I have three new assignments here...
Really?
You are to create three short shorts for this new assignment. You will be writing memoirs: nonfiction stories from your own life. You should come up with one title for all three stories as one piece, and they should have a theme or motif which strings them together. This can be anything: a person (little brother, mom), place (playground, supermarket), or thing (trains, teddy bear). Make sure you put them all together in a way that makes sense. Be creative. Oh, and the catch: each of the three pieces must be EXACTLY 150 words long. You must number them in a different color of ink above the double-spaced words.Points:
#1 Plot & Character /10
#2 Plot & Character /10
#3 Plot & Character /10
Description /15
Presentation & Order /10
Theme/Motif /10
Usage /5
Total /70
*You will lose 2 points for each word you are over or under 150 words for each of the three pieces. There is also room for up to 15 points of extra credit for creative presentation and formats.
Oh You Think So, Do You?
Hooray for essays! This isn’t your standard five-paragraph essay, though. You are to write a 2-4 page essay on any topic you like. It helps to choose something you actually know a lot about. You can be serious, but you need to show your personality in this one. Many of you will be happy to take the opportunity to be a little silly, though. Humor is a great way to do that. You can rant, you can rave, you can satirize to your heart’s content. Want to argue about cloning? How about an op ed. on a school rule? Do you have thoughts on those people who go to Roswell every year to greet the aliens? Or how about making fun of those crazy people in government? This can basically be any nonfiction piece besides a narrative. This is NOT your fifth grade report on giraffes or the argument you wrote for civics class. This is your voice, your opinion, your thoughts. This should be fun. I want to know what you think about something and see that you can do it in an organized way.
Points:
Clear objective and backing points /15
Personal Voice, Style, Description /20
Organization /10
Usage /5
Total /50
Slam Dunk!
On Friday, you will be presenting your poem to the class (be ready Monday, January 11 if we don’t get to everyone). Your presentation must take at least TWO MINUTES. The sky’s the limit. Make it about anything you want—any topic, any story, any mood, tone, or feeling, whatever. The important part in this assignment is getting a little outside your comfort zone and really putting yourself out there. How you speak and hold yourself is part of the deal. Also, you must turn in a hard copy to me. You are required to do at least three of the following:Pun/play on words
Alliteration
Allusion
Rhyming
Repetition (word or phrase)
Points:
Presentation /10
Min. 3 elements above /15
Two minutes /5
Hard copy /5
Total /35
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i like the "slam dunk" assignment.....i might use it (i'll cite my source of course).
ReplyDeletei really like the concept of "anything goes" but hitting some minimum targets....it allows other students to look for those elements in each other's work, which keeps them engaged. and it creates kind of a "communal" feeling in the way that they all have something in common.