelfth grade. An interview with jerry spinelli jerry spinelli talks about his own childhood and what influenced him to create zinkoff the lead character in his bestselling book, loser. This novel guide includes vocabulary words, discussion questions, and journal prompts for the book loser by jerry spinelli. Loser jerry spinelli is an american author who likes writing novels for children on their adolescence and early adulthood stage. Jerry spinelli is currently considered a single author. His other books include smiles to go, loser, space station seventh grade, who put that hair in my. The book i chose to read is loser by jerry spinelli. Spinelli has made us all see that there is a loser in all of us. This is a royaltyfree book, and i will let anyone download it for free. Students describe zinkoffs selfimage as it appears in the novel. Loser by jerry spinelli novel study questions by laura. Zinkoffs no one calls him donald except his teachers mistakes and quirks are endearing, since were seeing them from the inside. Jerry spinelli books list of books by author jerry spinelli. Nine years later, maniac magee won the 1991 newbery medal.
Author interview with jerry spinelli the secret files of. Loser, by jerry spinelli, follows the life throughout grade school of a. Satterfield elementary school or monroe middle school. Although donald zinkoff is not the star of any clique or the key member of any club, he is awfully lovable. Jerry spinelli books, author biography, and reading level. His fifth novel, also intended for adults, actually became his first childrens book. Im lucky enough to be the first one to read her books.
Take our free loser quiz below, with 25 multiple choice questions that help you test your knowledge. Loser worksheets and literature unit by jerry spinelli grades 36 daily reading journal go beyond a simple book report. Jerry spinelli primary author only author division. The collection includes manuscripts 19612003 as well as other. Jerry spinelli still remembers the sunday night when he was awakened by a phone call. It is an author study of jerry spinelli and a book trailer for maniac magee. He played for the green sox little league team in his hometown of norristown, pennsylvania, and dreamed of one day playing for the major leagues, preferably as shortstop for the new york yankees. We are excited to learn a little bit more about the story behind the story.
Well have it back up and running as soon as possible. Crash by jerry spinelli a novel study by nat reed 1. Books similar to loser meet your next favorite book. This middle grade novel is an excellent choice for tween readers in grades 5 to 6, especially during homeschooling. Jul 25, 2017 jerry spinelli writes some of the best books for middle grade students. Learn loser jerry spinelli with free interactive flashcards. Learn jerry spinelli stargirl with free interactive flashcards. The author recounts zinkoffs storya case study of sortsin short sentences from a deliberately reportorial point of view, documenting the first years of the boys life and his evolution into a loser. From renowned newberywinning author jerry spinelli comes a powerful story about how not fitting in just might lead to an incredible life. With some of his finest writing to date and great wit and humor, jerry spinelli creates a story about a boys individuality surpassing the need to fit in and the genuine importance of failure. This classic book is perfect for fans of gordon korman and carl hiaasen. In second and third grade his teachers did not like him. The entire grade will study the great author, jerry spinelli.
Donald faces the familiar challenges of elementaryaged children disagreeable teachers, peer pressure, social. Free flashcards to help memorize facts about a quiz for loser by jerry spinelli. Loser by jerry spinelli meet your next favorite book. Free loser worksheets and literature unit for teachers. About jerry spinelli jerry spinelli received the newbery medal for maniac magee and a newbery honor for wringer. This board is all about how to use spinellis books in the classroom, from eggs to stargirl. Choose from 156 different sets of loser jerry spinelli flashcards on quizlet. His novels are recognized for their humor and poignancy, and his characters and situations are often drawn from his reallife. Other activities to help include hangman, crossword, word scramble, games, matching, quizes, and tests.
Just like other kids, zinkoff rides his bike, hopes for snow days, and wants to be like his dad when he grows up. Loser study guide contains a biography of jerry spinelli, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis. His novel, maniac magee, had just won the 1991 newbery medal. Jerry spinelli author study donorschoose project by ms. I guess that would be my first published book, space station seventh grade. Comprehension by chapter, vocabulary challenges, creative reading response activities and projects, tests, and much more.
Through the use of the omniscient narrator, spinelli builds up to. Jerry spinelli 1941 jerry spinelli born february 1, 1941 in norristown, pennsylvania is a noted childrens author, specializing on novels written for and about early adolescence. Introduction to jerry spinellis stargirl jerry spinelli published stargirl in the year 2000. Growing up, jerry spinelli was really serious about baseball. Each chapter or group of chapters has a set of vocabulary words, 48 comprehension questions meant for discussion, and one journal prompt for written comprehension. Find all the books, read about the author, and more. Loser by jerry spinelli by jonathan galang on prezi. Author jerry spinelli answers questions from students about his school daze series, his other books, and how he gets his ideas. Curricular areas covered include literacy development, vocabulary building, literary analysis, creative writing, argument buildingpersuasive writing and. Mark twain award missouri new york public librarys one hundred titles for reading and sharing publishers weekly best book.
Space station seventh grade was published in 1982, when jerry spinelli was 41 years old and had six children living at home. If one or more works are by a distinct, homonymous authors, go ahead and split the author. Jerry spinelli gives his readers a careful, at times humorous, portrait of a kid who is only special to his family, and scatters penetrating insights into growing up along the way. Crash by jerry spinelli suggestions and expectations this curriculum unit can be used in a variety of ways. Determine which chapters, themes and styles you already know and what you need to study for your upcoming essay, midterm, or final exam. The character stargirl is based in large part on mr. Spinelli first decided he wanted to become a writer at the age of 16, when his high school football team won a big game. As readers follow zinkoff from first through sixth grade, it becomes impossible not to identify with and root for him through failures and triumphs.
This novel study divides loser into six sections for study. Choose from 8 different sets of jerry spinelli stargirl flashcards on quizlet. Summary the novel is all about a young boy named donald zinkoff. This gave him a difficulty to deal with the other kids.
With the encouragement of his family, he learns to approach life with a positive spirit and to enjoy all that it has to offer. The lessons and activities here are designed for a variety of age groups and disciplines. His novels are recognized for their humor and poignancy, and his characters and situations are often drawn from his reallife experience. My favorite author now is eileen spinelli, who happens to live in my house here. Stargirl is a free spirit and a nonconformist who does good deeds. Loser is a tender story about donald zinkoss, a young character who demonstrates great selfacceptance and who is not afraid to fail. About this unit this is a common corealigned literature study unit for use with the novel, loser, by newberry awardwinner, jerry spinelli. His other books include smiles to go, loser, space station seventh grade, who put that hair in my toothbrush. Jerry spinelli talks about his own childhood and what influenced him to create zinkoff the lead character in his bestselling book, loser. This project will encourage and motivate my students. Jerry spinelli at library of congress authorities, with 31 catalog records.
Hes an awkward kid whos relentless commitment to being himself earns him the respect of a lot of folks way older than himself. I will be using loser this year in all my presentations as a storyreader for children from fourth through sixth grade. Along the way i married another childrens writer, eileen spinelli, and from our six kids have come a number of stories. Jeffrey and molly, who are always fighting, have been especially helpful. The dms was lucky enough to interview jerry spinelli, author of the middle grade novel loser. Free loser study unit worksheets for teachers to print.
Jerry spinelli this study guide consists of approximately 38pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of loser. Jerry spinelli received the newbery medal for maniac magee and a newbery honor for wringer. Challenge students comprehension of the novel with a variety of question styles and a final quiz. We will compare and contrast, use the novels for guided reading, perform socratic seminars, book clubs, and other great activities that encourage comprehension. Author jerry spinelli stated that the character stargirl from his young adult novel stargirl was inspired by his own wife, eileen spinelli, whom he thinks is one step ahead. From renowned newberywinning author jerry spinelli comes a powerful story. It is so important for children to see that failure is a very important part of life if we can learn from it.
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