The Light in the Forest
By Conrad Richter
Directions: Students independently read The Light in the Forest by Conrad Richter. After
reading and annotating the book, they will complete the following assignments. Time in class
will be provided to the students to complete the tasks. Anything not completed in class should
be finished at home.
Due Date: Monday, December 5; Completed projects may be submitted before the due date.
Vocabulary (30 points):
Identify 15 unfamiliar words throughout the book. Be sure to use words throughout the whole
book. Complete the attached document to identify and define unknown words.
Annotations (20 points)
While reading The Light in the Forest, reinforce close reading skills by annotating. Be sure to
annotate with a colored pen. Use the annotation book mark to guide the annotations.
Mini-book (50 points)
Create a mini-book containing a front and back cover and five additional pages.
Front Cover: Include a picture representative of the book, title of story, and author of
story.
Page 1: Exposition of the story written in paragraph form, accompanying illustrations,
and a border
Page 2: Rising action of the story written in paragraph form, accompanying illustrations,
and a border
Page 3: Climax of the story written in paragraph form, accompanying illustrations, and a
border
Page 4: Falling action of the story written in paragraph form, accompanying
illustrations, and a border
Page 5: Resolution of the story written in paragraph form, accompanying illustrations,
and a border
Back Cover: Student name, Teacher, and class.
Criteria: Each page should be colorful, detailed, and neat. Each page should have a decorative
border. All writing should be hand-written in black pen. Each page should be in full color. The
book should be at least 8 1/2” x 11”. All illustrations must be hand-drawn. You may also trace or
use symbols as illustrations for the mini-book.
Mini-book Rubric
Name ____________________
CATEGORY
Layout
Graphics and Color
Requirements (x2)
Mechanics/Writing
Exposition
5
4
3
2
The overall layout
of the finished
mini-book is neat,
tidy, and easy to
read. All criteria is
included.
The overall layout
of the finished
mini-book is
mostly neat, tidy,
and easy to read.
All criteria is
included.
The overall layout
of the finished
mini-book is
messy and has no
organization.
Some or all of the
criteria is missing.
Graphics are wellplaced and clearly
related to the
requirement they
accompany. The
mini-book makes
excellent use of
color.
The five necessary
requirements
(front/back cover,
exposition, rising
action, climax,
falling action,
resolution) are all
present and have
all necessary
components
Writing is
completed in a
paragraph form
with no spelling or
grammar errors.
Graphics are
included and are
seemingly related
to the
requirement they
accompany. The
mini-book makes
good use of color.
At least one
requirement
(front/back cover,
exposition, rising
action, climax,
falling action,
resolution) or
multiple
components are
not present.
Writing is
completed in a
paragraph form
with no more
than a couple of
spelling or
grammar errors.
The overall layout
of the finished
mini-book is a
little messy, but
has some
organization.
Some criteria is
missing.
Graphics are a
little messy
and/or are not
related to the
requirement they
accompany. The
mini-book has
some color.
At least two
requirements
(front/back cover,
exposition, rising
action, climax,
falling action,
resolution) or
most components
are not present.
Demonstrates
knowledge of the
specific setting,
major characters,
and the basic
problem of the
novel.
Demonstrates
some knowledge
of the specific
setting, most
major characters,
and the basic
problem of the
novel.
Writing is not
completed in a
paragraph form
and spelling or
grammar errors
exist.
Demonstrates
only partial
knowledge of the
exposition, some
of the major
characters and
the major
problem is
incomplete.
Most of the
graphics are
messy and are not
related to the
requirement they
accompany. The
mini-book has
little to no color.
Two or more
requirements
(front/back cover,
exposition, rising
action, climax,
falling action,
resolution) and
the majority of
the components
are not present.
Writing is not
completed in a
paragraph form
with many
spelling and
grammar errors
exist, making it
hard to read.
Missing multiple
parts of the
exposition, major
characters not
listed
appropriately, or
the basic problem
is not correct or
missing.
CATEGORY
Rising Action
Climax
Falling Action
Resolution
5
4
3
The student
demonstrates a
strong knowledge
of the rising
action.
The student
demonstrates a
strong
understanding of
the climax.
The student
demonstrates a
strong
understanding of
the falling action.
The student
demonstrates a
good knowledge
of the rising
action.
The student
demonstrates a
good
understanding of
the climax.
The student
demonstrates a
good
understanding of
the falling action.
The student
demonstrates
partial knowledge
of the rising
action.
The student
demonstrates a
partial
understanding of
the climax.
The student
demonstrates
only partial
understanding of
the fall action.
The student
shows a strong
understanding of
the resolution.
The student
shows a good
understanding of
the resolution.
The student
shows a partial
understanding of
the resolution.
Total
/ 50
2
The student
demonstrates
little evidence of
the rising action.
The student
demonstrates
minimal evidence
of the turning
point of the story.
The student
shows minimal
evidence of action
that took place
after the turning
point of the story.
The student
shows minimal
evidence of the
resolution.
Name: _________________
The Light in the Forest Vocabulary
To Complete:
1. Identify an unknown word from The Light in the Forest.
2. Cite the page number where the word is found in the book.
3. Copy the sentence from the page where the word was found.
4. Look up the definition of the word and write the definition as it relates to the sentence.
Vocabulary
Word
Page
Number
Sentence
Definition
Vocabulary
Word
Page
Number
Sentence
Definition