1. art and entertainment
2. comics and animation
3. comics

Independent Novel Studies
NAME: ______________________________________________
For each independent novel studied this year, complete one Character Project and one Readers Perspective. You are only permitted to select each BOX one time.
CHARACTER
READERS PERSPECTIVE
Collage
Create a collage that your character
would say represents them. Use
pictures from magazines, newspapers,
the internet or drawings. To be
complete on 11x17 Paper.
Radio Exchange
Your character calls into a radio show
for advice. Choose which show your
character would call in to and then
create the conversation he or she
would have with the radio advice
giver. (400 words)
Facebook Page
Select the main character and design a
page, picking out pictures and then
creating information that would tell a
viewer about your character. Use the
Facebook Template to complete this
activity.
Interviews
Pretend 3 characters are being
interviewed by a reporter, the police
or a lawyer. Create a monologue
response to the same event that
occurred in the novel for each
character. (150 words per report)
Advertising
Design an advertising campaign to
promote the sale of the book you
read. Include the following:
A Poster (8x11 in Portrait)
and
Radio or TV commercial (30 Seconds)
Poetry
Write three poems in response to the
novel. The poems can be about the
characters, where the book took place,
or the themes in the book. Any style
of poetry may be used and have a
minimum of 12 lines per poem.
Color Map
Draw a colour map of where a major
part of the story takes place. Label
the major landmarks or points of
interest and describe what happens
during the scene. Complete this
project on poster board.
Painting
If you are artistic, think of an
important scene and paint it the way
you see it. Use a 16x20 artist canvas
panel. Write an explanation (75
words) of why you created the scene
the way you did.
Scrap Book
Think about all the kinds of
mementos you would put in a scrap
book if you had one. Then create a
scrap book for your character, cutting
out pictures from magazines or
drawing the mementos he or she
would have in a scrap book (4 pages)
Movie Recommendations
From all the movies you’ve seen in
the last couple of years, pick five you
would recommend that your character
see. Give a brief summary of each
movie and explain why you think the
character should see it. (75 words per
movie)
Chat Room Conversations
Imagine that your character has found
other people to talk with while in a
chat room he or she found while
surfing the Internet. Construct the
conversation your character had with
others while in the chat room. (400
words)
E-mail Directory
Create the e-mail directory of all the
people you can imagine your character
keeping in touch with on e-mail.
Construct several exchanges between
your character and some of the people
in your character’s directory. (400
words)
Song Writing
Write a ballad or song about the
characters and events in your story.
Set the words to the music of a
popular song or create your own song
and sing it to the class. The song shall
have 3 verses and a chorus.
Newspaper Article
Write a news article about an
important event from the book. The
article shall be written in the form of
an essay and shall be a minimum of
600 words.
Construct a Diorama
A Diorama is three-dimensional scene
which includes models of people,
buildings, plants, and animals. The
diorama shall be of one of the main
events in the book. Include a written
description of the scene. (150 words)
Alternate Ending
Write a different ending for the book.
The ending should occur during the
resolution stage of the novel and shall
be a minimum of 800 words (spacing
of 1.5 and font size 12).
Letter Exchange
Create a letter exchange between a
character and the author or write a
series of self-reflective letters from
several characters on what the
character learned about himself,
others, and life. (400 words)
Job Application
Choose a job for one of the characters
in the book. Write a letter to an
employer. Include traits of the
character as well as the skills this
character has for the job. (400 words)
Sculpture
Create a sculpture of a character. Use
any combination of soap, wood, clay,
sticks, wire, stones, old toy pieces, or
any other object. An explanation of
how this character fits into the book
should accompany the sculpture.
Talk Show
A talk show has invited your character
to a show; create the title, a guest list,
and a prepared list of questions for
each guest. Be sure to include which
talk show and why they are interested
in the character. (400 Words)
Point of View Column
Write an opinion column like one that
appears in the editorial page of the
newspaper. Choose a theme or topic
from the novel you just read and write
the column from the point of view of
one of the characters (400 words).
Letter to the Author
Write a letter to the author explaining
to him or her why you think he or she
wrote the book and what he or she
was trying to show through the book.
Be sure to explain what you got out of
the book. (400 words)
Persuasive Pamphlet
Think of an issue that was very
important. Create a pamphlet aimed at
persuading others of the importance
of the issue. Include factual
information, testimonials, pictures or
graphics, etc. (Use Publisher - 6 Fold)
Mobile
Create a Mobile of at least five panels
that illustrate various elements from
the novel, (Setting, Theme, Irony,
Mood, Conflict, Motivation, Surprise
Ending, etc...)
Astrology Sign
Reading the descriptions of the
astrology signs. Choose three of the
main characters from your book and
decide which sign there are. Write an
explanation of why you think they fit
the sign, drawing on their actions,
attitudes, and thoughts from the
book. (150 words per character)
Advertisements
Pretend your character has picked up
a magazine and is looking at the ads.
Select 5 ads your character would
consider purchasing the product.
Display the ads on separate pages
(8x11) and underneath explain why
your character would read them. (50
words)
Life Size Model
Create a life-sized model of your
favourite character from the novel.
Dress them as they are dressed in the
book. Standing behind your character,
describe yourself as the character. Tell
what your role is in the book and how
you relate to the other characters that
are in the novel.
Childhood for a Character
If your main character is an adult, try
to figure out what he or she would
have been like as a child. Write the
story of his or her childhood in such a
way that shows why he or she is the
way he or she is in the novel. (400
Words)
Make a Game Board
Design and create a game board that
incorporates ideas from the novel.
Will you decide on a board game, card
game, concentration? The choices are
only limited to your creativity. Be sure
to include clear directions and provide
everything needed to play.
Object Box
This box should contain objects that
represent the novel. The entire box
must be colourful, decorative and
appropriately represents the novel.
Include at least five objects in your
object box. A short written
explanation (75 words) should be
included on each object.
Cartoon Squares
Create a series of six drawings in six
squares that shows a significant event
in the novel. Under each picture or
cartoon, write a few lines of
explanation. Use a tool like
Creaza - http://creaza.com,
Piki Kids - http://pikikids.com
Kerpoof - http://kerpoof.com
Detective Work
If a detective or police officer
suddenly showed up in your novel,
who or what would they be
investigating? Write about what the
detective is looking for, how he or she
knew something was awry or needed
investigating, and what was
recommended. (400 Words)
File a Complaint
Adapt the persona of one of the
characters who you feel was portrayed
in a sexist or racist manner. Write up a
complaint explaining what you feel
was unjust in your portrayal and
explain the actions you would like the
author to take to remedy the biased
portrayal. (400 words)
School Counsellor’s Letter
Write a recommendation from the
school counsellor’s point of view that
assesses the character’s academic and
personal qualities. Why do you feel
this student would be well-suited to
attend college? Such as: character,
maturity, independence, values, special
interest, and any noteworthy talents or
qualities. (300 Words)
Wanted Poster
Make a "wanted" poster for one of
the characters. Include the following:
(a) a drawing of the character, (b) a
physical description, (c) the character’s
or misdeeds (or deeds?), (d) other
information about the character which
is important, (e) the reward offered
for the capture of the character.
Create on 9x12 Artist Paper.
Social Worker’s Report
If the events in the novel merit it,
write up a report as a social worker
would on the conditions in the home
and whether or not it’s a good
environment for a child. How would
she describe the home and parenting
style? What would her
recommendations be? (300 Words)
Travel Brochure
Create a travel brochure for one of
the key settings in the novel. Include
elements that occurred in the story as
well as facts, things to do and other
points of interest about the place. On
the back page, include a box giving
the page numbers from the novel
where the information was found.
(Use Publisher – 6 Fold)
Music
Divide up the book into three
sections. Select a piece of music that
captures the feel or tone of each
section. Using Aviary.com, add the
three songs, and add voice-overs
explaining what is happening as well
as why you felt this piece of music fit
the section of the novel. Music clips
are to be between 45-90 seconds.
Cereal Box Advertisement
Write the review on the back, create a
cover for the front (not the original
book cover but your own idea), write
the ingredients on the side, (ie...A
touch of scary, with a lot of mystery),
and have them add any other facts on
the other side of the box. Use a
standard size cereal box for the
project.
Create a Character’s Room
We learn a lot about what people keep
in their closets, on their walls, what is
put in the room. Select a character you
know well and create a room that
would mean a lot to the character.
Draw and write about it, making sure
to include an explanation of why you
designed the room as you did. Use
9x12 Art Drawing Paper.
College Application
Use all the information you know and
infer and create the rest. On the
application include Name, Academic
Rank in Class, High School Courses
Taken and Grades, Extracurricular
Activities and Personal Activities, and
Work Experience. From the
character’s point of view, write a 300
word essay on: What experience,
event, or person has had a significant
impact on your life?
Plan a Party
Complete each of the following tasks:
(a) Design an invitation to the party
(b) Imagine that you are five of the
characters in the book and tell what
each would wear to the party. (c) Tell
what food you would serve and why.
(d) Tell what games or entertainment
you will provide and why your choices
are appropriate. (e) Tell how three of
the characters will act at the party. (f)
What kind of a party is this? (300
Words)
Yearbook Entries
Using 3 characters from your novel
imagine what they were like in high
school. Find a picture. ( magazine,
internet or draw your own) One
character per page and under each
give the following information:
nickname; activities, clubs, sports;
quotation that shows something about
the person and what is important to
him or her; a book that has had a
great impact on him or her; voted
“most-likely-to” what?; plans after
high school.
Heroes & Superheroes
Select two people your character
would think of as a hero or superhero.
Describe the characteristics of the
hero and why those characteristics
would be important to your character.
Also describe which characteristics
your character would most want for
himself/herself that the hero or
superhero possesses. (200 words per
hero)
Word Collage
Write the title of the book in the
center. Look through magazines or
internet pages for words, and phrases,
that illustrate or tell something about
your book. Think in terms of the
theme, setting, plot, as well as
characters. Work to get fifty such
words or phrases. The visual impact
of the collage should tell a potential
reader a lot about the book.
Complete this project on 11x17 Paper.
Virtual Poster
Movie posters give just enough
information to give you a taste of
what the movie will be about. They
also contain information such as the
title, actors, and a rating. Using
GLOGSTER, create an on-line book
poster that acts as an advertisement
for the book. Include the author, title,
key characters, pictures that support
the storyline and create a tag line that
will make others want to read the
book.
Television Box
Complete a series of five drawings
that show five of the major events in
the plot of the book you read.
Make a television box. Cut a square to
serve as a TV screen. Make two slits
in opposite sides of the box so that
the scenes slide through the two side
slits. Write captions for each drawing
so that the illustrations can be
understood during the show. The box
needs to be large enough
accommodate 8x11 paper.
Scrap Book
Think about all the kinds of
mementos you would put in a scrap
book if you had one. The scrap book
shall focus on the major elements of
the novel.
A) THEME
B) CONFLICT
C) SETTING
Cut out pictures from magazines or
drawing the mementos he or she
would have in the scrap book. Set
aside 2 pages for each story element.