NAME______________________________
PD.B
Medieval Times Book Project
There are 2 parts to your book project. First is the general retell of the plot. Second is a reflection on your
protagonist’s most significant choice. The final copy of your book project must be typed. Complete this on
Google Docs. Share it with brussell@qcsd.org Name it –“ last name, first name, Medieval Book”
I strongly suggest you draft AS YOU READ:
Fold a piece of paper into thirds. Use this paper as a book mark and take notes on it each time you stop.
At the end of each chapter stop and write down, in note taking format, the 3 most important events
from the chapter. You should note the page and paragraph number of the events in case you
need to look back later to help you describe the event in your final copy.
When you have extension or when you have time at home, begin transposing your notes onto the
computer. By using google docs you can access your work anytime, anywhere.
Part 1(RETELL) - It must include ALL of the information listed below. Label each piece. Write in sentences.
Your paper should look just like the example I have given you, but it will be about YOUR book.
Title & Author
Characters (Name and describe your main character(s) and their role in the plot. How do they change?)
Setting (Where and when does MOST of the story take place?)
Conflict (Clearly describe the problem faced by the protagonist throughout the narrative)
Summary (Describe the important events for each part.)
Climax (Describe the high point of the story/the scene where the conflict is solved)
Resolution (Describe what happened to the characters after the conflict was solved)
Part 2 (REFLECTION) – It must address ALL of the prompts listed below.
Explain one significant, super-important, life-changing CHOICE made by your protagonist. (topic sentence)
Explain why that choice was so significant by pointing out the impact that choice had on other
characters, the plot, the climax, the resolution, the theme. In other words, you need to prove that
the choice you have pointed out really is important to the whole story. Tell ALL the effects
caused by that choice!!!
Using the same situation describe what would have happened if your character had made a different
choice. How would this have affected the story? (plot, characters, climax, resolution, theme)
NAME______________________________
PD.B
MEDIEVAL BOOK PROJECT EXAMPLE
King of Shadows by Susan Cooper
CHARACTERS:
Nat – He is the protagonist who is a young actor transported back in time to work with William Shakespeare at
the Globe Theater. Simultaneously, he is sick with the Bubonic Plague during present day times.
Harry – He becomes a good friend to Nat while Nat is in the past. He helps Nat deal with living in the past.
Roper – He causes trouble for everyone, but eventually turns out to be a nice guy because Nat saves his life.
SETTING:
Where – The story takes place in London, England.
When – The novel begins in present day but then switches to the year 1599. As the story continues, it switches
back and forth between present day and 1599.
CONFLICT: Nat is transported to the year 1599 and needs to return to present day.
(THE BOOK IS DIVIDED INTO 4 CHUNKS. THE SUMMARY WILL BE THE LARGEST PART OF
THIS ASSIGNMENT!!!!)
SUMMARY
CHUNK 1 (1-46):
- Arby has selected a group of boys from across the country to perform Shakespeare in a remake of
the famous Globe Theater.
- The boys are playing “games of trust” and one messes up and is sent home.
- While Nat reads the part of Puck for the play, Arby yells at him for his southern accent. Rachel, the
voice coach says she’ll work with him to fix the accent.
- The boys in this play are living with host families while they are in London, England.
- Nat remembers how he met Arby while playing the role of “the boy” in a community theater
production of “Henry V.”
- Nat experiences two times where he gets dizzy and loses focus. His friends are concerned.
- During his sleep, Nat rises above the Earth guided by a “hand.” In his sleep he returns to Earth.
- Nat wakes up in the year 1599. A boy named Harry helps him get up and get dressed.
- Nat helps Harry practice his lines for a play. Harry works for a man named Master Burbage.
- It switches back to present day. Nat is in the hospital. He is extremely ill. He has the Bubonic
Plague.
- (Past) Nat and Harry arrive at the Globe Theater. Harry explains to Nat how the Globe Theater
ended up being built.
- Nat meets William Shakespeare. Shakespeare explains how Nat ended up being sent to their theater
groups to play the role of Puck in the new play. (This is the same role Nat had in present day.)
CHUNK 2 (47-93):
Write the summary of the events in this part of the novel. If you wish to write your sentences in bullets,
you may do that. My example for part one is done that way. However, you still need to write in complete
sentences. If it is easier for you to just write in pargraph form, the way this explanation is written, then feel free
to type each of the four parts as a paragraph.
CHUNK 3 (93-140):
Type the summary of the events for the third part of your novel.
NAME______________________________
CHUNK 4 (140-END):
Type the summary of the events for the fourth part of your novel.
PD.B
Climax: Nat dreams of being a baby and being tossed in the air by his father. His clothes are caught by a bird
and he is carried off through the roof of the Globe Theater. When he wakes up, it is the present and he is in a
hospital room.
Resolution: The poem Shakespeare had given Nat is gone. His friends Gil and Rachel visit him. Rachel
notices the painted green leaf on Nat’s back. This is proof he really was in the past. Back at rehearsal with
Arby, Nate argues about the play. Arby explains that he is really Master Burbage from the past. The two Nat’s
had switched places in time so Shakespeare wouldn’t get the plague. Find out Shakespeare wrote “The
Tempest” for Nat.
Reflection:
A significant choice made by Nat was to pretend to be Nat Field of the past rather than try to explain
what happened to him. Because of this choice Nat gets to meet the real William Shakespeare and perform in
the Globe Theater for Queen Elizabeth I. He also learns to stop feeling sorry for himself as he realizes others
have had to overcome great heartache and sadness in their lives. Nat is an orphan whose parents died tragically.
In the past, that is not such an uncommon situation. Many are orphans due to tragedies. Living in the past gave
him the chance to experience life in a completely different way. He had no modern day appliances or
medicines.
Had Nat chosen to try and tell everyone he was from the future, the people probably would have thought
he was crazy. They would not have helped him understand what was going on. Perhaps they would have
thought he was possessed by the devil and tried to kill him or put him in prison. He probably never would have
met Shakespeare because Master Burbage wouldn’t have allowed him to go to the theater. Nat would have
continued to feel sorry for himself and never have learned to persevere through life’s sad tragedies.
Your book has been divided into 4 chunks. This chart indicates the number of pages you must read each week. The
summary for each week's pages must also be typed on your Google Doc by the due date indicated.
TITLE
Up to this page
due Jan. 30th
Pages Due
Feb.6th
Pages due Feb.
13th
Finished by Feb. 21st
Midwife's Apprentice
A Single Shard
Matilda Bone
Crispin
page 30
page 37
page 40
page 66
31-60
38-75
41-81
67-133
61-90
76-113
82-122
134-200
91-end
114-end
123-end
200-end