The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

For this blog, you are to judge whether the original short story or the film better represents "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" by comparing and contrasting the two. Use the graphic organizer to help develop your ideas and to help support your argument while writing. When organizing your blog, you may want to designate a particular story element used in both works for each of your body paragraphs (example: one paragraph for plot, one paragraph for characters, etc).

Be sure to use quotes and/or examples from both works in each body paragraph to illustrate your claims. Your concluding paragraph is where you will make your final judgement about which work tells a better story about Walter Mitty.

Your blog should be 5 paragraphs in length, with at least six well integrated quotes or examples (at least three from each work). Steer clear from first person narration; offer your opinion with the words and idea you select.

1st Quarter Reflections

We have reached the end of 1st Quarter...can you believe it?! Now take a moment to reflect on what you have learned so far. Some questions to consider:

What are your personal struggles in ELA? Successes in ELA?
Where are you in your personal Book Challenge? 
How have your blogs been progressing since August? 
What strategies have benefited you? 
What have you learned about the world? 
How has your writing progressed?
What are your goals for ELA for the next three quarters? 

Make sure to include a topic sentence and supporting details that fully support your main idea. This blog must be at least 3 paragraphs. 

Film vs. Novel

Objective: To analyze the extent to which a filmed or live production of a story or drama stays faithful to or departs from the text or script 

This blog contains three different parts, which will in turn lead to at least three different paragraphs. Make sure to follow the TIQA format throughout your blog.

• Part 1: Select an event from the book and compare it to a scene from the film. How are they different and why?

  
  

  Part 2: Evaluate choices made by directors or actors. Below are three options to choose from or you can pick your own.
  
  

  1.  In the film, the director shows us “the community” differently from how we find out in the book. What’s different? Why do you think he chose to do it that way? How does it change the story?
  2. What do you think of the director’s choice of Brenton Thwaites to play Jonas? Does he look the way you imagined him in the book? Whom would you have chosen?
  3. The way the ending of The Giver is portrayed in the film vs. the novel.

  
  

  Part 3: What impacted your understanding of the The Giver the most - the novel or the film?

  
  

  

  
  

The Giver: Characterization & Themes

This blog will include three steps:

1- What type of character is Jonas?

Dynamic characters grow and change during a story and Static characters do not. Determine which type of character Jonas is in the story.  Answer this question using textual evidence to support your answer. 

2- Determine the theme in Lois Lowry's novel, The Giver. Analyze how this theme develops throughout the text, including its relationship to characters, setting, and/or plot. Be sure to use textual evidence to support your analysis of theme.

3- Making Connections to The Giver: Going Beyond the Book 

Based on your paired text with The Giver (the article, poem, story, etc) explain the general connection to the The Giver  - for example, it may be a common theme. Refer to your graphic organizer and work we did in class.

Lottery History

Write the history of the village from "The Lottery." Cover the last 100 years and make up five major events that you think made the town what it is.

This should be write as a narrative...be creative!