Portfolio Title: Short Story Centered on a
Spanish Culture
Intended Course:
Spanish III
Intended Portfolio
Category: Literary Writing
Creator(s): Joy Lake and Bryan Sweasy
RATIONALE: For several weeks now you have been studying the culture of a specific Spanish-speaking culture. You have learned a great deal about that culture. Now is the time for you to synthesize that knowledge into a cohesive piece of writing.
ASSIGNMENT: Your assignment is to write, in English, a short story that has
as a focal point elements of the culture that you have been studying. Your story
should be at least 750 words in length, and should contain all of the elements
of a good short story. In your story, you MUST demonstrate an understanding of
at least FOUR of the elements of your culture listed below:
1) the geography
of the country
2) the political structure of the country
3) the history
of the country
4) the customs and traditions of the country
5) holidays
specific to that country
6) the surface features, climate, and weather of
the country
7) the economic structure of the country
8) the plant and
animal life of the country
Whichever elements you choose, keep in mind that
this is a serious writing assignment. The same care should be given to this
assignment as would be given to a writing assignment given in any other class.
CRITERIA FOR ASSESSMENT: Your paper will be graded on the following elements:
1) The story arouses a reader’s interest, making them want to read more.
2) A conflict is clearly and effectively established.
3) The plot of the
story maintains the reader’s interest and builds suspense in a clear and logical
order.
4) Descriptions of the setting are effective.
5) The characters
and dialogue in the story are effective and believable.
6) The conflict of
the story is brought to a climax.
7) The ending of the story is satisfying.
8) The story clearly demonstrates an understanding of AT LEAST four of the
areas described on the assignment sheet.
SOME EXAMPLES, IDEAS FOR YOUR STORIES: Any one of the following short story ideas COULD meet the criteria for this assignment:
1. A short story about a student from your country who comes to America (maybe as an exhange student, or maybe the parents have immigrated to this country). The story could focus on the conflict in culture.
2. A short story that focuses on a current event in your country.
Examples could include:
* A Cuban teen who, in search of a better life,
tries to cross to the USA on a rickety raft.
* An American teen in Puerto
Rico kidnapped by an extremist Puerto Rican Nationalist group
* A young US
citizen, who has spent his entire life in Panama as his father has worked as a
tugboat captain through the Panama Canal, deals with his family’s decision to
return to the USA, a country he’s never seen before, once the Panamanians take
control of the Panama Canal.
3. A short story of any genre (detective, science fiction, etc.) that is set in your country
4. A story that takes place during an important historical moment in your
country
* A story about an American ex-patriot participating in the Spanish
Civil War (Wow, see Hemingway’s For Whom the Bell Tolls!)
* A story about
the Reverend Jim Jones in Guyana
* A story about a young, poor Argentinean
during the life of Evita Peron.
5. Any story idea that allows you to fulfill the assignment!
THE PRESENTATION: Your short story is due _____________. On that day, prior
to turning in the story, each student will give an oral presenation, in SPANISH,
about his or her story, explaining the basic plot and how it relates to your
culture. Included in this presentation should be a small excerpt from your story
(approximately 100 words) translated into Spanish. The entire presentation
should be no more than five minutes in length.
SCORING GUIDE: The scoring guide for this assignment is in chart form. Click
here
to download an .RTF version of the chart, which can be read by most word
processors.
Assignment copyright 1999 Joy Lake and
Bryan Sweasy.
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