His other books include smiles to go, loser, space station seventh grade, who put that hair in my toothbrush. Loser, by jerry spinelli, follows the life throughout grade school of a boy named donald zinkoff, who has a hard time achieving success in anything he does, yet proves to be very successful at being a. Once again, newbery medalwinning author jerry spinelli uses great wit and humor to create the unique story of zinkoff as he travels from first through sixth grades. I will be using loser this year in all my presentations as a storyreader for children from fourth through sixth grade. It is a typical school with no distinguishing characteristics and. What is the plot of the book loser bby jerry spineli.
Loser by jerry spinelli, 9780060540746, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide. Important vocabulary words are listed, as well as a literal inthetext question and an inferential inyourhead question for students to answer. Loser is a tender story about donald zinkoss, a young character who demonstrates great selfacceptance and who is not afraid to fail. This detailed literature summary also contains topics for discussion and a free quiz on loser by jerry spinelli. Find all the books, read about the author, and more. Donald zinkoff from loser by jerry spinelli book clubs, book club books, teaching tools. Jerry spinelli, author of newbery medalist maniac magee, newbery honor book wringer, and many other excellent books for teens, elegantly and accurately captures the collective, notalwayspretty emotions of a high school microcosm in which individuality is pitted against conformity.
Jerry spinelli received the newbery medal for maniac magee and a newbery honor for wringer. Shop amongst our popular books, including 62, stargirl, milkweed and more from jerry spinelli. Loser is a touching book about the human spirit, the importance of failure, and how any name can someday be. Challenge students comprehension of the novel with a variety of question styles and a final quiz.
Jul 29, 2003 jerry spinelli received the newbery medal for maniac magee and a newbery honor for wringer. Charging joyously into each day, zinkoff baffles older. Use these questions and the activities that follow to get more out of the experience of reading loser by jerry spinelli. Stargirl by jerry spinelli, maniac magee by jerry spinelli, love, stargirl by jerry spinelli, loser by jerry spinelli, a. Thinking strategies for characters, plot, and setting. The presenttense, omniscient narrative follows zinkoff from john w. Loser by jerry spinelli by school rules overdrive rakuten. Spinelli has made us all see that there is a loser in all of us. Snow scene from jerry spinellis book loser youtube. Two quote from book response activities book commercial activity letter to the author activity lessontheme of loser response enjoy. Satterfield elementary school is where much of the action of the novel takes place.
Page 1 cover page 2 vocabulary list page 3, 4, 5 vocabulary activities page 6, 7, 8 character sketches page 9 map activity page 10 ch. Popular jerry spinelli books meet your next favorite book. Loser by jerry spinelli meet your next favorite book. Free loser study unit worksheets for teachers to print. The story mostly takes place at zinkoffs house, john w. Book loser by jerry spinelli schema character traits of donald zinkoff texttoworld texttoself he doesnt realize he most likely wont find claudia.
It is so important for children to see that failure is a very important part of life if we can learn from it. I will be using loser this year in all my presentations as a storyreader for children from fourth. Loser is a touching book about the human spirit, the importance of failure, and how any name can someday be replaced with hero. His novels are recognized for their humor and poignancy, and his characters and situations are often drawn from his. Comprehension by chapter, vocabulary challenges, creative reading response activities and projects, tests, and much more. Satterfield elementary school, and in zinkoffs neighborhood. Oct, 2009 from renowned newberywinning author jerry spinelli comes a powerful story about how not fitting in just might lead to an incredible life. Spinellis stargirl is a supernatural teen character.
Zinkoff is one of the most unusual, endearing characters ever to grace the pages of a novel for young readers. Stargirl by jerry spinelli reading guidebook club discussion. Spinelli s stargirl is a supernatural teen character. Loser by jerry spinelli jerry spinellis novel, loser, chronicles the childhood of donald zinkoff. Suggested by adrev masters admin sweet victory as featured in spongebob squarepants. 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.
Donald zinkoff from loser by jerry spinelli elementary curriculum. Jul 25, 2017 jerry spinelli writes some of the best books for middle grade students. This classic book is perfect for fans of gordon korman and carl hiaasen. Jul 19, 2009 zinkoff goes off to find claudia, a little girl who is lost in a snow storm. Zinkoffs no one calls him donald except his teachers mistakes and quirks. Chad ochocinco changed his name from chad javon johnson to chad ochocinco this. Zinkoff doesnt know it, but claudia has already been found. The main plot of the story is that donald zinkoff has horrible handwriting, is clumsy, and is a loser to everyone else.
This is a literature unit for the book loser by jerry spinelli. Loser by jerry spinelli and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. With the encouragement of his family, he learns to approach life with a positive spirit and to enjoy all that it has to offer. Free loser worksheets and literature unit for teachers. Satterfield elementary to monroe middle school, showing how an exuberant, somewhat eccentric boy can suddenlyhere, in fourth grade, when judgmental bigkid eyes replace littlekid eyesbe labeled a loser by his classmates. Jun 02, 2015 a book trailer about loser by jerry spinelli.
From renowned newberywinning author jerry spinelli comes an incredible story about how not fitting in might just lead to an incredible life. 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. Loser is a coming of age young adult novel first published in 2002 by american author jerry spinelli. It details the growth of donald zinkoff, who is branded a. Just like other kids, zinkoff rides his bike, hopes for snow days, and wants to be like his dad when he grows up. From renowned newberywinning author jerry spinelli comes a powerful story. The main setting of the story loser by jerry spinelli is in a small, interesting town. This middle grade novel is an excellent choice for tween readers in grades 5 to 6, especially during homeschooling. 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. Mark twain award missouri new york public librarys one hundred titles for reading and sharing publishers weekly best book.
Students describe zinkoffs selfimage as it appears in the novel. Presumably if loser makes one child view a different kid as a threedimensional character, spinelli will consider his book successful. Loser, by jerry spinelli, is one of my favorite fiction novels. This board is all about how to use spinelli s books in the classroom, from eggs to stargirl. Donald zinkoff cant sit still, cant stop laughing, falls over his own feet, adores school and silly words and his family, is prone to throwing up due to a defective stomach valve, is impervious to peer pressure, and never frets about being perennially last in any competition just as hes last in the alphabet. Loser book trailer by dylan book written by jerry spinelli. Zinkoffs no one calls him donald except his teachers mistakes and quirks are endearing, since were seeing them from the inside. Loser is an unusual book, because it does not just describe. Print out copies of the loser literature circle questions printable for students. No one likes him also they have a special name for him it is loser. It details the growth of donald zinkoff, who is branded a loser by his classmates due to his clumsiness, poor performance in school and athletics, and sometimes clueless enthusiasm. Zinkoff goes off to find claudia, a little girl who is lost in a snow storm. This board is all about how to use spinellis books in the classroom, from eggs to stargirl. Loser, by jerry spinelli, follows the life throughout grade school of a boy named donald zinkoff, who has a hard time achieving success in anything he does, yet proves to be very successful at being a good person.
Spinelli, is a kids book, aimed at 8 12 year olds, although i think you need to be a bit older to actually understand it its a very different book there almost doesnt seem to be a plot. His name is donald zinkoff and he wants to be like his father the mail man. I love this book and think it has such important lessons on bullying and acceptance. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read loser.
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