Stephen King
WebQuest
Stephen King was born in Portland,
Maine in 1947, the second son of
Donald and Nellie Ruth Pillsbury King.
He made his first professional short
story sale in 1967 to Startling Mystery
Stories. In the fall of 1973, he began
teaching high school English classes at
Hampden Academy, the public high
school in Hampden, Maine. Writing in
the evenings and on the weekends, he
continued to produce short stories and
to work on novels. In the spring of
1973, Doubleday & Co., accepted the
novel Carrie for publication, providing
him the means to leave teaching and
write full-time. He has since published
over 40 books and has become one of
the world's most successful writers.
Stephen lives in Maine and Florida with
his wife, novelist Tabitha King. They
are regular contributors to a number of
charities including many libraries and
have been honored locally for their
philanthropic activities.
The Quest
You are a part of a world renowned journalist team. Your team will be responsible for creating a
presentation for the International Council of Literature recommending Stephen King for an award.
The presentation will have to contain specific details about King and his works.
Use the internet and books to gather information. You will present the information gathered in a
power point presentation. You cannot just copy and paste your information from the internet in a
word document and call it yours. It must be an original final product, with any quotations properly
cited. You must include, at least, 15 slides in your power point. This is due Friday, April 11, 2014.
Step One— Personal Information
What are 15 interesting new facts you learned about King? Why are they interesting? Find at
least three personal fears of King’s. How was King's wife responsible for Carrie getting
finished?
Step Two— Books
List 5 books written by King. Include a short description of each book and a picture of the
book cover.
Step Three— Reading
Read 2 short stories or one novel or novella. Write a review of each short story, novel or
novella.
For help on writing a review:
http://www.infoplease.com/homework/wsbookreporths.html
Step Four— Movies
Name at least three movies which were based on Stephen King’s novels. Include a short
description of the movies.
Step Five— Documentation
Compose a list of all the sites you obtained your information from, and make a bibliography
(which must be turned in with your final project). You must have, at least, 5 different
sources on your bibliography.
Tips on How-To Write a Proper Bibliography
Step Six— Personal Reflection Summary Paper
You will write a one page paper describing your personal reflection to this project. It should
include the reasons why you do or do not feel personally connected to your author. You
should also reflect on the aspects (parts) of this project that you enjoyed as well as those you
did not like. Think and write about the things you think you did well and those that you
think needed to be improved upon. Click here for some questions to help you get started
with your writing of this assignment.
Step Seven— Presentation
Prior to the first student presentations the classroom teacher advises students of the three
(3) components (parts) of their presentations.
1. Manner Presented To Audience: The manner in which you present your product to the
audience (your fellow classmates and teacher.)
Silly, laughing, giggling and getting distracted during the presentation?
2. Prepared, organized, and truly did your best to showcase your product in a meaningful
way?
3. Attentiveness and Respect: Amount of attentiveness and respectfulness shown to others
during their presentations.
Resources
General Information
http://www.stephenking.com/
http://www.stephenking.com/biography_pf.html - A good printable biography
http://www.macmillanenglish.com/uploadedFiles/stephenKing_ads.pdf
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_King
http://www.stephenkingnews.com/
http://www.horrorking.com/
biography, books, movies
http://people.monstersandcritics.com/archive/peoplearchive.php/Stephen_King/biog
FAQ about Stephen King
http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/sking.htm
The A to Z of Stephen King
Interviews
Amazon.com interview
Amazing Authors Showcase interview
Amazon Fishbowl with Bill Maher- Stephen King interview
HorrorKing interview
Stephen King Shop interview
Short Story Collections
Night Shift
Different Seasons
Skeleton Crew
Four Past Midnight
Nightmares and Dreamscapes
Everything's Eventual
Evaluation
Students will be graded on the quality of their writing as well as the content of their final project.
Have you revised your writing so that your finished product is reflective of your best effort? Is the
final product and presentation informative, and does it invoke a curiosity to further explore the
works of the author? Does your book review generate interest in the novel without giving away too
many details of the plot which would destroy the story? Is the Personal Information section
interesting and accurate? Is your final project visually appealing? A Student Self Evaluation
Assessment is a good way to have students become responsible for their own learning.
Conclusion
After completing this project, you will have learned a lot more about Stephen King and his work
than you knew at the beginning. In addition, your project will create interest in the King's work and
encourage others to read his works.
You can now continue to expand your knowledge and find some other horror authors you'd like to
become an expert on.
Teacher Resources
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