This is the second in a series of posts about engaging, creative assignments that can be used with your choice of literature. These assignments will get your students writing as well as thinking critically about themes, characters, setting, mood, etc!
Below are five ideas for
this week. Be sure to look back at last week’s post and check back next week for
more!
#6. Produce a (your
choice of novel, play, etc.) newspaper. Include things like obituaries, advice
columns, pictures, articles, comics, horoscopes, opinions, puzzles,
advertisements, play reviews, recipes, etc. The sky is the limit, but be sure
to capture the tone of the (novel, play, etc.). Have some fun!
Here are a couple of
student examples. I love how creative the students get with this assignment,
and they really have to think about all aspects of the literary work. I've even had students submit their newspapers in plastic newspaper bags!
#7. To be or not to
be: that is just one of the questions.
Pretend you are a magazine or newspaper reporter. Choose a character
from (novel, play, etc. of your choice) to interview. Write out your questions
and the character’s responses. The topics for the questions are up to you but
should be somehow related to the literary work.
This assignment forces
students to think about characterization as well as the details of the plot. Some students enjoy recording the interviews.
#8. If music be the
food of love, write a song! That’s right. Pretend you’re producing (Title of Literary Work), the Musical.
Write one of the songs that will be in the musical. Be sure to tell who sings
it. It could be a solo, a duet, or even a song for the whole cast. It might be
fun to borrow a melody from another song—or even write your own
accompaniment—and actually sing your song, but that’s optional. It should have
some musical qualities either way, though.
Here is an example of a
CD cover a student made to go along with this project. He wrote lyrics for only
one of the songs listed, but just coming up with titles required critical
thinking. Some of my more musically gifted students have put their lyrics to
music and performed their songs for the class!
#9. Get a job! Choose
any character from the (novel, play, etc.). Decide what type of career would
suit that character, and write a resume for him or her. You’ll have to get
really creative for this one! Make up information if you need to, but stay true
to the character.
This assignment
obviously focuses on characterization, and it requires students to really dig into the text for relevant details. It also has a practical application for
older and/or career-minded students.
#10. Ready for a
little comic relief? Choose a scene from (literary work of your choice) and
write it up like a comic strip. While it isn’t necessary to include all of the
lines (or dialogue) from the original text, your comic should capture the gist
of the scene. Can’t draw? Stick figures and clip art are fine! Or try www.makebeliefscomix.com.
This is a more basic
assignment, but students still have to synthesize the plot, characters, and
tone of the work. The student who created the second sample below used makebeliefcomix.com.
Be sure to check back next week for still more creative literary assignments! Meanwhile, please leave a comment below and/or share our blog with other teachers who enjoy new ideas. :)
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