The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Grade Levels

Excerpt

HUCK FINN PROJECT SHEET

Below are your choices for the project regarding the novel. Choose one of the following and do it to the best of your ability. Read all of the requirements and know that you will be assessed on creativity, your ability to connect to the novel, how much time and effort you appear to have put into the project, neatness, among other criteria which will be specified in the directions for the item you have chosen to complete. Bonus points will be rewarded for those who appear to have gone above and beyond on this project.

• Research slavery and write a report (don’t forget to type your paper and to include your works cited page) or create a powerpoint presentation (should have 10-15 slides with a works cited page for your sources) about it. In your report answer the following questions: Which were the slave states? Which were the free states? How was it determined that a new state would be free or slave? What reasons did slave states give for justifying their need for slaves? How was slavery one of the issues that led to the Civil War? Be prepared to present your findings to the class in an oral presentation. (Social Studies 100 points)
• Research the dialects of American English and write a short report to present to the class. Don’t forget your works cited page. What are the major dialects? How do dialects arise? How do they differ from one another? If possible, collect audio clips to share in your presentation. (Social Studies 100 points)
• Make a model of the raft Huck and Jim used to float down the Mississippi River. Pay attention to the descriptions of the raft in the book and be prepared to explain how you made your raft and why you included certain items on the raft. Present your creation to the class. (Art 50 points) This project will not earn as many points as others which will take more time and energy. You may want to choose another in conjunction to assure yourself a full 100-point grade.
• Using an atlas or other reference, locate the Mississippi River. How long is it? What states does it border? Research the Mississippi of the 1830s (about the time the novel takes place) and compare how the river was used then to the way it is used today. Include in your research a brief biography of Mark Twain’s life and how the Mississippi affected his life and choices. You might make some obeservations about the influences the river had on Twain regarding the books he wrote (including, but not limited to, Huckleberry Finn). Make an oral presentation of your findings to your group or class. (Social Studies 100 points)
• Make a movie poster advertising a film version of Huck Finn. You can assume that your casting budget is unlimited and that any actor/actress you want will really want the part. You are to choose 2-3 of the characters from the novel and cast them with today's stars. You need to provide a picture of the stars, and the stars should have the proper "look" for the character. Also, you are not permitted to use people cast in actual film versions of the novel. In addition to the characters, you have to choose a central image to represent the novel as a whole. This could be a symbol, setting, scene from the novel, whatever. You must also provide "critic's blurbs". You may create your own or look up what actual critics have said about the novel to include on the poster. If you make them up, you need to vaguely summarize the essence of the novel. For example, students might say something like, "A tale of true friendship..." After designing and creating the poster, you need to write a 1/2 page summary explaining why you chose the characters, the central image, and the "critic's blurbs" that you selected. The movie poster is graded separately from the justification. (Art and Humanities 50 points)

About

A list of possible projects to be completed as students read Mark Twain's novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.