Term 4 Novel Study for Room 11

NOVEL ASSIGNMENT[aes1] 

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!

PLANNING THE LETTER

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[aes11]  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 ___________________

_____________________________________________________________

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