Process

Authentic Task
Throughout literature and poetry, authors use symbolism to create various effects and to evoke emotion. Symbolism helps us visualize events in a story and understand a character’s feelings. You are probably familiar with many symbols: the rose often represents love, and the cross symbolizes Christianity.

“In a White Rose,” by John Boyle O’Reilly, the color of rose is also symbolic:

THE red rose whispers of passion,
And the white rose breathes of love;
O the red rose is a falcon,
And the white rose is a dove.
But I send you a cream-white rosebud
With a flush on its petal tips;
For the love that is purest and sweetest
Has a kiss of desire on the lips.

Procedure
Step 1: Explore Symbolism
Hold a class discussion about the role of symbols in literature. Why do authors use symbols? What do symbols convey? Ask students why they think symbols are a powerful literary device.

Next, have each student read the Edgar Allen Poe poem “The Raven.” Then, read the poem out loud to the entire class and discuss the symbolism in it.

1. What does Poe want the reader to believe has happened to the author before the beginning of the poem?

2. Why did Poe use a raven instead of another bird?

3. How does the raven impact the feeling of the poem?

4. Does this poem appeal to students? Why?

Share with students that the loneliness and hopelessness in the poem are felt by everyone at some time or another. The raven helps us feel empathy for the subject of the poem.

Step 2: Introduce the Project
Let students know that they will create a bookmark that explains the symbolism found in a poem or literary work. Share the sample bookmark with students.

Read the complete version of Paul Lawrence Dunbar’s Sympathy. You may also want to read Maya Angelou’s I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, and the lyrics to Alicia Key’s Caged Bird. Ask your students to share their explanations of why the author used the “caged bird” symbolism.

Step 3: Create the Bookmarks
Have students choose a symbol in a poem or literary work that they have studied this school year. If you are confident in their skills, have them explore online resources to find symbolism in a new piece of literature.

Have students choose one part of the literary work that best represents the use of symbolism. Have them write an explanation of what the symbolism means and how it affects the work.

The front of the bookmark should include:
1. a pictorial representation of the symbol or symbolism
2. the title of the work
3. a quote from the work
4. the author’s name

The back of the bookmark should include an explanation of what the symbolism means and how it affects the work.

Have each student print a copy of his or her bookmark without his or her name. When students turn them in, be sure to log which student created which bookmark.

Step 4: Evaluate the Bookmarks
Divide students into small groups. Give each group a small collection of completed bookmarks. Have each team work together to complete one Bookmark It Evaluation for each example. Collect their responses and add them to your assessment before returning the bookmarks to students.

Step 5: Share the Bookmarks
Have students print several copies of their bookmarks on card stock, cut out each side, and glue them together. Then, place them in the library as giveaways for other students to use.

Assessment
As you complete a summative assessment on the bookmark design, evaluate (1) the appropriateness and effectiveness of their pictorial representations of the symbol, (2) the appropriateness of their quotes as a representation of the symbolism, and (3) the explanation of how the symbolism is used in the work.

Resources
Bierderman, Hans, and Hulbert, James. Dictionary of Symbolism: Cultural Icons and the Meanings Behind Them.
ISBN: 0452011183

Gibson, Michael, and Neret, Gilles. Symbolism.
ISBN: 3822850322

Symbols and Symbolism
http://www.fiu.edu/~morriss/bookword/symbols/symbolism1.html

The Gutenberg Project
http://www.gutenberg.org/

Bartleby Poetry
http://www.bartleby.com/verse/

Standards
IRA/NCTE—Standards for the English Language Arts
7. Students conduct research on issues and interests by generating ideas and questions, and by posing problems. They gather, evaluate, and synthesize data from a variety of sources (e.g., print and nonprint texts, artifacts, people) to communicate their discoveries in ways that suit their purpose and audience.

8. Students use a variety of technological and information resources (e.g., libraries, databases, computer networks, video) to gather and synthesize information and to relate and communicate knowledge.

NETS for Students—2007 Refresh
1. Creativity and Innovation
Students demonstrate creative thinking, construct knowledge, and develop innovative products and processes using technology.
Students:
b. create original works as a means of
personal or group expression.

2. Communication and Collaboration
Students use digital media and environments to communicate and work collaboratively, including at a distance, to support individual learning and contribute to the learning of others. Students:
b. communicate information and ideas
effectively to multiple audiences
using a variety of media and formats.

Find more Twist lessons in the Recipes4Success Lesson Library!

Steps for Students

Creating a Bookmark in Twist™
You can use Twist to illustrate a bookmark.

1. Open Twist.

2. Click the Canvas button on the toolbar. Click the Edit button in the Dimensions area. Change the Units pull-down menu to inches. Then, change the Width to 8.5 and the Height to 11. Click the Go Back button.

3. Use the Rectangle tool to draw vertical and horizontal bars.

4. Use the Line tool to draw lines. Change the Stroke options on the editing panel to change how the line looks.

5. Use the Pencil tool to draw freehand shapes.

6. Use the other drawing tools to complete your bookmark.

7. Click the Save button on the toolbar. Give the Twist file a name and choose a place to save it.

8. Click the Export button on the toolbar to export the bookmark as an image file.

9. At the Export Image As dialog, choose BMP from the Format pull-down menu. Click the OK button.

10. Give the bookmark file a name and choose a place to save it.

11. Click the Print button on the toolbar to print a copy of the bookmark.

12. Close Twist.