Author: Mona Hampton

E-mail: mona.hampton@pulaski.kyschools.us monahampton@hotmail.com

Subject Language Arts

Level 6th Grade

INTRODUCTION

Why do we enjoy hearing or reading stories? We listen and tell short stories every day. During this Webquest, you will collect information on what makes up a good short story. By the end of this quest, you will have the information you need to understand and discuss the stories we read in class.

An author of a children’s short story has just hired you as his/her literary agent. It is your job to put together a book proposal and sell his/her book to a publishing company. You’ve read the book, and you agree that it is great. How will you help this author get his/her book published?

TASK

Your task is for your group to put together a presentation for the author and present it to a well-known publishing company. For the presentation, you will put together a PowerPoint that highlights the plot of your chosen short story along with information about the author.

The publishing company also has a line of trading cards that promote the main characters of some of their best selling children’s short stories. Therefore, individually you will need to create a trading card for the short story’s main character to show how well the book fits in with their already popular books.

PROCESS

1.The author wants to make sure that you are the right person for the job and that you have good literary knowledge.
With your group please take the quiz at the link in Resources labeled Quiz On Literary Knowledge, to test your literary knowledge. When prompted, click Course 1 and All Themes. If you don't do well the first time, please try again.

2. Choose a short story from the list that you have enjoyed reading in class this year to use for this project.
Dragon, Dragon
Eleven
Lob's Girl
Stray
Shoes for Hector
Business at Eleven
Revenge

3.Before beginning your group PowerPoint presentation, you must communicate that you know your chosen book well enough to be the literary agent. Use the link in Resources labeled Plot Worksheet to locate a reader’s guide to plot worksheet that will help you identify the elements of the plot. A printed version will be provided to use as a guide.

Next, create a plot diagram of the novel using Interactive Plot Diagram located below in the Resources section. After finishing, complete your printed copy so that it can be checked before proceeding on to your PowerPoint.

4. You will design a 10-15 slide PowerPoint presentation that explains the plot of the short story.
You will need a slide for the following information: title and author, exposition, rising action (4-7), climax, falling action, resolution, and author’s purpose. You might also include illustrations or pictures that would grab the publisher’s attention and make the presentation more inviting.

5.Individually you will create a trading card that features the protagonist of the short story.
Be creative in the making of the card. The front of the card should have a picture of the character, the title of the book, and the author’s name. The back of the card should state the protagonist’s hometown (setting), describe his/her personality, list his/her friend’s names (supporting characters), briefly explain his/her main conflict, and identify the book’s antagonist. A template for your trading card will be provided in class.

6.The publishing company is giving you only 10 minutes for your presentation, so be ready to go with your materials on the day of your meeting.

RESOURCES

You will use the following resources to gather information and aid you in developing your presentation. Some of the websites have been placed in the process steps to help you know when to use them.
Plot Explanation Resources: Learn more about plot structure using the following links.
PowerPoint on Plot (This site will help define the elements of plot.)
Plot Worksheet (a list of questions to help you determine the plot structure of the book)
Plot 1 (explanation of plot)
Plot 2 (an explanation of plot)
Diagram the Plot of the Novel: Interactive Plot Diagram (an interactive website that allows you to diagram the plot of the book and print it)
Plot Diagramming Practice (This site is optional. It gives you practice in identifying the elements of plot using the simple fairy tale Jack in the Beanstalk. You might want to use it prior to doing the plot diagram for your book.)
Author Biography Resources: Use the following links to find information about the author of your chosen book. Author Resource 1 Author Resource 2 Author Resource 3 Author Resource 4

EVALUATION

A rubric will be provided for your expectations.

CONCLUSION

After you finish the Webquest, please answer the following questions:
1. What qualities does this book have that enabled it to be published?
2. Do you think it is easier to publish a book if you have already had a book published?
3. How long do you think it took for your favorite author to have a book published?
4. Do all books have a plot?
5. Do you think character trading cards would be popular? Why or why not?
6. Write a short book review on your chosen book for a real audience by going to Scholastic Book Review. This will give you an opportunity to really encourage others to read one of your favorite books.

CREDITS

Adapted from Webquest.sdsu.edu/LessonTemplate.html located on Bernie Dodge's Training Materials Site.
Clip Art http://school.discoveryeducation.com/clipart/category/lang0001.html
A WebQuest for Plot Structure Grade 6 Designed by:K Craft
http://www.ezwebsite.org/Page.asp?PID=9544 -The WebQuest Page at San Diego State University: http://webquest.sdsu.edu/ -Aula Tecnológica Siglo XXI: www.aula21.net -Páginas dispersas: fresno.cnice.mecd.es/~avaler3 (Page generated with 1,2,3 Your WebQuest for Free -http://www.aula21.net/)