Writers and filmmakers carefully select the details of their stories to give the audience insight into the characters and themes of their works. The more we understand the details, the more we can understand the work, and there is no greater tool for learning this concept than to teach it.

In this assignment, you are going to turn the tables and teach the details of The Sweet Hereafter.Searched the novel you read, The Sweet Hereafter, for a detail that you know something about or that you find intriguing. Possible topics to consider: The origin of the phrase "sweet hereafter"; demolition derby; county fairs; upstate New York (near Plattsburg); personal injury law; school bus accidents; problems faced by Vietnam vets; Montego Bay, Jamaica; adoption of Native America children; recovering from the death of a child; small town relationships/life; paraplegia; legal depositions; perjury; AIDS; Apple computers; alcoholism; dome houses; lasting effects of stroke; rehabilitation; Barbie dolls; etc.

Taken your chosen detail out of the context of the novel and research it from a particular angle (technique, history of it, superstitions, modern day meanings, other place you might experience it, importance of it, any angle you can think of). Kept track of your sources with source cards.

Built a PowerPoint presentation (10-15 slides) about your detail that teaches your peers about that detail.

Used Preview/Present/Review organization.

Used a hook and a clincher to attract and keep the audience.

Used images, illustrations, photos, etc. to make your slide show interesting.

Present the material.

Included the script in the "Notes" section of the PowerPoint presentation.

Included a "Works Consulted" page (as the last slide) that lists your sources.

Related the presentation back to the author's choice of your chosen detail, and discussed the emotional impact that the detail gives to the scene or the story.