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Course, Subject

English Regents, English Language Arts (2005), English Language Arts (NYS P-12 Common Core)

Assessment

The end product of this activity will be the article itself. However, grading will be based on the process of working together in cooperation toward a common goal. Each group will be evaluated on teamwork, participation, and dependability. By assigning specific roles that carry equal weight, students will all be held accountable, and each member is responsible for being sure that everyone is pulling equal weight. Having the bulk of the work be done in class, it will be easy to see whether or not all group members are working together productively and cooperatively. See attached rubric for group work grading.

• Collaboration Rubric

Additional Notes

This activity would certainly work with any piece that contains well-rounded, sensational characters in the text that are seen as "rebels" to social norms or expectations.

Other texts include:

• The Catcher in the Rye
• To Kill A Mockingbird
• The Color of Water
• Hamlet (or any other work by Shakespeare, for that matter)
• The Bell Jar

Suggested Procedure

Students will create their own tabloid or gossip columns where they showcase and examine the actions of characters in Henry James' Daisy Miller.

Students will work in groups of three or four, and will each be assigned a specific role to play.
Roles include:

• Paparazzi
• Writer
• Editor
• Presenter

Assuming that students will meet every day for approximately 40 minutes, the timeline for the activity might look like this:

• Monday: Meet in groups, assign roles, and choose a character
• Tuesday: Come up with the name of the magazine and article, decided what traits or actions to focus on, brainstorm story ideas
• Wednesday: Bring in magazines or newspapers, use the computers to find images or compose written components
• Thursday: Bringing it all together, compile findings and construct the article
• Friday: Present and share!

Handout.doc

Essential Questions

What does it take to "go against the grain"?

• What is it about today's celebrities whose sensational lifestyles seem to provide many people with entertainment?

• If the characters in the literature that we study existed in today's society, would they attract the press (i.e., paparazzi) and land themselves in gossip magazines?

• What if these written forms of media existed in the times in which the characters lived; would they stir up as much attention? Why or why not?

Duration

This activity should take about a week to complete. Students will need time to work in groups, brainstorm ideas, write the story, find or create photographs that illustrate/showcase the character(s), and then share their "tabloids" with the class at the end of the week.

Description

In many works of literature, there are characters who stand out against the backdrop of the society in which the text is set. These characters may say or do certain things that either cause them to be seen as controversial figures, or trailblazers of their times (through the eyes of the reader or by other characters in the text). Much like today's celebrities, some characters illustrate certain characteristics that result in sensational "gossip" throughout their community, or even nation. Celebrities who seem to go against the grain land themselves in the front pages of entertainment or gossip magazines, while characters in the texts that we read merely land themselves in discussions.

This activity will provide such characters with the attention that they deserve.

Website(s)

People Magazine
Collaboration Rubric

Related Academic Standards

New York State

RL.11-12.11 Interpret, analyze, and evaluate narratives, poetry, and drama, aesthetically and philosophically by making connections to: other texts, ideas, cultural perspectives, eras, personal events, and situations.

RL.11-12.11.b Establish and use criteria to classify, select, and evaluate texts to make informed judgments about the quality of the pieces.

RI.11-12.9.a Read, annotate, and analyze informational texts on topics related to diverse and nontraditional cultures and viewpoints.

RI.11-12.10 By the end of grade 11, read and comprehend literary nonfiction in the grades 11-CCR text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range. By the end of grade 12, read and comprehend literary nonfiction at the high end of the grades 11-CCR text complexity band independently and proficiently.

W.11-12.3 Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, well-chosen details, and well-structured event sequences.

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