The Zom-B Project: A Cross Curricular Project between the English and
Art departments
As part of Scottish Book Trust’s Teacher Ambassador Programme English
teacher Catherine Wylie was asked to develop classroom activities around
Authors Live: Darren Shan. She coordinated The Zom-B Project, a cross
curricular collaboration between the English and Art department. Pupils were
asked to create boxes in the style of artist Joseph Cornell which represented
B, the central character from Darren Shan’s novel Zom-B.
Here she provides an outline of the 10 lessons comprising The Zom-B Project
to show you how you could run it yourself. To get the most out of this unit plan
we recommend you read Catherine’s accompanying blog entry first
http://www.scottishbooktrust.com/blog/2013/03/authors-live-darren-shan-anenglish-art-department-collaborative-project
Aims
To promote symbolic thinking
To give a range of experiences to S1
Objectives
To encourage the independent reading of a novel
To promote the discussion of issues within the novel
To create boxes in the style of Cornell to reflect character
Lesson 1 Lit 3-11a, Lit 3-02a, Lit 3-09a


Class discussion of Personal Reading habits.
Introduction of the novelist Darren Shan.
Darren Shan website used. http://www.darrenshan.com/
This was teacher led.
Note: Teachers may also want to take a look at Scottish Book Trust’s
Teachers As Readers resources which encourage teachers to bring their
reading lives into the classroom to enrich their practice.
http://www.scottishbooktrust.com/teachers-as-readers-free-ebook
Lesson 2
The novel Zom B by Darren Shan was handed out and an approach
suggested for the squeamish! More sensitive souls should read the zombie
sections as cartoon.
The novel is young adult zombie fiction with a strong teenage character.
The first person narrator has a strong voice and issues such as racism and
domestic violence are raised. At the heart of the novel is the dilemma faced
1
by the character – how can you love your father when he is everything you
despise?
The class were given two weeks to read the novel at home.
Lesson 3 Lit 3-05a
The work of Joseph Cornell, American artist, was introduced. He created
collage and boxes. http://www.josephcornellbox.com/
Images included:
Untitled (Soap Bubble Set) 1936
Object (Abeilles) 1940
Untitled (Pharmacy) 1943
Untitled (The Hotel Eden) c. 1945
Terminology included:
Surrealism
Assemblage
Juxtaposition
Pupils made notes.
Lesson 4 Lit 3-01a
The class watched Authors Live: Darren Shan, now available to watch on
demand on the Scottish Book Trust Website.
http://www.scottishbooktrust.com/podcasts/video/authors-live-darren-shan
Lesson 5 Lit 3-02a, Lit 3-09a, Eng 3-19a, Lit 3-14a, HWB 3-14a
See Pupil Planning Sheet provided at the end of this resource.
The class was divided into groups of four.
Groups comprised two girls and two boys.
A chairman and a reporter were selected by each group.
Each group discussed and noted down the incidents/qualities that make the
character B.
This included description, incidents, other characters.
One member of each group to reported back to the class.
The reality was that pupils only had time to discuss the qualities of the main
character.
Lesson 6 Eng Eng 3-19a, Exa 3-06a, Eng 3-31a
This was really a preparatory lesson before heading into the art room.
Using the Pupil Planning Sheet the groups planned how they wanted to
represent B. Questions to consider:

Box outside – what will it look like? Why? Covered/ painted?
2

Box inside – what will be there? Why?
Lesson 7 Exa 3-06a
The class were reminded of Cornell and images of his work were shown
again. The terms ‘surrealism’ and ‘assemblage’ were revised.
The class worked on making boxes that represent B.
Photographs of the work in progress were taken by pupils for PowerPoint
presentations.
Lesson 8 Exa 3-06a
Work on the boxes continued.
Lesson 9 Lit 3-09a, HWB 3-05a, HWB 3-09a, HWB 3-13a
Each group gave a PowerPoint presentation to the rest of the class about the
composition of their box and how it relates to B.
There was also a presentation on racism by a group who had been looking at
the subject in Modern Studies.
Lesson 10 Lit 3-11a, Exa 3-07a, Eng 3-17a
The pupils were given an image by Cornell.
Task: to analyse the image using the knowledge they have acquired and to
write that analysis in the form of an essay. This should feed into the art
curriculum, as well as the English curriculum
3
Pupil Planning Sheet
Task:
The box that you will make in the style of artist Joseph Cornell should reflect
your ideas of B, the narrator in the main section of Zom-B by Darren Shan.
In your group:
Select a chairman
 someone who will make sure that everyone has a fair say
 someone who will keep the group on task
Select a reporter
 someone who will report the group discussion to the class
Discuss the important aspects of the text that represent the character B.
You could list the things you noticed about B – descriptions, key incidents,
dreams.
Discuss an item or image that could best represent B.
You must think about colour, texture, pattern, size and shape of the item.
You should also discuss the box itself – how can the outside represent B?
Write your ideas below:
Aspect of B
Reference in text
Visual element
item/image/words/line
4