Varied Assignments:
A) Assignment Sheet:
The Major Project for this Unit is to write a research based essay comparing/contrasting some element of the novel with modern counterparts. Students have the freedom to explore which ever aspect of the societal differences that they find interesting. Topic examples include:
*Comparing gender roles within the households of Pride and Prejudice and modern day society.
*Compare the role of the military in the novel with that of modern culture. The level of respect and prestige held by officers, the eligibility of marriage to a military individual, etc..
*Contrast the way that the two societies view marriage and love.
You will be given time in class in order to conduct research and receive assistance in building your argument. Topics must be cleared by the teacher and students are expected to have a conference with the teacher during class time.
Papers must have 1) a strong theses 2) at least two academic sources and 3) must take a side on how the change can be seen. These papers are to be 4-5 pages in length and must follow a formal format. All sources are to be cited in MLA.
Time Line:
Rough Draft Due: Week 6, Day 4
Peer edits will be done that day
Final Paper due: Week 7, Day 2
Rough Draft must be handed in with the final draft
B) Pre-reading/during-reading/after-reading Writings:
(To be passed out on the first day of the unit)
Reading Assignment:
· Due Week 2, Day 1: Chapters 1-12
· Due Week 3, Day 1: Chapters 13-34
· Due Week 4, Day 1: Chapters 35-49
· Due Week 5, Day 1: Chapters 50-61
On each day that a chunk of reading is due students will be expected to come to class with a journal entry, which is to be at least one and a half pages double spaced typed size 12 font, Times New Roman. In their journal students should reflect on what they have read. Keep in mind the following suggestions but feel free to write about what ever interests, confuses, or angers you about what you have read.
Questions:
*What elements of this can relate to modern day society?
*How do you relate to the situations in the novel? Are there any characters that you relate with or that rub you the wrong way?
*How does this part of the reading make you feel? What are your gut reactions?
Journals will be handed in before reading quizzes and will be graded on a credit no credit basis. Students who have clearly read the material and are thinking critically about it will be given full credit. The goal of these activities is to make you think and collect your thoughts before in class discussion.
C) Pre-writing Activity
(To be used in conjunction with the Pop Culture mini lesson)
Brainstorming: a group problem-solving technique that involves the spontaneous contribution of ideas from all members of the group; also : the mulling over of ideas by one or more individuals in an attempt to devise or find a solution to a problem (Merrium-Webster online dictionary).
Ideas for Brainstorming:
· Make a list
· Make a Ven Diagram to compare things that are similar and things that differ.
· Make a word web
· Write an outline
The goal is to organize your thoughts into a logical pattern that helps you produce the best work possible.
D) Discussion Activity/Prompt
(For Week 5, Day 5. Comparing modern romances/”chick flicks” to Pride and Prejudice)
Teacher will:
· Show appropriate clips of Bridget Jones’ Diary.
· Discuss what an adaptation is.
· Talk about the history of Adapting old stories into new ones (Shakespeare)
· Have students write a in class outline of the stereotypical “Romantic comedy”
o Have some students share what they have written and write common themes on the board. Collaboratively come up with a class “stereotypical romance.”
o Compare this with the plot of Pride and Prejudice.
· Teacher will not need any hand outs. Students will write their stereotypical outline on scrap paper and will not turn them in.
E) Peer Review
(This will be done on the Rough Drafts that students bring to class of their final paper. Students will be broken into groups where they will read and respond to each others papers with the worksheet below))
Name:
· After reading through the draft one time, write a summary of the text.
· In the following sections, answer the questions that would be most helpful to the writer or that seem to address the most relevant revision concerns. Use a separate piece of paper for your responses and comments. Also, write comments directly on the writer's draft where needed.
Organization
· Is there a clearly stated purpose/objective?
· Are there effective transitions?
· Are the introduction and conclusion focused on the main point of the essay?
· As a reader, can you easily follow the writer's flow of ideas?
· Is each paragraph focused on a single idea?
· At any point in the essay, do you feel lost or confused?
· Do any of the ideas/paragraphs seem out of order, too early or too late to be as effective as they could?
Development and Support
· Is each main point/idea made by the writer clearly developed and explained?
· Is the support/evidence for each point/idea persuasive and appropriate?
· Is the connection between the support/evidence, main point/idea, and the overall point of the essay made clear?
· Is all evidence adequately cited?
Style
· Are the topic and tone of the essay appropriate for the audience?
· Are the sentences and word choices varied?
Grammar and Mechanics
· Does the writer use proper grammar, punctuation, and spelling?
· Are there any issues with any of these elements that make the writing unreadable or confusing?
Finally, what are two or three revision suggestions you have for the writer?
F) Grammar Mini-Lesson
(To be done after the rough draft is returned to students)
As to actually learn from the mistakes that were made within the rough draft students will find three errors marked by the teacher and will fill out the following worksheet in order to identify the mistakes that were made and apply it to the actual process of writing..
Mistake / Type of Mistake / How can it be fixed / Rewrite so its correctStudents will apply the things they have learned to the paper as a whole. This paper will be turned in with the rough draft and the final version of the paper at the end of the unit.
G) Self-Reflection for Students
(To be completed an turned in at the end of the unit)
In order to asses how well I did as a teacher as well as so students can asses their own process in planning and writing a research paper. These evaluation questions are meant to asses the unit as a whole and provide feed back on how the unit can be strengthened.
1) Do you feel that you have a different view on Austen’s literature and it applicability to “real life?” Why or why not?
2) How do you feel you did in brainstorming for your project? What might have made the process more successful?
3) How do you feel you did in planning your paper? Did you stay on track or stray from topic to topic?
4) Do you feel the peer review was helpful? Did your group provide good feedback?
H) Assessment Rubric:
Amount of Information / All topics are addressed and all questions answered with at least 2 sentences about each. / All topics are addressed and most questions answered with at least 2 sentences about each. / All topics are addressed, and most questions answered with 1 sentence about each. / One or more topics were not addressed.
Quality of Information / Information clearly relates to the main topic. It includes several supporting details and/or examples. / Information clearly relates to the main topic. It provides 1-2 supporting details and/or examples. / Information clearly relates to the main topic. No details and/or examples are given. / Information has little or nothing to do with the main topic.
Sources / All sources (information and graphics) are accurately documented in the desired format. / All sources (information and graphics) are accurately documented, but a few are not in the desired format. / All sources (information and graphics) are accurately documented, but many are not in the desired format. / Some sources are not accurately documented.
Mechanics / No grammatical, spelling or punctuation errors. / Almost no grammatical, spelling or punctuation errors / A few grammatical spelling, or punctuation errors. / Many grammatical, spelling, or punctuation errors