Eng 90/Barney
Literary Groups
The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien
Directions: There will be four class periods in which you will discuss The Things They Carried in
your literary groups. The roles need to be assigned for each group meeting; you must do each
role at least once. Each member must prepare for the literary group meeting and is responsible
for turning in his/her assignment. The assignments are due on the day of the group meeting.
All work done prior to class must be typed.
Fill out the schedule below with the group members’ names:
Literary Group #1: Tuesday, April 9th
Assigned Reading: The Things They Carried, Love, Spin, On the Rainy River, Enemies,
Friends, How to Tell a True War Story
Discussion Director:
Highlighter:
Illustrator:
Summarizer:
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Literary Group #2: Thursday, April 18th
Assigned Reading: Dentist, Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong, Stockings, Church
Discussion Director:
Highlighter:
Illustrator:
Summarizer:
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Literary Group #3: Thursday, May 2nd
Assigned Reading: The Man I Killed, Ambush, Style, Speaking of Courage, Notes, In the Field,
Good Form
Discussion Director:
Highlighter:
Illustrator:
Summarizer:
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Literary Group #4: Thursday, May 9th
Assigned Reading: Field Trip, The Ghost Soldiers, Night Life, The Lives of the Dead
Discussion Director:
Highlighter:
Illustrator:
Summarizer:
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1. Discussion Director
Your job is to develop six to eight questions that your group might want to discuss about this
part of the book. Don't worry about the small details; your task is to help your group talk over the
most important ideas in the reading and share their reactions. Avoid simple yes/no questions
and summary questions. Usually the best discussion questions come from your own thoughts,
feelings, and concerns as you read. The questions need to cover all stories included in the
assigned reading.
Turn in your typed questions and hand-written notes from the group discussion on each
question.
2. Highlighter
Your job is to locate four to five significant sections of the text that your group would like to
hear read aloud. The idea is to help people remember some interesting, powerful, funny,
puzzling, or important sections of the text. You decide which passages or paragraphs are worth
hearing, and then plan how they should be shared. You can read passages aloud yourself, ask
someone else to read them, have people read them silently and then discuss, or read portions
of dialog as if you were reading a play.
Turn in the typed quotes with page numbers (for longer quotes, you may type out the
beginning and ending) and hand-written notes for each quote from the group discussion.
phrases.
3. Illustrator
Your job is to draw some kind of visual image related to the reading. It can be a sketch, cartoon,
diagram, flow chart, map, or a floor plan. You can draw a picture of something that is discussed
specifically in the reading, something that the reading reminded you of, or a picture that conveys
any idea or feeling you got from the reading. You may also find pictures or graphics, rather than
produce them yourself, although you are encouraged to exercise your own creativity in this role.
You may show your picture without comment to the others in the group. One at a time, they get
to speculate what your picture means, to connect the drawing to their own ideas about the
reading. After everyone has had a say, you get the last word: tell them what your picture means,
where it came from, or what it represents to you.
Turn in your picture and typed explanation of the picture (1/2 page). Include the
significance of the image and why you chose to represent that scene or image.
4. Summarizer
Your job is to prepare a brief summary of the reading. The summary should convey the essence
of the reading assignment, including main ideas and key events. You will summarize the
reading for the group first before the discussion begins.
Turn in 1-2 page typed summary the reading.
EXTRA CREDIT
On each literary group meeting day, you may turn in one extra credit assignment for 10 points.
Researcher: Your job is to dig up some background information on any topic related to the
book. This might include any of the following content:
The geography, weather, culture, or history of the book's setting.
Information about the author, his/her life, and other works
Information about the time period portrayed in the book.
Pictures, objects, or materials that illustrate elements of the book
The history and derivation of words or names used in the book
Music, art, or foods that reflect the book or the time
This is not a formal research project. The idea is to find information or material that helps your
group understand the book better. Investigate something that really interests you---something
that struck you as puzzling or curious while you were reading. Please do not simply churn out
webpages, though. You should be able to tell your group about what you found in your own
words.
Turn in a brief (1/2 – 1 page) typed description of the information that you found. Include
the source.