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Posted to ACW-L, WCenter, NCTE-Talk,
and TEACH on 3/17/99.
This List of Ten is a bit different. In my
thinking of the hoopla over the Oscars®,
I began wondering what would
happen if instead of movies, we were talking about works of
literature. So I've come up with an Oscar-type competition for the
readings that a class has completed over the course of a school
term.
Some of the items in the competition can be
separated by gender, as the Oscars® are separated. I've listed them
as different categories below, but you could collapse the categories.
You could consider, for example, all characters rather than best
male and best female. Likewise, while there are questions below for
different genre, all the questions could be collapsed into a single
question on the most outstanding piece of literature (rather than the
best poem, the best play, and so on).
There are two different ways to use these
suggestions. Either way, it probably works best as an
end-of-the-term activity.
Option One: You might have an
actual contest. Students could assemble in small groups to go
through their readings for the semester or the year, searching for
nominations. You might ask students to write objective support
for their nominations and to include the equivalent of "film
clips" — passages that show the strength of their nominations.
The questions in the assignments below could guide groups of
students gathering the nominations for a particular category.
Once all the nominations are in place, you might have some time
for campaigning, and eventually your students could vote. This
assignment could work across classes if different sections have
done the same readings.
Option Two: Choose one of the
questions below and use it as an exam prompt or a final paper. To
help students, you might name five candidates for them to choose
among. By listing choices, you can help students avoid freezing
and wasting time trying to think of appropriate candidates,
letting them focusing on making a choice and providing supporting
details.
Note: since the items are a bit redundant, I've
rounded this list up to 15 items. The extra five give me the chance
to explain related options (such as best play, poem, novel and short
story) while still including everything that I wanted to have on the
list.
- [Outstanding Character - Male]
Who was the most outstanding male character in the literature
that we've read this term? Your choice should be a main character
in any work that we've read. Think carefully about how the
character you choose is explained, described, and developed. Be
sure that you have clear criteria for what makes a male character
"outstanding." Write a paper that explains your selection,
supports your choice, and includes comparisons to other candidates
that you considered. Your paper should show readers why the male
character you've chosen really does stand out.
- [Outstanding Character - Female]
Who was the most outstanding female character in the
literature that we've read this term? Your choice should be a
main character in any work that we've read. Think carefully about
how the character you choose is explained, described, and
developed. Be sure that you have clear criteria for what makes a
female character "outstanding." Write a paper that explains your
selection, supports your choice, and includes comparisons to other
candidates that you considered. Your paper should show readers why
the male character you've chosen really does stand out.
- [Supporting Character - Male]
Who was the most outstanding male supporting character in the
literature that we've read this term? Your choice should be a
supporting character in any work that we've read. A supporting
character is one who is important to the events of the work, but
who is not the main character. Think carefully about how the
character you choose is explained, described, and developed. Be
sure that you have clear criteria for what makes a male character
"outstanding," and be sure that you have a clear understanding of
the difference between a main character and a supporting
character. Write a paper that explains your selection, supports
your choice, and includes comparisons to other candidates that you
considered. Your paper should show readers why the male character
you've chosen really does stand out.
- [Supporting Character -
Female] Who was the most outstanding female supporting
character in the literature that we've read this term? Your
choice should be a supporting character in any work that we've
read. A supporting character is one who is important to the
events of the work, but who is not the main character. Think
carefully about how the character you choose is explained,
described, and developed. Be sure that you have clear criteria
for what makes a female character "outstanding," and be sure that
you have a clear understanding of the difference between a main
character and a supporting character. Write a paper that explains
your selection, supports your choice, and includes comparisons to
other candidates that you considered. Your paper should show
readers why the female character you've chosen really does stand
out.
- [Setting] What was the most
outstanding setting in the literature that we've read this term?
A work can include more than one setting — for instance, in there
may be several inside rooms that are treated as different
settings, or an entire house may work as a setting juxtaposed to
an outside setting, an out-building like a barn, or a location
such as a specific street in a city. Think carefully about how
the setting you choose is explained, described, and developed —
and in particular, think about what makes this setting important
to the work as a whole. An outstanding setting is more than a
well-described place — Be sure that you have clear criteria for
what makes a setting "outstanding." Write a paper that explains
your selection, supports your choice, and includes comparisons to
other candidates that you considered. Your paper should show
readers why the setting you've chosen really does stand out.
- [Animal Character] What was
the most outstanding animal character in the literature that we've
read this term? The animal may have had a major role in the work
or have been something of a supporting or symbolic character.
Think carefully about how the animal character you choose is
explained, described, and developed. Give attention to the ways
that this animal character is important to the work — is it
symbolically important? does it drive the plot? what would be lost
if it were not there? Be sure that you have clear criteria for
what makes this character "outstanding." Write a paper that
explains your selection, supports your choice, and includes
comparisons to other candidates that you considered. Your paper
should show readers why the animal character you've chosen really
does stand out.
- [Short Story] What was the
most outstanding short story that we've read this term? Think
carefully about the short story that you choose — all the aspects
of the story should unite in an exemplary piece of literature. You
should account for such aspects as character, setting, plot,
structure, tone, point of view, and style. Be sure that you have
clear criteria for what makes a short story "outstanding." Write
a paper that explains your selection, supports your choice, and
includes comparisons to other candidates that you considered.
Your paper should show readers why the short story you've chosen
really does stand out.
- [Poem] What was the most
outstanding poem that we've read this term? Think carefully about
the poem that you choose — all the aspects of the poem should
unite in an exemplary piece of literature. You should account for
such aspects as symbolism, structure, tone, point of view, rhyme,
rhythm and style. Additionally, account for conventions that apply
to the kind of poem you've selected (for example, a dramatic
monologue or a haiku). Be sure that you have clear criteria for
what makes a poem "outstanding." Write a paper that explains your
selection, supports your choice, and includes comparisons to other
candidates that you considered. Your paper should show readers
why the poem you've chosen really does stand out.
- [Play] What was the most
outstanding play that we've read this term? Think carefully about
the play that you choose — all the aspects of the play should
unite in an exemplary piece of literature. You should account for
such aspects as character, setting, plot, structure, stage
direction, and style. Be sure that you have clear criteria for
what makes a play "outstanding." Write a paper that explains your
selection, supports your choice, and includes comparisons to
other candidates that you considered. Your paper should show
readers why the play you've chosen really does stand out.
- [Novel] What was the most
outstanding novel that we've read this term? Think carefully about
the novel that you choose — all the aspects of the novel should
unite in an exemplary piece of literature. You should account for
such aspects as character, setting, plot, structure, tone, point
of view, and style. Be sure that you have clear criteria for what
makes a novel "outstanding." Write a paper that explains your
selection, supports your choice, and includes comparisons to other
candidates that you considered. Your paper should show readers
why the novel you've chosen really does stand out.
- [Adaptation of Myth or Folk
Tale] What was the most outstanding adaptation of a myth
or folk tale that you found in a piece of literature that we've
read this term? Think about the relationship between the original
myth or folk tale and its representation in a more recent work.
How has the original been adapted in the new version, and why has
it been included? How does the adapted myth or folk tale add to
the work in which the appears? Be sure that you have clear
criteria for what makes an adaptation "outstanding." Write a
paper that explains your selection, supports your choice, and
includes comparisons to other candidates that you considered.
Your paper should show readers why the adaptation you've chosen
really does stand out.
- [Descriptive Passage (50 words or
less)] What was the most outstanding descriptive passage
in the literature that we've read this term? The passage can
describe anything: a character, a setting, an event, and so forth.
Think carefully about how the descriptive setting that you
choose works. What kind of detail does it use? What literary
techniques does it rely on? And, in particular, think about what
makes this description important to the work as a whole. Be sure
that you have clear criteria for what makes a descriptive passage
"outstanding." Write a paper that explains your selection,
supports your choice, and includes comparisons to other candidates
that you considered. Your paper should show readers why the
passage that you've chosen really does stand out.
- [Sentence] What was the most
outstanding sentence in the literature that we've read this term?
The sentence can serve any purpose in the text — exposition,
description, and so forth. Think carefully about how the
sentence that you choose works. What kind of detail does it use?
What literary techniques does it rely on? And, in particular,
think about what makes this sentence important to the work as a
whole. Be sure that you have clear criteria for what makes a
sentence "outstanding." Write a paper that explains your
selection, supports your choice, and includes comparisons to other
candidates that you considered. Your paper should show readers
why the sentence that you've chosen really does stand out.
- [Plot] What was the most
outstanding plot in the literature that we've read this term?
Think carefully about the plot you choose — how is it structured,
what are the key turning points or events, and how do the
components combine in an overall structure that is unique or
exemplary. Be sure that you have clear criteria for what makes a
plot "outstanding." Write a paper that explains your selection,
supports your choice, and includes comparisons to other candidates
that you considered. Your paper should show readers why the plot
you've chosen really does stand out.
- [Use of Symbolism] What was
the most outstanding use of symbolism in the literature that we've
read this term? Think carefully about the symbol that you choose
— how is it symbolic? what does it symbolize? how is the symbol
important to the work as a whole? why does it stand out? Be sure
that you have clear criteria for what makes a symbol
"outstanding." Write a paper that explains your selection,
supports your choice, and includes comparisons to other candidates
that you considered. Your paper should show readers why the use
of symbolism that you've chosen really does stand out.
"Academy AwardsTM" and "Oscar(s)®"
are registered trademarks and service marks of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. []
Originally
Posted April 1, 1999 on the Daedalus Website.
Posted Sunday, 12-Jun-2005 09:09:21 PDT
Copyright © 1998-2011 Traci Gardner, P. O. Box 11836, Blacksburg, VA 24060-1836.
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