Illustrating Maniac Magee Themes

Activity Overview

In this activity, students will identify a theme of the novel, and support their choice with details from the text. Several themes are present in the novel, and students could also display how these are present by giving an example of each theme.

Maniac Magee Theme Examples

Abandonment

Jeffrey Magee is repeatedly abandoned:

His parents die in a trolley accident
Grayson dies in his sleep
The East End community does not accept him

Family

Jeffrey desperately wants to be a part of a family who cares about him.

Race

Two Mills consists of the East End, for blacks, and the West End, for whites. Jeffrey does not see these color differences and embraces the individuals who are open to racial differences.

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Template and Class Instructions

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Student Instructions

Create a storyboard that identifies recurring themes in Maniac Magee. Illustrate instances of each theme and write a short description below each cell.

Click "Start Assignment".
Identify the theme(s) from Maniac Magee you wish to include and replace the "Theme 1" text.
Create an image for an example that represents this theme.
Write a description of each of the examples.

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Lesson Plan Reference

Grade Level 4-5

Difficulty Level 3 (Developing to Mastery)

Type of Assignment Individual

Type of Activity: Themes, Symbols & Motifs

Common Core Standards

[ELA-Literacy/RL/5/1] Quote accurately from a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.
[ELA-Literacy/RL/5/2] Determine a theme of a story, drama, or poem from details in the text, including how characters in a story or drama respond to challenges or how the speaker in a poem reflects upon a topic; summarize the text.

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Rubric

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Themes

Create a storyboard that identifies themes in the story. Illustrate examples of each theme and write a short description below each cell.

	Proficient	Emerging	Beginning
Identify Theme(s)	All themes are correctly identified and described.	Some themes are correctly identified.	No themes are correctly identified.
Examples of Theme(s)	All examples support the identified theme(s).	Most examples fit the identified theme(s).	Most examples do not fit the theme(s).
Illustrate Theme	Images clearly show connection with the theme(s).	Some images help to show the theme.	Images do not help in understanding the theme.