1 NOVEL STUDY UNIT Large projects are worth 10 points and small projects are worth 5 points. You need a total of 15 points, so you can choose to do one small and one large project, or 3 small projects. You also will have the choice of adding on additional projects as an extension/enrichment project. Small Projects (5 points each) 1. Design a new book cover. In one page, explain what your book cover means and why your book cover is better. *See instruction handout on PAGE 5 2. Choose some part of the novel that interested you and write a different scene or ending of that part. This should be at least 2 paragraphs long. 3. Create a poem about the theme of your book. You can use any form you wish: slam poetry, haiku, or free verse. *See instruction handout on PAGE 6 4. Pretend that one of the characters from your book has made a digital photo scrapbook. Using Photo Booth, take photographs that describe this character. For each image, create hashtags that explain the symbolization of the picture and how your character feels about the particular symbol event, object, or character. *See instructions handout on PAGE 7 5. Write to the author of your book a letter (use proper letter format learned in class) and share your thoughts about the story by outlining what you thought was a pro (something positive or something that you really liked) and a con (something negative that you don t like or that you disagree with) and explaining why. Explain what you thought the theme of the book was and explain why. You can also address any unanswered questions you still have about the book. This will be a full page letter. 6. Yearbook entries. Imagine what three characters from your novel were like in high school. Cut out a picture of a person from a magazine to represent each character. Mount one picture per page and under each picture place the following information which you will create: nickname of character;
activities, clubs, sports they were in and what years; class mock award such as class clown ; quotation that shows something about the person and what is important to him or her; favorites such as colors and foods; a book that has had a great impact on him or her; voted most-likely-to what?; plans after high school. 7. A character alphabet. Choose a character you liked and then create sentences based on the alphabet scheme that demonstrate your knowledge of the character. If after reading The Hobbit, you decided to write Bilbo s alphabet it could start like this: A is for the Adventure which is how Gandalf encourages him to go on B is for Beorn who helps them find the way through Mirkwood C is for courage, which Bilbo needs to find in himself many times in the adventure 8. Create a childhood for a character. If your main character is an adult, try to figure out what he or she would have been like as a child. Write the story of his or her childhood in such a way that shows why he or she is the way he or she is in the novel. 9. Compile a list of 3 other novels that have similar themes. This must include a brief summary of each book (you may find these online, in magazines or book catalogs, at the LC, ask a friend etc.) and the name of the author. The summaries do not need to be written by you, but you must tell why you think the books are similar. It is not necessary that you read the 3 books, but you must be familiar with the basic storyline of each. 10. Select a character from the book. Then select 5 quotations from the text that you feel reveals the character s personality. You must explain what each quotation/sentence tells you about the character. You must also tell which page the quotation/sentence came from. 11. Select one of the characters in the novel and imagine what would happen if you brought her/him to your school or to your home for a day. You should consider things like: how would s/he fit it with the other students/family members; how might s/he react to the rules, teachers/parents, assignments/chores, etc.; how would s/he dress & how would people react to that; what might s/he find interesting? This may either be written from your 2
3 point of view or from the character s point of view and needs to be one page in length. 12. Write an obituary or a eulogy for one character in the novel. Ask Mrs. Richmond if you don t know what an obituary is. Give all the pertinent information-- birthplace, schooling, accomplishments, career, etc. How do you think that person would want to be remembered? Large Projects (10 points each) 1. Write 5 pages of journal/diary entries from the perspective of your favorite character in the novel. Make sure to write about actual events from the book and how these occurrences impacted your character. Make sure you have worked in the overall theme of the novel. You may insert your entries into a realistic looking journal if you wish. Be creative! *See instructions on PAGE 8 2. Design 6 Pokémon Trading cards of 3 characters in the beginning of the novel (3 Basic cards) and at the end (3 Evolved cards). You must include a picture of the character and power strengths and weaknesses. *See instructions on PAGE 9 3. Make a soundtrack consisting of at least 5 songs that have lyrics that would be suitable to your novel. You need to choose songs that fit into the your plot diagram (exposition, conflict, climax, falling action, resolution). For the 5 songs related to your plot diagram you need to explain why these lyrics are appropriate to that event. Your CD needs to have cover art that looks like you could have bought it in a store. *See instructions on PAGE 10 and 11 4. Make a sequential time chart using hand drawn pictures of the most important events in the story. You can do the chart in any form (straight line, roller coaster, circle, etc.) Hand in a typed list of events along with the chart. Label the events that fit into your plot diagram. *See instructions on PAGE 12
5. Make a movie- pretend you are creating a movie remake of your novel by filming one scene that makes up part of your plot diagram. *See instructions on PAGE 13 6. Conduct an interview with one or more characters of the novels. You may film this interview or you can choose to do it in class. *See instructions on PAGE 14 7. Design a comic strip (either hand drawn or with Book Creator) illustrating the plot diagram of your book *See instructions on PAGE 15 8. Create a board game in which the game pieces represent the characters and the board shows the plot sequence/main events of the entire novel based on your plot diagram. This must include rules and be playable. You might want to consider games like Life, Monopoly, Clue, or Taboo. 9. Do several pieces of art about the novel that either fit into a part of the plot diagram or the theme of the novel. These should be accompanied by a written paragraph explaining why you chose to make that art piece, what part of the novel it represents, why this part is important to the novel, why you chose the medium for the art piece (sculpture, watercolor, mobile etc). 10. Create a book trailer (like a movie trailer but for a book) on your novel. The purpose of a book trailer is to use rich and exciting language to convince the viewer to read your book. You will explain the premise of your book but will not give away any spoilers. PAGE 16 11. Make a diorama in which you show the scene that you feel is the most significant in the story. This must be accompanied by one page of writing explaining why you selected this scene. What is important about this scene? What characters are included in this scene and why are the significant in the scene? How is this scene important to the theme of the book? What area of the plot diagram does this scene fit into? If you could change anything about this scene what would you change? 12. Pretend you are the author of the book give a sales talk in front of your classmates (or videotape it) who are all literary judges responsible for deciding if your book is interesting and worthy enough to sell in bookstores. PAGE 17 4
5 INSTRUCTIONS FOR EACH PROJECT Small Projects (5 points each) 1. New Book Cover Design a new book cover. In one page, explain what your book cover means and why your book cover is better. If you can successfully work your novel s theme into the book cover and explain this in your write up, you will have shown greater depth of understanding and will have a higher chance of achieving a 4. Once you have designed and created your new book cover, write a one page explanation of why your book cover is better than the original. Answer the following questions: 1. Will people in a book store stop to look at the cover while they are browsing through the bookshelves? Why would they? 2. Did you include any new ideas or clues about the story in your cover that will interest readers? 3. What are these new ideas or clues and how do these new pictures symbolize the important parts of the story? *You should probably look closely at these questions first so that you know what to include in your new book cover.
6 3. Create a Poem Create a poem about any scene in your book. You can use any form you wish: slam poetry, haiku, or free verse. First, male sure you have identified the overall theme of your book. Ask Mrs. Richmond for help if you are still unsure of your theme. Make sure to use lots of descriptive words, different types of punctuation, a point of view that emphasises the poem (ex. Write a poem using the first-person narrative to make it seem like the poem was written by a specific character). Below are some poetic devices and definitions that you can use and refer to to create an excellent poem: Alliteration: The repetition of initial consonant sounds (for example, Sally sells seashells by the seashore ) Form: A type of poem, written by following a set of rules such as the number of lines or syllables, the placement of rhymes, etc. For example, haiku or free verse. Haiku: A short, unrhymed Japanese poetic form with three lines of five syllables, seven syllables, and five syllables. Imagery: Words or phrases that appeal to any sense or any combination of senses (descriptive words) Metaphor: A comparison between two objects with the intent of giving clearer meaning to one of them often uses is or was to make the comparison. (Life is a journey, the basketball player was a tree) Onomatopoeia: a word that imitates the sound it represents (for example, Boom, Pow ) Often seen in comic books or graphic novels Personification: giving human qualities or characteristics to animals or objects (for example, the wind howled ) Refrain: A phrase, line, or stanza that is repeated throughout a poem, often after each stanza. Repetition: using the same words or phrases in the same stanza or in a pattern in the poem Simile: A comparison between two objects using a specific word or comparison such as like or as (example: Hair black as ebony, skin white like snow, lips red as cherries) Stanza or Verse: A group of lines in a poem, separated by space from other stanzas, much like a paragraph in prose. Tone: The mood/attitude it creates in the reader.
7 Photo Scrapbook Pretend that one of the characters from your book has made a digital photo scrapbook/collage. Using Photo Booth, take photographs that describe this character. For each image, create hashtags that explain the symbolization of the picture and how your character feels about the particular symbol event, object, or character. Your photo scrap book should include the following: 1. At least 4 photos 2. Your photos must represent a certain event, object, person, or symbol that is really important to the character you have chosen 3. Beside the photo, make at least 3 hash tags that explain why the photo is meaningful or important to your character. How does it affect and influence your character? Why would they want to remember this photo? What makes the image so special to them? You should have a total of at least 12 # Hashtags once you are finished. So, for example, I will pretend to be the character of Max in Freak the Mighty. He takes this photo: #Just Got a New Dictionary from My Best Friend #I Love it Because I Can Learn New Words and Understand Kevin Better #Best.Christmas.Present.Ever!!
8 Large Projects (10 points each) 1. Journal Write 5 pages of journal entries from the perspective of your favorite character in the novel. Make sure to write about actual events from the book and how these occurrences impacted your character. You may insert your entries into a realistic looking journal if you wish. The overall Theme of your novel must be worked into your diary entries. Be creative! First, choose a character from the novel and decide what kinds of events in the novel you would like to write about. Try to put yourselves in the shoes of that character and think about how you would feel if you were in that same position. Your journal pages should include: 1. The date at the top of the page 2. A short description of what happened in the certain event from the book you are writing about 3. How and why the event affected your character *You can use the first-person narrative ( I instead of he/she ) to make the journal seem more realistic and personal.
9 2. Pokémon Cards! Design 6 Pokémon Trading cards of 3 characters in the beginning of the novel (3 Basic cards) and at the end (3 Evolved cards). You must include a picture of the character and power strengths and weaknesses. You can find online sites to make the Pokemon cards or can draw them by hand. Design both Basic and Evolved (Stage 1) Pokémon Trading cards of 3 characters in the novel. **Each Basic card is a character from the beginning of the novel, while the Evolved card represents the same character at the end of the novel. ** You need to think about how each character has changed or evolved throughout the book. Make sure to include the following: 1. A clear picture of the character in the centre of the card 2. One strong character trait as demonstrated in the novel (powers) -A character s power is a strong quality that your character shows in the book. Are they very smart and witty? Are they really brave and courageous? Are they extremely evil and crafty? What kinds of powerful personality traits do they have? 3. One weak character trait as demonstrated in the novel (weaknesses) -A character s weakness is a quality that makes them really weak, vulnerable, and powerless. Are they very jealous? Do they get angry and upset really fast? Are they easily persuaded or are they quick to follow what someone says or asks them to do? What kinds of weaknesses do they have? *You can state the power/weakness on the front of the card like with regular Pokémon cards, but you need to write (on the back of the card) clues from the book about why you think the chosen character trait is a power and a weakness. Basically, you should have a total of 6 cards: 3 cards of three different characters from the beginning of the book (Basic cards) and 3 cards of the same three changed characters at the end of the book (Evolved cards). Since the three characters have changed throughout the book, their strength and/or weakness should be different.
10 3. Soundtrack CD Make a soundtrack consisting of at least 5 songs. You need to analyse 5 songs by explaining at what point the song fits into your plot diagram. Your CD needs to have cover art that looks like you could have bought it in a store. First print out the lyrics for the 5 songs and then; In one paragraph for each of the 5 songs, with specific examples from the lyrics, talk about how specific lyrics in the song demonstrate the following: 1. Exposition of the novel a. Definition of Exposition b. Explain the exposition of your story including characters, setting and characters backstory. c. How do the illustrate your exposition, using specific examples from the song s lyrics 2. Conflict a. Definition of conflict b. What is the conflict in your story c. How do the lyrics link to your conflict, using specific examples from the song s lyrics 3. Climax a. Definition of Climax b. Describe what happens in the climax of the book c. Talk about how certain lyrics in the song show or match up with what happens in the climax, using specific examples from the song s lyrics 4. Resolution or Falling Action (pick one) of the novel a. Definition of Resolution/Falling Action b. Describe what happens in the resolution/falling action of the book c. Talk about how certain lyrics in the song show or match up with what happens in the resolution/falling action, using specific examples from the song s lyrics
11 5. Theme of the novel d. Definition of Theme e. Describe what happens in the Theme and why it is an important lesson to the reader f. Talk about how certain lyrics in the song illustrate he theme, using specific examples from the song s lyrics 4. Time Chart Make a sequential time chart using hand drawn pictures of the most important events in the story. You can do the chart in any form (straight line, roller coaster, circle, etc.) Hand in a typed list of events along with the chart.
12 Choose 5 of the most important events and draw pictures to show what happened during each of these occasions. **Below each event indicate which part of the plot diagram they fit into Exposition, Conflict, Rising Action, Climax, Falling Action, Resolution, Theme. ** Chart each of the events in a sequence so that the event that happened first in the book is the first picture in the chart, followed by the second event, and so on. You can complete the chart using any form mentioned above. Along with the picture chart, you must complete and hand in a written explanation of each event. You need to answer the following questions: 1. When does this event take place? 2. What happens during this event? 3. Why do you think this event is important? 4. How did you feel after reading about it? 5. What part of the plot diagram it fits into. 6. Make a Movie
Make a movie- pretend you are creating a movie remake of your novel by filming one scene that makes up part of the plot of the book. Do you remember what makes up a plot? Look below: 13 For example, in Freak the Mighty, the climax happens when Kevin dies. Once you have written down which scene represents what plot section, make a quick story board to detail what is happening in the scene and check it with Mrs. Richmond Next, film one scene that is part of the plot (exposition, conflict, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution) 7. Character Interview Conduct an interview with one or more characters of the novels. You may film this interview or you can choose to do it in class.
14 Pretend you are interviewing a character from your book. You will need to come up with a list of at least 8 questions to ask him/her. You can ask about the character s relationship with other people in the book, how a certain event affected them, why they did something or acted the way they did in the book, how they have changed throughout the story, and who their role model is and why. There are many different questions you can ask, but make sure the character responds in a way that is really true to their nature. Your first step is to do some research on the character. You need to find out about their appearance, hobbies, relationships, personality, role in the book, or more. Make note of these findings by writing down at least 3 direct quotes from the book that show your character s personality, looks, typical behaviour, hobbies, etc. You will need to hand this in along with your interview questions/film. This can be in note form and does not have to be typed up. Once you have decided on your questions, have Ms. T. check them first before you continue on with conducting your interview. Some suggestions: You can film a talk show where you are the host and the character is a guest star Or what about a conducting a quick celebrity interview with the character as he/she is walking down the street? You can film the interview in any way you like. Be creative! 8. Comic Strip
Design a comic strip outlining the plot of your book using Book Creator or drawing it by hand. 15 Remember, the plot is a series of events that make up important parts of a book s storyline as shown below: So, the first step is to go through your book and find the exposition, conflict, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution. Use the plot diagram completed in class to create your comic. Book Trailers
Book Trailers are essentially advertisements for books that can be shown on the televisions we have set up around the school. They are a great way to promote books and to let kids know about new materials in the L.C. 16 Your task will be to create a short advertisement for your book. In order for your book trailer to be considered for use on the T.V. screens in the school, it must include information about: the main characters the problem (conflict) a few events from rising action, we do not want to give the cilimax or any spoilers away! the setting Try to find creative ways to get this information across to your audience. Here are some helpful tips from your classmates thought might help: Make sure that the music goes with the theme and the pictures that you choose. Don t put in abrupt changes in the music. Some movement can be ok, but don t have too many pictures flashing by. Make sure that the transitions make sense and that they don t take over. Your assessment will depend on four elements in your trailer Creativity Information about the book - Make it Goldilocks Video (quality of filming, editing, effects) Click here for a great website that has lots of examples of good book trailers. You re the Author
Pretend you are the author of the book give a sales talk in front of your classmates (or videotape it) who are all literary judges responsible for deciding if your book is interesting and worthy enough to sell in bookstores. You first need to plan how you will defend your book and how you will deliver your speech to the judges and critics. You could do a PowerPoint, have a trifold, use Book Creator etc. You should talk about the following: 1. Why is your book interesting? 2. What is the overall Theme of your book and what kind of people would it appeal to? 3. Give the judges a line from the book that excites and captivates readers 4. How are the characters well-developed and realistic? 5. Do you learn something from the book? 6. What is the moral(s) of the story? 17 Using the answers to the questions above, make and practice your speech, then give us a passionate, convincing performance!