“A River Runs Through It” Student Resources
  Assignments, handouts, etc.

Overview (1 page PDF)
Assignment Checklist (1 page PDF)
Detailed Assignment Guidesheet
Daily Assignment Schedule - 2-page table (PDF)

Quotes (PDF)
Quotes from the novel
More quotes from the novel
Images from the movie

Ning Space
Google Page Creator

Discussion Schedule (have the reading finished by these dates)

Tuesday, May 14 (1-47)
Monday, May 19 (48-63)
Thursday, May 22 (64-79)
Wednesday, May 28 (80-95)
Monday, May 30 & June 2 (96-104)

Writing and Performance Assignment Schedule (late work not accepted)

“Where I’m From” poem due May 20
“Character Sketch” due May 23
“Essay of Place” due May 29
Oral Poetry Slam June 4
“Persuasive Essay” due June 6
Finished Google Web site June 6

Essential Questions

What is “the chief end of man"--or, in other words, what is the purpose of life?
Why can we never leave our youth and childhood behind?
Can fly fishing, or any art, take the place of religion in a person’s life?
In what ways do men and women tend to differ? In what ways are they the same?
What should the relation between men and women be?
What is place? What role does it play in our lives?
What is “it” in “a river runs through it.”

Discussion Questions

A River Runs Through It, like Huckleberry Finn, features a river as a central image. In what ways are the rivers in these two novels similar? In what ways do they differ?
What does Norman get from fishing? Why does it matter to him?

Overview

First, write a “Where I’m From” poem to use in the personal profile of your Ning page.

Then, create a Web page with four quotations from the book and four photographs that illustrate the quotations. These quotations each communicate a different piece of information about the novel:

• a quotation that shows the importance of place (the setting) in the novel
• a quotation that shows the relationship between two characters (e.g., for A River Runs Through It, the two brothers)
• a quotation that helps establish a metaphor explored in the book (e.g., for A River Runs Through It, the river or fly-fishing is a metaphor for life)
• the quote from the novel, the one passage or quotation that captures the essence, the true meaning, of the novel for you

Next, write three hyperlinked pieces: an essay of place, a character sketch and a persuasive essay explaining the quotation you’ve chosen as the quotation of the book

While you’re reading, keep a response reading journal that collects quotations from your readings. Include these details for each journal entry:

• Date.
• Two significant quotations from the day’s reading and the page number that they appeared on.
• Personal connections between your own life and events in the day’s reading.
• Two interesting questions you want to discuss further in class.

Assignment Guide Sheet

Assignment 1: “Where I’m From” poem (May 20)

Put this poem on your Ning page as your personal profile. Here’s a template to use in writing the poem.

This blog post has a list of links to student “Where I’m From” poems

Assignment 2: Four quotations on your home page (using Google Page Creator) with explanatory paragraphs

Choose quotes from the novel and four photographs that illustrate the quotations. These quotations each communicate a different piece of information about the novel:

* a quotation that shows the importance of place (the setting) in the novel
* a quotation that shows the relationship between two characters (e.g., for A River Runs Through It, the two brothers)
* a quotation that helps establish the metaphor explored in the book (e.g., for A River Runs Through It, the river or fly-fishing is a metaphor for life)
* the quote of the novel, the one passage or quotation that captures the essence, the true meaning, of the novel for you

Write a paragraph giving a “close reading” of each quote and post this below the quote.
Assignment sheet for quotations

Assignment 3: Character Sketch (May 23)

Write a character sketch of someone who has had some special meaning in your life. Provide specific details about the person and your relationship, and explain how this person helped form you into who you are today.

Publish your character sketch on your Ning blog. Later, you will move it to your Google web site, and at that time you should make a link to the quotation that youve chosen from your novel which shows the relationship between two characters.  If possible, include a photograph (recent or historical).

Gathering thoughts for a character sketch

Respond to the following prompts, allowing several minutes for writing answers to each question, to begin gathering details and ideas for their character sketches:

1. Think about the person you want to write about--why is this person important to you? why do you want to tell someone else about him or her?
2. Now that you have a particular person in mind, focus on giving your readers a strong image of the person. First, what do you see when you look at the person? How does the person dress? Describe the person’s gestures or facial expressions.
3. Next, talk about how the person talks. What topics does the person talk about? What kind of words does the person use? What makes you recognize this persons voice?
4. What values are important to this person? What does the person care most about, and how can you tell?
5. Think of a specific time you were with this person. Briefly tell the story of your time together--just get your ideas down. You can expand on them later.
6. What kind of emotional reaction do you want your reader to have to this person? How do you want your reader to feel after reading about him or her?

Character Sketch Assignment Sheet (1 page PDF)
Example of a character sketch
Character Sketch: Sample sentences

Assignment 4: Essay of Place (May 29)

Write a descriptive essay about a place that has had some special meaning in your life--a place that is still a part of you. Provide specific physical details about the place, and explain how this place helped form you into the person you are today.

As you get started, take a few minutes to think about how you want to order your essay: What will you summarize? What will you dramatize? Will you use chronological order or flashback?

Publish your essay of place on Ning then solicit comments on it. When it is finished, post a copy on your Google web page along with at least one photograph. Link the page to the quotation of place that you’ve chosen from your novel.

Here’s a complete unit I wrote for “Writing an Essay of Place.” It’s a larger process than I’m asking you to do, but it’s a good source of ideas.

Essay of Place Assignment Sheet (2 page PDF)
Essays of Place written by Montana high school students

The hunger for place is a hunger for orientation in a universe that cannot be known. Think of the consummate folly of attempting to go away from here when the constant endeavor should be to get nearer and nearer here.

Here are all the friends I ever had or shall have, and as friendly as ever. . .A man dwells in his native valley like a corolla in its calyx, like an acorn in its cup.

Here, of course, is all that you love, all that you expect, all that you are.

Henry David Thoreau

Assignment 5: Persuasive essay arguing for your view of A River Runs Through It and including what you think is the quotation that best gets to the heart of the novel. (June 6)

If you really want to get better at this sort of writing, read this little essay, ”Writing about an idea or a theme in a literary work,” very carefully. Underline things and think about them.

Assignment 6: Turn in your reading journal. It should include at least 5 entries, and each entry should include the following:

date
2 quotations with page number
notations making personal connections
2 interesting questions you want to discuss further in class

Assignment 7: Participate meaningfully in class seminars on the novel, focusing on close reading of passages in the novel. Come prepared with your reading journal and with questions to discuss. These discussion may take place orally or they may take place online, using the Ning Forum.

Extra Credit:

1. Poetry Slam: Oral reading of your “Where I’m From Poem” suitable for uploading to You Tube
2. Original photography illustrating your “essay of place” and character sketch.
3. Best 3 Google Web pages: 40 bonus points (completeness, thoughtfulness and beauty)

Handouts and Notes

“Close Reading” from the Atlantic Monthly

Poem: “A Ritual to be Read to Each Other” by William Stafford

Planning sheet
Essays will be scored using this rubric

It’s tricky to get photos to school, since they’re blocked in email and flickr is also blocked. Try to insert your photos at home. If you can’t do this, you can upload photos to Mosaic, then download them at school so you can insert them into your webpage. See me for a demonstration.

From NCTE