Title – Contemporary Authors Paper and Portfolio Assignment

By – Jennifer Blake

Primary Subject – Language Arts

Secondary Subjects – Language Arts

Grade Level – 9-12

Note:

I use this lesson in my literature class for a final project for seniors and juniors. I give it to them at the beginning of the third quarter so they have plenty of time to work on it. It obviously has a lot of points to it, so it counts for a hefty chunk of their grade. I’m including the initial sheet that I hand out to them as well as paper and portfolio rubrics.

British Literature Contemporary Author Paper and Project:

First:

You will do a research paper on contemporary authors (those published within the last 10 years).

You will:

1. 
   Choose ten contemporary authors
   
   on which to focus (four of them may be from the U.S., but the others must be from a different country).
   
2. Give me a
   
   short biography
   
   of each
   
3. Give me at least
   
   5 reviews
   
   for each author written by professionals
   
4. Tell me
   
   what makes them popular
   
   , according to reviews and articles

Then:

You will:
1. Pick one of your authors (NOT from the U.S.) and
   
   read one of their books
   
   that was published within the last 10 years.
   
2. 
   Explain the plot
   
   in your own words (NOT what’s written on the back or book jacket).
   
3. 
   Explain how it fits into today’s culture
   
   . (What about it would make it relevant for today’s audience?)
   
4. 
   Write a review
   
   of the book (What do you think about it? Is it as good as the reviews said?)

Second:

You will:
1. 
   Make a portfolio of ten smaller assignments
   
   using the book that you read for the first part.
   
2. 
   Type all assignments
   
   (when applicable).
   
3. 
   Be creative
   
   .

You may choose from these assignments or activities.

• Choose
  
  ten great/important lines
  
  from the work and discuss in a paragraph why you selected them.
  
• Choose
  
  a character
  
  from the novel and discuss why this person will stay with you for a long time to come. (1 page min.)
  
• You are trying to
  
  convince a friend
  
  to buy the book. What argument would you use to persuade them? (1 page min.)
  
• Hold a
  
  talk show interview
  
  with your author as a guest. Write a dialogue between you and the author based on the research you have done. Make sure you cite your sources at the end. (1 page min.)
  
• Retell part of the story from another character’s
  
  point of view
  
  . In your cover sheet for this assignment, make sure you tell me what the original was like so I understand the changes. (1 page min.)
  
• Decide what
  
  visuals
  
  you would include with the texts if they were to be illustrated. Draw a series of illustrations and match them with the lines of text. (5 min. Drawing should cover 1 page.)
  
• You are asked to provide a piece of “
  
  great art
  
  ” for the cover of your novel. Which piece of art would you choose and why? Make sure to provide a picture of the art, tell me what it’s called, and who the artist is.
  
• Write, enact, and film a
  
  60 second preview/commercial/trailer
  
  of the novel you read.
  
• 
  Retell your novel
  
  or portions of it from a modern perspective or in the form of a different genre. (1 page min.)
  
• Your novel is about to be produced as a new film. Write a
  
  storyboard
  
  of the scenes that must be included in the film, decide where the film should be shot, which actors should be cast in your lead roles, and make other directorial decisions you deem necessary in order to convey your novel in the best light. (2 pages min.)
  
• Your novel is going to be
  
  presented with accompaniment
  
  by the New York Philharmonic. Who is going to read it? What selections will they read? What kinds of classical music would be best suited to the tone and content of the selections? If you can, create a CD of you or someone else reading portions of the work with your selected music. (1 page min.)
  
• Your novel is going to be published in a Reader’s Digest
  
  condensed edition
  
  . Make decisions about what must stay and go. Be sure to include your justification for your choices. (1 page min.)
  
• Create the hypothetical
  
  journal or a series of letters
  
  your author might have kept while he/she was in the process of writing. What kinds of writing decisions might they have had to make? What life or societal events might have influenced them? How did they deal with publishers? In what sections do you think they might have experienced writer’s block? (5 entries/letters min.)
  
• Design unique
  
  bumper stickers
  
  that reflect the personalities of the characters in your book and discuss why you designed them the way you did. (5 min.)
  
• Name or
  
  rename the chapters
  
  of your book to something that you believe reflects the chapters’ themes better. Discuss why you would name them the way you did. (1 page min.)
  
• Write a
  
  news story
  
  that would have been in a newspaper or magazine about something that happened in your story. Use the Who, What, When, Where, and Why questions to make sure your audience knows all of the details. (1 page min.)