Week of March 12

Good morning students...no power today means you can all be reading or working on your novel study package. I will remind you that the following will all be due by March 29 ( before you go away for March Break) Anyone leaving early should hand in their work before they leave.

Extended Novel project to be handed in: The last class before March break

Need to complete!

1. Three short summaries of your novel...one from the beginning, middle and end. Divide the book up wherever it seems logical. When I say short, I mean no more than 250 words for each summary. The summary should focus on the main plot action.

2. A) Novel sheet : Title page, hand drawn include title of book, author, border and a main image from your story.
B) Novel sheet #1: Setting ( we worked on this in class, make sure it is complete)
C) Novel Sheet #2:  Character ( I just assigned this last day) See detailed instructions below
D) Novel Sheet #3: Plot ( We will learn about this later this week)

3. Extended Novel Package: Students are to choose a creative  assignment and complete the required criteria connected with their chosen assignment. Please follow the criteria for the assignment as well as the marking criteria. Note to parents: This assignment was handed out in class over a month ago and students have been given time to read their novels in class. If your son/daughter needs another copy of this assignment please get a copy from me as soon as possible.

Novel Sheet #2 Character

Description of Assignment; Students are to write a detailed character description of the main character in their novel. One page in length should be long enough to complete this assignment.

As we discussed in class, we learn about a character in the following ways:

• description of physical traits (red hair, tall, good looking)
• description of personality traits ( kind, courageous, good friend) 
• what the character says to others 
• what is said about a character by another character or by the narrator
• by what the character does (their actions)
• likes/dislikes

Other ideas we discussed in class:

Protagonist - The most important character in a story; hero, central character, leading role, “good guy.”

Antagonist- The character who opposes the hero, or protagonist, and provides the story's conflict; villain, enemy, “bad guy.”

Flat character- suggesting one dimensional

Round character- suggesting multidimensional, a lot more to the character with regard to depth

We also discussed that it is fine to present information about a character, but it is also important to back up our ideas with proof/examples. For example, if I said, Harry Potter is a courageous hero...I would want to find an example from the novel which suggests this idea. So I might write...Harry Potter is a courageous individual, this is shown on many occasions when he battles the evil forces of Voldemort.

Short example of what I am looking for:
Although Harry Potter looks like a typical 12 year old, slightly geeky with dark hair and black rimmed glasses, he has many qualitites that separate him from the average pre-teen. First he has exceptional special powers which grants him wizardry status. As Potter heads off to wizard school, he makes some good friends. Throughout the novel, we begin to realize his loyalty toward these friends, for example, ....