Story Summary:

Donald Zinkoff is called a loser by his peers because he's just a little bit different than everyone else. He falls laughing at the sound of a word and wants to be a mailman like his father when he grows up. Follow Donald's adventures as he attempts to make friends, writes 100 letters, and goes out into a winter's night to save a young girl. You'll make up your own mind about whether Donald really a loser is - or not.

Children will relate to the themes of being different and mocked in Loser while finding the writing thoroughly entertaining.

Learning Expectations:

The students will:

• be able to develop their skills in reading, writing, listening, and communicating orally
• use good literature to develop skills required by curriculum expectations: reasoning and critical thinking, knowledge of language structure, vocabulary building, and use of conventions
• enjoy and be excited about literature through a variety of types of questions and activities
• identify summarize and describe story elements (plot, characters, story line, and setting)
• learn and review many skills to develop good reading habits
• provide clear answers to questions and well-constructed explanations
• organize and classify information
• learn the importance of dealing with adversity and tolerance
• take control of their learning

Teacher Notes Include:

• At A GlanceTM                 
• Overall Expectations and List of Skills
• Story Summary
• Author Biography
• Teacher Suggestions
• Student Checklist
• Answer Key

 List of Skills

Before You Read Activities:
• make predictions and connections

Vocabulary Activities:
• identify new words and definitions
• use compound words
• use word play (fun with letters)
• identify synonyms and antonyms
• identify adjectives and adverbs
• use comparative and superlative suffixes
• identify verb tenses
• identify root words
• determine alphabetical order

Setting Activities:
• change season and rewrite story

Plot Activities:
• identify the main ideas
• predict outcome of events and foreshadowing
• determine the role of others in one’s personal growth
• summarize events and details
• relate novel to one’s life
• create a plot line for the major events in the story

Character Activities:
• determine character traits
• understand concepts such as individuality, stereotyping, and discrimination
• relate to personal experience
• identify character motivations

Creative and Critical Thinking:
• research
• write letters
• ask questions
• write different outcomes
• create races (plan)
• research and find recipe
• give advice
• write a welcome speech
• use Pig Latin
• invent a game
• write a weather report
• create a get-well card

Art Activities:
• create a missing person poster
• create a card
• create a sign 

Chapter Questions:

The student booklet focuses on two chapters of the novel at one time. Each section contains the following activities:

1. a) Before you read the chapters – one question to get the students in the mind set of what can happen in the following section

1. b) Vocabulary – word play, definition, grammar and conventions

1. c) Questions – reading comprehension skills
2. d) Language Activities – grammar and writing activities in connection to what has been read

Chapter One and Two

Chapter Three and Four

Chapter Five and Six

Chapter Seven and Eight

Chapter Nine and Ten

Chapter Eleven and Twelve

Chapter Thirteen and Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen and Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen and Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen and Twenty

Chapter Twenty-One and Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Three and Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty-Five and Twenty-Six

Chapter Twenty-Seven and Twenty-Eight

Chapter Twenty-Nine and Thirty

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