CREATING YOUR OWN UTOPIA

We have been pondering Utopias this year. We read The Giver, a fictional futuristic attempt at creating Utopia. We have investigated the Ancient Greeks and how they governed their country; through this, we gained some valuable insights into how civilizations are created. We have now begun our investigation into China and have quickly realized that there are other perspectives than our own in the world.

Our next step in this learning process is to create our own version of what Utopia may look like. We know already that a country must have a government, rules or laws, and some form of economy in order to survive. Your challenge is to apply these understandings to your own imaginary country. First, though, you must create your country.

PART ONE – ART COMPONENT

To demonstrate your understandings of maps and map reading, you will produce two maps of your country.

Map One – A Political Map

·  The name of your country

·  Your country outline and where your country is located in the world

·  Name the ocean(s), seas, lakes and rivers surrounding and within your country

·  Accurate latitude and longitude coordinates

·  A compass rose

·  A legend explaining all symbols and icons used on your map

·  An accurate representation of scale

·  Name of your political divisions and their boundaries (i.e. states or provinces)

·  Name and location of your countries’ capital city

·  Name and location of the provincial or state capital cities

·  Minimum of five other cities, named

·  Indication of city populations (e.g. square = 1-5 million people)

·  Major transportation systems clearly shown on the map (i.e. roads, railways, etc.)

Map Two – A Physical Map

·  The name of your country

·  Your country outline and where your country is located in the world

·  Name the ocean(s), seas, lakes and rivers surrounding and within your country

·  Accurate latitude and longitude coordinates

·  A compass rose

·  A legend explaining all symbols and icons used on your map

·  An accurate representation of scale

·  Geographical landforms, with names (e.g. islands, mountain ranges, bays, peninsulas, deserts, valleys, plateaus, grasslands, etc.) (see Landform Glossary)

·  Natural resources, with symbols marked on legend (e.g. oil, water, minerals, fish, etc.)

·  Land elevations using different colours as indicated on the legend

Plans will first be done in your sketchbook journal. Good copies will be completed on poster paper. Colouring is to be done only with pencil crayon; outlining may be done with thin felt. Any writing must be completed in a neat, readable and correct fashion, and is to be outlined with thin felt.

RUBRIC FOR ART COMPONENT / 5 / 4 / 3 / 2
Appearance of Final Product –
Neatness, correctness, attention to detail, attractiveness, and polish
Followed guidelines
Accuracy of scale, latitude and longitude
Demonstration of understanding of mapping concepts and vocabulary
Creativity and imagination
Believability of created country
Effort and Focus on task