The+Giver+Project


 * The Giver by Lois Lowry**

In this project you will be asked to work collaboratively as a group to present your findings to the class over a novel. Read THE GIVER by Lois Lowry in class and complete the activities. Find the book online [|here] as well. **After each chapter, stop and make notes** for your section so that you will not be struggling to find the information closer to the deadline. Most of the text portion of your presentation should be completed in final draft form before we go to the lab. That way, all you have to do is either type it in or copy and paste from the wiki and add graphics. Remember, if you gather information from other sources, you **must [|cite] the source** within the presentation either within that section or on a bibliographic page.

Use one or more of the following online [|collaborative] tools to work together, post your information, and publish your presentation (**REMINDER: NEVER USE YOUR FULL NAME OR ANY OTHER PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION ON THE INTERNET.** That includes: city you live in, school you attend, your age or gender, family names, etc. You may use your first name only or create an [|anagram] using your full name at [|http://wordsmith.org/anagram/.)] I can help you with this if necessary.
 * [|www.thinkfree.com] (free word, powerpoint, all online to share either from the website or can be saved and shown on other computers)
 * [|www.voicethread.com] (a free slide show that allows you to add images, notes, and narration to share from the website on any computer)
 * http://woms.wikispaces.com/ (a free wiki that allows collaboration and embedding of multimedia files) **You will use this site** for the collaborative portion of your work. **Keep all of your notes on your page on this site!** It will keep you from losing any information if you lose your papers. It will also allow you to leave comments for each other even after school hours. I will create you a user log-in and password for each person as well as a page for your group.
 * [|www.teachertube.com] (free like YouTube, but it is education friendly; use this site to post a video if that is the format of your final product)
 * [|www.flickr.com] (free picture storage of pictures for you to use with this project; you can store or use other's pictures from here)
 * [|your class blog] (free; use this as a discussion point if you prefer it over the discussion tab at the top of the page of the wiki)

We will tour these tools in class prior to going to the lab so each group can decide ahead of time what tools it wants to use. Waiting until you get to the lab to decide this will be too late. Get teacher approval for any others that you may be interested in using (at least two day notice for this so I can review it). Also, get a note card for each group and **list ALL sites being used with user name and password information for each user** so that I (or your parents) may check on the progress of your work at any given time. Turn this card in to me. Add to it as you find new online tools to assist your group with its work.

Most of the above sites require you to have an email address to register. If you do not have one, let me know and I will work it out for you. Check with your group first to see if any of the other members have one that you can use to create the account. Use the sites above only for your group work for this project. If you choose to use it for anything other than that, you must only do that at home during this project. Computer time at school is very limited this time of year, and you will not have time to waste. You will only have roughly five class periods with which to create the final project. That is less than seven hours. As you can see, working as a group is a priority. Working from home or the library might be a necessity if you are not organized when you come to class.

Your group will consist of several members, each one responsible for at least one of the sections below. Each group will have one chosen leader that will monitor the progress of each member and be available to update me as to the group's progress. If you do not have four people in your group then you need to share the work in some portions of the extra section(s):
 * **summary and bibliographic** information of the book, must also include a detailed author bio (the content of this section will be similar to what one might find on Amazon.com or such but with probably a longer summary than Amazon normally has), list all books author has written with dates published and other available information (publisher, ISBN number, etc.)
 * description of **all characters** mentioned with a thorough [|character analysis] of one of the main characters (if "group" members are not named within the novel then list the group and what its purpose is, Example: "Elders")
 * setting and plot **by chapter** with a reflective portion at the end about your opinion on the effectiveness of the choice of the setting and plot twists citing specific examples
 * a **minimum of ten** other literary elements defined with examples notated with page numbers (see list at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Literary_elements or your textbook)
 * **book review from EACH member of the group** (must be thorough and give examples from the story as to what created the like or dislike)


 * Each section should contain the following:**
 * original information from you; if you [|plagiarize] then you will fail this assignment since that is [|CHEATING]; show me what you know
 * definitions or links to definitions of any literary terms used (can use links to [|wikipedia.org] or [|dictionary.com] instead of typing definition on all but literary elements page if your presentation is not a video; literary elements page must contain the actual definition and source for the definition for each term used)
 * sources cited for information shared using [|APA format] (an online citation maker can be found at [|http://citationmachine.net/)] see me for assistance if needed; citationmachine will create the correct format for you so you can just copy and paste into your presentation
 * at least one graphic or [|multimedia] item per page/slide/section
 * thorough explanation of the content for that area that shows your knowledge and mastery of assigned area
 * either recorded narration (preferred) or a live presenter for each area

Content: Your presentation can be in whatever format you like. I much prefer one that contains technology as part of it (slide show, Movie Maker video, voicethread, etc.), but it is your choice. Quality is as equally as important as quantity. This is where the Wow! points will come into play.
 * Each presentation will be graded on the following rubric (worth up to 110 points including 10 bonus points for test grade and final project grade):**
 * summary, et al. (thorough summary, complete bibliographic information, thorough author bio) - **20 points**
 * characters (all characters listed and described with at least ONE thorough character analysis)- **20 points**
 * setting/plot (by chapter with complete reflective portion) - **20 points**
 * literary elements (minimum of ten defined with notated examples) - **20 points**
 * book review (added for each member separately, complete with examples to support view) - **20 points**
 * extra points for Wow! factor - **up to 10 points** (not earned easily, I cannot even tell you what it is other than it goes above and beyond what I have asked for and the average presentation, it will be obvious to everyone that you deserve it)


 * Timeline for entire project:**
 * **April 19 - May 4 -** Introduction, read novel and do class activities to gather information and comprehension
 * **May 7 - 11 -** Work in lab
 * **week of May 14-18** (days will vary dependent upon work in lab and reviews for finals) Present final products; **presentation days will be set firm no later than May 11**


 * Standard late work policy will be adhered to, so be prepared and work as a group.Standard late work policy will be adhered to, so be prepared and work as a group.**


 * Daily grades** will come from chapter work we do in class prior to going to the lab.
 * Test grades** will come from the project grade and the AR grade on the novel at the conclusion of our reading it in class. This gives you two methods to prove mastery of the content.