Name ____________________________________ Date ____________________ Short Literature Project on the Role of Women Directions: You will be put into

groups of four or five to complete the following project on the role of female writers in literature. Each member will be responsible for a separate section of the project. Each group will have a leader to make sure that all individuals are on task. If the team leader feels that someone is not pulling his or her weight, that individual is required to come to me to explain the situation. Even though this is a group project, each member must contribute equally in order for the final presentation to come out well. At the end of your project you will be presenting to the class. Once again, each individual is required to present a portion of the presentation to the group. Be sure that you have practiced as a group so that you are well organized. Each group should use power point to present to the class. You will be based on the following criteria: vocal projection, eye contact, visual element, content, organization, and an overall group grade. The Components Task 1: Authors biography In this section you will provide a biography of your author. Explain the environment that she grew up in. How did culture influence your writer? What was going on in the country at the time that she was writing? Did these events influence her writing? You must use at least three outside resources to get your information from. Remember that you must cite all of the websites and articles that you use. Task 2: Critical analysis of the text You should point to specific passages that show stylistic devices of the writer. How do these passages connect back to the biography of the author? When choosing specific passages be sure to type it up so that the class can see the section you are referring to. Think of this as a verbal essay, you must have a thesis and be able to prove your argument through the use of the text. Task 3: Outside literary criticism What did other people say about this text? You must go onto google and proquest to find outside articles about the story. How did people react to the text at the time that it came out? How do people react to the text in present day? You may use articles from The Story and its Writer, but you must use at least two other articles to reference. Remember that you must cite all of the websites and articles that you use. Task 4: Screenplay Take one or more scenes from the short story and adapt it as a screenplay. The screenplay must be between 3-4 pages. Use the Celtx program to help format and organize your screenplay (www.celtx.com). You may interpret the scene in any way that you wish. This means that you may change the setting and actions, but not

the overall concept of the short story. This section will only present the idea and concept for the screenplay. They are not required to read the screenplay to the class. Task 5: Conclusion What conclusion does your group come up with about your chosen author? Is she a good representation of female writing during the time period? Be creative and make sure that you leave the audience thinking about your author and your presentation. Requirements for presentation: Each person must speak for at least two minutes. This means that presentations will be at least 15 minutes long. Presentations must not go beyond 18 minutes long. The group must put together a power point or another visual presentation that can be used on the computer. Each person may use note cards to organize the presentation. You may not need the note cards if your notes are on the power point. Each individual must practice his or her part at least fives times to truly understand content and transitions in the presentation. It is imperative that you are not absent on the day that your group is going. Not only will you leave your group in a poor position, but you will still have to present when you get back. If you are cutting the day you are assigned to present, then you will automatically fail the project.

Stories and Authors: I Stand Here Ironing by Tillie Olsen The Shawl by Cynthia Ozick The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin

Name _______________________________________ Short Literature Roles in Presentation

Date ___________________

You must assign all of the following roles so that everyone in the group understands his or her responsibility. 1. Leader of the group Responsible for organizing the group and making sure that everyone stays on task. This individual should not be someone who will feel bad to tell people to take responsibility for their section of the project. In addition, this person should organize the order of the presentation so that it runs smoothly in front of the class. The leader must still take another role in the presentation, but be sure to designate yourself with an equal amount of work. Leader of the group _______________________________________________________ 2. Authors biography Two people will work together to gather information about the time period and the author. One person should concentrate on the events of the time period, while the other person should concentrate on the life of the author. How do these life events affect the subject matter and stylistic choices in the short story? Time period expert ________________________________________________________ Authors biography________________________________________________________ 3. Critical analysis of the text Either one or two people can do a critical analysis of the text. If there are two people, each person must provide a different interpretation of the text. The individual must come up with a main argument about the text (a thesis) and prove the argument. Remember that your thesis statement must be arguable and provable. Use specific sections of the text to prove your argument. Be sure to cite where you get the information from the text.

Expert in the text _________________________________________________________ Expert in the text _________________________________________________________ 4. Outside literary criticism Either one or two people may research what literary critics say about the text. Find articles on the internet (you will find many on proquest, which you can access by using the following codes .) You must report to the class about what these articles stated, and then give your response to the articles. Each person must be responsible for at least two articles. Reporter on outside literary criticism _________________________________________ Reporter on outside literary criticism _________________________________________