Third Quarter Book Project
“Thematic Menu”
Due Tuesday, March 11th (Reminder: book projects are NOT accepted late)
Project Summary: Create a restaurant-style menu based on one
or two main themes from your chosen
novel. Include food items that reflect
the theme(s) and one paragraph describing each of the following elements: characters, setting, plot, theme.
Cover Requirements for Menu:
- Name
of restaurant – must reflect the book in some way (example: character
name, part of the book title, etc).
Typed or artistically drawn.
- Your
name, typed.
- Your
class period, typed.
- Title
of novel (typed, capitalized properly, underlined)
- Author’s
name (typed, capitalized properly)
Inside Menu Requirements:
- A minimum of 4 menu categories (examples: beverages, salads, entrees, desserts, kids cuisine, appetizers, etc)
- A minimum of 2 food items listed under each category. Each food item must represent the THEME of the novel. (examples: revengeful rice-bowl, friendship fountain soda, time-will-heal-all-things tacos) Do not use the same word twice. Use a thesaurus to find alternative words that have the same thematic meaning.
- A picture to go with each food
item (may be hand-drawn, cut out of magazines, or printed from the
computer).
- Character Paragraph: Describe the main character(s) of the book. Who are they? What are they like? Give their names, ages (or estimated ages), and descriptions of their traits and qualities. Typed, 12 point font, single spaced, minimum of 6 sentences.
- Setting Paragraph: Describe the main setting of the
book. Remember that the setting may
change several times throughout the book.
Describe the time period (past, present, future), time of year,
name of town, city, place, etc. Use sensory details to paint a picture of
each setting. Typed, 12 point font, single spaced, minimum of 6 sentences.
- Plot Paragraph: Explain the overall story. Include key plot events from the beginning, middle, and end. Typed, 12 point font, single spaced, minimum of 6 sentences.
- Theme Paragraph: List the theme(s) you’ve decided
upon for the book (2 themes max). Explain
why you’ve chosen the theme(s) based on support from the book. What happens throughout the book that
supports the theme you have chosen?
Write a THEMATIC STATEMENT for your book based on these
events. Typed, 12 point font, single spaced, minimum of 6 sentences.
Notes on Theme From Your Comp. Book
Major Theme:
An
idea the author returns to time and again. It becomes one of the most important
ideas in the story.
List of common
Thematic Topics:
love,
honor, family, hope, disappointment, war, happiness, misunderstanding, courage,
kindness, sacrifice, greed, injustice, ambition, revenge, poverty, change,
death, justice, time, success, hard work, good vs. evil, loss, maturity,
respect, fulfillment,
Examples of Thematic Statements (DO NOT USE
THESE FOR YOUR PROJECT!)
Time
helps people get over losses. Fortune
doesn’t always bring happiness. It is
wrong for strong people to take advantage of the weak. A bad situation can almost always
improve. Teenagers often have difficulty
getting along with their families.
Four places to uncover the theme:1. Themes are expressed and emphasized by the way the author makes us feel. By sharing feelings of the main character you also share the ideas that go through his mind.
2. Themes are presented in thoughts and conversations. Authors put words in their character’s mouths only for good reasons. One of these is to develop a story’s themes. The things a person says are much on their mind. Look for thoughts that are repeated throughout the story.
3. Themes are suggested through the characters. The main character usually illustrates the most important theme of the story. A good way to get at this theme is to ask yourself the question, what does the main character learn in the course of the story?
4. The actions or events in the story are used to suggest theme. People naturally express ideas and feelings through their actions. One thing authors think about is what an action will "say". In other words, how will the action express an idea or theme?
