San Diego Jewish Academy 9th Grade Humanities Middle Ages Project

Biographical essay: Find out more about Thomas a Becket and his shrine at Canterbury. Present your findings in a biographical essay on Becket's life, achievements, and the importance of his shrine as a place of pilgrimage. (As an alternative, you may select a different historical figure from this time period.)

Research and PowerPoint presentation: Find out more about: the Norman Conquest, the Crusades, Romanesque architecture, or the German unification efforts and create a PowerPoint presentation showing contributing factors, immediate causes, immediate effects, and long-term effects. (As an alternative, you may select a different topic of historical significance from this time period.)

Art: Create an illuminated manuscript of a text from the Middle Ages. You may select a piece from The Canterbury Tales or another piece from this time period. (See Ms. McKinstry for other literary ideas.) - Illuminations - an overview with examples and links to additional resources.

Creative writing: Write a song, poem, or story of courtly love or chivalrous behavior. You may model your piece after Chaucer's tales or a troubadour's song. You may choose to write a piece from one character to another; for example, you could write lyrics to a song that Arcite or Palamon might compopse to express his feelings about Emily.

Creative Process - shows use of the five steps in the creative process - http://www.writedesignonline.com/creativeprocess.htm

Design Expectations - standards of design for all projects. http://www.writedesignonline.com/human/design

Graphic Organizers - shows how different tools facilitate the brainstorming process. http://www.writedesignonline.com/organizers/index.html

How to conduct web research systematically and develop a well supported paper - a form of the creative process applied specifically to using web-based literature to write papers. - http://www.writedesignonline.com/assignments/rdiproject#support

How to Use Quotes - humm, what do you think, it's about using quotes in text. - http://www.writedesignonline.com/assignments/usingquotes.html

PowerPoint Tips - http://www.writedesignonline.com/assignments/powerpointips

Re-vision - another check list, this time intended to correct your vision. - http://www.writedesignonline.com/assignments/re-vision.html

Sense Web - starts the brainstorming process for creating show, not tell senses. http://www.writedesignonline.com/assignments/senseweb.html

Works Cited and Writing Style Guides - shows an example of a Works Cited listing and provides links to several writing style guides such as MLA and APA. - http://www.writedesignonline.com/workcited.html

Article or Essay | Illuminated Manuscript

• relate a sequence of events and communicate the significance of the events to the audience. (3)
• locate scenes and incidents in specific places. (2)
• describe with concrete sensory details the sights, sounds, and smells of a scene and the specific actions, movements, gestures, and feelings of the characters. (10)
• pace the presentation of actions to accommodate changes in time and mood. (2)
• design and publish documents by using advanced publishing software (including spellcheck) and graphic programs. (3)
• revise writing to improve the logic and coherence of the organization and controlling perspective, the precision of word choice, and the tone by taking into consideration the audience, purpose, and formality of the context. (5)
• produce legible work that shows accurate spelling and correct use of the conventions of punctuation and capitalization. (5)
  (adapted from English-Language Arts Content Standards for California Public Schools, December 1997.)

• Recognize and use organizational pattern: introduction, first and second transitions, body, conclusion. (5 points)
• Provide accurate and specific evidence including direct quotes for: Historical background (5 points)
• Cause(s) (5 points)
• Effect(s) (5 points)
• Use Power Point to enhance the appeal and accuracy of presentation. (5 points)
• Choose effective verbal and nonverbal techniques (e.g., voice, gestures, eye contact) for presentation. (3 points)
• Plan to meet time limit of 7 minutes. (2 points)
• Construct a clear, well-edited outline with complete content, abstract and correctly-formatted works cited. (5 points)

• establish a controlling impression or coherent thesis that conveys a clear and distinctive perspective on the subject and maintains a consistent tone and focus throughout the piece of writing. (Organization 1.1)
• use precise language, action verbs, sensory details, appropriate modifiers, and the active rather than the passive voice. (Organization 1.2)
• develop the main ideas within the body of the composition through supporting evidence (e.g., scenarios, commonly held beliefs, hypotheses, definitions). (Research and Technology 1.4)
• integrates quotations and citations into a written text while maintaining the flow of ideas. (Research and Technology 1.6)
• use appropriate conventions for documentation in the text, notes, and bibliographies by adhering to those in style manuals (e.g., Modern Language Association Handbook, The Chicago Manual of Style). (Research and Technology 1.7)
• design and publish documents by using advanced publishing software and graphic programs. (Research and Technology 1.8)
• revise writing to improve the logic and coherence of the organization and controlling perspective, the precision of word choice, and the tone by taking into consideration the audience, purpose, and formality of the context. (Evaluation and Revision 1.9)
• produce legible work that shows accurate spelling and correct use of the conventions of punctuation and capitalization. (Manuscript Form 1.4)
• (as appropriate) use clear research questions and suitable research methods (e.g., library, electronic media, personal interview) to elicit and present evidence from primary and secondary sources. (Research and Technology 1.3)
• synthesize information from multiple sources and identify complexities and discrepancies in the information and the different perspectives found in each medium (e.g., almanacs, microfiche, news sources, in-depth field studies, speeches, journals, technical documents). (Research and Technology 1.5)
  Adapted from California State Language Arts Standards. Grades Nine and Ten.

All items worth 3 points, 30 points total

• Show use of the five steps in the Creative Process - http://www.writedesignonline.com/creativeprocess.htm (5 points)
• Use the grid system for layout design - http://www.writedesignonline.com/resources/design/rules/layout.html (2 points)
• Show effective use of the elements from Design Expectations http://www.writedesignonline.com/human/design.htm (3 points)
• Use initial cap art and other design elements that set the tone. (5 points)
• Establish a controlling impression that conveys a clear perspective on your theme and maintain a consistent tone and focus throughout the piece. (10 points)
• Produce legible work that shows accurate spelling and correct use of the conventions of punctuation and capitalization. (5 points)