Short Story Study English
7 Mrs.
McDee 2007
I hope this will be an enjoyable project for you
and one which will be an aid to a fuller understanding of literary terms and
the structure of a short story.
DUE DATES: April 26 Intro
Short Story Unit
April
30 Short
Story Choice due/Assignment: Read story
May
2, 7 & 9 Short Story Unit work days
May
14 Monday Short Story Unit
due by Break in the box provided
May
15 Tuesday Peer Evaluations of Short Story
Unit
GOAL
The basic goal of your literary book is to use
the literary terms below and apply them to your specific story along with the
basic plot of the story, presented in story book form, in conjunction with the statement (in a
complete sentence) of the main theme which generates from the plot of your
chosen story.
REQUIREMENTS: 1. Choose a story that is about a
young woman. (ANTHOLOGIES ARE ON THE CART. YOU MAY ALSO CHOOSE A STORY FROM
YOUR ANTHOLOGY)
2.
The story you choose must be AT LEAST
8 pages in length.
3.
After reading the story, you will create a literary book following the specific
instructions below.
BOOK COVER
Be
creative with your book covers. (SEE SAMPLES) Your book cover must include the
name of the story you read and its author. The cover of your book must be
‘protected’. You can laminate it, use hard materials
as the cover or both. The choice is yours. However, make sure you follow the
cover with a page that explains in a paragraph (word processed) why you covered
your book as you did. The book must be bound in some way not just stapled
together. The binding, however, must be pliable enough so that the reader can
easily maneuver through your book without destroying or ripping it. PLEASE
SAMPLE CONTENTS PAGE
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CREATED BY BOBO THE CLOWN—7-2
INSTRUCTIONS: STRUCTURE OF THE
LITERARY BOOK
I
will show you some samples of literary books in class but since some of us are
visual learners I will include here the structure in written form.
Following the
book cover and its explanation, please insert a Table of Contents page. Label
this page Table of Contents and then along the left margin, name your pages and
give the page number where that page can be found. Make sure each page is
numbered at the bottom. Please word process this page. BE SURE YOUR NAME IS ON
THIS PAGE.
The first page of your book should list the
characters according to how they are presented in the novel, such as
antagonist, protagonist, narrator, dynamic character, flat or static character and a short description
of their importance to the novel’s plot.
The
second page should state the plot in
written form, including the conflict, the climax and the conclusion. (1-2
SENTENCES SHOULD SUFFICE.)
The
third page should state in written
form the point of view employed in the story and the time and place setting of
the story
The
fourth page should include any other
of the literary terms studied (see my web site) that your story might have used
such as symbols, irony, flashback or foreshadowing and a complete explanation
of each term and how it was displayed in the novel.
The
next few pages should be set up as a
summary of the story’s main content. This will be a summarized version of your
story which will also include illustrations drawn by you.
The
last page of your book should be a
one sentence statement of the main theme of the story.
ILLUSTRATIONS
The
manner in which you choose to present your book is up to you personally. You
can create a children’s book, a condensed replication of the book, or a pop-up
book (SEE SAMPLES IN CLASS). The possibilities are endless. However, whichever
genre you choose, the literary terms must be included as stated above and the
theme must be stated in a generally applicable way and in sentence form on the
last page of your book. You do not have to be an artist to neatly and
appropriately draw figures which would enhance the summary of your story. You
do not necessarily have to draw a complete scene for each page of your book.
Symbols might sometimes be more effective. No
cut-outs from magazines are allowed.
Use your own creativity and imagination and remember to make sure your
‘drawings’ are neat and appropriate.
GRADING
Each of you will be given a classmate’s
literary book to read and evaluate using a criteria sheet I will give you
later. I will also individually grade each book using the same criteria. This
project is worth 300 points (150 points from your peer grader and 150 points
from my evaluation).
THIS
PROJECT WILL NOT BE CONFERENCED. READ---THINK---CREATE---BUT MOST
IMPORTANTLY: HAVE FUN!!!!!!
