Middle School Group Activities for the Book "Maniac Magee"

The book "Maniac Magee" provides students an opportunity to talk about serious issues.

"Maniac Magee" is a Newberry Medal award-winning book by Jerry Spinelli geared toward preteens. It tells the tale of Jeffrey Lionel Magee, nicknamed "Maniac" by the folks in his town for his athletic talents. Jeffrey is homeless and encounters illiteracy and racism while searching for a home he can call his own. The book offers an opportunity to discuss these major life issues with your students.

Racial Prejudice

Talk to the students about racism and how Maniac dealt with it.

Discuss the racism in the book. Teach the students about all the different types of racism and discrimination. Divide the class into small groups and let them discuss whether they have personally been subject to discrimination of any kind. How did it make them feel? As a group, let the students tell their stories. See if any of the students are willing to share experiences where they have discriminated against others. What did they learn from that experience?

Illiteracy

Describe the difficulties Grayson may have had an illiterate man.

In Maniac's life, reading is very important and Maniac even teaches an older man, Grayson, to read. When Grayson completes an entire book, the man and the boy celebrate. Talk to the students about illiteracy and why it happens. Ask them why they think Grayson never learned to read. How was the world different when Grayson was a boy? Ask the students if they know anyone who doesn't know how to read. What could they do to help?

Homelessness

Ask the students to talk about the homelessness problem in their community.

Talk to students about the problem of homelessness. Start a discussion--do they know any homeless people? Are there any in their neighborhood and how do they feel about them? What would it be like to be homeless? Talk about history; the Great Depression was a time of great homelessness, and the current housing crisis may cause homelessness for some families. Ask the students to come up with a plan to help the homeless in their community.

Maniac's Role

Have a discussion in class about how Maniac changed his town.

Discuss all the important things Maniac did for his community and how ideas may have changed because of his presence. Pretend Maniac is on a talk show and have students play the other characters in the book. They can be guests on the show and describe how Maniac helped them. The rest of class can act as the audience and ask questions. During another segment, pretend Maniac is older. What is he doing with his life now? How did his experiences shape his life?

References

• ProTeacher: Language Arts - Novel Guides
• CliffsNotes: Maniac Magee - Major Themes