The Term Project is due by or on June 15, at 11:59pm HOL time. In order to submit the work, please send your project to [email protected] with the Subject “Dystopia - Term Project - HOL Name”, replacing the 'HOL Name' with your own. For example, if I were turning the project in, the subject of my email would say "Dystopia - Term Project - Elena Galatas". Also, please make sure that you put your HOL name and house at the very top of the body of your email.
As an avid fan of the dystopian genre, it definitely saddened me to only talk about three of the many great literature that is out there. There are so many more storylines and options to explore out there! This semester, you will have three options for your term project.
Project Option 1 - A Whole New World For this option, I want you to explore a new dystopian society. By new, I just mean one that hasn't been covered in our class; you are more than welcome to write about another novel that you have already read or just one that sounds interesting. This list as well as this list offer very good options for novels to choose from. Personally, I would love to read about novels like The Giver, The Handmaid's Tale, The Darkest Minds, Ender's Game, and Matched. That being said, you're more than welcome to write about any of the novels on those lists or even something that's not there.
In order to receive full credit for the project, you must include the following criteria below (though you are welcome to expand as far as you would like)
Your project must be at least 500 words. There is no maximum limit on the project, but the minimum needs to be met.
Any pertinent information about the novel you're writing about needs to be included in your research. This includes the name of your novel, who the author is, when it was written, and the general setting of the novel; you should also include what the novel itself is about - the general plot - but please refrain from any major spoilers (such as the ones I omitted in lessons three, four, and five). Are there any sequels to your novel such as The Hunger Games series or is it a standalone novel such as The Handmaid's Tale?
Tell me about why you chose this novel. What do you love about it? What do you not like about it? Is there anything you think could be improved upon or changed entirely?
If there are any television series or films about your novel, tell me about it. How different are the media representations from the novels? Are they drastically different, such as the sequels to the Maze Runner or Divergent novels are? Do you like the adaptations that have been made? Do you hate them? Why?
Project Option 2 - News Reporter For this option, try to imagine that you are a journalist living in one of the worlds. You can either choose one of the novels that we covered in class or one of the novels from the lists above; admittedly, I would prefer you to cover a novel that we didn't go over in the lessons, but you're welcome to choose one of the other three. Imagine you're a journalist sent in to some kind of a situation to interview one of the characters.
Step 1. Select one character that you will interview from one of the novels; in cases of novels that have sequels, you may use a character from a sequel if you are aware of them (such as Finnick or Aris or Evelyn from our novel's sequels). Using our novels for an example:
The Hunger Games: Katniss, Peeta, Gale, Haymitch, Effie, Cinna, President Snow, etc.
The Maze Runner: Thomas, Teresa, Newt, Gally, Alby, Chuck, Minho, etc.
Divergent: Tris, Four, Christina, Will, Eric, Peter, Caleb, Andrew Prior, Natalie Prior, etc.
Step 2. Create a list of 10 questions that you will ask your selected character. Refer to the novels or various study guides for them in order to gain ideas of what you would say and how the character would respond.
Step 3. Write up an interview with the character you chose. It's not required, but if you can try to find quotations from the novels to support your answers.
Project Option 3 - Graphic Design For this option, you will be creating some kind of graphic to bring attention to the novel of your choice; if you're feeling extra creative or adventurous, you can also create a trailer for the novel -- it's up to you whether you want to use clips from the films, but if you do credit needs to be given. As for the graphic, it can be a movie poster. It can be a new book cover. You may choose to design something for one of the novels we covered in this class or you may choose one from one of the books on the lists provided above. Please also include a small summary of what you have created; make sure you also include a tagline or something similar on the graphic itself. Think of when you pick up a novel or see a movie poster; include something that is going to draw other people in.
All graphics must be 600x600 or less; the ideal largest size for a post or book is likely to be 500x600. Please remember to upload all graphics to an image-hosting site and send the link with your project. Do NOT send your project as an attachment or it will not be accepted!
Please let me know if you don't want your work listed in the 'Student Work' page.
There will be an award for those students who complete the Term Project. If you have questions about any of these options, please feel free to ask them in the class forum.