C2: Reinvests Understanding of Texts

Enriched English, Second Cycle, Year 1

Names: ____________________________________

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Group: _______

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PROJECT DESCRIPTION

The story, ‘Nightmare in Yellow’ by Fredric Brown, that you have recently read is the basis of this project. Using the last two paragraphs of the story as a starter, you will write a short text to finish the story ‘Nightmare in Yellow’.

Second, you will create a visual representation of the ending/sequel to the story. To do this, you should consider the different characters and elements of the setting present in the story. Please remember that what you write should be a logical continuation to the story. This project will be done in pairs. For this project, you will use the following materials:

Story (Nightmare in Yellow)

Project Booklet

The Grammar Guide

The Longman Dictionary

Your peers

Instructions: STEP 1: READ THE STORY AGAIN Read the story again for it to be fresh in your memory. Feel free to take notes on your text about setting and characters in order for you to have all the elements you need for the task.

STEP 2: BRAINSTORMING With your partner, brainstorm on the ending that you would like to give to the story. Note down your ideas in the space provided on page 6. Remember, it needs to be based on the short story ‘Nightmare in Yellow’.

STEP 3: FIRST DRAFT Write the first draft of your paragraph(s) in the space provided on pages 7-8. Your text must satisfy the following requirements:

It must be about 200 words. It must include the following characters: the husband, the wife, and the party

guests. You can add characters if you like. It must include at least three elements of the setting of the story.

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STEP 4: PEER CORRECTION Ask one of your classmates (it must be someone from another team) to read your text. He/She

must tell you if it is logical: he/she must understand the story clearly.

This person needs to write few comments that will help you improve your text. He/She must then sign his/her name in the appropriate space on page 8.

STEP 5: CORRECTION Read your classmate’s comments and make any adjustments to your text. Those adjustments must be done in a colored pen (blue is preferred).

STEP 6: FINAL DRAFT Write your final draft in the space provided in the Final Project Booklet. Be sure to write clearly (choose the best writer between the two of you ). Also, be careful of transcription mistakes!!

STEP 7: BRAINSTORM THE FINAL SCENE With your peer, brainstorm on the scene that you want to draw in order to illustrate the story you wrote. Think about the different elements of the setting you want to emphasize in your text. Note down your ideas in the space provided on page 9.

STEP 8: FIRST DRAFT

Draw a first draft of the final scene in the space provided on page 10. It does not need to be extremely pretty or very artistic: it is just to give me an idea of what you would like your visual representation to look like.

STEP 9: FINAL DRAFT The final draft of your visual representation must be done in the Final Project Booklet. For this final draft, you can choose to do one of the following:

Draw a picture

Create a collage

Take a picture (that you take or that is taken off the Internet) HOWEVER, it must occupy the entire space in the rectangle.

Your project must be handed in to me on

NOVEMBER 14.

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Step 1: Read the Story Again

He awoke when the alarm clock rang, but lay in bed a while after he’d shut it off, going a final

time over the plans he’d made for embezzlement that day and for murder that evening.

Every little detail had been worked out, but this was the final check. Tonight at forty-six

minutes after eight he’d be free, in every way. He’d picked that moment because this was his fortieth

birthday and that was the exact time of day, of the evening rather, when he had been born. His

mother had been a bug on astrology, which was why the moment of this birth had been impressed on

him so exactly. He wasn’t superstitious himself, but it had struck his sense of humour to have his new

life begin at forty, to the minute.

Time was running out on him, in any case. As a lawyer who specialized in handling estates, a

lot of money passed through his hands – and some of it had passed into them. A year ago he’d

“borrowed” five thousand dollars to put into something that looked like a sure-fire way to double or

triple the money, but he’d lost it instead. Then he “borrowed” more to gamble with, in one way or

another, to try to recoup the first loss. Now he was behind to the tune of over thirty thousand; the

shortage couldn’t be hidden more than another few months and there wasn’t a hope that he could

replace the missing money by that time. So he had been raising all the cash he could without arousing

suspicion, by carefully liquidating assets, and by this afternoon he’d have running away money to the

tune of well over a hundred thousand dollars, enough to last him the rest of his life.

And they’d never catch him. He’d planned every detail of his trip, his destination, his new

identity, and it was fool proof. He’d been working on it for months.

His decision to kill his wife had been relatively an after thought. The motive was simple: he

hated her. But it was only after he’d come to the decision that he’d never go to jail, that he’d kill

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himself if he was ever apprehended, that it came to him that – since he’d die anyway if caught – he

had nothing to lose in leaving a dead wife behind him instead of a living one.

He’d hardly been able to keep from laughing at the appropriateness of the birthday present

she’d given him (yesterday, a day ahead of time); it had been a new suitcase. She’d also talked him

into celebrating his birthday by letting her meet him downtown for dinner at seven. Little did she

guess how the celebration would go after that. He planned to have her home by eight forty-six and

satisfy his sense of the fitness of things by making himself a widower at that exact moment. There

was a practical advantage, too, in leaving her dead. If he left her alive, but asleep, she’d guess what

had happened and call the police when she found him gone in the morning. If he left her dead, her

body would not be found that soon, possibly not for two days, and he’d have a much better start.

Things went smoothly at his office; by the time he went to meet his wife everything was ready.

But she dawdled over drinks and dinner and he began to worry whether he could get her home by

eight forty-six. It was ridiculous he knew but it had become important that his moment of freedom

should come then and not a minute earlier or a minute later. He watched his watch.

He would have missed it by half a minute if he’d waited ‘till they were inside the house. But

the dark of the porch of their house was perfectly safe, as safe as inside. He swung the crowbar

viciously once, as she stood at the front door, waiting for him to open it. He caught her before he got

the door open and then got it closed from the inside.

Then he flicked the switch and yellow light leaped to fill the room, and, before they could see

that his wife was dead and that he was holding her up, all the assembled birthday party guests

shouted “Surprise!!”

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Step 2: Brainstorming

In pairs, brainstorm on the ending that you would like to give to the story. Note down your ideas in

the space provided in the Project Booklet. Remember, it needs to be based on the two last

paragraphs of the short story ‘Nightmare in Yellow’.

He would have missed it by half a minute if he’d waited ‘till they were inside the house. But the dark of

the porch of their house was perfectly safe, as safe as inside. He swung the crowbar viciously once, as she stood

at the front door, waiting for him to open it. He caught her before he got the door open and then got it closed

from the inside.

Then he flicked the switch and yellow light leaped to fill the room, and, before they could see that his

wife was dead and that he was holding her up, all the assembled birthday party guests shouted “Surprise!!”

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Step 3: First Draft

Write the first draft of your paragraph(s). Your text must follow the following requirements: It must be long of about 200 words. It must minimally include the following characters: the husband, the wife, the

party guests. It must include at least three elements of the setting of the story. Both team mates must participate in the writing of the draft.

He would have missed it by half a minute if he’d waited ‘till they were inside the house. But the dark of

the porch of their house was perfectly safe, as safe as inside. He swung the crowbar viciously once, as she stood

at the front door, waiting for him to open it. He caught her before he got the door open and then got it closed

from the inside.

Then he flicked the switch and yellow light leaped to fill the room, and, before they could see that his

wife was dead and that he was holding her up, all the assembled birthday party guests shouted “Surprise!!”

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Step 4: Peer Comments

Ask one of your classmate (it must be one from another team than yours) to read your text.

He/She must tell you if it is logical: he/she must understand clearly the story.

This classmate needs to write few comments that will help you improve your text.

He/she must then sign his/her name in the appropriate space.

Comments:

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Classmate’s name:___________________________________________

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Step 5: Correction

Read your classmate’s comments and make adjustment to your text. Those adjustments must be done in a colored pen (blue is preferred)

Step 6: Final Draft

Write your final draft in the space provided in the Final Project Booklet. Be sure to write clearly (choose the better writer of the two of you ). Also, be careful of transcription mistakes!!

Step 7: Brainstorm the Final Scene

With your partner, brainstorm about the scene that you want to draw in order to complement the story you wrote. Think about the different elements of the setting you want to emphasize in your text. Note down your ideas in the space provided in the Project Booklet.

Characters chosen Elements of setting chosen

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Step 8: First Draft

Step 9: Final Draft

Draw your final draft in the space provided in the Final Project Booklet. Be sure to add colors

as it is indicated in the Project Description.

Draw neatly and clearly

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Evaluation Grid

Criteria 5

Exceeds expectations

4 Meets

expectations

3 Meets

expectations but needs

improvement

2 Does not

meet expectations

1 Serious

difficulties / incomplete /

not done

EVIDENCE OF UNDERSTANDING THE TEXT

The facts/ideas in the story are true to the original story (i.e.

do not contradict

the facts/ideas

in the story)

All the facts/ideas are true to the original story and

add something very logical

to the sequel.

All the facts/ideas are true to the original

story and add something

logical to the sequel.

One fact/idea is not true to the original

story and/or are

somewhat logical in

regards to the sequel.

Two facts/ideas are not true

to the original story but are not

logical in regards to the sequel.

The ideas are not true to the original

story and are not logical in

regards to the sequel.

USE OF KNOWLEDGE OF THE TEXT IN A REINVESTMENT TASK

The story contains relevant

information pertaining

to the required

elements: -Husband -Wife -Party guests -Setting

The story contains

information relevant to

all four requirements

AND Contains

additional details from the original story that

help build/enrich the sequel. The story is

also very coherent.

The story contains

information relevant to all

four requirements.

The story is coherent.

The story contains

information relevant to three out of

the four requirements

and is still coherent.

Despite being

coherent, the story contains

very little of the required

elements.

The story does not

include any of the

required elements.