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Superheroes

Great stories have great characters... every time. If you want to create real and exciting characters in your writing you need to look around and draw from your real life. That's what we will be doing for this assignment -- literally.

In this project, students will use a wide variety of techniques to generate unique and well rounded characters. They will create superhero characters by using models from their own lives and produce both artwork and writing that will help to flesh the characters out.


The Superhero unit will be made of five assignments:
  1. Letter of Permission
  2. Story
  3. Sketch
  4. Graphic Novel Page
  5. Evidence



Letter of Permission

You can't just turn someone's life into a story without their permission. Their lives are super important to them. You must learn how to ask permission to use someone else’s life in a writing project.

Assignment
Write a letter asking permission to use someone's life as the basis for a superhero story.

Assignment Requirements:

  • the person you select must be at least 20 years older than you

  • you must know the person personally



Story

Assignment

Write a factious character bio about someone you really know. Pretend that the life that they've been leading is in fact a cover for their real life... the life of a superhero!


Assignment Requirements:

  • superhero character must be school appropriate and heroic

  • is written in first-person point-of-view

  • No less than 550 words

  • spelling and grammar are correct


Character Story Content:

  • includes a description of who you thought the person was

  • includes how you discovered who the person really is

  • includes a short event where you help the superhero

  • includes a conclusion

  • superhero is truly unique



A

B

C

NI / NC

Content

Character Bio has extra content that adds a richness to the story without feeling too long

Character Bio some extra content that doesn’t drag the story on

Character Bio has all required content

Character Bio is missing some required content

Creativity

The superhero leaps off the page. The character is unique, engaging and believable.

Extra care was taken to add depth to the superhero

The superhero is a unique and interesting character

The superhero is not unique or is boring


.




Sketch


Assignment
Draw a full page sketch of your superhero

(10 points)



A

B

C

NI / NC

Drawing

Drawing is expressive and detailed. Shapes, color, and/or shading are used to add interest to the drawing. Student has great control and is able to experiment a little.

Drawing is expressive and somewhat detailed. Little use has been made of color or shading. Student has basics, but had not "branched" out

Drawing has few details. It is primarily representational with very little use of color or shading.

The drawing lacks almost all detail OR it is unclear what the drawing is intended to be.

.




Graphic Novel Page

Assignment
Pretend that you are commissioned to write a full graphic novel starring your superhero. Pick any page in your graphic novel to draw. Use tension or crisis to add drama to your page. Add dialogue and/or narration.

(10 points)



A

B

C

NI / NC

Words

The narration or dialogue compliments the action on the page perfectly

The narration or dialogue adds to the page’s drawings

The narration or dialogue fits with the page’s drawings

The narration or dialogue is lacking or detracts from the page

Scene Selection

It is evident that story drafting was done in planning the scene. The reader wants more.

There is a high sense of drama in the selected scene

The scene selected is interesting

The scene selected is uninteresting

Drawing

Drawing is expressive and detailed. Shapes, color, and/or shading are used to add interest to the drawing. Student has great control and is able to experiment a little.

Drawing is expressive and somewhat detailed. Little use has been made of color or shading. Student has basics, but had not "branched" out

Drawing has few details. It is primarily representational with very little use of color or shading.

The drawing lacks almost all detail OR it is unclear what the drawing is intended to be.


Here are some examples.

 Batman - Scotty McDaniel
 Pulse - Peter White
Maximum Lifespan - Ed Park
Black Cat - Chrissy and Jivani
 





Grading for Evidence

Assignment
Create some evidence that your person is really a superhero. e.g. a item from their “supersuit,” a certificate of membership in the “Super League of Awesomeness,” etc.

Create a small card like you'd read in a museum that describes the evidence. The card should answer most of these questions:
  • What is it and what does it do?
  • What is the evidence disguised as? How does the evidence disguise itself?
  • How did you find it?

(10 points)

A

B

C

NI / NC

Evidence

Evidence is evoking and has a story. It looks real and/or functions authentically

Evidence has added details to make it more compelling

Evidence is primarily representational

Evidence is lacking is creativity or looks like something from your locker.



Put It All Together

Assignment
Create a webpage on your student site to host all of your work. Put them in this order: 
  1. Sketch
  2. Story
  3. Evidence
  4. Graphic Novel Page
  5. Letter of Permission
Once you are finished, show Mr Incorvia and then email the address to the person your superhero is based on.