RACHEL HALL

I too chose Zinkoff-The main character in the story

Head- Zinkoff is a kind kid. He thinks, for the most part, that everyone likes him. When he is being teased, messed with, or laughed at he doesn't get it. 

Eyes- Zinkoff sees the good in everyone. He is such a kind kid that he cannot see the negative or the superficialness in other kids or some of his teachers.

Mouth- Zinkoff says funny things a lot. He says words like jabip and jaboob. He thinks these words are hillarious. He laughs and laughs. He often says yahoo! He is unusually excited and happy.

Heart- Zinkoff has a heart of gold. He is kinds and means well. He is a giver and loves everyone. Even the students that aren't so nice to him. 

Hands- Zinkoff tries to do everything, even though he is not good at it. He looks up to his dad and wants to be a mailman just like him. 

Feet- Zinkoff goes everywhere! He walks, runs, and bicycles to school, the neighboors, and even goes searching for Claudia the little girl. 

As Donald Zinkoff went through school he became older, but not wiser. He is such a kind kid that he never realized how different he was from the other kids. He almost seems naive. He meant well throughout the whole story. Zinkoff was usually getting into trouble but he never knew what for. We see Zinkoff start off in the first grade and watch his journey throughout elementary school with his teachers, peers, and some "so called" best friends. I don't feel that Zinkoff changed to much except he became older. He did however have some tough times in school with his peers and some "not so nice" teachers. He started to feel somewhat lonely and was embarrassed to tell his parents about things that were going on. I kind of feel like this was an eye opening experience to Zinkoff when he realized he didn't have a best friend. As the story ends he focuses more on the grown ups. He rides his bike and talks to the grown ups along the way. One cold winter night he searches for a little girl, Claudia. He met Claudia on one of his bike rides. Zinkoff was searching for hours for this little girl in the cold winter weather. He did not know that the little girl was found shortly after and he soon became the one that people were looking for. Zinkoff was found in the early morning. When he was able to return back to school he was still the last one picked and made fun of. At the very end of the book one kid picks him to play and thinks of Zinkoff being a hero. If this book were to continue I think that things would start changing for Zinkoff. When sharing this book in the classroom I would use it to show that even the one person that we don't think is "perfect" is. I feel that this would teach children to think before they speak and to be friends with everyone. I also would use this a teachable moment to show kids that everyone has special things about them. Zinkoff was a fun loving kid who genuinely cared about everyone. He wasn't going to stop searching for Claudia until she was found. 

Amanda Mack 

I chose Zinkoff, the main character of the story.

     Feet: Zinkoff goes to find little Claudia when she is missing, in the end it turned out everyone was out looking for him. This really takes the story for a turn,           Zinkoff looks more like a hero.

     Heart: Zinkoff feels such a passion for just being goofy, laughing, playing, going to school, and growing up to be a mailman like his Dad.

     Hands: Zinkoff delivers the mail when hos Dad takes him for a "mock" bring your kid to work day. This makes him so happy, even though he is not delivering           real mail he really looks up to what his father does.

     Mouth: "Yahoo!", "I love school!", "Piece of cake, right Dad?" These comments really show in a nutshell who Zinkoff is. He its so happy no matter what, he           loves school and he really admires his Dad and his profession.

     Eyes: Zinkoff sees the other kids playing with one another and having best friends, but he is never included, he is always left out.

     Head: Zinkoff hears and sees other kids making fun of him but he doesn't understand it. He practices for field day, he gets his first A, he just doesn't get it.

Upon entering school Zinkoff loves it, he is so happy, everything makes him laugh, he never misses a day he even hates snow days because he has to miss a day. As time progresses he starts to realize he has no friends, nobody wants to play with him and nobody even wants him on their field day team. This changes the way he views school he becomes embarrassed to tell his parents and this ultimately leads to him paying more attention to the older people like "Waiting Man", the lady that calls him Mailman, and the little girl Claudia that lives by them. By the end of the story when Claudia goes missing on a snowy evening, Zinkoff searches outside til 2 am. It turns out that Claudia had been found earlier and that everyone was out looking for Zinkoff. This makes him feel really good and important.  These changes are significant because they show the struggles that he had to face while going through school. You can relate this to your students and hopefully show them that everyone just wants to be included and have fun just like you.

PDF for Marlene Gonzalez - Body Biography

EDRL401-BODY BIOGRAPHY-MG.pdf  

Ellie Taylor

I chose the main character Zinkoff because he was the character that I felt I knew the most. My answers to the questions are explained in the image above.  Loser is a story about a kid trying to find out who he is, although he isn't who everyone else thinks he should be. He isn't like the other kids, and he doesn't realize this. Zinkoff grows up a lot in this book. It starts on his first day of elementary school and fallows him through till middle school. He goes from being the kid that nobody really notices to the kid that everyone notices, but for the wrong reasons. He is a very goofy kid, and when he progresses into middle school he grows up, but he still has the same characteristics as when he was a child. He understands a lot about the world (for the most part). I remember the part in the story about Zinkoffs soccer team, and how he didn't care if they lost - he still had a good time. When he realized that all his teammates were pouting and crying and kicking the ground, he did the same thing. He thought being a good team mate meant acting like that. He understood things his own way. There are many ways I could share this with my students, but the main point I would want to get across is that everyone is different, even if they don't know they are. It is important to embrace differences and accept people for who they are, because they might never change.

Victoria Pocino

Head- Zinkoff thinks that school is the best place on Earth. Zinkoff thinks that even though being the last one standing in line to be picked for a team, there is still a chance for the captain to pick you.

Eyes- Zinkoff does not see how his peers are constantly making fun of him. Zinkoff sees Binns and Andrew as his best friends. Zinkoff sees the stars that his mother gives him. Zinkoff doesnt see himself as a loser.

Mouth- Zinkoff tells Andrew about his "Take Zinkoff to Work Day" and how he wants to become a mailman. Zinkoff tells his parents about his first A.

Heart- Zinkoff always feels energy. Zinkoff is glad his stomach no longer feels sick. Zinkoff is scared of the Furnance Monster. Zinkoff feels ashamed for losing the Field Day race.

Hands- Zinkoff plays the flute off tune. Zinkoff tries to give Andrew his trophy when he did not win.

Feet- Zinkoff arrives to elementary school early every morning. Zinkoff travels far from home looking for Claudia.

I decided to write about Zinkoff after reading the book Loser. Zinkoff goes through so many changes throughout this book. I think that students that are in a similar age group to Zinkoff would be able to relate to all of the changes that he is going through. One the first day of First grade, Zinkoff is excited about school. As Zinkoff travels through elementary school, his personality does not change, but his classmates start to think of him as a little different, as he is much more outgoing than the other students. Zinkoff is trying to figure out the social norms through out these different grades. At the beginning of the story, he started out just like all of the other students. As he progressed through school, students started seeing him as a "loser", but by the end of the book, although the students still saw Zinkoff as a little different, they began to accept him as a fellow peer. These changes were very significant for Zinkoff as it shows how other students in school can treat someone that might be different from them. The changes show the significance in peers accepting each other after getting to know one another. I would share this book with the classroom and discuss with students that we are all different and even though someone might seem different, we should always include everyone in activities at school because everyone goes through changes.