Student’s
name: ____________________
Name
of novel: _____________________
NOVEL
ASSIGNMENT
This
assignment is based on a novel (fiction book) of your own choice.
However,
you need to note that one aim of the assignment is that you extend yourself
by reading a book that you might possibly not normally choose to read, and you
will need to check that your teacher thinks the book is a suitable choice
before starting to read it.
Write
here the name of a book you have enjoyed reading (or having read to you) in the
past:
_____________________________________________________________
What
did you enjoy about that book?
_____________________________________________________________
Have a look at the
following suggestions.
If
you are a confident reader and you
read regularly for pleasure: Why not try
reading something that may stretch you?
Ask the librarian to help you.
·
A book by a famous New Zealand author. Look on the spines of the books in our
library for NZ logos.
·
A “classic” novel which is written in an
old-fashioned style – like Jane Eyre,
Oliver Twist, Treasure Island, Little Women, The Coral Island
·
Why not read a book about another culture?
·
A longer novel – like The Hobbit or The Power of
One
·
Aim to read a whole series - you don’t have to
finish the series during our novel study!
·
Any book by an author who has been recommended
by our librarian, another adult, or by a friend.
If
you are a reasonably confident reader
but you find it more difficult to sit still to read a book, why not try a book
that has a really good story and will quickly engage your attention? (Some of these are books that have films
associated with them. We have multiple
copies of some of them in the English office.)
·
Action or Survival stories – Hatchet (series), Stormbreaker (series)
·
Stories about teenagers – Holes, Letters from the Inside …
·
War stories – Goodnight Mr Tom, I Am David, The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, Tomorrow
When the War Began, The Silver Sword
If
you do not enjoy reading there are a
number of good writers for teenagers who write stories which are quite short
and fast-moving.
·
Try one of these authors – David Hill, Fleur
Beale, Morris Gleitzman,
·
Try one of these titles – Further Back Than Zero, Slide the Corner, Hatchet, See Ya Simon,
2Much4U
·
Ask your teacher to help you find a book to
suit your interests.
GOAL
SETTING
Before you begin the assignment, read through
this booklet. Think about what YOU want
to achieve and what you want to learn.
Fill in the following gaps:
The book I have chosen is
_______________________________________.
I have chosen this book because
__________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
One skill I hope to develop OR something
I would like to learn during this unit is
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
I want to
develop this by
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
At the end of this assignment I will
know I will have succeeded when
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
COMPULSORY ACTIVITIES
You must complete the following tasks, and hand them
in, before you are allowed to start the “choices” that follow in this
assignment.
1. Character
activities, based on the character sheet in this
booklet.
2. A letter based on the novel. Instructions are on the page after the character activities.
3. A collage poem about a character in the
book. See the examples in the booklet.
RESEARCH ASSIGNMENT
A research assignment is also a compulsory part of
this unit of work. We will work on this
after the “choices” tasks that are included in this booklet.
A LETTER BASED
ON YOUR NOVEL
For this task you must
choose ONE of the following options:
1.
You are a character in the novel you have
read. As that character, write a letter
to someone else in the novel, discussing some of the feelings or thoughts you
had during the story. Stay in
character! Try to write like the
character would write.
OR
2.
You are a reader of the novel who wants
to write to one of the characters in the book. Write and ask the character questions you
want to know answers to; express how you feel about what he or she went
through; tell the character if you think he or she was right in the decisions
he or she made … etc. (You don’t have to
do all these things, but these ideas might help you to get started.)
OR
3.
You are a reader of the novel who wants
to write to the author of the book.
What would you want to ask the author if you could ask him or her
anything at all about the events, themes, characters … etc? Remember to write in a very polite style and
say some positive things about the book.
Show that you know the book – the author wouldn’t appreciate a fan
letter from someone who got the names of the characters muddled up, for
example!
Brainstorm all your
ideas first.
Then plan your letter
so that you have at least three main points (three main paragraphs).
Then write your
introduction. Make sure you write in an appropriate style – a style that would
suit the person you are writing to.
GUIDELINES FOR SETTING OUT A FORMAL LETTER
Your
address
(skip
a line)
Today’s
date
(skip
two lines)
Dear
….
(skip
one line)
First
paragraph
(skip
a line between each paragraph – keep doing this until the final paragraph)
(skip
a line)
Yours
faithfully
(skip
about 4 lines to leave room for your signature)
Neatly
print your name underneath your signature
CHOICES
Time
for you to work towards your own learning goals!
You
must complete a minimum of FOUR activities from this section of the
assignment.
The
following activities are based on different levels of thinking, ranging from “Remembering” to
“Designing”. You must include at least
one “Evaluate” and one “Design” activity.
The other two activities you choose can come from any category. Remember to link at least some of your
choices to your individual goal or goals.
REMEMBER
1.
Draw a comic strip of the main
events in your book.
2. Make
a time-line of the main events in the book.
UNDERSTAND
3. List ten
interesting words from your book. Explain
the meaning of each word, and say why you
find each one interesting.
4. Describe
what you think might have happened to the main character after the book
ended. Explain why you think this might
have happened.
APPLY
5. Make a map of the setting of your book,
labelling the most significant places
in the book.
6. Draw the setting of your book and
explain it.
8. Write a five-line "easy" poem about your book: a
noun, then two adjectives, then three verbs, then a thought about the noun, and
finally a synonym for the noun.
ANALYSE
9. Pretend you are a psychiatrist. Write a psychiatric report analysing the conflicts and problems of a character.
10. Keep a journal as you read your book: your reactions,
thoughts, feelings. How did the book
change your way of thinking (if at all)?
11. Write a paragraph explaining what you think the writer’s main message
(or theme) was. Give examples to prove
that what you say is correct.
EVALUATE
12. Compare your book with another book
you've read. You could use a Venn diagram, or a compare/contrast
matrix as part of your answer.
13. Explain why your book should be included
in a capsule to be dug up in one
hundred years.
14. Write a short review of the book. Use a PMI chart to plan what you will write.
15. Evaluate the book using the Six Thinking
Hats – there is a template included
in this booklet that you can write on.
DESIGN
16. Write a different ending for your book.
17. Make any kind of illustration for your book (book cover,
drawing, chart, graph, powerpoint presentation) and explain it.
18. Write a diary entry for your favourite
character.
19.
Choose your own activity based on the book. Check with your teacher that it would be
suitable, before you start it!
EVALUATION OF MY LEARNING
Name:
What I have
done in English during this unit - tick
the ones you COMPLETED:
- Selected a novel
to read
- Finished reading
the novel (or possibly more than one novel)
- Completed
compulsory tasks on the novel
(The
work on characters, a collage poem, a formal letter)
- Set my own
learning goal (or goals)
- Completed
activities of my own choice on the novel
- Researched a theme
from the novel, following the research process
(Deciding,
Finding, Using, Presenting, Evaluating)
- Presented my
research findings to the class using oral and visual language
techniques
Thinking
about my learning:
1. My
opinion of the book I chose to read -
Statement:
_____________________________________________________________
Explanation:
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
Examples
from the book:
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
2. What activities in the novel assignment I
enjoyed most, and why:
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
3. My learning goal was:
_____________________________________________________________
4. How successful was I in achieving this goal? [Rank from
1 - 5, with 5
being extremely successful, and 1 being
completely unsuccessful.]
Number:
Explanation:
_____________________________________________________________
5. What would I do differently next time? Why?
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
6. What did I learn about research from the
completing the mini-research
activity, and presenting my results to the
class?
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
7. How successful am I as a researcher? [Rank from
1 - 5, with 5
being
extremely successful, and 1 being completely unsuccessful.]
Number:
Explanation:
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
8. Throughout this term, what could the teacher
have done to help
me more?
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
9. What else would I like the teacher to know?
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
10. Give yourself a grade for this term's work
(Achieved, Merit or
Excellence) and explain it:
I
think I deserve ________________
because ___________________
_____________________________________________________________
