Quarter Three Independent Book Project (historical fiction)

Quarter Three Independent Book Project

(historical fiction)

1.     Everyone has already had their book preapproved by me. You should now be reading the book so that you can plan your project.

2.     As soon as you finish your book, you’ll need to take an AR test on the computer. The test score will be a separate grade, so you want to make certain you don’t earn a zero because you forget to take your test! AR tests must be taken by March 3, 2014. (Yes, there is still plenty of time!)

3.     Create an artifact that is representative of the novel you’ve read. You are NOT to purchase an object, you must figure out how to create something unique to your character or time period or events—and, in doing so, you must use whatever resources and materials you can locate and put together in a professional manner to represent something significant from the story that you read. For instance, if I read a book about the Underground Railroad, I could make a quilt block (or even an entire quilt if I were feeling particularly crafty, I suppose!) that held clues to help lead slaves from one location to another. (Obviously this would have had to have happened in the book—you can’t simply INVENT something that has nothing to do with your story.) Be creative and imaginative! Think outside of the box; an artifact can be from the story’s setting, prominent characters, or even the plot (events).

4.     Artifact Creation Log: Keep a log of the date(s) and time(s) that you work on your artifact. Each log entry should include a neatly-written summary about what you accomplished during that time. Make sure to use complete sentences. Include not only your progress, but a reflection (in each entry) about how you believe the project is going. Are you experiencing any frustrations or roadblocks along the way or is everything going much easier than anticipated? Do you have anyone helping you? Are you enjoying yourself or are you wallowing in the depths of misery? As always, too much information is better than too little, and I expect quality log entries.

5.     Your artifact must be accompanied by a well-written summary of the artifact and clearly explain its association to the novel that you read. BE SPECIFIC. What have you created and what is its significance? What makes it important? How does it relate to the characters or setting or plot? Too much information is better than too little information. Your summary should be typed in Times New Roman, 12-point font with one-inch margins. It is due with the artifact and you’ll present both to the class on the due date. Order of presentation will be chosen by random-draw.

6.     The due date for the entire project and presentation is March 3, 2014. Everything is due when you arrive to class. If you are absent, it’ll be due when you return. If you have any questions, it’s better to ask them and clarify the project sooner than later. Please do not procrastinate!

7.     Projects will be scored using the following rubric:

·        Relevance of the artifact to the story

·        Creativity

·        Originality

·        Neatness / Appearance

·        Effort / Estimated Time Involved in Project’s Creation

·        Presentation

·        Summary (format, depth (thorough explanation of correlation to reading), appropriate voice, grammar, mechanics, overall ability to summarize)

·        Artifact Creation Log (please see requirements as noted above on number four)