1) a dialectical journal on one of the significant passages,
2)
a poem imitating Walt Whitman's "I Hear America Singing" in which the
students are expected to show prominent images of the novel and the
war,
3) a map of the Union and Confederate states along with
paragraphs on the significance of three battles fought in both the novel
and the war - bridging history and fiction,
4) a "Rank of
Importance" in which the students determine the five most significant
events in the life of the protagonist Jethro Creighton, and they defend
those choices,
5) a mini research essay on a significant person, place, or event from the Civil War era,
6) an analysis of a piece of Civil War art, connecting art, literature, and history,
7) a choice piece of either "Twitter Tweets," a movie soundtrack playlist, or a photo/word collage, and
8)
a Reflection of Learning in which the students reflect on what they
learned, how they know they learned it, and how they might use this
information in the future.
I have enjoyed the
creative process with them, as they have worked to produce these pieces
over the course of only three weeks. One of my goals was for their
projects to be designed, created, and put together at school - without
any outside help. I wanted these projects to genuinely reflect what my
students have learned about literature and history. In order to do this,
with limited class time, I have encouraged students to stay after
school all week to use the computer lab and my classroom as a working
place. The collaboration and camaraderie that I have seen as students
encourage one another to do their best has been one of the highlights of
my year! I am so excited to put these final projects on display at our
annual Achievement Expo this Thursday, May 22nd!
Above: Students working to complete their projects.
Culminating projects demonstrate thoughtful analysis and synthesis of what they've learned during this historical fiction unit.
Nothing is tidy around here this week! Paper, adhesive, scissors, notes, novels, and creative juices are everywhere!
Knowledge is powerful stuff! :)
