4 Novel Roles

4 Novel Roles

Just as people are complex, characters are complex. We become invested in the lives of characters because often times we can see ourselves reflected in their obstacles, their emotions, their interactions, and their relationships. While many of us may not have had similar experiences to the characters we read about, it's the connections we make on an emotional and personal level that make our reading enjoyable and worthwhile.

The course explores four essential questions; they allow us to examine all kinds of texts in a similar light, but also from different thematic focuses.

To aid your understanding of each Essential Question in relation to your chosen novel, you will take on four roles (or points of view) to examine each Essential Question from a different perspective. You will perform each role once and will discuss each role in association with one of the Essential Questions so that you can explore different ways of showing what you know. (1 EQ per novel role; each role is used once, each EQ is used once)

Let's review the roles you can choose.

© Thinkstock	Analyst As an analyst, you will focus on collecting key quotations from the novel that relate to the Essential Question you are studying. Choose quotations from various parts of the novel that illustrate the Essential Question best. Provide a minimum of five (5) quotations, including the page number for each quotation. For each quotation, provide the context and what prompted it. Also, provide details of who provided the quotation. Finally, explain how this quotation relates to the Essential Question you are studying. How is this quotation significant?
© Thinkstock	Artist As an artist, you will visually represent the Essential Question as it is developed in the entire novel. Choose any form of original artistic text to represent your understanding. You might create portraits/pictures of the main characters, a PowerPoint presentation, a unique collage, a poster, a vlog (video blog). . . there are too many opportunities to mention! With your representation, compose a written response that identifies and explains your choices in creating it.
© Thinkstock	Author Another creative role, the author uses ideas and details from the novel to create an original text. You can write just about anything. Here are a few ideas: a poem a song a narrative (¶s that create/extend a story; add a chapter to the end of a novel) a letter(s) a letter to the editor, writing as a character or the author an interview with a character or the author a speech a journal or diary entry/entries (not recommended; email me to ask why!) dialogue for the text (what you would see in a novel or short story) a news article or a newspaper column an editorial in a newspaper or magazine The details and ideas you use must illustrate how the Essential Question develops throughout the entire novel. With your original text, compose a short paragraph that identifies and explains your choices in writing your own text.
© Thinkstock	Archivist An archivist collects "stuff" — a minimum of five (5) resources that relates to a common idea. As an archivist, you will need to step outside of the novel and look at how the Essential Question connects with our world. You may find a movie that was based on the same theme as the novel, a poem that describes a setting in the novel, or a newspaper article about an ironic event that relates to the novel. As you will be collecting a variety of sources, be sure that you keep track of where you found them! Develop a bibliography in MLA format for your discovery and a written response that explains the connections between each source and the novel.