During Reading: Watch-Read-Watch-Read Approach 1.

Model for students the process of applying the Watch-Read-Watch-Read (W-R-WR) approach, by following the procedure on the Watch-Read-Watch-Read Teacher Checklist. 2. Introduce the novel Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli in an effective, motivating manner. ClassZone.com:Maniac Magee offers some theme openers for the novel, which you may find helpful. 3. Facilitate a class discussion that elicits background knowledge from students. Possible discussion questions include: How does a person become a legend? Have you ever known anyone who was a legend? Tell who, when, where, and why.

We are going to read a novel about prejudice and friendship. What do you know about prejudice? What do you know about friendship? What do you know about homelessness? How do people end up homeless? How might a child your age end up homeless? Have you ever lived anywhere or been anywhere where you didn't fit in? Where and why?

Have you ever met someone else who was a misfit or did not fit in? 4. Prepare students to watch a short clip from the movie Maniac Magee (i.e., a 3- to 5minute segment), allowing them to see enough to understand targeted segments of the text, but not enough that they will not feel motivated to read the novel. Instruct them to pay attention to details related to the setting (e.g., rural versus urban, indications of poverty or wealth, types of homes or buildings). Prompt students to also pay attention to the characters' clothing and physical appearance and to listen for new or unknown vocabulary and dialect used by the characters. 5. After having students view the short clip, elicit predictions about the book and encourage students' curiosity by inviting them to read the novel to find out more. For example, based on their first impressions of Maniac Magee, elicit predictions about his character based on the setting, the way he is dressed, his hairstyle, and the fact that he likes to run a lot. Give students time to read chapter 1 silently. 6. Continue in this manner by having students watch critical elements of the movie, participate in an interactive class discussion about the movie clip eliciting their predictions, and then read the parallel text that matches what they saw in the movie. 7. After reading the parallel text, students can discuss the critical elements, such as the characters, setting, and plot, as a class and think back on whether their predictions were correct. If their predictions were incorrect, ask them to consider why they may have had different ideas based on the movie version than were

actually presented in the book. 8. Elicit a comparison of the movie versus the text. Ask students how the pictures they developed in their minds while reading differed from the images they saw in the movie. Ask them if any of the images were the same. 9. After using the W-R-W-R process multiple times while reading Maniac Magee, point out how students are using images from the movie to add to their understanding of the book. Make sure that they are noticing critical elements and confirming their predictions while reading. Discuss the correlation and relevance of this method to independent application of visual imaging and reading comprehension. 10. Continue to repeat the W-R-W-R cycle until students have gained enough background knowledge to grasp the concepts in the book and are able to read and apply the W-R-W-R strategy independently. After Reading Selected Sections: Draw Aloud 1. Model for students, using an overhead projector, how to use the Draw Aloud Organizer. Read aloud a short section of Maniac Magee (or use a separate reading for the purposes of modeling the strategy), and then draw a response to the first prompt on the organizer and explain it to the class. For example, read aloud the following passage from Maniac Magee: "One day his parents left him with a sitter and took the P & W high-speed trolley into the city. On the way back home, they were on board when the P & W had its famous crash, when the motorman was drunk and took the high trestle over the Schuylkill River at sixty miles an hour, and the whole kaboodle took a swan dive into the water." [From chapter 1, page 5]

After reading the passage, draw a picture of the scene and think aloud: "I picture this long train with calm people inside, reading the newspaper, sipping coffee, chatting - and suddenly a crash without any time for them to notice. This is why I drew windows with faces of ordinary people inside, not looking surprised (yet) while the train approaches a leap off a cliff..."

2. If students need more clarification or do not understand the process, apply this approach again reading a second passage. 3. Distribute the Draw Aloud Organizer to students and have them work through the next section of the novel interactively as a class. After reading the text passage silently, ask students to draw pictures of the character or event in the illustration box. Have them also include a caption with their pictures. 4. Invite students to share their illustrations in groups or in pairs, and then share your own illustration with the entire class. Ask students to discuss how the illustrations by their classmates were different or the same. 5. When it seems that students understand the process, allow them time to read

independently and complete the organizer by drawing pictures for each chapter. 6. Bring students together to discuss and compare their drawings as a class. Ask them to also think about what impact their drawings had on their reading comprehension. Do they think they were able to understand the story better before or after they did their drawings? Did they find themselves automatically creating pictures (in their minds) after drawing a few on paper? back to top EXTENSIONS The following websites can be used to find extension activities to use before, during, and after the reading ofManiac Magee. ClassZone.com: Maniac Magee Ideas for Fifth Grade Teachers: The Legend of Maniac Magee