Classic vs. Modern
Driving Question: How can classic literature and writing be made appealing to modern audiences?
Task and End Results:
• Answer the driving question! • In a small group, create a front page of a “newspaper” for one section of the Odyssey. • As a class, create a modern day newspaper gallery retelling the story of the Odyssey. • Present the gallery to a group of critics who will judge whether or not your product makes classic literature (the Odyssey) and classic writing styles (newspapers) appealing to modern audiences.
English Standards and Skills:
1. Analyze how complex characters develop over the course of a text, interact with other characters, and enhance the plot or develop the theme (character development). 2. Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience (writing for different audiences, using technology in writing). 3. Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text (write using evidence).
Microsoft Publisher Standards and Skills:
1. Create a custom Microsoft Publisher document that demonstrates your ability to use technology for different audiences. 2. Show your mastery of Publisher formatting by using elements such as tables, shapes, images, and captions. 3. Explain via speech how to use the different elements of Microsoft Publisher.
1
Project Timeline: Week 1 (4/8-4/12): Project introduction, traditional newspaper research Week 2 (4/15-4/19): Research, graphic design crash-course, mock-up and justification Week 3 (4/22-4/26): Individual portfolio of stories Week 4 (4/29-5/3): Draft 1 and critique ***Wednesday, 5/1 you will present your draft to an outside audience for feedback Week 5 (5/6-5/10): Draft 2 and critique Week 6 (5/13-5/17): Publishing Post 5/20, date TBD: Public presentation
Specific Requirements and Due Dates 1. Mock-up and justification--Due 4/19 a. A mock-up is a working sample that can be used to review format, layout, or content. This mock-up will be used to review format and layout (design elements). A sample mock-up can be found at: http://chelseyheath.com/ design-exercises/newspaper-front-page-mockup/ b. Your mock-up needs to: i. Be completed in Microsoft Publisher ii. Show all visual elements (borders, text boxes, shapes, etc.) like you want them to be on the final version. iii. Contain enough space for all required stories. iv. Contain the headlines/titles of all required stories (notice that in the sample mock-up above, the headlines are not included. You need the actual headlines/titles in your version). c. Justification of mock-up i. Each element needs a written justification (2-4 sentences) of why it was chosen. Each justification needs to answer the questions a) why is this story being featured? and b) how will the design of this feature be effective/appealing to modern audiences?
2
ii. One additional paragraph is needed that justifies the document as a whole. How do the parts come together to create the most visually appealing and informative document. What is the goal you have for your audience (what do you want them to take away)? 2. Portfolio of “stories”*--Due 4/26 a. Each member of the group needs to submit 2 pieces of writing: one featured story (required element) and one side (or non-essential) story. All of these stories should be put into a folder and be titled as a required story or an extra story. b. Prior to submitting your stories, your group will need to act as an “editorial review board” to decide which stories should be written. Each person should pitch 1-2 ideas for each of the required stories listed in step C prior to writing any stories. (More information will be given in class) c. The final product will have the following stories: i. One story that addresses key character traits of the main characters of the book section ii. One story that addresses
