PICTURE BOOK PROJECT based on
The Color of Water by James McBride
What is it like
to be James? Now that you have finished
the memoir, you know James’s character very well. Think back about some of the important events
that happened throughout the book. Try
to see the world through James’s eyes?
Your Task:
Pretend that you are James. You
don’t want your experiences to be forgotten and you want readers of your book
to understand the way you see things
and the way that you think. Write another version of your book, but this
time use pictures. In your book you get
to record how you felt, the things you saw, the people you met along the way,
and the experiences you had.
HERE IS WHAT WILL GO INTO
YOUR BOOK
Your book must
have between 8 and 10 pictures. Each
picture must be accompanied by a caption explaining what is happening and how
you felt at the time. Captions should be
at least 3 sentences long.
Your story must
be told in chronological order. That
means that you will have to decide which important events from his story you
want to include and you will have to put them in order.
Your pictures
must be big and clear with enough details that your readers will be able to see
what is happening. You can either draw
scenes from the story or you can use images collected from the internet or
magazines/newspapers.
Your project
must be done on nice paper. It should
not be paper ripped from your notebook.
Used colored paper, make a cover for your work and put it together
neatly and with care. Try to have fun
and be creative.
HOW TO PUT YOUR BOOK
TOGETHER
Cover: Your cover should
have artwork on it that is clearly connected to James and his story. It should have a title that is written
neatly. Make up your own new title. You should also have your teacher’s name, the
class, and the date in the bottom right hand corner.
Letter to the Reader: Your
book should have an introductory letter to the person who will be reading
it. If you were James, what would you
want people to know about you, and about what it’s like to be you? Give a brief explanation of who you are (as James)
and what the reader will find inside the book.
Table of Contents:
You must have a table of contents.
This will tell the reader what he or she will find on each page. Each page must have a number.
Maps: You must include maps
of the areas in NY and Virginia where James and Ruth lived.
Letters to James’ mother: Include
a letter to James’ mother at the end of your book. Make sure you edit it carefully. It should be written from James’s point of
view (Dear Mom…)
Place for comments from the Readers:
The last two pages of your book should be blank. This is where readers can sign their names
and leave comments about how they felt about your book. Put a heading on the top of these pages that
says COMMENTS
FROM READERS.
Your work will be
evaluated based on the following criteria:
Requirement
|
Points
|
Your score
|
Cover: Has title, is neat and artwork is clearly
connected to your story. Includes your
name, teacher’s name, class section, and date.
|
10
|
|
Letter to Reader: Introduces you, lets the readers know what
they will find in the book. This
writing must be edited and checked for grammar, spelling, and capitalization.
|
10
|
|
Pictures with
captions: Pictures must be put together thoughtfully
and they must be clear. Captions must
be well written. They should be
checked for grammar, spelling, and capitalization.
|
40
|
|
Maps: include maps of the neighborhoods where
James lived in NY, where Ruth lived in NY and
Virginia
|
10
|
|
Letters to James’ mom: Includes letter to James’ mom. They should be edited and checked well.
|
10
|
|
Table of contents,
maps and comments pages
|
10
|
|
Total possible score:
|
100
|
