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Name: _____________________________________                       Tom Sawyer Book Report Project

Due Date: 3/19

As we wrap up work on Tom Sawyer, it’s time to begin work on our book report projects.  This book report provides you with several choices of project, so you can choose the one that seems the most appealing to you.  Choose any one of the following options:

Option 1: A Comic Strip

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is comprised of a series of episodes.  An episode is an event that is part of a much larger plot that contains its own conflict and resolution.  Choose any one episode from Tom Sawyer.  Create a comic strip of minimum 8 panels depicting the episode.  Each panel is to be no smaller than one half of a single piece of regular sized paper and must contain either a caption or dialogue bubbles.  Each panel must be in full color, and the illustration must take up the entire panel.  Note: this option is intended for those who have genuine interest in art.  If you do not consider yourself proficient in drawing, do not choose this option! 

Option 2: An Imaginary Diary

The obvious protagonist of Tom Sawyer is Tom himself.  However, novels are full of countless other secondary (or supporting) characters.  Choose one of them from Tom Sawyer and write 4 separate diary entries from that character’s perspective.  Each entry must be a minimum of 7 sentences.  Be sure to communicate that character’s thoughts, feelings, and actions during real events that occur in the story.  For example, if you have chosen to write as Huck, write an entry describing how Huck is feeling while on Jackson’s Island watching Tom and Joe try to smoke.  You will be assessed on creativity as well as how accurately you portray the events of the book.

Option 3: Writing a Play

Before reading Tom Sawyer, we spent some time reading examples of drama and screenplays.  Pretend you are a movie director, and you have decided to make a movie version of Tom Sawyer.  Write the script for a scene that will appear in your movie.  Use the plays we read in class together as guides for your format.  It must include at least 20 significant lines of dialogue (a significant line is one that is at least a complete sentence), and stage/camera directions.  You must be sure that your dialogue exemplifies colloquialism (writing in a way that models speaking) and should include archaic language. 

Option 4: Writing an Obituary

Obituaries are found in your newspaper and are used to report the deaths of community members.  We spent a great deal of time discussing Tom Sawyer’s obsession with death.  Now, let’s pretend that several characters in the story actually die.  First, find the obituary section of your local newspaper and read a few examples.  Then, write obituaries of your own for Tom Sawyer, Becky Thatcher, Huck Finn, and Aunt Polly (imagine they have died shortly after the conclusion of the novel).  Each obituary should include their age of death (you may need to approximate), accomplishments in life (use the novel for examples), and a listing of family members who they have left behind.