Other Literary Theme Activities

Lord of the Flies

Have students print out primitive figures and paste their head on with
war paint, or have them print out photos of themselves in regular
clothes, then distress the clothes and hair, and add face paint.
Fahrenheit 451
Have students pose with a favorite book, print out the photo, and make a
gallery of mug shots.
Author Personality Portraits
you can have students write a two-page analysis of how the writers life
was reflected in his or her work.
They get to learn about famous playwrights in a unique way. Have them
put an artistic twist on it by creating a mask of their assigned person.
This can work with any novel or play in addition to any author, poet,
inventor, historical figure, artist, or mathematician you are studying in
your class. All you would need to do is adapt the assignment to the
person who is being studied.
The Symbolic Portrait Project
My senior creative writing students needed to do a research project, so I
had them do this alternative research assignment. In addition, I had them
create a mask of the playwright. I printed what looked like a 3dimensional kabuki mask on white cardstock and gave one to each
student. They were to use collage, paint, drawing, or any other method to

portray the work, life, and themes of the playwright. I had them add a
nameplate to the bottom of the portrait.
When I hung them up, I had a gallery of playwrights that created a
stunning exhibit in my room. I did have to remind my students that I did
not want a photographic image of the playwright, but a symbolic image. I
also assigned playwrights so I wouldnt have twenty of the same person.
This required making a master list of playwrights I knew could be
researched.
Imitative Writing
One assignment/lesson plan thats really fun and creative is having
students mimic the distinctive writing style of an author that is being
studied.
The Diary Project
I had my students read Excerpts from Adams Diary by Mark Twain. They
had to then write a seven-day diary for a fictional character using
comedy elements weve studied in class (juxtaposition, wordplay, rule of
three, sarcasm, what if).
More Literature Imitation Projects
The Catcher in the Rye
Direct students write graphic novellas in their own voice about their own
adventures in much the same way Holden Caulfield recounts his New
York experience. Requiring students to put illustrations on every other
page of their novella makes for interesting reading.
The Crucible

Have students write letters or diary entries in the Puritan style and
manner of Abigail Williams and John Proctor.
The Telltale Heart
Students can easily think of ways to modernize Poes tale of mystery and
guilt. Anthem: Ayn Rands short tale of a dystopian future doesnt use the
pronoun I by design. Ask students to write a short piece about
themselves without using the pronoun I .
Poem Parody
When studying poetry, especially classic forms, students arent that
thrilled with the old-school topics (think Ozymandias, the old battered
statue warning of the impermanence of fame. ) Try using poems that
have specific patterns and then ask students to write parodies
substituting modern celebrities or issues for humorous effect.
Lady Gaga Poem Project
I took the Edwin Arlington Robinson poem Richard Cory and used the
iambic pentameter to pen a masterpiece about Lady Gaga. It caught
their interest and emphasized the form of the poem.
More Modernized Poetry Projects
Shakespeares Sonnets
Ask them to write love poems to an object rather than a person, in
sonnet form.
The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Replace water with some other beverage thats school appropriate, and
change the setting of the ocean to the local mall, and see what happens.
Historical Dossier Projects
When studying a particular historical timeframe or event, try adding a
spin on it by creating a more personal connection. Give students roles to
play during that event. Then assign a writing research assignment where
they must maintain their roles.
Vietnam Role Play Writing Assignment
When I taught the novel Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Meyer, I wanted
my students to know more about the Vietnam War. I made a list of
possible roles people played during the war, from hippie peace protester
to draft dodger to enlisted Army private to Vietnamese chicken farmer. I
gave these people made-up names, a brief description of each and their
perspective on the war, and then told my students to create a dossier on
their character.
They had to use their own faces in the photo, whether it was clipped and
pasted or manipulated digitally. With research, they also had to write a
letter as this character, a five-entry diary of an eventful week as if they
were the character, and find three items that might have belonged to the
character and include them in the dossier. We then had an exhibit of our
characters, and students could learn about the various roles of people
during the war by reading the personnel files of each character.
Other Examples
Macbeth
Have students research the royal families and gentry of Scotland and do family trees.

The Scarlet Letter

Have students research the people's roles of people during colonial times or Puritan
society.
http://www.teachhub.com/creative-literature-projects-students-love

LIST OF FILIPINO NOVELS IN ENGLISH SUGGESTED FOR REVIEW

1. NICK JOAQUIN The Woman With Two Navels (1961)
2. BIENVENIDO SANTOS Villa Magdalena (1965, 1986); The Man Who
(Thought He) Looked Like Robert Taylor (1983); What The Hell For You
Left Your Heart in San Francisco (1987); Villa Magdalena (1965); The
Volcano (1965); Memory's Fiction (1994)
3. F. SIONIL JOSE Three Filipino Women (1982,
1992); Ermita(1990); My Brother, My Executioner (1979); The
Pretenders (1962); Tree (1978); Vinjero, 1994; The Rosales Paper;
Sins (1995)
4. NINOTCHKA ROSCA State of War (1989); Twice Blessed (1992)
5. EDILBERTO TIEMPO Cracked Mirror (1984); Finalities (1982)
6. ALFRREDO NAVARRO SALANGA The Birthing of Hannibal
Valdez (1980)
7. NVM GONZALES A Season of Grace (1956); The Bamboo
Dancers(1962); Children of the Ash-Covered Loam (1954)
8. CECILIA MANGUERRA BRAINARD When the Rainbow Goddess
Wept,1994
9. ALFRED YUSON Great Philippine Jungle Energy Cafe (1987)
10. CARLOS BULOSAN America is in the Heart (1943)
11. JESSICA HAGEDORN Dogeaters (1990)
12. PETER BACHO Cebu (1992)
13. WILFREDO NOLLEDO But for the Lovers (1970)

Suggested Essay Topics

First Paper: From any of the following topics (or you may suggest your
own)

1.

Tradition and Change in Filipino Families/Communities

2.

Displacement and Marginality in Three Short Stories ("Tanabata's

Wife", "Wedding Dance" and "Harvest")

3.

The Silencing of Women in "How my Brother Leon Brought Home

a Wife" and "Tanabata's Wife"

4.

Displacement and Dehumanization in "The Grave Diggers",

"Death in a Sawmill" and "People in the War".
Second paper: Choose from any of the following topics:

1.
2.

Images of Violence in Three Stories: "Pig Pen", "Rice Wine" and

"Dada"
Cultures as Source of Conflicts

3.

Love From Eyes Darkly: Love as Viewed in Time (from Different

Generations)

4.

Desire and Colonialism in "The Romance of Magno Rubio",

"Dada" and "Tong"
Third paper: Choose from any of the following topics:

1.

Culture and Religion (from across short stories/plays read)

2.

Images of Poverty in Filipino Literary Works

3.

Deviancy and Morality

4.

Filipino Courtship and Marriage (as gleaned in works read)

http://manoa.hawaii.edu/mwp/faculty/writing-disciplines/philippine-literature