Literary Circles - Visual Representations

Objective:  Each group member will create a finished product which visually represents the characteristics of one central theme, character, conflict or symbol from the novel.  These will then be combined to form a visual representation for the entire group. 

Procedure: Each group member must first choose one theme, character, conflict or symbol from the novel that he/she wants to focus on for this assignment.  If you’re having difficulties, consider the following:

-Who is the central character? What are the interests/passions of this character?  With who/what are they in conflict?  What is the cause of this conflict?  Are there any themes, symbols, words, phrases, mental pictures or anything else that seem to reoccur throughout the book so far?  Is there anything in the book that seems to symbolize something else? 

Once you’ve chosen your topic, take time to pull three (3) words or phrases DIRECTLY from the text that represent your topic.  Make sure to write down the page number you found these words and give this information to the group’s recorder.    These words or phrases will act as the foundation for the visual representation you will create. 

Requirements:  You are assigned to create a poster/collage that represents your topic.  The poster must include

• Hand-drawn illustrations/artwork
• Hand written textual representations (including 5 words pulled from text)
• Pictures/Visuals from magazines
• Text/Letters from Magazines
• Must be neat, colorful have minimal blank space
• Incorporate three words or phrases directly taken from the novel
• Approximately 8 ½ x 11” (or small enough that you can combine yours with the rest of your group members’ and it won’t overshadow them or dominate the collage)

Once each group member has finished his/her visual representation, all of them will be attached to a larger poster board which will act as a visual representation of the book for your entire group. 

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Collage Tips:

1. Pick one or two strong contrasting colors that are good representations of the topic. (i.e. yellow & purple)

·         Pick one color for background, one for other images. Think about tone/shade of colors.

2. Have one central image (you can overlay on top, but a central image draws the eye into the main idea of the collage).
3. Juxtapose images and text. Use minimal amounts of text. The text you do use should be powerful, provocative.
4. Think about texture. How can patterns add or detract from your collage?