Take a Walk in Jerry Spinelli's Shoes

You will be researching the internet to help you and your partner travel through the life of author, Jerry Spinelli. Your objective is to learn and become familiar with his life story.

You will learn biographical information about Jerry Spinelli, that will help futher your background knowledge before we read his stories.

This does count towards a research standard mark, so be sure to take your time. When you're finished, please complete the exit ticket independently and turn it into the bin. :)

IN CLASS WORK: Together, we will be working on a Jerry Spinelli author study. We will be reading his autobiography titled, Knots in my Yo-Yo String together as a class and independently. You will be working on various activities with your groups, as well as independently. Activities include character traits, vocabulary, comprehension questions, discussion questions, etc. Every Friday, you'll work with your groups to take what you've learned about Jerry Spinelli and add to a class author study collage that we will be making. This collage should be completed by the end of the author study.

OUT OF CLASS WORK: You will also be in charge of forming a group of five-six peers to read one of the following novels outside of class, Maniac Magee, Crash, Stargirl, or Wringer. Your group will read assigned pages outside of class and meet every Friday to discuss what you've read. After the author study has concluded and all novels have been read, (TBD) you will be in charge of creating and presenting a movie trailer using iMovie with your groups based on the book you read outside of class. 

1. Visit http://www.jerryspinelli.com/newbery_001.htm and watch the mini intro. video clip. (Do not click the baseball to skip)

2. Click the Jerry Post-it at the top of the page. Read Jerry Spinelli's Bio independently. After reading, write down two facts about his on two different post-its and post it on the chart paper. 

3. Next step- Go to http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/jerry-spinelli-interview-tra…;and read/discuss a few of the interview questions and answers with your partner. Write one interview questions that you'd like to ask Jerry Spinelli on the white board. 

4. Visit http://www.jerryspinelli.com/books.htm and skim through the list of books that Jerry Spinelli has written. Discuss the following questions with your partner: 

• Have you read any of the books written by Jerry Spinelli?
• If so, which books?
• When and where did you read them?
• Did you like or dislike the books that you read? Why?

5. Go to http://www.jerryspinelli.com/newbery_004.htm and view the FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions). Discuss the following questions with your partner: 

• Are any of these questions interview questions that you asked in step three?
• If so, which ones? If not, move on...
• Do any of these questions/answers surprise/intrigue you? Which ones? Why?

6. Click on the News Post-it at the top of the page. Write down all four current news events on this page. 

7. Raise your hand once you've taken this step. 

Visit http://www.biography.com/people/jerry-spinelli-040616 and independently read all four sections. Once complete, rearrange your timeline dates and events (paper-clipped together) to match his biography. (Show me when finished)

8. Go to http://www.adlit.org/authors/Spinelli/3608/ and watch the short interview clip. After watching, discuss with your partner any new information that you learned from watching. Take a step in Jerry Spinelli's shoes and create a life quote based on the video clip that you've viewed.

For ex. "Never Give up on Things" -Jerry Spinelli never gave up after just writing chapter one, but finished the book (and more) to get where he's at in life today- succesful. 

Write your quote on chart paper, as well as your explanation. 

• You have taken  your final step in Jerry Spinelli's shoes. 
• Please raise your hand to show me completion of this webquest. 

NICE STEPPIN' :)