Watership Down

Long Term Assignment

Controlling Question:

How does the courage of personal beliefs bring about change?

Directions: Choose one of the assignments below. Each assignment has a limit to the number of students who can participate in the group (non negotiable). Please read the requirements for each project carefully and begin generating ideas. The projects will be due ______, so you need to manage your time wisely. We may work on the projects a few times in class, but the majority of the work will need to be completed at home. So you should plan with your group accordingly! Choose your groups carefully! You will be responsible AS A GROUP for the work you do (i.e. - no complaints because a group member is not pulling his/her weight!) Please see your English teacher with questions.

  • (2-3 people) Create a rabbit magazine. Your magazine should include the following: a title, articles about the events in the novel, advertisements, horoscopes, a table of contents, games, pictures, interviews, obituaries, etc. Use your imagination to add other pieces to your magazine.
  • (2-4 people) Create a one-act play that fully develops a conflict from Watership Down that demonstrates how courage brings about change. Your play must portray a situation from the novel showing dramatic conflict. Your play should have a clear, well-developed plot and theme. Think about how dialogue and stage directions will be used to develop character and advance the plot. When creating your script, your group should choose words and phrases that convey tone and mood. Think about the scenery, props, and costumes that will enhance your performance. Also, think about the staging and the dramatic presentation skills that will need to be used by your actors. NOW pick a conflict that shows courage bringing about change.
  • (2-3 people) Create a film documentary about the trek of our rabbits. The documentary should follow a main character in the story and include: biographical accomplishments, events in the character’s life, other important information regarding the character, photographs, reenactments, music, interviews from friends of the character, etc. (requires a video camera)
  • (1-2 people) Create a children’s book featuring El-ahrairah. This children’s book should have a complete story of El-ahrairah embarking on a new adventure and should follow the same format as the stories in the novel. You may have one longer story or a compilation of smaller stories. The children’s book should also include pictures and all of the necessary parts of a book.
  • (1-2 people) Create a missing rabbit adventure from the novel. This story should be a minimum of 5 pages and should take our rabbits on another adventure. Your adventure can occur at the beginning of the novel, in the middle, or after the novel has ended. Be sure to include a point of view for your story, setting, dialog, and descriptive details so we can visualize the story taking place. (A story map may help you format your adventure. If you need one, see your teacher)
  • (1-2 people) Create a board game for the novel. This board game should be on the level of Trivial Pursuit, not Candyland! Your board game should include directions, game pieces, a game board, a title, and question cards ranging in difficulty. You will be graded on the originality of the game as well as the level of questions that you use throughout your game.
  • (1-2 people) Create a jeopardy game. This game should be done using PowerPoint. If this option is chosen, you will need to bring in a flash drive so your teacher can load the file for you to use onto your drive. You also need to include 2-3 double jeopardy questions and a final jeopardy question. You will be graded on the accuracy and appropriateness of your questions.
  • (2-4 people) Create a news broadcast. You will need to include the following in your broadcast: commercials, weather, at least 1 featured news story, 3 small stories, and a “featured rabbit”. It would be helpful to watch the news one evening to see how it is organized. (requires a video camera)
  • (1-2 people) Create a diary/journal for 2 of the characters in the story. You will need to choose a minimum of 5 events from the story and write journal entries for those events. You will have two journal entries per event: one from 2 different main characters points of view (i.e. - Fiver and Hazel). Be sure to include their reactions to those events, their thoughts, fears, and what they plan to do in the future.
  • (1-2 people) Rewrite a major event from the novel in 1st person point of view from one of the rabbit’s perspectives. Be sure to include details and description, dialog, thoughts of the main character telling the story, reactions of the main character to the events, and habits that the main character has. You are not changing the events in the story but altering them so they are seen through a different set of eyes.
  • (1-4 people) Choose your own project idea. You may submit an original idea for an activity. In order to do so, the activity you wish to create should be written up as a proposal. In your proposal it should state the following: how many group members you will have and a specific outline of the activity. Your proposal MUST BE approved BEFORE you begin the activity. Not all activities will be approved.

I understand the directions and guidelines for this long term project and realize that this assignment will require work outside of the classroom. In the event a project is not turned in on time; one letter grade will be deducted for each day the project is not turned in to the teacher. I also understand that this project is a group effort, and I will notify the teacher ahead of time if there is a problem with my group and will not wait until the problem gets out of hand.

Student Signature: ______

Parent Signature: ______

Feel free to email me your questions!!!!