Storybook: Myth-Folklore Topics

For your Storybook project this semester, you will choose one topic that you will focus on for the entire semester. You will do research online to find traditional stories related to your topic, and you will create a Storybook containing your own versions of those stories. Last week, you got to look at some previous Storybooks when you did the Storybook Favorites assignment; you might want to start this assignment by taking a look through those past Storybooks, just to see some possibilities.

This week, you will BRAINSTORM about four possible topics that you might want to do. I'll give you some feedback about each of those topics, and then next week you will choose which topic you will work on for the rest of the semester. So, this week you will brainstorm about four possible topics - but then you will choose one topic to work on for the rest of the semester.

To get started, first re-read the comments I sent back on your Bibliography assignment last week. There might be some helpful information there! Then, take a look at this list of Storybook Subject Areas in order to get some ideas about the kinds of subjects you might want to study; each of those subject areas links to a page with more information about that subject. Make sure you provide a SPECIFIC topic. For example, "Animal Stories" is a general subject, NOT a specific topic - a specific topic would be something like "Cherokee Animal Legends" or "Stories about Spiders from Around the World." Likewise, "Fairy Tales" is a general subject, NOT a specific topic - a specific topic would be something like "Witches in Fairy Tales" or "Dragons in Fairy Tales."

For this assignment, you will discuss FOUR DIFFERENT, SPECIFIC TOPICS that you might want to do for your Storybook.

I've provided some suggestions for where to find stories on this Storybook Subject Areas page, and I am also glad to give you more specific advice about story sources online for the specific topic you are interested in. If you would like some advice about looking for stories online for a specific topic, or if you are interested in a topic that doesn't fit anywhere on the list of subjects, just send me an email and I'll send you some suggestions for where to look for stories! (Please don't put this assignment off until the last minute if you want to email with me back-and-forth before you turn in the assignment.)

IMPORTANT: So that you will understand just what you are supposed to turn in, make sure you take a look at this Sample Brainstorming assignment. If you take a look at this sample assignment, it should help answer any questions you have about just what is expected this week. If you are not sure about how to do this assignment, please contact me and let me know.

For EACH of these four possible topics that you will explore for this assignment, please make sure you include the following:

• Storybook Topic: You can put this in the form of a possible title for your Storybook if you want.
• Comments: Explain why you are interested in the topic, what you know about this topic already, what you would like to learn by working on this topic, etc.
• Possible Stories: What online books are available for this topic? Any other good online resources? What are some possible stories you could include? (You may need to do some research to answer this question; the topic pages have suggestions about online books and resources to use.)
• Sample Story: You need to find at least one story you think you would like to use for this topic. Read the story (don't just pick it based on the title!), and then comment briefly why you chose this story and what you like about it.
• Bibliography Information: Provide full Bibliography Information for the story that you include as your sample story. You need to cite an online book and/or web resource here; do not cite another student's Storybook. Please check the Sample Brainstorming assignment for examples.

When completed, this assignment should be at least 400-800 words in length, and you should spellcheck and proofread it carefully before turning it in. When you are done, send the assignment to the instructor in an email. For the subject line of the email please say Myth-Folklore Storybook Topics. Please do not send a document attachment. Just cut-and-paste the assignment into the message body of the email.

NOTE ABOUT TURN-AROUND TIME: As these assignments are turned in, they go into a stack, and I read and respond to them in the order that they are received, Monday through Friday. I do not respond to assignments over the weekend. Just how quickly I will get back to you depends on how many items there are in the stack. You can check on the contents of the stack if you want to make sure I have received your assignment. If you want comments back quickly, turn your assignment in early! If you turn it in the day that it is due, I will be much more slow in getting comments back to you because of the large number of assignments that will be in the stack.