Famous Authors: Great Masters and Great Works in Writing

By: Joshua William Brannen, Emmanuel College

Introduction

Students will select one of 6 authors and present a brief history about who they were and one of their most famous works to the class. Students will be split into groups of four and have special jobs to perform individually in their presentation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tsxd5IlRTo

Watch the video above to get a good idea about famous authors, as all of the writers I will assign to groups are contained in this video. Famous authors come from all sorts of backgrounds, countries, cultures, etc..., so be ready to go embrace authors you've never heard of before, and research their stories.

Task:

The students will be divided into 6 different groups of 4. Each group will be given an author, and that author will either be Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Leo Tolstoy, William Shakespeare, Flannery O'Connor, Jane Austen, or Mark Twain. Each group will be assigned a specific author by random selection.

Groups will look into an author and present them to the class. For each member of the group, a specific assignment will be assigned to them in the presentation:

• Researcher About Author: This individual will look into the background of the author, and give a brief history of the author, which will include birth and death, family history, and most memorable work.
• Researcher About an Important Work: This individual will research a specific work written by the author assigned to them, and the group will decide which work this student will look into. The student will research what the work was titled, when it was published, what it was about, and why it was so significant.
• Researcher About Style of Author: This individual will research the style the author used in the important work decided by the group. This student will look into the style of the author and read an example to the class.
• Reader: This individual will read three important paragraphs in the significant work decided by the group to the class.

Be creative in your process. Be sure to give visual examples in your presentation, and be sure that when you read to the class that you read clearly and confidently, as this will be critical in your evaluation in your presentation. 

Process:

• Students will be divided into groups randomly by instructors selection.
• Once you are in your groups, you will then decide what role each of you will perform.
  • Only one role can be used in each group.
    • The roles are Researcher About the Author, Researcher About an
    • Important Work, Researcher About Style of Author, and the Reader.
• Here is a list of websites students can choose from:

The presentation must be at least 15 minutes, and each student who was assigned a special job will speak on behalf of their part.

Be sure that you are paying attention to each presentation, as I will gather information from each presentation and make it a test when all of them are done.

Each presentation will be selected randomly at the beginning of class. Be ready to present.

Evaluation:

Conclusion:

The authors you've read paid a massive contribution to civilized society, and their voices, through their works, are still speaking today. Let their works speak to you, be encouraged to further explore their writings and how it applies to society today. Be inspired, be a thinker, be an individual, be an artist.

Credits:

Author Biography

Joshua William Brannen

Student at Emmanuel College

Teacher Introduction:

Joshua William Brannen

A student at Emmanuel College, creative writer, firm believer in objective art, and a love for truth that is found in Jesus Christ. May these people bring forth a light into your lives as they have done for me.

This web quest is to allow students to explore some of the most famous and most important authors in the history of the world. Their works speak to the world and their perspective still continues to shape minds to this day.