The Renaissance Project
The Renaissance was a cultural “rebirth” that sparked the beginning of the modern era. Advancements in painting, sculpture, architecture, poetry, literature, anatomy, and several other disciplines opened the eyes of the world to endless possibilities of what human beings could accomplish when given the time and resources to let imagination flourish.
For the Renaissance project, you will select one influential figure from the Renaissance that you find to be intriguing and inspiring. In the spirit of the Renaissance, you will be required to use a variety of your skills.
Part I: The Write-Up (30 points)
First and foremost, this project is a written piece that requires you to answer some basic questions about this Renaissance figure. The written piece will be at least a page but no longer than two pages and will focus on the following questions:
--What contribution (s) did this person make to society?
-- How did these contributions impact the world at that time?
We will work in class on structuring a coherent written piece that focuses on answering these essential questions. The key to this written piece will be formulating a powerful yet concise thesis statement that clearly states in a single sentence why these Renaissance figures were important. This foundation sentence will serve as the basis for the rest of your written piece.
Part II: Citations (20 points)
In citing historical information, you need to give credit to the sources you use in a project. With this project, you will learn the proper way to include quotations and direct evidence in your work.
As part of this project, you will be required to include at least three citations in your piece from at least three sources. As you read and gather information, you will use Noodle Tools to make electronic note cards to catalog your findings. At the end of the project, you will also be responsible for giving full credit in a works cited page.
Part III: The Creation (30 points)
Here is the fun part! This is your opportunity to create something in the spirit of your famous Renaissance figure. We have created several choices that touch on many disciplines of the Renaissance. You are encouraged to try something here that appeals to you; it can be something you enjoy, or it can be a fresh challenge that you find appealing. Remember, we are not expecting you to be Michelangelo or da Vinci; we simply want you to explore and have some fun with this aspect of the project. Your grade on this part of the project will mostly depend on your effort, craftsmanship, and creativity. Here are some of your choices:
Leonardo da Vinci
1. Imagine you are a museum curator. Give a PowerPoint presentation comparing two of da Vinci’s works (other than the Mona Lisa) with two pre-Renaissance works and explain why da Vinci’s works show humanism.
2. Create a painting in the style of da Vinci.
3. Imagining you are the young inventor himself living during the Renaissance, sketch a drawing of a modern invention and explain this invention in a few paragraphs.
4. Craft a drawing using charcoal.
Michelangelo Buonarotti
1. Assume the role of a Renaissance sculptor, and sculpt a figure out of clay.
2. Create a painting in the style of Michelangelo.
Johannes Gutenberg
1. Create your own font that could be used for a printing press. You can begin by making the font on flat paper and then try to carve some actual letters out of soap or linoleum tiles.
Francesco Petrarch
1. Craft a Petrarchan sonnet on the topic of your choice.
Raffale Sanzio
1. Paint a portrait of someone of your choice.
2. As a competing Renaissance artist, compose a speech criticizing Raphael for “copying” other artists’ styles.
Niccolo Machiavelli
1. Create a short skit that involves someone coming to Machiavelli for advice about how to solve a dilemma. In the resolution of the dilemma, show Machiavelli’s point of view about how to resolve problems.
2. Make a board game that is based on Machiavellian principles.
Filippo Brunelleschi
1. Draw a building of your choice using one point perspective.
2. Create a floor plan for a building using proportion and scale.
Miguel de Cervantes
1. Write a short story (2-3 pages) using the theme of Don Quixote.
William Shakespeare
1. Craft a Shakespearean sonnet on the topic of your choice.
2. Rewrite a short scene from a Shakespeare play in modern day language. Include a brief introduction that describes the play, the setting, and the conflict so the readers/viewers understand the scenario.
3. Sing a song from one of Shakespeare’s plays.
4. With a guitar or a recorder, play a song.
5. Do an interpretive dance to a song from a Shakespeare play.
6. Compose your own musical piece that might belong in a Shakespeare work and play it for the class.
Claudio Monteverdi
1. Sing a piece of music composed by Monteverdi.
Giorgio Vasari
1. In the spirit of the first “art historian” who coined the phrase “The Renaissance,” create a pamphlet of several famous Renaissance artists and their works.
Benozzo Gozzoli
1. Create a painting in the style of Gozzoli. Try to use his favorite colors such as gold and aquamarine.
Sir Isaac Newton
1. Write a lab report and conduct an experiment as Sir Isaac Newton explaining how white light can be divided into seven colors of the visible spectrum.
Galileo Galilei
1. Write a lab report and conduct an experiment showing how objects of unequal weight fall at the same rate.
Lorenzo Ghiberti
1. Make a bas relief sculpture out of tin foil. Carve a “scene” on the back with a blunt tool so that it pushes out into a sculpture.
Hieronymous Bosch
1. Create a drawing or painting in the unique style of Bosch.
Peter Brueghel
1. Create or draw a painting in the style of Brueghel.
Dante Alighieri
1. Write and perform a monologue describing an imaginary journey through one of the nine circles of Hell.
Nicolaus Copernicus
1. Make a diorama of the solar system and explain your theory.
Lorenzo de Medici
1. Make a propaganda speech convincing others to come to Florence to witness the wonders of the Renaissance.
Part IV: The Presentation (10 points)
You will be required to present your work to the class and explain the impact of your Renaissance figure. You will “present or perform” depending on the project. For example, if you are doing a speech, a monologue, a song, a dance, a poem, etc., you will perform these in front of the class after a brief introduction. If you created a physical product such as a painting or a sculpture, you will simply show and explain your work. You may choose to present as the famous Renaissance figure or in your 2008 persona.
Enjoy this journey through the Renaissance! I am looking forward to seeing your work!
Project Due Date: Friday, February 22nd
Renaissance Project Rubric
Kings and Queens / Lords and Nobles / Apprentices / Serfs / Total:Written Component (30 points) / Your written piece had a strong, clear thesis statement. You included several supporting points that made the impact of this person easy to understand. Your paper fell within the target range of 1-2 pages.
(27-30 points) / Your written piece had a thesis statement that was somewhat clear. You included a few supporting points that showed the impact of this person. Your paper was over the two page limit because it was filled with details that were off topic.
(24-26 points) / Your written piece had an unclear thesis statement. You had no limited supporting detail. Your paper was under one page in length.
(20-23 points) / Your written piece had no thesis statement. You had little or no supporting detail. Your paper was less than one page in length.
(0-19 points)
Research Component (20 points) / The author included three citations that added great value to the written piece. The author used at least three electronic note cards, and all three works are cited properly in the bibliography. (18-20 points) / The author included three citations that added some value to the written piece. The author used at least three electronic note cards, and there were some minor errors with the bibliography. (16-17 points) / The author may not have included all three citations, or the citations added no value. The author did not use all three note cards, and there were numerous errors in the bibliography. (14-15 points) / The author did not include all three citations and/or note cards. There were several major errors with the bibliography. (0-13 points)
Renaissance Creation (30 points) / Your creation showed significant effort, craftsmanship, and creativity. (27-30 points) / Your creation showed moderate effort, craftsmanship, and creativity. (24-26 points) / Your creation showed mediocre effort, craftsmanship, and creativity. (21-30 points) / Your creation showed limited effort, craftsmanship, and creativity. (0-20 points)
Presentation (10 points) / You presented with great enthusiasm. You made great eye contact, you connected with your audience, and for most of the project, you spoke slowly and clearly so that you were easy to understand.
(9-10 points) / You presented with some enthusiasm. You made some effort to make eye contact with your audience. For some of the project, you spoke slowly and clearly so that you were easy to understand.
(8 points) / You presented with limited enthusiasm. You made little effort to make eye contact. At times, it was difficult to understand you during the presentation. (6.5-7.5 points) / You presented with no enthusiasm. You made no effort to make eye contact. For the majority of the presentation, it was difficult to understand your work.
(0-6 points)
Mechanics (5 points) / You had no missing periods and no more than one comma splice or run-on sentence in the written piece.
(4.5-5 points) / You had no more than one missing period and no more than two run-ons or comma splices in the written piece.
(4 points) / You had more than one missing period and no more than four run-ons or comma splices in the written piece.
(2.5-3.5 points) / You had more than two missing periods and more than four-run-ons or comma splices in the written piece.
(0-2 points)
Effort (5 points) / You turned in all components of your project on time, and were on task during class for the majority of the time.
(4.5-5 points) / You turned in all components of your project on time, and were on task during class for some of the time.
(3.5-4 points) / You did not turn all of your project components on time, and were off task frequently during class. (2-3 points) / You did not turn all of your project components in on time, and were off task the majority of the time.
(0-1.5 points)