Freshman Spring Project
Your goal is to represent your interpretation of literature based on close
reading in a form other than the traditional prose essay.
Analytical essays will always be our primary vehicle to explain our understanding of a complex text, but they are not the only way you can express an interpretation of literature. Consider that for centuries painters, sculptors, poets, and, more recently, filmmakers and even video game designers have based their creations on The Odyssey and Dante's Comedy. The Spring Project is an opportunity for you to follow this age-old tradition. You can pick any medium you choose to interpret one or more of our major texts from the year.
Your project cannot be simply a fanciful conceptualization of the literature, however. Careful re-reading and annotating of significant portions of the text is a requirement for everyone, and in fact the text should be by your side at every phase of your project. As you envision your project and start to create it, the constant question you should ask is: How does my project reflect close reading?
Try not to simply charge into a literal representation of a text. Ask yourself what interpretation of the text you want to show, and decide HOW your piece will indicate that interpretation to the audience. One of the most interesting aspect of your project will be seeing the CHOICES you made in your project. Why is one medium preferable to another? Why did you choose the particular text to focus on?
All projects begin with a one-page written proposal. This is a 5 point emailed assessment for which you'll get full credit for careful writing as you...
- Briefly explain your project in several sentences,
- indicate the TEXT(S) you will be re-reading and basing your interpretation on (include title and page numbers, please),
- if you are in a group, explain what your ROLE in the project will be,
- anticipate what PROBLEMS may hinder the project and how you intend to avoid those problems,
- sketch out a SCHEDULE including how you’ll use your time in class.
Other grades include the project itself (30 points) which will include a carefully written 300+ word “reflection.” This printed-out page should cover a few questions:
- How did your project help you understand the text(s) better?
- What did you learn in the process of your project (certain things took longer than expected? Technology let you down? Partnership made it easier / less easy? Etc.)
- If you had more time, what else might you add to your project?
Group Assignments (only commit yourself to a group if you will not be missing classes):
1) Make a film with your classmates that depicts as much or as little of the narrative as you see fit. This would involve adapting a
script, storyboarding scenes, shooting them, and editing the final piece.
Here's a film adaptation of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight: www.youtube.com/watch?v=fV30RG9CFQA
2) Make a Magazine using Microsoft Publisher, InDesign or similar software to create a magazine with a layout and content inspired
by a present day periodical, but with content related to Sir Gawain and the Green Knight or a combination of the works
we’ve read this year.
3) Create an audio drama with a written script and sound effects and publish it as a podcast.
4) Take on ANY project that you can envision requiring more than one person, and explain why the project warrants more than
one person.
Here's a depiction of Inferno using Minecraft: www.youtube.com/watch?v=80itiy3WvT4
Here's a 3D model of the ninth circle of Hell: www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bs2qG2TeEY
Here's a "rap battle" between Odysseus and Gawain: www.youtube.com/watch?v=uomKJ-Q0s4Q
Individual Assignments:
1) Use Animation Software to create a visual / audio interpretation of a scene or scenes from the literature we’ve read this year.
2) Compose a graphic novel based on Sir Gawain or another work. Interpretation is the key here – your decisions as to what scene
you pick, what the overall tone is, and how you represent the character (s) should point to your feelings about the concept. You
must be able to justify the amount of time the piece will require to complete, and compose a rough draft with pencil sketches of
the scenes. Actual text of the poem must be featured in the piece.
3) Depict a narrative with stick figures and thoughtfully selected captions. You could represent the entirety of The Inferno in
this way.
4) Project of your conception… think through what these projects are attempting to achieve, and suggest your own medium
through which to communicate your interpretation(s).