Names:Date Submitted:

Les MiserablesCharacter Analysis Cereal Box – Due Tuesday, March 22, 2011

You will create an original breakfast cereal box based on one of the main characters in Les Miserables. This box is your opportunity to fully analyze and examine the character you choose. You will also include textual evidence to support your character analysis. This textual evidence needs to be on a separate page that is typed and double-spaced with 1” margins and 12pt Times New Roman font. See the rubric below and the other side of this sheet for more specific details.

5 / 4 / 3 / 2 / 1
Thesis
Develop a slogan that in one sentence clearly describes your character and sells your cereal. Put this slogan on the front of the box. /
  • On the box front
  • Clearly relates to the character
  • Bold, fun, specific, and insightful
  • Immediately persuasive and compelling
/
  • On the box front
  • Clearly relates to the character
  • Bold, fun, specific, and insightful
/
  • On the box front
  • Clearly relates to the character
  • Fun and specific
/
  • Incorrectly placed AND/OR
  • Not clearly related to the character AND/OR
  • Not suitable for a cereal box
/
  • Difficult to locate or missing AND/OR
  • Confusing or nonsensical

Literary Elements
Analyze your character, explaining his/her traits, motivations, impact on the story, how he/she changes, and what we can learn from him/her /
  • Insightfully examine your character’s thoughts, traits, and motivations
  • Insightfully examine the character’s impact on the story
  • Insightfully examine how the character changes
  • Insightfully examine what this character teaches us
/
  • Fully examine your character’s thoughts, traits, and motivations
  • Fully examine the character’s impact on the story
  • Fully examine how the character changes
  • Fully examine what this character teaches us
/
  • Sufficiently examine your character’s thoughts, traits, and motivations
  • Sufficiently examine the character’s impact on the story
  • Sufficiently examine how the character changes
  • Sufficiently examine what this character teaches us
/
  • Partially examine your character’s thoughts, traits, and motivations
  • Partially examine the character’s impact on the story
  • Partially examine how the character changes
  • Partially examine what this character teaches us
/
  • Fail to or superficially examine your character’s thoughts, traits, and motivations
  • Fail to or superficially examine the character’s impact on the story
  • Fail to or superficially examine how the character changes
  • Fail to or superficially examine what this character teaches us

Argument & Evidence
On a separate sheet of paper, use at least 5 pieces of textual evidence to support your character analysis. Use footnotes on your cereal box to indicate which evidence supports different parts your analysis, and fully explain your evidence. Use evidence from the entire range of the novel. /
  • 6+ pieces of textual evidence expertly used and supported
  • Expertly identify the key points of your analysis that need to be supported by evidence
  • Expertly integrate your evidence with your own words in your explanation
  • Combine evidence from a variety of moments in the novel to create a clear and convincing argument
/
  • 5+ pieces of textual evidence skillfully used and supported
  • Skillfully identify the key points of your analysis that need to be supported by evidence
  • Skillfully integrate your evidence with your own words in your explanation
  • Combine evidence from a variety of moments in the novel to create a clear argument
/
  • 5+ pieces of textual evidence successfully used and supported
  • Sufficiently identify the key points of your analysis that need to be supported by evidence
  • Sufficiently integrate your evidence with your own words in your explanation
  • Combine evidence from a variety of moments in the novel to create a clear argument
/
  • 5+ pieces of textual evidence poorly used and/or not fully supported
  • Inconsistently identify the key points of your analysis that need to be supported by evidence
  • Struggle to integrate your evidence with your own words in your explanation
/
  • 0-4 pieces of textual evidence used and/or textual references primarily made
  • Fail to identify the key points of your analysis that need to be supported by evidence
  • Use evidence in isolation with no clear explanation or connection to your overall point
  • Fail to use evidence from the entire novel

Proofread & Revise
Avoid errors in punctuation, grammar, spelling, usage, and formatting. /
  • Completely free of errors in punctuation, grammar, spelling, usage, and formatting
/
  • Virtually free of errors in punctuation, grammar, spelling, usage, and formatting
/
  • Appropriately free of errors in punctuation, grammar, spelling, usage, and formatting
/
  • Significant errors in punctuation, grammar, spelling, usage, and/or formatting
/
  • Distracting errors in punctuation, grammar, spelling, usage, and/or formatting

Art
Create pictures, graphics, and a box design that enhances and supports your character analysis. /
  • Impressive artwork/design on all sides of the box
  • Skillful, flawless construction of the box
  • Images add insight to the character analysis
/
  • High quality artwork/design on all sides of the box
  • Skillful construction of the box
  • Images add meaning to the character analysis
/
  • Quality artwork/design on all sides of the box
  • Clean, orderly construction of the box
  • Images support/reinforce character analysis
/
  • Mediocre quality artwork/design on all or part of box
  • Poorly constructed box
  • Images do not contribute to character analysis
/
  • Sloppy/unrelated artwork/design
  • Box construction that clearly shows a lack of effort and care
  • Images distract from and/or contradict analysis

Steps to Meeting Expectations for Your Les MiserablesCharacter Analysis Cereal Box

1. Choose 1 of the following characters to analyze:

  • Jean Valjean
  • Fantine
  • Cossette
  • Javert
  • Marius Pontmercy
  • M. Thenardier
  • Eponine
  • M. Gillenormand
  • Gavroche

  1. Identify key traits and attributes of your character by answering the following questions. You will need to include this information on your cereal box, but don’t just write down the questions and answers – be creative with your presentation.
  • How does this character look?
  • How does this character interact with other characters? What does the character do and say?
  • What does this character think and worry about?
  • What impact does this character make on the story?
  • What motivates this character?
  • What can we learn from this character? What lesson does he/she teach us about ourselves?
  • How does this character change/evolve throughout the story?

3. Design the key features of your cereal box

  • Front of Box – this should include a picture, the name of the cereal, and a slogan
  • Your picture should be big and bold and include an image of your character – sell this cereal!
  • Cereal name – Make something short and catchy that refers to your character in some way.
  • Your slogan is your thesis – make sure this phrase sums up your character – be insightful, but still sell your product.
  • Back of Box – This is the spot to include much of your analysis
  • Show us what motivates your character.
  • Explain how your character impacts the story.
  • Explain how your character changes.
  • Explain what we can learn from this character.
  • Think about the activities on the back of cereal boxes: word hunts, mazes, crossword puzzles, pictures to color, connect the dots, etc.
  • Sides of Box – Both sides should add to the analysis of your character
  • Recipe side – use this side to develop a recipe that involves your character and other people. This will allow you to explore how your character interacts with others – like other ingredients. What does that combination create?
  • Nutritional information side – use this side to explain the ingredients – the basic characteristics of your character. What is your character made of?

4. Provide evidence and analysis on a separate sheet of paper

  • Provide and explain 5+ pieces of textual evidence to support the most important elements of your character analysis – you must decide what those are.
  • Put footnotes on your cereal box that correspond (match up) to the textual evidence on this separate sheet of paper.
  • You need at least 5 separate pieces of textual evidence from the entire range of the novel.