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Adventures
in Time:
Choose
an historical event that occurred in the twentieth century that you
could travel back in time to visit. Use your imagination and research to
write an adventure log entry. Think about what you might see, taste,
hear, smell, and touch in your chosen place. Your adventure log entry
might include a description of the people, the area, and the general
mood surrounding the event. Think about ways you might take part in this
event. Make your entry as detailed and as evocative as you can, using
accurate information and photographs, if possible. Choose one aspect of
the adventure log entry you've written and create a television script.
Follow example:
Scene:
Date:
Location:
People
Present:
Description
of Events:
Dialogue:
__________:_______________________________________________
__________:_______________________________________________
Collect
your adventure log entry and script in a television program guide or
display your entry and script on a bulletin board display entitled
"Don't Touch that Channel !"
Appalachian
Books:
Creative Endeavors:
Artifacts:
Bring
in an artifact that the book reminds you of. Tell about the
artifacts--its origin, special meaning, use, etc., and connect it to
the book.
Historical Map:
Draw
a map (not just any map, but a pictorial map--drawing skills are not
important; most everyone can draw stick figures and boxes to represent
buildings, etc. Just be sure that your drawing is neat and
colorful!) of the area covered in the book. Include important
buildings and landmarks. Indicate important plot elements and where
they occurred.
Appalachian
Picture Book:
Creative Endeavors:
Compare Different Versions of the Same Picture
Book (Text and Illustrations):
Design
a poster detailing the comparison in an artistic manner. Bring both
books to class on the day of presentations.
Rewrite and Illustrate a Favorite Poem,
Children's Song, Rhymes, Riddles, Folk Tale, Ghost Story, Fables,
Jokes: Sayings (Predictions, Signs, Remedies, Proverbs):
Choices
might include works from the following collections: Poems:
Rylant, Cynthia. Waiting to Waltz: A Childhood.
Illus. Stephen Gammell. New York: Macmallian, 1984. Children's
Songs: Botte, Marie. Singa Hipsy Doddle and Other
Folk Songs of West Virginia. Parsons: McClain,
1991. Chase, Richard. Old Songs and Singing Games.
New York: Dover, 1972. Rhymes:
Milnes, Gerald. Granny Will You Dog Bite and Other Mountain
Rhymes. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1990. Still,
James. An Appalachian Mother Goose. Illus. Paul Brett
Johnson. KY: Kentucky UP, 1998. Jack Tales: Chase, Richard. The Jack Tales.
Illus. Berkeley Williams, Jr. New York: Houghton Mifflin,
1971. Davis, Donald. Jack Always Seeks His Fortune:
Authentic Appalachian Jack Tales. Little Rock, August House,
1992. Ghost Tales: Gainer, Patrick. Witches,
Ghosts, and Signs: Folklore of the Southern Appalachians.
Morgantown, WV: Seneca Books, 1975. Musick, Ruth
Ann. Coffin Hollow and Other Ghost Tales. KY:
Kentucky UP, 1977. Musick, Ruth Ann. The Telltale Lilac
Bush and Other West Virginia Ghost Tales. KY: Kentucky
UP, 1965. General Resources: Chase,
Richard. Grandfather Tales. Boston: Houghton
Mifflin, 1976. Musick, Ruth Ann. Green Hills of
Magic: West Virginia Folktales from Europe. KY:
Kentucky UP, 1970. Van Laan, Nancy. With a Whoop and a
Holler. New York: Atheneum, 1998 ("A collection of
tales, rhymes, riddles, superstitions, and sayings organized around
three distinct regions of the South: the Bayou, the Deep South,
and Appalachia").
Write and Illustrate an Original Poem,
Children's Song, Rhymes, Riddles, Folk Tale, Ghost Story, Fables:
You
may print the text out on computer. You may use any medium to illustrate
your pictures (collage, watercolor, finger paints, crayons, pencil
crayons, etc.)
Essays:
Focus on Values and Humor:
Write
an essay that includes the following: 1) The title
(underlined), author, and illustrator; 2) A brief summary of the
book; 3) The answer to one of the following questions: 1.
Does this book reveal something about Appalachian values? 2. Does
this book reveal something about Appalachian humor? 3. Does this
book accurately represent Appalachia, its culture, and its people?
Support your answer by incorporating information obtained from your
analysis of the book.
Focus on Popular Culture:
Write
an essay that includes the following: 1) The title
(underlined), author, and illustrator; 2) A brief summary of the
book; 3) The answer to one of the following questions:
1. Does this book reveal something about the artist’s opinion of
Appalachians? 2. Does this book reveal something about writer’s
opinion of Appalachians? 3. Does this book accurately represent
Appalachia, its culture, and its people? Support your answer by
incorporating information obtained from your analysis of the book.
Reading
a Picture Book:
After
reading a picture book, read the text aloud to someone who does not know
the book without showing that person the pictures. (It's really fun to
do this with grand-parents or older people.) Ask the person to 1)
describe his or her response to the text and 2) tell what the
illustrations might look like. Then show the pictures to the person
while rereading the book to them. 3) How does their response
change? Write three paragraphs, one for each part of the
assignment. Make sure that each paragraph has a topic sentence.
Create
a Greeting Card Company:
American
playwright and Pulitzer Prize winner August Wilson once said that the
day he got his first typewriter was his "birthday" as a
writer. Recall events (six) in your life that may be considered your
"birthday" or special day. Set up a Greeting Card Company
whose cards celebrate your special days with an Appalachian feel. You
will write about and share special events in personal entries and in
greeting cards. Try to recapture the way you were feeling before,
during, and after the special event. (Don't forget
reunions!) Choose a name and slogan for your Greeting Card
Company. You can display your six greeting cards and personal entries
(typed) on a bulletin board advertising your card company's name, logo,
and slogan.
Family
Tree (of sorts):
Have
you ever been told that you look, sound, or act like someone else in
your family or have some other connection to someone in your family
you've never even met? List four positive traits that you believe have
been passed on to you from someone in your family. You can include
physical traits, personality traits, or mental attitudes. Next to each
trait write the name of the family member from whom you may have
acquired these traits. Jot down as many details about the person that
you can think of. Organize your notes and write a one page essay,
describing how you and the family member you listed connect. Write a
strong introduction. Begin by introducing the person and conclude with a
thesis statement that makes your connection to her or him clear. Be sure
that all your supporting paragraphs use details to support your thesis.
Display your four essays on a family tree poster with photographs and
essays as part of the limbs of the tree. Your own photograph can be the
roots of the tree. You might also put together a family tree photo album
with photographs and essays.
Movie
Reviews:
Preparing
to review a film is very important. You should read about the actors,
their works, the directors, their works, and any previous reviews on the
film. (Possible sources for this information include: the Internet,
newspapers, magazines.) Immediately after the film, record your
impressions of the film. Grab the reader's attention from the start with
a strong and catchy lead (possibly your expectations before seeing the
film, including an introduction of the film's main characters. Follow
with your opinion of the film. Focus your evaluation on specific
elements of the film. For example, a strong story line, plot (What
happens in the film. Does it hold your interest? Does it seem
contrived?), convincing characterizations, acting (the way the actors
portray their characters. Do the actors create believable characters? Do
they evoke the intended responses in the audience: laughter, fear,
sorrow?), theme (what the film means. Is the movie's theme significant,
worth pondering? Does the film develop the theme, or does it
oversimplify a complex issue?), script writing (the way the characters
are developed by the scriptwriter and the director. Do the characters
seem real, believable?), etc. Prepare three two-page reviews. For one of
the reviews read a negative review of a movie that you have seen and
enjoyed. Then write a review in which you counter the reviewer's
criticism. Evaluate the elements of the film that the reviewer examined,
and base your positive review on your critical interpretation of these
elements.
Museum
or Exhibit:
Write
an essay that includes the following: 1) The title of the exhibit
and its location (including city and state), 2) A brief
summary of what the exhibit is about, 3) The answer to one
of the following questions: 1. What educational/
community/cultural benefit does the exhibit offer? 2. How might
this exhibit be important to both children and adults. Support
your answer by incorporating information obtained from your visit to the
exhibit.
Prepare
and Present a Lesson:
Choose
a topic of interest and present it to your classmates as though you were
the teacher. Prepare your Lesson Plan--lecture, visual and audio
aids (film clip, music, etc.), handouts, activities (group work, short
writing assignment, artistic assignment, etc.), and assessment--just as
your actual teacher would, written out with objectives and
procedures. Your teacher will provide you with an acceptable
format in the preparation of your lesson plan. Turn in your Lesson
Plan to your teacher and present your lesson to the class.
Trading
Cards:
There
are many interesting people, places, and events in Appalachian
history. Some examples include Native Americans, Melungeons,
famous people, natural formations and wonders, pioneer settlements,
industries, buildings, towns, natural and human disasters and tragedies,
wars and battles, feuds and family fights, labor conflicts, etc.
Plan a series of trading cards--similar to baseball cards--that focus on
a local aspect. Conduct research, collect photographs and
illustrations, and prepare twelve trading cards on heavy paper, focusing
on one category. The cards should be bigger than normal baseball
trading cards, approximately 1/2 the size of a regular sheet of typing
paper. Libraries, local historians, and museums/historical
societies make excellent resources.
This Page Created: 9/25/00
Last Update: 04/02/2005 09:53 PM
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