Book Circles Group Projects

Book Circles Group Projects

Book Circles Group Projects

Each group is required to complete all three of these projects. YOU WILL RECEIVE ONE GROUP GRADE FOR EACH OF YOUR PROJECTS. You must perform well as a group in order to receive a good grade. Because each project will receive 1 group grade, every group member must do some part of each project.

1. NOVEL CEREAL BOX (100 points)

Decorate a real cereal box with information and illustrations related to your novel.

Cover the entire box in paper (white printer paper, construction paper, etc.). None of the original box should be showing.

Front of Box:

Cereal name and picture. The name of your cereal should be related to the title of your book and sound like a cereal. (Do not use the exact title of your book.) The shape, color, and ingredients of your cereal should all relate to the book. For example, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone might have a cereal called Wizard Wands made with toasted oat wands and marshmallows in the shapes of lightning bolts, owls, and broomsticks. Include a slogan or selling points. (Example: Excellent Source of Irony!)

Back of Box:

1. Design a game based on the novel. It can be a puzzle, word search, maze, trivia questions, etc. All elements of the game must be related to the novel, and you should include as much information about the novel as possible.

2. Create a comic strip that shows the main events of the story using pictures. The strip must have a minimum of six boxes. This link will take you to several online comic strip generators that you can use to create your comics. You do not have to use an online comic strip generator. You can draw/sketch on your own if you prefer.

Side One:
1. Nutritional Information - % daily value of things like suspense, drama, action, particular themes. (Example: 34% drama, 10% humor, etc)
2. Ingredients – a list of characters, setting, conflicts, symbols, etc.

Side Two: (some or all of these)
1. Fun facts about the book, author, subject
2.Author bio
3.Related works
4. Book Reviews from other sources (not from your group members)

Include somewhere on box:
1. Number of pages in book
2. Author’s name
3. Star rating for the book (Your group’s opinion of the book) 1 (worst) to 5 (best) stars

Inside the Box:

Include a surprise just like real breakfast cereals. It can be any kind of small item that has symbolic importance to the novel. You can also include a picture of the prize on the front of your box to let the reader know what is inside.

2. STYLISTIC PROSE TECHNIQUES(50 points)

As you read, notice the stylistic techniques that the author uses to communicate.

  1. Prepare a list of at least ten (10) examples of powerful prose techniques.
  2. Define the term in your own words, cite the example from the text, and provide a brief analysis of how the author uses the technique effectively.
  3. Use the format as noted on the sample. [The sample is displayed on the board in my room and also on the blog.]
  4. Include a Works Cited entry for your book in MLA format.
  5. This assignment must be typed and not longer than two pages.
  6. The following list contains 25 common literary techniques and figures of speech. You may choose to include others not listed here.

Alliteration
Allusion
Assonance
Caricature
Cliché
Epiphany
Foreshadowing
Hyperbole
Idiom
Imagery
Irony
Metaphor
Motif
Onomatopoeia
Oxymoron
Paradox
Personification
Point of View
Pun
Rhetorical question
Sarcasm
Simile
Symbol
Theme
Tone

3. COMMERCIAL (100 points)
Prepare an advertisement for your book to be presented to the class.

  1. Your presentation must be 2 - 3 minutes long. Points will be deducted for presentations that are too short or too long.
  2. The purpose of your presentation should be to encourage others to read your book. The point is not to retell the whole story. Think “movie trailer” not “book report”.
  3. You must use at least one visual/soundaid to enhance your presentation. Examples of good visual aids: Power point, Prezi, music, objects relating to book, etc. If you are unsure of the appropriateness of your visual aid, check with me WELL BEFORE the due date.
  4. SUPER IMPORTANT WARNING: NO POSTERSALLOWED. NONE! Don’t even ask. Students typically slap one of these together in about 5-minutes and it shows; such “projects” don’t require ANY effort, originality, and/or creativity—and they’re BORING for your peers (& your teacher).
  5. If your presentation requires the use of my laptop and/or projector, you MUST schedule a time to discuss this with me AT LEAST 2 DAYS BEFORE your presentation.
  6. All group members must participate in the presentation in some manner. This does not mean every group member must talk. If you have questions about this, see me personally.

4. TURNING IT IN– Novel cereal boxes and Stylistic Prose Techniques are due on the day of your group presentation (commercial). In addition, each group will need to turn in a typed page explaining every group member’s contribution to each of the 3 projects.

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