Name_________________________________HR_____
Anticipation Guide for Maniac Magee
Directions: Read the following statements and decide if they are always true, sometimes true, or never true.
Think well about each statement. Your answers will not be graded and will be respected as long as they are
honest. Write the corresponding letter in the blank before each statement: ALWAYS true (A), SOMETIMES true
(S), and NEVER true (N).
1. ____ People are more alike than they are different.
2. ____ We fear those who are different from ourselves.
3. ____ Differences lead to mistrust, dislike, and even hatred
between
people.
4. ____ Physical divisions between people who are different
better society.
5. ____ Personal insecurity (lack of self worth or confidence)
and fear lead
to mistrust, dislike, and even hatred of those
different from ourselves.
6. ____ To be human is to have strengths and weaknesses.
7. ____ Educated people are of more worth/value than those who
are
uneducated.
8. ____ The heart of a person makes him (or her) what he (or
she) is.
9. ____ Kind people are of more worth/value than those who are
often
mean.
10. ____ You have the ability now to better the world in which
you live.
Teachers' Guide to an Anticipation Guide for Maniac Magee
Purpose: This anticipation guide gives students an opportunity to recognize more fully the worth of all
people, the primary theme of Maniac Magee, before even beginning the novel. Asking students to react
to a series of statements reflecting the primary content of the book activates their prior knowledge and
beliefs, leads them to make predictions about these themes and concepts, and stimulates their interest in
reading the book. Thereby, students will experience greater comprehension of new ideas or new facets of
old concepts found in the material and be better prepared to think critically about the novel.
Step One-Understand and analyze the major concepts, themes, and ideas presented in the text, primarily:
1)seeing past skin color, appearances, attitudes, and stereotypes of people to their humanity,
commonalities, and value and
2)realizing fear, hatred, and division, rather than differences, to be destroying agents among people. The
12 declarative statements on the following anticipation guide reflect these primary themes of Maniac
Magee and invite/stimulate students' focus, interest, and reflection/critical thinking on their prior
knowledge and beliefs.
Step Two-Present the following anticipation guide to the students on individual worksheets (or possibly
on the overhead). Clearly explain to the students what they are to do with the guide (directions found on
the anticipation guide). Give students about seven minutes to complete the worksheet individually. (Tell
the students to think carefully about each statement, and extend their time to complete the guide if
necessary.) Emphasize to the students that all honest, well thought-out responses will be respected and
that they will not be graded according to their answers.
Step Three-Next, have students discuss their responses to the predictive statements in small groups (of
four or five) both to compare their responses with others and to anticipate what concepts/themes/ideas
are likely to be discovered in reading Maniac Magee (~10 min.). Have students write in their journals to
reflect on those statements that they have the strongest responses to and to note any changes in
response after group discussion (~5 min.). Then, the class will discuss individual and group responses to
each statement as well as the groups' anticipation of the novel. Further stimulate critical thinking and
comprehension by questioning both the statements and students' responses. Ask students to support
their responses with the experience, reason, and/or feeling by which they arrived at their decisions (~20
min.). The class will then brainstorm and briefly develop possible plots of the book based on the
anticipated concepts and title of Maniac Magee (~5-7 min.).
Step Six-Students read Maniac Magee and discuss in groups and as a class, throughout the reading, the
development of the major concepts and themes of the book. Ask the students questions to realize the
concepts/themes themselves rather than telling them what they are. Then, as the reading progresses,
have the students follow the development of those concepts and themes, noting them in their journals
and reviewing them as a class to start class discussions.
Step Seven-Two or three times throughout the reading, have students revisit the anticipation guide; ask
them to compare and contrast their initial responses to the predictive statements with their current
understanding and views of the treated concepts in class discussion. Have the students evaluate the
meaning of the statements as well as students' responses to them in light of the content of the text and
Jerry Spinelli's predicted purpose/intent for writing the novel. (After these discussions, give students a
few minutes to jot down reflective notes in their journals.) After finishing the book, have students fill out
the anticipation guide again and write in their journals the reasons for any changes of opinion. Then, have
the class discuss what they have learned or how they have modified and/or expanded their prior beliefs
and perspectives from reading Maniac Magee.
Assessment: Students' critical thinking about important concepts found in Maniac Magee will be
assessed by reviewing their completed anticipation guide worksheets and journal entries about their
initial and later responses to the predictive statements. Group and class discussion will be used to assess
students' understanding of the presented concepts, as well as their critical thinking skills. For the last
novel activity, students will be asked to write persuasive essays concerning a major theme or concept
(chosen by the individual students) presented in Maniac Magee using the text and possibly personal
experience and other materials as support. Carie E. Sheffield