Being a gossip columnist

A simple search on Google will give us many ways to assess literature alternatively. This website, for example, gives teachers some ideas on assessment apart from simply writing essays. Common alternatives include creating a comic strip based on a scene in the novel, writing an eulogy for one of the protagonists in the context of the narrative, or creating a travel brochure for a scenic tour of the setting in the story, etc. 

Amongst a sea of alternative assessment tools, there is a particular one that I personally like. This website provides a downloadable document containing twenty-five assessment tools that are described rather in detail. One of them is to contribute an article to a Gossip Column in a local newspaper in the novel: "Write a column for the newspaper or a tabloid publication concerning a scene from your book. Research articles in People, The Enquirer, etc… and write your own “tell all” article about a character in your selection. Be sure to use headlines, tag lines, and pictures (where possible)." 

I like this assessment tool because not only does it allow students to emerge in the context of the novel (just like how writing an eulogy would), it forces students to take on multiple perspectives in the context of the novel. Writing in a gossip column takes into consideration historical, social and cultural contexts of the story, which helps students think about the background in which a novel is set in. What is considered 'gossip' in Victorian England, for example, may not be 'gossip' in modern day Singapore. Next, it guides students to think about the interactions between subjects of the gossip and their environment. Why would people in Miss Havisham's village care about her house being burnt down? Would they be interested in Estella's failed marriage? Why or why not? How, as a local gossip columnist, can the student interest the villagers with these information? Finally, when applied to real life, it teaches the importance of empathy and critical thinking to kids who grew up in the age of Internet and indulge in 'entertainment' gossips. As they craft the article, students understand how gossip articles are created: by tweaking facts to represent people and situations in a particular--often malicious--way. In that way, they learn to better discern the 'information' they read on the Internet in the real world.