Day 57 Day 57 Honors American Literature Work
Assignment 1
Graded Assignment
Unit Project: The Power of Language
This document provides an overview of the tasks and time line for completing this assignment.
Assignment Instructions
As you complete the lessons in this unit, you will learn about some of the different ways that language can be used to help achieve a goal, share a message, and honor a person or idea. You will apply these ideas in your own project.
In this unit, you will plan and execute a creative or analytical project that demonstrates the power of language. The project will focus on a contemporary or historical subject of your choice, and it will involve presenting information and ideas in a speech, a song, a video, a website, or an essay. Your goal for the project is to use language, as the authors that you will study do, to achieve a goal, share a message, or to honor a person or idea.
You will be able to choose a subject for your project and a method of presenting the information about your subject.
Subjects
Below are a number of possible subjects for your unit project. Some subjects are contemporary in nature, dealing with present-day figures or issues, while others are historical in nature, dealing with figures or issues of the past. As you consider which subject appeals to you most, take into account your interest areas and the resources available to you.
Contemporary Subjects
- The importance of voting
- Protecting the environment
- Off-shore drilling
- Nuclear proliferation
- Funding for the arts
Historical Subjects
- The Quaker tradition
- The Women’s Suffrage movement
- The Women’s Suffrage movement
- William Lloyd Garrison
- John Brown
You may choose to focus your project on a subject not named above, but you must first clear any choice you make with your teacher.
Presentation Options
Below are some options for presenting the information you gather on the subject you choose for your unit project. Each option is different, so consider each one and its requirements carefully before making your choice. If you think a different method of presenting your information would be more effective, clear your choice with your teacher. Remember that your presentation should try to achieve a goal, share a message, or to honor a person or idea.
Note: Your teacher may require that you to choose the option for writing and delivering a speech on a contemporary or historical subject.
- Speech: Write and deliver a speech of at least three minutes that clearly expresses your feelings and opinions about a contemporary or historical subject. You may include visual elements in your presentation.
- Song: Write, perform, and record a song dealing with a contemporary or historical subject. The lyrics of the song must incorporate both literal and figurative language and convey to listeners your feelings and opinions about the subject you have chosen.
- Video: Create a video presentation about a contemporary or historical subject. The video should have narration that presents information on your subject and expresses your opinions or feelings on the subject.
- Essay: Write a persuasive essay of at least five paragraphs on a contemporary or historical subject. The essay must convey your feelings and opinions on the subject and present information meant to convince readers to share your position. You should include visual or graphic elements to support your arguments.
- Website: Create a website that shares information about a contemporary or historical subject. The website should use graphic elements as well as words to convey information to viewers.
Process
To complete this assignment, you will do the following:
- Review the Power of Language Graded Assignment: This document contains assignment instructions and grading criteria. Make sure that you understand what you will be doing and how you will be graded.
- The project you complete in this unit will be graded against a rubric that assesses the project in a number of categories. These categories focus on the project’s contents, clarity, and presentation.
- Read the rubric on the last page of this document. Keep the criteria listed on the rubric in mind as you complete the assignment.
- Complete the Power of Language Project Plan: You will begin working on this plan in the Analyze Three Spirituals lesson of this unit. You will continue to work on this plan as you work through the lessons in this unit. You will submit the plan for a grade at the end of the unit.
- Practice your presentation. Whether you are writing a speech or song or doing a video recording, practice and compare your presentation to the graded criteria in the grading rubric.
- Revise your presentation. Based on your practice and according to the grading rubric, revise your presentation.
- Revise your presentation: Based on your practice and according to the grading rubric, revise your presentation.
Time Line
Students will complete this project over the course of eight school days.
|
Task |
Start |
Complete |
|
Unit Project – Overview
|
Day 55 |
Day 55 |
|
Unit Project – Choose a Subject and a Method of Presentation
|
Day 56 |
Day 56 |
|
Unit Project – Purpose and Audience
|
Day 57 |
Day 57 |
|
Unit Project – Content
|
Day 58 |
Day 58 |
|
Unit Project – Organization and Structure
|
Day 59 |
Day 59 |
|
Unit Project – Language, Presentation Elements, Overall Effect
|
Day 60 |
Day 60 |
|
Present/Deliver Project |
Day 61 |
Teacher will determine |
|
Reflection due |
Day 62 |
Teacher will determine |
Grading/Point Values
Part 1—Planning Assignment Point Value: 60
Part 2—Project Execution Point Value: 30
Part 3—Reflection Point Value: 10
Grading Rubric
Your project will be graded against this rubric.
|
Criterion |
15 Points (10 Planning, 5 Execution) |
12 Points (8 Planning, 4 Execution) |
9 Points (6 Planning, 3 Execution) |
|
Purpose, Position, and Audience |
The student’s purpose and position are clear, and the project’s intended audience is appropriate. |
The student’s purpose and position are somewhat clear, and the project’s intended audience is mostly appropriate. |
The student’s purpose and position are not clear, and the project’s intended audience is inappropriate. |
|
Content |
The content of the presentation—information, ideas, and examples related to the subject—supports the student’s goal of persuading, informing, or paying tribute. |
The content of the presentation—information, ideas, and examples related to the subject—mostly supports the student’s goal of persuading, informing, or paying tribute. |
The content of the presentation—information, ideas, and examples related to the subject—does not support the student’s goal of persuading, informing, or paying tribute. |
|
Organization |
The presentation is organized and ordered appropriately and effectively, following the pattern of a well-developed outline. |
The presentation is organized and ordered fairly appropriately and somewhat effectively, mostly following the pattern of a well-developed outline. |
The presentation is organized and ordered inappropriately and ineffectively, and it does not follow the pattern of a well-developed outline. |
|
Language |
The language used in the presentation is appropriate to both the message and the intended audience. |
The language used in the presentation is somewhat appropriate to both the message and the intended audience. |
The language used in the presentation is inappropriate to both the message and the intended audience. |
|
Presentation Elements |
The student followed the requirements for the type of presentation he or she chose to do and incorporated presentation elements relevant to that choice. |
The student followed most of the requirements for the type of presentation he or she chose to do and incorporated some of the presentation elements relevant to that choice. |
The student did not follow the requirements for the type of presentation he or she chose to do and did not incorporate presentation elements relevant to that choice. |
|
Overall Impression |
Overall, the student’s project demonstrated an understanding of the subject and a mastery of the various elements of presentation. |
Overall, the student’s project demonstrated a fair understanding of the subject and a general adeptness with the various elements of presentation. |
Overall, the student’s project did not demonstrate an understanding of the subject and showed little mastery of the various elements of presentation. |
Assignment 2
Honors Project 3: “A White Heron” and “The Open Boat”
Read the stories, and complete the online lesson. Then answer these questions, using examples from the stories to support your answers. Turn this assignment in to your teacher by the due date for full credit.
Total score: ____ of 100 points
(Score for Question 1: ___ of 30 points)
- Why is Sylvia so torn about whether the help the hunter? What does she decide to do? How is the entire episode depicted by Jewett in this story shown to be a rite of passage for Sylvia?
Answer:
Type your answer here.
(Score for Question 2: ___ of 20 points)
- What qualities does Sarah Orne Jewett attribute to rural New England and its people in “A White Heron”? Do you think readers who hailed from this part of the country when the story was published in 1886 would have appreciated or agreed with Jewett’s depiction of themselves and their region? Why or why not? Use examples from the story in support of your response.
Answer:
Type your answer here.
(Score for Question 3: ___ of 20 points)
- Consider Stephen Crane’s story “The Open Boat.” Describe and explain the feelings that the men in the boat have toward nature, fate, and their fellow human beings as they are able to make their way close to land but are unable to reach it and the safety it offers. Cite specific examples and details from the text in your response.
Answer:
Type your answer here.
(Score for Question 4: ___ of 30 points)
- In “The Open Boat,” Stephen Crane includes the following passage as the likelihood of the men surviving their ordeal continues to diminish:
When it occurs to a man that nature does not regard him as important, and that she feels she would not maim the universe by disposing of him, he at first wishes to throw bricks at the temple, and he hates deeply the fact that there are no bricks and no temples. Any visible expression of nature would surely be pelleted with his jeers.
Then, if there be no tangible thing to hoot he feels, perhaps, the desire to confront a personification and indulge in pleas, bowed to one knee, and with hands supplicant, saying: “Yes, but I love myself.”
- What is Crane saying in this passage? How can this passage be understood as an expression of some of the primary tenets of naturalism?
Answer:
Type your answer here.
Assignment 3
Graded Assignment
The Great Gatsby Literary Essay
This document provides an overview of the tasks and time line for completing this assignment.
Assignment Instructions
After reading The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, you will answer the question below in an essay of at least five paragraphs. You will hand in your completed essay on the final day of this unit. As you work through this unit’s lessons, you will be prompted to complete activities designed to help you prepare, draft, and revise your essay. Good luck!
In The Great Gatsby, what does F. Scott Fitzgerald suggest about the state of the American Dream, the people who pursue it, and the impact of that pursuit through his depiction of Jay Gatsby and the people in Gatsby’s life? Include specific examples, quotations, and supporting details from the novel in your response. Do not merely summarize the story.
Process
You should always use a process for your writing that includes planning and drafting. To complete this assignment, you will do the following:
- Review the assignment instructions and grading criteria thoroughly. The writing assignment you complete in this unit will be graded against a rubric that assesses the essay in a number of categories. These categories focus both on the essay’s contents and its clarity.
- Read the rubric on the last page of this document. Keep the criteria listed on the rubric in mind as you complete the writing assignment.
- Remember to write in standard formal English and use the third person (no personal opinions) and the present tense.
- Be sure to include specific examples, quotations, and supporting details from the novel in your response. Do not merely summarize the story.
- Complete a plan for your essay.
- Begin drafting your paper, using your plan as a guide.
- Review and revise your first draft. You should try to have another person read your work and give you feedback as part of your revision process.
- Write the final draft of your project. Be sure to follow these requirements and recommendations when completing your draft:
Open a new Microsoft Word document. Type your name, your teacher’s name, your school name, and the date at the top of your document. Save the file as:
ENG303-ENG304_S1_U8_L1_Literary_Essay_FirstInitial_LastName.doc
Example: ENG303-ENG304_S1_U8_L1_Literary_Essay_M_Smith.doc
Type your project in the document you create.
Time Line
You will complete this project over the course of 10 school days.
|
Task |
Start |
Complete |
|
Print and review assignment instructions. |
Day 71 |
Day 71 |
|
Read the novel and take notes. |
Day 71 |
Day 75 |
|
Develop a thesis statement for your essay. Answer questions to help you plan your essay. |
Day 76 |
Day 76 |
|
Draft your essay. |
Day 77 |
Day 78 |
|
Revise your essay. |
Day 79 |
Day 79 |
|
Submit final draft for a grade. |
Day 80 |
Day 80 |
Grading/Point Values
Assignment Point Value: 300
Required Final Draft Length
Word Count: 900–1500