Final Exam-Honors

You’re Invited…

English 11 Honors Final Exam 2015 - Mrs. Baker

Background:

We are ending our year with a dinner party!  The most notable characters/authors from this year’s readings will sit down and enjoy good food and lively conversation.  Imagine a table with Gatsby, Tim O’Brien, Thoreau, Barbara Ehrenreich, Willy Loman and Sula.  What would they discuss?  How would they act?  What would they eat?

Task:

Create a script (minimum 10 pages) that includes a minimum of five of the characters/authors from at least four works of literature covered this year.  Display your knowledge of the characters’ values, dreams & beliefs as you develop the dinner party conversation.  Utilize at least 12 textual references/ quotes in the script.  Include 15 of the vocabulary words that we studied this year.  Incorporate 5 symbols from the texts.  Plan a menu that takes into account food mentioned and/or typical food of the time and setting of the core texts this year.  Present your dinner party during our final exam.

Audience:

Your classmates and teachers will be your audience.

Purpose:

The purpose of this assignment is to review the major works of literature in this course as they relate to the course essential questions.  The final product should entertain and inform your audience of some of the major themes and characters covered in this course.

11th Grade English Course Specific Questions:

1. How does literature teach us about rebellion and individual responsibility in a free society?
2. In what ways are humans connected or not to the natural world?
3. How does a work of literature function as a social commentary?
4. What does the literature studied in this course suggest about what it means to be American? What is the "American Dream?"

Procedure:

1.     Decide upon a group of three to five classmates.  Individuals who want to work solo will need to ask classmates to play various roles.

2.     Determine which characters will be invited to your dinner party.  Consider the following texts: Death of a Salesman, The Things They Carried, Walden, Grapes of Wrath, Nickel & Dimed, Sula, Paper Towns, and The Great Gatsby. You may also consider the short stories and poems we covered this year as well.   At least five characters must be in attendance from a minimum of four texts.

3.     Decide who will portray each character.

4.     Complete the “Dinner Party Graphic Organizer” to determine what character traits and details should come across in the writing.  Begin to list subjects/ topics that each character might add to the “conversation.”

5.     Determine an appropriate menu.  Add food possibilities to the “Dinner Party Graphic Organizer.” Perhaps each character is responsible for “bringing something to the table.”  Web searches with both the novel title and the word “food” may yield some interesting results.

6.     Compose the script utilizing GoogleDocs.  This is a collaborative process, but each group member should take the responsibility of one dinner party guest.  Be creative!

7.     Be sure to edit the script and rehearse.

8.     Make a list of the props and food each group member is responsible for bringing in.

9.     Show up for dinner!  You may use your scripts during the party, but try to keep the conversation flowing as naturally as possible.