AP English III— Huck Finn Literature Portfolio—A Dialogue with a Text
Directions: You will need to choose 8 different ways to react to the text. This will be recorded in the way of encounters and process statements. You may choose from any 8 of the options below. You may NOT use one twice. For each choice you will create a two-part entry: an encounter/process statement. Each should be typed on a separate page. This will give you a total of 16 pages. Unless guidelines are stated for the process statement, follow the directions in the box below.
Encounter / Process Statement· 1 page maximum
· Can be typed (or handwritten neatly when necessary)
· This is where you encounter the text and complete the steps listed below. For this step, you may have to draw, write, or even just list notes from a book. This side will look very different depending on what you do for the encounter.
· This side is the actual assignment listed below.
/ · 1 page maximum
· Double-spaced
· This is a one-page explanation of how this encounter helped or hindered your understanding of the text. It should be detailed with specific steps you used in this process and what this process did to help you understand the text better.
· This side is a dialogue with yourself or the teacher explaining how the encounter made you learn something about the test. BE HONEST!
Guidelines
· You will complete two pieces of paper per selection (1 encounter + 1 process statement).
· You will assemble the project so that each encounter is FACING each process statement.
· You will NOT use an MLA heading on the encounters or process statements.
· You may earn up to 4 points for a creative cover or binding for your project.
List of Encounters
An * indicates that this encounter is required
1. * Translation—Do not write a paraphrase, but write the story (or part of the story) in another genre: poetry, non-fiction, letter(s), legal documents, a screenplay, an essay, etc. Keep the same core meaning of the novel itself, but add your own creative take on the events. In your process statement, discuss how changing the type of writing made you examine the text more closely. Why did you choose to write a poem? A letter? A legal document? Why was one type of writing more appealing than another? What did you learn from doing this? Write a 1-page reflection to all or some of these questions.
2. * Notation—The most common technique used in close readings. Use either the margins of the book or Post-it flags for comments, questions, and connections. This section will be copied and annotated for the encounter. For your process statement, explain your notes AND your reaction to reading them at a later date.
3. * Language Analysis—Pick two chapters of the book on which to focus (it is generally a good idea to look at an early chapter and a late one). What stands out linguistically? Syntactically? Grammatically? Write a paragraph about your two chapters. In your process statement, explain the patterns you saw and the significance of the patters on the novel as a whole.
4. One Pager—Use drawings and words to represent the text visually. This technique can be a powerful way to correct visions of the text, which, once you have recorded them on paper, can be seen as mistaken. Consider whether your drawings make up a coherent world; everything should work together. For your process statement, explain why you have chosen these particular images. What did you learn about the play from doing the encounter?
5. Historical Research—Research the historical, political, and social time period of the setting of the play. This should be in the form of T-notes or a dialectic journal. Copy citations on the left from the source and then react to them on the right. Do NOT use a basic encyclopedia (or wikipedia!) for this information. Make a note of your sources. Your process statement will explain how the time period is reflected in the novel or how it helps/hinders your understanding of the book.
6. Interview—Talk to someone you think might have ideas that have not occurred to you about the text (not another student in the class!). Record both the comments of this person and how those comments affected your reading of the text. Your notes on the conversation are your encounter. You should have a minimum of 10 questions and responses for your interview. In your process statement, discuss how this interview influenced your reading/understanding of the novel.
7. Stepping In—A useful technique for close readings of a text. Write a word, phrase, sentence, or paragraph of the text, and then reflect in a paragraph on that section before going on to the next. Complete four of these for your encounter.
8. Missing Pieces—Find at least five important words in the text and consider what the novel would be like without them. Ask yourself how the book would function without these key words. Actually write out the sentences from the book (quotations) with each chosen word, and describe what the book would be like without these words.
9. First and Last Response—Do a response after you finish reading the first half of the novel, and then another after you have completed the entire novel. These should be TWO SEPARATE paragraphs. Your encounters should include predictions, questions, and analysis.
10. Compare with a Second Text—Choose another text and compare two elements: the theme, setting, rhetorical devices, and/or character type. Write two separate paragraphs of comparison. It would be wise to ask me before committing to a second text for this encounter.
11. Quotation Collection—Find Bartlett’s Book of Familiar Quotations or another book/website of quotations, and find 5-7 quotes that follow a theme or idea from the novel. Choose one quote and explain how the author of that quotation would have responded to the Twain’s novel.
12. Quandry List—Keep track of quandaries/problems that arise as you work on the portfolio. Do not struggle too hard to answer or resolve these problems—just try to be aware of them. Make note at which point in the novel they are no longer problems. Also note how you resolved them, or how the text resolved them for you.
13. Schematic—Diagram the text. Choose a way to “graphically organize” the text. The diagram is the only part that goes on the encounter side. Explain in your process statement why you have chosen this particular way of organizing and how it has helped you.
14. Critical Research—Find an article that has reviewed this text. Make a copy of it, include it in your final project, and annotate it as you read it (actually make comments in the margins—don’t just underline or circle things). This is your encounter with the text. For your process statement, discuss how this article changed or reinforced your understanding of the text.
15. Data Collection—Make a chart of the following information found in your reading of the novel: colors, symbols, figurative language, words that indicate power, words that indicate knowledge, different settings. The chart is your encounter. In your process statement, describe how these lists affected your reading of the text. How did they help or hinder?
16. Cross-Referencing—Choose a poem by an author from the same time period, and write a brief comparison of the two authors. The poem should connect to the author or the themes of the text. For the encounter, include a copy of the poem and then write the comparison paragraph. The process statement should discuss how this comparison helped you understand the novel.
17. Huck’s Playlist —compile a playlist of 10 songs (list the title and artist) that you think Huck would like, or songs that you think capture his emotional/mental state(s) during the book. For each song, write a paragraph explaining why you think that song captures some aspect of his character, or why he would appreciate it.
Grading Rubric
Literature Portfolio—The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Name: ______Due Date: 10/27/2010 or 10/28/2010
Encounter / Score / Process Statement / ScoreTranslation / /6 / Translation / /6
Notation / /6 / Notation / /6
Language Analysis / /6 / Language Analysis / /6
/6 / /6
/6 / /6
/6 / /6
/6 / /6
/6 / /6
Encounters / Process Statements
6-Exceptional quality of response; creative and thorough in your understanding of the assignment. / 6-Thesis statement/topic sentence evident. Evidence of learning and excellent reflective writing.
5-Good quality of response; followed directions explicitly and understood the assignment thoroughly. / 5-Thesis statement/topic sentence evident, but not fully realized throughout paragraph(s). Evidence of learning and good reflective writing.
4-Average quality of response. May have had some misunderstandings of the assignment fully, but still met minimum requirements for the task. / 4-Weak thesis statement although the writing is strong and still carries a general strain of thought. Evidence of learning, though it may be repetitious from other encounters.
3-Below average response. Serious misunderstandings of the assignment and did not write enough to meet the minimum requirements for the task. / 3-Weak or non-existent thesis and writing may be repetitious or just not fully-formed. Little evidence of learning and/or not written in the reflective mode.
2-Poor response to the task. Omitted parts of the task; writing or encounter was only partially completed. / 2-Poorly formed paragraph that lacks structure and adherence to the writing task described.
1-Submitted something, but did not meet the requirements outlined in the handout. / 1- Wrote something, but did not meet the requirements outlined in the handout.
0-Did not complete the step. / 0-Did not complete the step.
______/ 48 + ______/ 48 = ______/ 96 Points
+ _____ / 4 points for a creative cover or binding for your project
Overall Project Grade = ______/100 Points