GRADE 8

STEP 1 - DYSTOPIAN RESEARCH AND PRESENTATION PROJECT

DUE DATE:  October 9 AND 12

GOAL:  ·        To research dystopian themes, ideas, characteristics and examples and share/explain/teach what you have learned with the class in a visually appealing, well-executed presentation. ENDURING UNDERSTANDING:  ·        Dystopian themes in art and literature teach us to question the current trends, social norms, and/or political systems in our own community, country, and/or world. ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS:  ·        How do dystopian themes in art and literature help us to question the way we look at the world? ·        What are the characteristics of a dystopian society and how can we identify these characteristics in art and literature? ·        Does dystopian art and literature reflect OR shape culture? ·        What is more important to have as a citizen of a community – SAFETY – FREEDOM – INDIVIDUALITY – COMMUNITY?

YOUR JOB is to create an information rich, visually appealing presentation about DYSTOPIAN IDEALS AND CHARACTERISTICS that you and your partners will present to the class in an organized and formal style.

CRITERIA:

·        TEAMS OF THREE, FOUR, OR FIVE

·        5 MINUTES IN LENGTH

·        VISUALS ARE A MUST

·        EXAMPLES FROM ART (fine arts, film, videos) AND LITERATURE ARE A MUST

·        EVERYONE RESEARCHES

·        EVERYONE PRESENTS AND EXPLAINS and

·        EVERY PERSON HAS A JOB SUITED TO THEIR EXPERTISE IN ADDITION TO RESEARCHING, PRESENTING, AND EXPLAINING THE FINDINGS.  Individual jobs include:

a.   Communication and Scheduling –keeping in touch with partners, scheduling time to meet outside of class for research and practice – this is someone who is organized

b.   Taskmaster - keeping everyone focused during the journey to the final destination – the presentation – this is someone who is not easily distracted

c.   Writer/Scribe (one or two) – note taker, presentation writer – this is someone who likes to write

d.   Visual coordinator – ensures clarity and coordination of all visuals used in presentation – this should be someone with an artistic eye

e.   Tech expert – ensures that the presentation is put together and presented with ease – this is definitely someone who is tech savvy

PROJECT OPTIONS

ALL PROJECTS must include multi-media representations of dystopia (art, music, you tube videos, book trailers, and excerpts from literature)

1)   CREATE a presentation that analyses and provides examples of the characteristics of a DYSTOPIAN SOCIETY. 

2)   CREATE a presentation that analyses the characteristics of and provides examples of the DYSTOPIAN PROTAGONIST in literature and film.

3)   CREATE a presentation that analyses and provides examples from dystopian art, literature, and film of types of DYSTOPIAN CONTROLS.

4)   CREATE a presentation that provides historical context for UTOPIAN AND DYSTOPIAN ART AND LITERATURE – origins of the genre.

5)   CREATE a presentation that reveals COMMON THEMES in DYSTOPIAN ART AND LITERATURE.

6)   CREATE a presentation that connects dystopian ideals and characteristics prevalent in dystopian art and literature to the “real” world (consider governments and/or countries that oppress or have oppressed their citizens).

NOTE: Although time will be given in class to research and prepare,

you are expected to work outside of the classroom.

Standards Reading Literacy: cite textural evidence Reading Information: determine central idea; provide objective summary of the text Speaking and Listening: Integrate multimedia and visual displays into presentations to clarify information, and add interest. Writing: conduct short research projects to answer questions, drawing on several sources . . . ; gather relevant information from multiple sources Conventions of Standard English: Spelling, grammar, punctuation

NAME________________________________BLOCK_________________

GROUP MEMBERS________________________________________________

STEP 1 - PRESENTATION CHECK LIST

Evaluate yourself and your contribution to the presentation on a scale from 1 to 7. Compare your evaluation with your partners.	YES! 1-7	NOT SURE 1-7	NO Not at all!
I have conducted research on Dystopian concepts and I have gathered relevant information from multiple sources that I can contribute to my group presentation.
I have cited my sources, used quotation marks, and I have explicitly referred to my research in my presentation.
I have determined the central ideas in the texts that I have read about Dystopian concepts and I can explain these ideas to my classmates.
I have analysed the research and I can provide an informational summary of the central ideas to my classmates.
I have contributed to the multi-media and visual requirements to help clarify the information and make our presentation interesting.
I have written my part of the presentation without grammatical, spelling, or punctuation errors.
I have contributed equally to the preparation of my group’s presentation.
I have practiced the presentation with my group BEFORE the day we are scheduled to present.
I have worked hard on this assignment and I am proud and confident to present it to the class.

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