Stage 1 Tasks
(Choose 3 of 7)
Author biography
Search on the internet for information about the life of the author of your book. Download or copy and paste about 100 words, print it and sign and date the hard copy.
Example:
J.K. Rowling was born in Chepstow, Gwent in 1965, and her full name is Joanne Kathleen Rowling. Her writing career started at the age of six when she wrote a story called Rabbit. Since then she has graduated from Exeter, worked as a teacher and been an unemployed single parent. Divorced and living on public assistance, she wrote Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone at a table in a café during her daughter's naps. When Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone was bought and published by Bloomsbury in 1997 her life changed dramatically. The Harry Potter series has since then won numerous awards and become a tremendous success around the world.
Back cover for your book
Produce a back cover on A4 or A5 paper. You may design it on a computer and print it out.
Include a blurb which invites the reader into the book. This can include;
an idea of what the story is about
what kind of story it is
how the story begins
'teasers' to make you read the book
Include at least two “shout lines” - these are enthusiastic quotes from reviewers, saying how good the book is.
You can see an example of a back cover here.
Character profile (fiction only)
Imagine you are the author of the book. You want to keep a file of details about all the characters. Choose one of the main characters. Download and fill in this sheet.
You can see what this sheet might look like when it is filled in here.
Review
Word process a short review (about 50 words long) and e-mail it to your teacher.
Example:
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J K Rowling
The book of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is full of exciting action from the beginning to the end. You will be hanging on to the edge of your seat all the time. It's an excellent book full of adventure and fantasy, and if you liked the other four you must read this one.
Five Star Rating: * * * *
Adam Robinson
List of other books by the author of your book (bibliography)
Find out the titles of other books (all of them, or 10 if they have written more than that) by the same author. Write or print them on a sheet.
Report on two other non-fiction sources
Find two other sources of information on the same topic as your book, eg magazine, internet, other books, newspaper article.
The topic can be anything, from cars to Canada, animal rights to Arnold Schwarzenegger.
In a short report, briefly compare the two sources and describe the best features of each.
Example:
I read “Sea Warfare” then found two other sources about battleships. Here are my opinions of these sources:
“Battle Stations”
“Battle Stations” is a TV program which looks at weapons of war. There was a program devoted to war ships from 1800-2003.
“Military Factory”
“Battle ship design” is an website about weapons. It has a section about battleships which goes into detail about their history.
The best one was “Battle Stations” because it uses clear language accompanied by film footage of warships so you can see and hear about them. The best thing about the website was that you could get detailed information about individual ships.
by Jonathon Rendall
Sequel to your novel
Make brief notes in bullet point form for a sequel to your novel:
• Decide where and when it will be set
• Introduce a new character
• Give one of your characters a problem
• Solve the problem/ end the story
Example:
Red Riding Hood II
• Red Riding Hood is now 14
• She moves to the city
• She goes to visit her aunt who lives there, taking some of her grandmother’s home-made jam
• She meets a beggar
• She gives him the jam
• He turns out to be a TV reporter pretending to be a beggar
• She features on his programme and becomes a celebrity
Search on the internet for information about the life of the author of your book. Download or copy and paste about 100 words, print it and sign and date the hard copy.
Example:
J.K. Rowling was born in Chepstow, Gwent in 1965, and her full name is Joanne Kathleen Rowling. Her writing career started at the age of six when she wrote a story called Rabbit. Since then she has graduated from Exeter, worked as a teacher and been an unemployed single parent. Divorced and living on public assistance, she wrote Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone at a table in a café during her daughter's naps. When Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone was bought and published by Bloomsbury in 1997 her life changed dramatically. The Harry Potter series has since then won numerous awards and become a tremendous success around the world.
Back cover for your book
Produce a back cover on A4 or A5 paper. You may design it on a computer and print it out.
Include a blurb which invites the reader into the book. This can include;
an idea of what the story is about
what kind of story it is
how the story begins
'teasers' to make you read the book
Include at least two “shout lines” - these are enthusiastic quotes from reviewers, saying how good the book is.
You can see an example of a back cover here.
Character profile (fiction only)
Imagine you are the author of the book. You want to keep a file of details about all the characters. Choose one of the main characters. Download and fill in this sheet.
You can see what this sheet might look like when it is filled in here.
Review
Word process a short review (about 50 words long) and e-mail it to your teacher.
Example:
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J K Rowling
The book of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is full of exciting action from the beginning to the end. You will be hanging on to the edge of your seat all the time. It's an excellent book full of adventure and fantasy, and if you liked the other four you must read this one.
Five Star Rating: * * * *
Adam Robinson
List of other books by the author of your book (bibliography)
Find out the titles of other books (all of them, or 10 if they have written more than that) by the same author. Write or print them on a sheet.
Report on two other non-fiction sources
Find two other sources of information on the same topic as your book, eg magazine, internet, other books, newspaper article.
The topic can be anything, from cars to Canada, animal rights to Arnold Schwarzenegger.
In a short report, briefly compare the two sources and describe the best features of each.
Example:
I read “Sea Warfare” then found two other sources about battleships. Here are my opinions of these sources:
“Battle Stations”
“Battle Stations” is a TV program which looks at weapons of war. There was a program devoted to war ships from 1800-2003.
“Military Factory”
“Battle ship design” is an website about weapons. It has a section about battleships which goes into detail about their history.
The best one was “Battle Stations” because it uses clear language accompanied by film footage of warships so you can see and hear about them. The best thing about the website was that you could get detailed information about individual ships.
by Jonathon Rendall
Sequel to your novel
Make brief notes in bullet point form for a sequel to your novel:
• Decide where and when it will be set
• Introduce a new character
• Give one of your characters a problem
• Solve the problem/ end the story
Example:
Red Riding Hood II
• Red Riding Hood is now 14
• She moves to the city
• She goes to visit her aunt who lives there, taking some of her grandmother’s home-made jam
• She meets a beggar
• She gives him the jam
• He turns out to be a TV reporter pretending to be a beggar
• She features on his programme and becomes a celebrity