Final Exam Project

What is out there in YAL?
Extra Credit Project

Since many of you are complaining about our in-depth study of the classics, I am assigning a mini exploration of what is out there in the world of young adult literature.

Part One:
First, you have to visit at least two young adult literature websites from the links I provided (see list below this label). Please feel free to use another site not posted but be sure to give me the URL. Include these links in your posting.



100 Best Summer Picks by npr

YALSA

Teens Library Point

YA Author's Cafe

Teen Reads

Green Bean Teen Queen Blog

Pulse It

IRA Top Teen Picks pdf

Gail Carson Levine






Part Two: Due June 18, 2010

The second part of this project is two-fold. Pick a book that qualifies as Y.A. Literature, read the book and create a book trailer based on your understanding of the characters, events, and more importantly the universal themes of your selection.  


Book Trailer Instructions




Book Trailer Requirements: Total book trailer run time 3-5 minutes.
1. An original title for your book trailer, with your name and date of publication of your video.
2. A minimum of 4 open-ended discussion questions for readers to ponder and discuss about your novel.




3. A minimum of 4 POWERFUL quotes from the novel that speak to the characters or themes in the work.




4. A minimum of 6 images relative to the characters, themes, settings, or plot in the novel. Choose 2 specific scenes from the novel; scenes chosen should be those that best
represent the universal themes and essential elements of the plot i.e. rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution. You need to download from appropriate sites (instructions will be given in class), pictures and images appropriate to your storyboard and novel. Save these images in your MOVIEMAKER book trailer folder!!!


5. At least 3 website links or blogs with information to support the reading of either novel. This can be in the form of credits at the end of your video but before your actual credits.




6. A minimum 4 words/phrases in response to "What universal truths about human nature (themes) emerge through the lives of the characters in your selected novel?"






7. Edit the film and add musical and visual effects and title pages. Be sure the pacing and spelling is appropriate and accurate!




You will conclude this project with a 2-3 page reflection justifying the worthiness of the book according to your experience and then compare and contrast your selected contemporary book with a classic novel we read in class. I recommend you include the differences or similarities in writing style and themes in your 2-3 page reflection. Be sure to address how the time periods also affect the characters and plot. You must post submit a hard copy of your final essay and post your reflection on the appropriate blog space,

Slaughterhouse Five

Do you think Vonnegut actually experienced what he wrote about, or did he merely have a drunken experience in his bathroom? Explain!

Slaughter House Five

What questions do you have thus far about Slaughter House Five?

Poetry

In your opinion, is poetry meant to be analyzed or "beat with a hose to find out what it really means"(Collins)? Please provide examples and explanation.

Writing About Literature

How do we approach responding to and writing about literature?

What does it mean to analyze literature?

A Doll's House

What is the significance of the play's title?

Gender Roles

Do the gender roles of the past still exist today? Explain. Discuss...

Drama

Discuss the quote below:


"There was never yet an uninteresting life. Such a thing is an impossibility. Inside of the dullest exterior there is a drama, a comedy, and a tragedy. "


Mark Twain

Choose another tale from Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales

Choose one of the tales to read on your own time. Identify the tale you chose to read, and then discuss what Chaucer is satirizing through the story.

Share an example of satire. Think of other pieces of literature you've read, movies you've seen, t.v. commercials, etc. Explain what the writer is satirizing.

What is satire?

Purposes for reading

Identify and discuss at least one major purpose for reading Beowulf.

Using literary devices to convey a message in Beowulf

What stylistic devices did the author(s) of Beowulf use to manipulate the reader and to what means?

What questions do you have about Beowulf thus far?

What are the qualities of a true hero? Give some modern day examples.

Doggerel

According to our lovely textbook, when looking at poetry doggerel is "a term used for lines whose subject matter is trite and whose rhythm and sounds are monotonously heavy-handed."(773).

Do you agree or disagree that poetry can be defined in this way? Refer to specific works of poetry that you think is an example of doggerel and why.

Which literary criticism and theory do you most partake with and why?

What are the major differences between the elements of fiction and the elements of drama? Refer to real examples of each to discuss.

According to Griffith, and in your own opinion, how can we write about literature?

How can we read literature?