The Book ThiefPROJECT This project is designed to encourage you to pursue a style of work that you find interesting and worthwhile, while demonstrating your understanding of our text, The Book Thief. CHOOSING A GENRE AND MEDIUM You may choose any ONE of the following genres/media to present your finished product in. If you have an idea for a project not covered here, please discuss it with me. Presentations should be viewable/digestible in 4-12 minutes. (The amount of time it takes to “view/digest” an image depends on the complexity of the image.)
A dramatic performance, live or filmed (Students will need parental permission to appear on video.)
A series of images (may be drawn, photographic, electronic, etc)
A speech or dramatic presentation (skit)
A slide show presentation (e.g., PowerPoint) including both an oral and a visual component
A written report (no less than 1500 words)
A piece of creative writing (no less than 1500 words)
A piece of original music tied closely to the text in both lyrics and sound
Your work will be evaluated both on its success in terms of its chosen style, and on the level of insight and detail of response in relation to The Book Thief. CHOOSING COLLABORATORS Do you work better individually or in a group? What kind of roles would best support your work, given the style of work you wish to do? What kind of role would you best support? You may choose to work individually or in a group of no more than 6 people. ALL SUCCESSFUL GROUP MEMBERS must be able to
Coordinate with their group mates, including establishing lines of communication in case of unexpected absences from group meetings
Coordinate with their colleagues (in their same role) in collegial meetings
Support their group mates
Maintain professional and respectful relations, including dealing maturely with disagreements and emotional outbursts
Read the novel and able generate ideas to further the success of the project
CHOOSING A ROLE FOR YOURSELF
Students may choose any ONE or TWO of the following roles. Students will be marked on a rubric specific to their chosen role(s). There can be more than one of any role in a group except leader. Not all roles need be played.
RESEARCHER – Responsible for doing internet and library research, taking detailed notes, and presenting information to the group. A successful researcher must be able to
Find and collect relevant, useful information from a variety of sources and media (including print media)
Skim and scan a large number of websites and books in order to find and evaluate sources
Select key sources, and read that material critically and carefully
Take notes on research, including bibliographic info
Find relevant media
Digest information and present it clearly to the team
Speak clearly to the group about the research (including detailed explanation of notes)
WRITER – Responsible for writing informational texts such as speeches, articles, reports, blog posts, etc.; may also choose to write creative texts such as stories, poetry, scripts, jokes, etc. A successful writer must be able to
Write with an audience in mind (the audience in this case being our class, but also the broader world of high school students not in our school)
Give credit to the work of others, including citing research sources
Use techniques to engage the audience such as hooks, impact statements, examples, images, rhetorical devices, humour, etc.
Be as accurate as possible when presenting facts
Make use of research
Demonstrate creativity
GRAPHIC ARTIST – Responsible for creating charts, graphs, posters, illustrations, slide shows etc. that convey information to the class. A successful graphic artist must be able to
Choose a style and medium that is appropriate to the content and aims of their project
Demonstrate proficiency with their chosen medium, whether physical or electronic
Convey information visually in a clear manner
Learn new techniques and styles by looking at other excellent work available on the internet and in books
Show a depth of detail and thought in the design and execution of the work
Coordinate with writers, researchers and enactors (where applicable) in order to produce a coherent final result
ENACTOR – Responsible for speaking, acting, presenting, etc. in front of the class and on video. A successful enactor must be able to
Speak clearly and confidently to a group of their peers
Use gestures and pauses, and vary intonation and speed in order to bring their words to life and make them easily comprehensible and engaging to the audience.
Express feeling and emotion through body and voice, including playing fictional roles
Prepare for performances, including some degree of memorization, so that the performance can be fluently delivered with confidence and making eye-contact
Secure parental permission for appearing on video
LEADER – Responsible for motivating the group, keeping them on task, speaking on the group’s behalf and taking responsibility for group failures. A successful leader must be able to
Motivate their group
Protect their group from outside interference
Take responsibility for the success and failure of the group
Give credit to their group mates
Protect the group’s reputation
Facilitate communication outside of class (be the group hub)
Help to keep the group organized
Speak to the instructor on the group’s behalf
Secure resources where possible
Delegate responsibilities, ensuring that all group members are productive and that the group as a whole is operating efficiently
VIDEO EDITOR – Only for projects which require extensive video editing. DO NOT AGREE TO BE A VIDEO EDITOR UNLESS YOU HAVE EXPERIENCE otherwise you may find yourself unable to keep the promises you make to your group and to the class. A successful video editor must be able to
Secure necessary equipment and software
Deepen their pre-existing understanding of video editing techniques
Produce smooth, competent work
Control the pacing of the final video
Practice editing before the final editing sessions
Budget time so that this difficult task can be finished on time
Upload the finished work to YouTube (comments disabled please)
CHOOSING A TOPIC
We will generate ideas for topics in your groups as you read the novel, but here are a few possible ideas to get you started:
Symbolism in the novel (Bread, Accordion, Books, etc.)
Literacy and Power
Stealing and Giving
Adapting the novel to another genre or medium
Death and Mortality
Colour, Beauty and Ugliness
Soft Control (the ways a population freely give up their own power, or are subtly manipulated by those in power)
Kindness and Cruelty
The Dualities of Nazi-era Germany
Love
Style, Tone and Figurative Language
Anti-Semitism and Jewish Resistance
Individualism vs. Collectivism
Conformity and Rebellion
The perils of state-controlled education
Being (or feeling) different
Any particular character
Race in the novel
The Tyranny of the Majority
The Arbitrariness of Morality
Conditioning in our World
Abandonment and Survivors’ Guilt
Humanity and Dehumanization
The end product you produce must go beyond explaining the content of the novel. You must have a particular angle, attitude, opinion, or point-of-view to express in your work.