Staring Point: What makes Huck a good storyteller? What qualities or skills does any good storyteller have?
Help Me: Even though I have good ideas, my stories are always too short. What should I do to make them longer and more entertaining?
Activity Overview: Your task is to try your hand at storytelling--using the criteria you listed above, as well as textual evidence--to explore developments chapters 7-9 in Huck Finn.
Directions: Take out your homework question on chapters 7-9. You're going to expand upon one of them by using it to construct a narrative. To develop your tale, you group will divvy up the story, a little for each group member. Then each member constructs a narrative that explains what happens and what matters.
I will grade for the following: Clear Explanation, Good Textual Evidence, Effective Commentary
1) Huck decides he must fake his own death and executes a plan. Reading Question: Did Huck really have to stage his own death? Does he really want to sever all ties with the world he knows? What are the implications of such a drastic move?
2) Huck pushes off in his canoe, settles in on Jackson Island and discovers he is not alone. Reading Questions: What range of feelings does Huck experience once he has escaped? In your tale, include passages that capture his moods.
3) Huck encounters Jim and the two spend some time together. Reading Questions: When they find each other on Jackson’s Island, how do both Huck and Jim feel about the encounter? Are they in similar situations or are their situations fundamentally different?
4) Jim encounters Huck and tries to decide whether he should leave the boy or stay with him. Reading Questions: How does Jim feel about Huck? Find two or three moments that reveal his feelings. Also, why do you think Jim feels this way about this particular boy?