World Literature – Independent Study



World Literature – Independent Novel Study

A list of acceptable authors is below; you may choose any novel by those authors. If you would like to choose a different author, you need to get it approved. It may take you a while to read it. This is fine. Make sure you take this into account while choosing; but challenge yourself. Remember that the shortest is not always the easiest, especially if it’s something you are not interested in. You will have class time to read and work on your assignments. If you need to work at home, do so. See the below calendar for due dates.

|List of |American |Africa and the Middle East |

|authors: |Rudolfo Anaya (Mexican American) |Buchi Emecheta (Nigeria) |

|(if you |Amy Tan (Chinese American) |Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (Nigeria) |

|have |John Okada (Japanese American) |Nelson Mandela (South Africa) |

|another | |Mariama Ba (Senegal) |

|idea, get|Middle and South America |Chinua Achebe (Nigeria) |

|it |Ariel Dorfman (Argentina/Chile) |J.M. Coetzee (South Africa) |

|approved |Isabel Allende (Chile) |Bessie Head (Botswana) |

|first) |Julia Alvarez (Dominican Republic) |Nadine Gordimer (South Africa) |

| |Laura Esquivel (Mexico) |Khaled Hosseini (Afghanistan) |

| |Gabriel Garcia Marquez (Columbia) |Alan Paton (South Africa) |

| |Jamaica Kincaid (Antigua/Carribean) | |

| |V.S. Naipaul (Trinidad) |Asia |

| | |Arundhati Roy (India) |

| |Europe |Salman Rushdie (India) |

| |Erich Maria Remarque (Germany) |Kamala Markandaya (India) |

| |Edmund Rostand (France) |Duong Thu Huong (Vietnam) |

| |Henrik Ibsen (Norway) |Bao Ninh (Vietnam) |

| |Hermann Hesse (Germany) |Ha Jin (China) |

| |Milan Kundera (Czech Republic) |Kobo Abe (Japan) |

| |Guy de Maupassant (France) | |

| |Rainer Maria Rilke (Austria) |Australia/New Zealand |

| | |Keri Hulme (NZ) |

| | |Thomas Keneally (Australian) |

| | |James Clavell (Australian) |

|Monday |Tuesday |Wednesday |Thursday |Friday |

| | | | |4 May |

| | | | |Select book |

| | | | |“Before Reading” sheet due |

|7 |8 |9 |10 |11 |

|Read, and complete and submit |Read, and complete and submit |Read, and complete and submit |Read, and complete and submit |Read, and complete and submit |

|one “during” assignment |one “during” assignment |one “during” assignment |one “during” assignment |one “during” assignment |

|14 |15 |16 |17 |18 |

|Finish book, and complete and |Complete and submit product 1 |Complete and submit product 2 |Complete and submit product 3 |Complete and submit product 4 |

|submit one “during” assignment | | | | |

|21 |22 |23 |24 |25 |

|Complete and submit product 5 |Complete and submit product 6 |Work on product 7 |Complete and submit product 7 | |

| | | | |Awards Day - TBA |

During Reading

(Choose one per day. Once you’ve chosen it, you may not do it again.)

1. Copy a passage that describes place and/or atmosphere, and color mark it. Write a paragraph of explanation about the effectiveness of the imagery.

2. Write a brief character sketch of any person encountered so far, incorporating quotation from the novel.

3. Explain the structure of your novel. (Is it divided into chapters? Are the chapters long or short? Is the narrator the same throughout or is there perspective shift? Do the chapters have names?) Then discuss this in terms of the effectiveness on the reader.

4. Create a new cover for your book. Write a paragraph of explanation as to why your new cover is better than the original.

5. Write an analysis of the title. What did you believe the book would be about based on the title? Is the title used explicitly within the novel? Speculate as to why or why not? Did the book live up to the expectations you had based on the title? Explain.

6. List five things that strike you for whatever reason; a thing may be a word, phrase, image, character, event, idea, dream, etc. Choose a variety, and explain why they strike you.

7. Rewrite or write about a portion of the novel where you insert or remove a character or event.

8. Copy two fairly short but significant passages, identify key words and phrases, and write a brief response including the ways in which the two relate to each other. Don’t forget page numbers.

9. Choose the most significant passage in today’s section, copy it, mark it up, and write a brief response.

10. Create a grammar worksheet with at least 20 questions that used information from your novel.

key passages – “Why is this passage central to our understanding of the work? Why is it a ‘key’?” (IBO, Language A1 Guide); reasons for considering a passage “key”:

← It resonates with the reader’s personal experience.

← It shows character.

← It creates a strong mood.

← It describes an important turning point in the plot.

← It establishes the setting.

← It establishes or reflects theme.

← It “explains” the title.

← It shows effective or innovative writing technique.

← It demonstrates narrative voice, or change in voice.

← It contains central images.

After Reading

Product 1

1. Create trading cards for five characters from your book. Your card must have the following information:

a. A picture of the character (drawn or printed)

b. Character’s name

c. Title of the book

d. Home: setting

e. Appearance: what the character looks like

f. Personality: description of the character’s personality

g. Thoughts/Feelings: the character’s most important thoughts and feelings

h. Problem: the character’s problem at the beginning of the story

i. Goal: what the character wants to happen by the end of the story

j. Outcome: how the character is affected by the end of the story

k. Quotation: the most important or memorable thing the character says

l. Actions: the most important thing the character does

m. Interactions: how the character gets along with other characters

n. Like: what you like about the character

o. Dislike: what you dislike about the character

p. Personal Connection: Who does this character remind you of and why?

You may use the interactive site: to create these.

If you choose to do this, you will be printing on your own dime.

Product 2 (Choose one.)

2. Create a comic strip of the 10 most significant events in the novel. This must be done in color and with mention of at least five characters. Then write a paragraph explaining why you chose the events you did.

3. Pick out 10 significant incidents in the book, and construct a time line with the incidents.  Graph this using the top for positive incidents and the bottom for negative ones. Draw a small sketch of each incident. Then write a paragraph explaining why you chose the events you did.

Product 3 (Choose one.)

1. Create a mobile (or poster) that focuses on 10 different literary elements from the story. Make sure it is neat and that you explain each element.

2. Choose a paragraph from the novel (include the page number) and copy it out. Then, write a new paragraph about the school-appropriate subject of your choice and imitate the style (i.e. syntax) of the original paragraph.

Product 4 (Choose one.)

1. Create a 3D model of the setting of the novel. Write a defense of your choices.

2. Explain how you would make your book into a movie – who would play the main characters, where would you film it, etc? Defend your choices.

Product 5

1. Choose five characters and classify each according to the Myers Briggs personality traits (for example, Ms Purvis is ISTJ). Then, write a paragraph of explanation for each quality.

a. Is the character an extrovert (E) or introvert (I)?

b. Is the character sensing (S) or intuitive (N)?

c. Is the character thinking (T) or feeling (F)?

d. Is the character judging (J) or perceiving (P)?

|Extrovert (E) |Introvert (I) |

|Act first, think/reflect later |Think/reflect first, then Act |

|Feel deprived when cutoff from interaction with the outside world |Regularly require an amount of "private time" to recharge batteries |

|Usually open to and motivated by outside world of people and things |Motivated internally, mind is sometimes so active it is "closed" to |

|Enjoy wide variety and change in people relationships |outside world |

| |Prefer one-to-one communication and relationships |

|Sensing (S) |Intuitive (N) |

|Mentally live in the Now, attending to present opportunities |Mentally live in the Future, attending to future possibilities |

|Using common sense and creating practical solutions is |Using imagination and creating/inventing new possibilities is |

|automatic-instinctual |automatic-instinctual |

|Memory recall is rich in detail of facts and past events |Memory recall emphasizes patterns, contexts, and connections |

|Best improvise from past experience |Best improvise from theoretical understanding |

|Like clear and concrete information; dislike guessing when facts are |Comfortable with ambiguous, fuzzy data and with guessing its meaning.|

|"fuzzy" | |

|Thinking (T) |Feeling (F) |

|Instinctively search for facts and logic in a decision situation. |Instinctively employ personal feelings and impact on people in |

|Naturally notices tasks and work to be accomplished. |decision situations |

|Easily able to provide an objective and critical analysis. |Naturally sensitive to people needs and reactions. |

|Accept conflict as a natural, normal part of relationships with people. |Naturally seek consensus and popular opinions. |

| |Unsettled by conflict; have almost a toxic reaction to disharmony. |

|Judging (J) |Perceiving (P) |

|Plan many of the details in advance before moving into action. |Comfortable moving into action without a plan; plan on-the-go. |

|Focus on task-related action; complete meaningful segments before moving|Like to multitask, have variety, mix work and play. |

|on. |Naturally tolerant of time pressure; work best close to the |

|Work best and avoid stress when able to keep ahead of deadlines. |deadlines. |

|Naturally use targets, dates and standard routines to manage life. |Instinctively avoid commitments which interfere with flexibility, |

| |freedom and variety |

Product 6 (Choose one.)

1. Write a three-page (double-spaced, front and back, or just front if your pen bleeds through) argument about why the antagonist in your novel is not really that “bad.” Defend your argument with examples from the text.

2. Evaluate the structure of the book and explain why it is or is not appropriate to convey the ideas in a three-page (double-spaced, front and back, or just front if your pen bleeds through) response.

Product 7 (Choose one.)

1. Create a ten-song soundtrack for your book based on theme, subject, or characters. In the soundtrack jacket, explain in at least two sentences per song why you chose the songs you did.

2. Create a game based on your story. Make sure that you have instructions, game pieces, etc. It needs to be playable.

Before Reading

Title: ________________________________________________ Author: ________________________________

Total Pages: __________

Why did you choose to read this book?  Was it your first choice or did you try other books before you decided on this one?

Read the title. What does it make you think the book will be about?

Create a reading schedule for yourself. Divide your novel into six sections (you must have the entire novel read by 14 May 2012:

|From page |To page |Read By Date |

| | |7 May 2012 |

| | |8 May 2012 |

| | |9 May 2012 |

| | |10 May 2012 |

| | |11 May 2012 |

| |End of novel |14 May 2012 |

You may want to copy these page numbers into your calendar so that you can keep on track.

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