Loser

Week 1:
Matt asked his questions first. Such as, “What was Zinkoffs stomach problem called”. Answer: an upside down valve in his stomach. Nick discussed and kept everyone on topic. Andrew and I were summarizing group and writing what we have done as a group.
 * Person D:John DeCotiis/ Andrew Mosca 10/1**

1) What was Zinkoff's stomach problem called? Answer: An upside down valve in his stomach.  2) Why did Zinkoff and his mom call his dads cars Clunkers? Answer: They called it clunkers because they were used cars that would break down after a while? 3) What was the kids name that moved next door? Answer: Andrew Orwell  4) What did Zinkoff laugh at all the time? Answer: Words like jabib and snookerdoodle. 5. Why did Zinkoff like getting stars from his mom? Answer: He thought they were real stars from the sky so he thought of them as an award from his mom.
 * Person C: Matthew Saidel 10/1**


 * Person B: Joseph Zuback 10/3 **


 * 1) The narrator added, “ This is Mrs. Meeks’s last year to retire and the last thing she needs is a troublesome first grader”(10).
 * 2) The narrator describes, “ Now as he moves the pencil across the blue lined paper, he feels a thrill. He stares at his name, and it is as if he is staring at himself.”(18).
 * 3) The narrator mentions, “ Every day is like the first day to Zinkoff. Things keep happening that rekindle the excitement of the first day”(28).
 * 4) The narrator explains, “ Many thing tickle Zinkoff, but nothing more than the sound of a funny word”(28)
 * 5) The narrator explains Zinkoff's parent, “His parents try not to say no to him unless it’s really necessary."(37)

The main character in my group's book is Donald Zinkoff. He is a 1st grader who is a little bit slow. Donald is a very funny kid. He makes me want to read the book more and more to see what crazy stuff he does. He once was so excited to go to school, he went by himself and his parents were looking for him but it was Saturday. Donald really doesn't notice when somebody is picking on him or bullying him. He once got his hat taken away from a 4th grader and the kid said "Its mine now." Zinkoff immediately thought that kid was at the zoo the same day he was and lost his giraffe hat so Zinkoff said "OK". We also know that Donald is a nice kid because he baked a cookie for his neighbor that just moved in.
 * Person A: Nick Calabrese **

**Week 2:** Very easy book to read. Easy to talk about. Kind of a boring book. All easy words. Nothing in the book I cant understand. This is probably a 7th graders book. I think that because it has huge words and its about a kid dish 1st grader.
 * John DeCotiis 10/8 A Group Leader**

In the group we discussed the book “Loser” and answered questions. Everyone answered the questions correctly and we had a great discussion. The pages we read this week were full of events with the kid named Zinkoff. Our group did very well this week with our discussion. John really kept our group on task. Joe really had creative questions. Matt Saidel did a great job answering most of the questions that Joe had made to the. Andrew was working on his summary. We all read our book and was involved with the questions and each person committed to the group. Not a lot of the group doesn't like the book.
 * Andrew Mosca/ Nick Calabrese 10/8 D**

1. Donald senses a sadness somewhere in the distance. " What's ' MIA'?" 2. He drives his mother crazy." Heaven help me" every ten minutes. 3. He repeats to himself: It's only a cellar." 4. He whispers in the direction of the furnace: " Please don't come out."  5. Whenever his uncle Stanley comes over, he proclaims at full voice:"Aha- there he is! The sleepless wonder!"
 * Person B: Matthew Saidel 10/8**

**Week 3:** The mood of Loser is cheerful because Zinkoff always finds ways to be happy. Another mood of the book is energetic because Zinkoof can not sit still. The emotion of Loser is excitement because Zinkoff can not control his happiness. Zinkoff is a happy child and does not care what other children say about him. He can not stop laughing in class so that makes him energetic.
 * Person A: 10/15 Matthew Saidel**


 * Person C Key Questioner: John DeCotiis 10/15/10 **

1. Why is Zinkoff burping? He is burping because of his surgery. 2. Why was Zinkoff picking his ears with a paperclip? He was collecting his earwax to make a candle. 3. Why did he want a best friend? Everybody else had one and he didn’t. 4. What was Zinkoff’s idea to try to make the waiting man? He wants to dress up as his brother with camoflouge and a bb gun to try and make him happy. 5. Why was Zinkoff called the loser? Because he had a mole, his hair was messy, and he was clumsy.

1.“I never seen a person with a leash on before” Zinkoff said (Spinelli, 115) 2.Who’s your best friend your? - If you don’t have one you better go get one. Narrator said. (Spinelli, 121) 3. "You"ll be early to your own funeral, boy!"said Mr. Yalwitz (Spinelli, 97) 4. "So lets go out there today and beat the pants off'em" said Mr. Yalowitz (Spinelli, 102) 5. " I lived on a farm and all my mother about was me being run over by a chicken" said Claudia (Spinelli, 116)
 * Andrew Mosca/ Nick Calabrese **

This week my group read page 88 to 132. Nick and Andrew are both finding quotes while John is creating questions and Matt is leading the Group. During all of this I am summarizing what we are doing. Nick and Andrew are having trouble finding meaningful quotes but it is the hardest job. John finished his questions and their answers way before the period ended. Matt is helping the group members finish their job and. Nick is moving along and is doing 5 quotes with Andrew.
 * Joseph Zuback Person D**

Throughout the weeks are group has been smooth getting the work done. We have two more weeks and our book is on the easy side. It wasn’t the best book but it has been ok. Everyone finishes their own jobs way before the period ends so we have been doing very well. I think we will be able to do it the last two meetings too.

John did his quotes and then we discussed them. Andrew and Joe shared discussion leader. Nick did his questions and we answered questions. We had a good argument about what happened in the book and we talked about how Zinkoff was called a loser. Also we talked about how Claudia ran away during the snow storm. Zinkoff made it his mission to find her. We also posted our jobs to the wiki. Joe had good control over our group and andrew helped Joe.
 * Week 4 :**
 * Matthew Saidel PERSON: D**

John DeCotiis Person: B “We used to have gooseberries on our farm”(pg 147 Spinelli).

“Don’t forget the jelly”(pg 149 Spinelli).

“He gives her his lucky bubblegum stone”(pg 153 Spinelli).

“He even misses the boondocks and field day and mrs. Biswell”(pg 157 Spinelli).

“Go Donald! Go Donald!”(pg 160 Spinelli).

Joe Zuback/ Andrew Mosca Person A Themes/Images: Don’t judge people. Zinkoff has been called a loser for the past year and has had another field day. He was excluded from the bug race. This shouldn’t happen just because he is not as good as the others. Some images you can see in your mind would be snowy background that represents it is snowing a lot. I also picture a long road that he is walking along because he got kicked out of field day from his teammates. The author uses these to show how cruel kids can be to other kids.
 * Week 5:**

Matthew Saidel and John Decotis: Group A I would not recommend it to peers because it was boring and a childish book. Also the book was not very exciting and it was a very easy book. No it has not because it is about a child's life but at the end he saved this little girl. There is some themes that are in other books such as bullying, and saving another kids life. No because we thought this book was to childish and because we chose the book to quickly at the beginning and we did not get much info on it.

Joe Zuback/Person C/ 11/1/10

1) Who is Claudia? Claudia is one of the girls on Zinkoff’s street who has a leash and was very kind to Zinkoff, and she gave him things

2) Who does Zinkoff loose when he plays in the snow? How does he loose the person? Zinkoff looses Claudia when he joins a snowball fight with other kids.

3) What does Zinkoff pretend to think? He thinks Claudia is moving, and running, and rolling in the snow.

4) What is Zinkoff afraid of happening? He is afraid that Claudia was in the middle of the street and the snowplow would run he over.

5) Who does Zinkoff compare to Claudia? How does he do it? Zinkoff compares Claudia to his little Polly. He does this by remembering Polly being that small and always running away like Claudia. Andrew Mosca person C 11/1/10

“Yeah it’s a shame. One night during a snowstorm the little girl ran off” Zinkoff (Spinelli, 189) “You were looking for the little girl?” Mrs. Zinkoff (Spinelli, 200) “But you didn’t know that, did you? You just kept looking and looking.” Mrs. Zinkoff (Spinelli, 200) “This kid goes out looking for her, right? So they find her, like just a little while after she got lost?” Bonce (Spinelli, 214) “A snowplow found him at about two o’clock in the morning about two miles from home” Bonce (Spinelli, 214)

Nick Calabrese/ Person D/ 11/1/10 John and Matt are group leaders this week. They are also keeping our group on task and working on the wikki. Joe is working on the questions. He is making creative questions for this week and he is asking us the questions as he go and we answer them. Jon is helping are group with computer malfunctions and any problems or faults where having. Matt is also helping Mosca with his jobs a quote finder.

Going into the 5th week are grouping has been getting work done. We finally finished our book. This book was kind of easy. The book has big wording and not that many pages pure chapter. Our group is sticking together and not changing groups. I am looking forward to working with this group again.

**Book Club Schedule** You should divide your book into 5 equal sections. For example, if your book has 100 pages, you should have five 20 page sections. You should read the appropriate section for each meeting.


 * Requirements**:
 * **PERSON A - GROUP LEADER** - This group member will be responsible for both keeping the group on task throughout the meeting as well as responding to the week's topical questions, listed below.
 * **PERSON B - QUOTATION FINDER** - This group member will be responsible for finding 5 important, meaningful quotations from their section of the text. They will also facilitate a discussion regarding these quotations.
 * **PERSON C - KEY QUESTIONER** - This group member will be responsible for providing 5 open-ended questions regarding the week's reading section. These questions, and their responses, will be posted on the group's wiki.
 * **PERSON D - GROUP SUMMARIZER** - This group member will be responsible for posting a thorough, two-paragraph summary of the group's Friday meeting, to be posted on the group wiki no later than the Sunday following the meeting.


 * Groups will decide appropriate penalties for group members who fail to uphold their responsibilities.**


 * NOTE: If your book club has three members, the roles B and C should be combined; if your book club has five members, two students should take the role of C (5 questions each).**


 * Week One: October 1**

Topic: Characters (Section 1 out of 5 of your text)

Assignment: 1. On your group's wiki page, describe the main characters in your text. What makes them interesting? What is their story or background? Why are you drawn to them? Conversely, are there any characters that you just cannot stand? Why not? (A) 2. Person B should share and discuss their selected quotations, using Save The Last Word techniques. 3. Person C should post the meeting summary on the group's wiki page after class. 4.Person D should share his/her questions with the group, as well as post the questions on the group's wiki page


 * Week Two: October 8**

Topic: Language (Section 2 out of 5 of your text)

Assignment: 1. On your group's wiki page, discuss the type of language that your book contains. Is it easy to read? Conversational? "Classic"? Does it use a lot of words you don't understand? What grade level do you think the book is written at, and why? (B) 2. Person B should share and discuss their selected quotations, using Save The Last Word techniques. 3. Person C should post the meeting summary on the group's wiki page after class. 4.Person D should share his/her questions with the group, as well as post the questions on the group's wiki page


 * Week Three: October 15**

Topic: Mood/Tone (section 3 out of 5 of your text)

Assignment: 1. On your group's wiki page, discuss the mood or tone of your book.What is the overriding emotion of this book? What examples back up your claim? (B) 2. Person B should share and discuss their selected quotations, using Save The Last Word techniques. 3. Person C should post the meeting summary on the group's wiki page after class. 4.Person D should share his/her questions with the group, as well as post the questions on the group's wiki page


 * Week Four: October 22**

Topic: Themes/Images (section 4 out of 5 of your text)

Assignment: 1. On your group's wiki page, discuss the themes and images that your book contains. What are some of the images that are used? What do they seem to represent? Why do you think the author uses these images to convey his or her meaning? 2. Person B should share and discuss their selected quotations, using Save The Last Word techniques. 3. Person C should post the meeting summary on the group's wiki page after class. 4.Person D should share his/her questions with the group, as well as post the questions on the group's wiki page


 * Week Five: October 29 (LAST MEETING)**

Topic: Responding to the Text (section 5 out of 5 of your text)

Assignment: 1. On your group's wiki page, discuss your final reflections on this book. Would you recommend it to peers? Why or why not? Has this topic been discussed more/less effectively in another book or books? Should this book be considered for the school's curriculum? (B) 2. Person B should share and discuss their selected quotations, using Save The Last Word techniques. 3. Person C should post the meeting summary on the group's wiki page after class. 4.Person D should share his/her questions with the group, as well as post the questions on the group's wiki page