Assignments

=About this page = This page has six sections, one section for deadlines and five for assignments.

1. Deadlines 2. Research and Note-taking 3. Primary Source Analysis 4. Revolution in Plain English 5. Through Their Eyes Journals

=1. Deadlines =

Monday, Feb 29th: Your group's Revolution in Plain English video must be complete and embedded into each member's blog.

TBA closer to the date, but around March 23: Your "Through Their Eyes" Revolutionary Journal must be posted by the end of class along with all the supplementary paragraphs.

Primary Source Analysis assessment. See rubric here.

This will be done in class.

= = =2. Research and Note-taking = Thorough and thoughtful research and note-taking on your revolution will help you build a strong foundation for success on the rest of your assignments.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Part I:
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Think ahead. Visualize your end products: two Through Their Eyes Journals (one for each of your characters) and your Revolution in Plain English video (a two-minute summary of your revolution). Work with the end in mind.


 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Your notes should include a vocabulary list, guiding questions, key dates, major events, and important people. In short, your notes should look like the notes you took on the Russian Revolution.


 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Decide early on where you will store your images so that everyone in your group has access to them.


 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Begin by looking at the secondary resources that your seminar advisor provided for you on the page of your respective revolution. Gain a general understanding of your revolution before beginning your primary source analysis.


 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Explore the same databases from the Library Media Center (Grolier, Discovery Streaming, World History, etc.) that you used for research on the Russian Revolution, as well as your own online research. Begin with a general key word search, like "French Revolution". Then try more specific key word searches using the names of important people and major events, like "Marie Antoinette" and "Tennis Court Oath".


 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Save your references as you go so that creating your group's list of references (a required works cited section at the end of both your journals) does not become too burdensome. Use a tool like Noodlebib or Easybib or type it all up yourself. Just remember that the result must be in MLA Style. Also, remember that you must not only have citations for your text, but also for the images that you use in your journal entries.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Part II:
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Follow the directions on the epad that your seminar advisor has created for you. Note that you are sharing notes on epad that you'll use for your group's Revolution in Plain English viedo and your individual Through Their Eyes Revolutionary Journal.


 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Remember: think ahead. Visualize your end products: 1). Your group's Revolution in Plain English video and 2). your individual Through Their Eyes Revolutionary Journal. Work with the end in mind.

= = =<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">3. Primary Source Analysis =

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">By analyzing a primary source, you will think like an historian to gain a deeper understanding of the historical context of your respective revolution.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Directions: Watch this video. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">media type="file" key="primary sources.m4v" width="300" height="300"

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">[To be announced...]

=<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">4. Revolution in Plain English = <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">You and your group will collaborate to create one, Common Craft-style video that summarizes your revolution. See below for details.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Watch the video below about the creators of Common Craft. Note how they make their videos and think about how you can work together to streamline their process (as you have less time to create your video). For example, you should draw your outlines by hand instead of using PowerPoint to create them. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">media type="custom" key="23043132"

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Watch the example below, a video created by Common Craft. If you don't have a VPN, then watch it on youku. (Thank you, Teety.) <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">media type="custom" key="17526980"

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">If you would like to watch other examples, then peruse the video list on their site.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Requirements:
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Name your revolution something like, "The Industrial Revolution in Plain English".
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Streamline your video so that it is between three to five minutes (five minutes max).
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Simply present (either orally or written or both) key ideas from your revolution in an engaging and memorable way. Have fun with it. Your viewers (your peers) will appreciate humor.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Include at least one map that fits the time period of your revolution (i.e. a map of the United States today would not be appropriate for showing the 13 Colonies during American Revolution). A simple, hand drawn image would suffice. Keep it simple.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Tell the story chronologically by including key dates and names of events, like you would see on a timeline.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Highlight "realities" or the key events by making summative statements that clearly and economically (with as few words as possible) articulate what was happening during the revolution (e.g. The Cultural Revolution was a confusing time of political intrigue, mass movements, public denouncements, humiliation, violence, and chaos.)
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Clearly state in your own words (either orally or written or both) the causes and effects (both short term and long term) of your revolution. You should have written text for all of the words that may be unfamiliar to your audience (your peers who did NOT study the same revolution as you.)
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Incorporate some hand gestures (e.g. a thumbs up, a peace sign [yeah!], or something more creative). Forearms may show. No faces. You are not acting anything out. Note that at least one hand from each member of your group must be in the video at least once.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Utilize hand drawn and/or printed props to convey meaning. Keep it simple. Don't spend too much time drawing. Use bold outlines and make sure that anything printed from an online source will be clearly visible when you film. Visualize how it will look when filmed.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Ensure that each member of your group has equal lines in the video.

=<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">5. Through Their Eyes Revolutionary Journal = <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">You will create journal entries from the perspective of each of the characters that your seminar advisor has provided for you on the pages of your respective revolutions. Essentially, you are creating a piece of historical fiction like the one you created to show understanding of the Russian Revolution.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Requirements
<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">You must meet the requirements below.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Requirements for each student:
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">A journal from the perspective of one character, a perspective that is different than at least one other member of your group (Try and split your group in half as you did with the Russian Revolution.)
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Three journal entries
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">1 journal entry for each of the 3 turning points that your group agreed on (same dates/events for all characters)
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">At least 4 vocabulary words (in bold) for each entry
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">3 to 5 answers (underlined) to your guiding questions
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">1 or 2 images for each entry, along with captions of a maximum 15 words for each image
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Citations in MLA style for each entry

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Requirements in general:
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Show understanding of the Thinking Like a Historian framework
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Show understanding of the causes; and the short-term and long-term effects of a revolution
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Show how a revolution affects different people (particular your group's two characters)
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Highlight changes and turning points during your periods of history
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Employ some narrative writing techniques (particularly imagery) to help readers form mental images
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Develop your characters to engage readers. What personality does your character have? Likes, dislikes, motivators?

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Requirements for publishing:
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Post your journal on your blog as one post. The post should be in the following order:The category is Humanities.
 * introduction
 * body of the post:
 * entries ( Tumblr, Powerpoint, Keynote, Prezi, Slidesnack, Slideshare, or Haiku Deck) AND works cited page.
 * If you used Tumblr, then take a screenshot of the page and include that along with a hyperlink to your Tumblr page. If you used Powerpoint or Keynote, then post it to Slideshare and embed your Slideshare into your post. (Note that a Keynote must be first converted to a pdf, then loaded to Slideshare.) If you used Prezi, then embed your Prezi into your post.
 * If you used PowerPoint or Keynote or a Prezi, then your "Works Cited" page should be the last page/frame. If you used a Tumblr, then add a "Works Cited" page to your Tumblr.
 * conclusion
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Your tags must include the name of your revolution (e.g. "French Revolution") and your Humanities class number (e.g. 8-9) and other tags that might be specific to your revolution.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">The title of your journal should be the name of your character followed by journal followed by a creative title (e.g. Sergei's Journal: ).
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">The post with your journal must also include an introduction--in your own words--that explains what the journal is, tells who the character is, and sets the scene for the first entry by giving a little bit of background and explaining what led up to (the causes behind) your first entry. In short, it should expand on and personalize the introduction you all wrote together on your epad, only this one is in your own words. Do NOT copy and paste from the epad. (It should sound something like the scrolling text at the beginning "Star Wars".)
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">The post with your journal must have a conclusion at the end--in your own words--that includes the following paragraphs: a paragraph on the short-term and long-term effects of your revolution, a paragraph on what changed and what remained the same, and a paragraph on how the past is similar and different from today.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">You must included a works cited page in MLA style. You could use an online tool like Easybib or Noodlebib to create it or you could create the list yourself using a site like Purdue's Online Writing Lab as a guide. Do NOT cite Wikipedia or Google. Do NOT copy and paste a bunch of links.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">You must included a works cited page in MLA style. You could use an online tool like Easybib or Noodlebib to create it or you could create the list yourself using a site like Purdue's Online Writing Lab as a guide. Do NOT cite Wikipedia or Google. Do NOT copy and paste a bunch of links.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Advice
<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Before you begin drafting your journals:


 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Identify the three turning points before you begin writing. Your Revolution in Plain English should have helped you identify many key events/turning points. Now you must select five.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Decide on the ten vocabulary words and the 3-5 guiding questions for each turning point.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Develop your characters. Discuss the details of each character, like his or her name, gender, age, occupation, family, close friends, beliefs, concerns, aspirations, and motivation.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">When you begin writing:

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Note you are writing one journal on your own this time.


 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Begin with the first turning point that your group decided on. Spend some time developing the exposition of your story (time, place, social situation, and characters). Your first entry should make the main cause(s) clear to your readers.

= =
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Remember that you're writing historical fiction. You are: using literary devices to engage the reader with a story and informing the reader about that period in history.