The Wayfarer’s Guide to Nearly Everything
Collaborative Project
Tuesday/Thursday
As we read Douglas Adams’s The
Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, we
will work together to create our own interactive online encyclopedia. Through
this project, you will:
§
work collaboratively
with your classmates
§
interact with your
classmates and me online
§
learn how to write in
the comedic, satirical style of Douglas Adams
§
create four polished
encyclopedia entries that will be published online*
Each of your entries must be two
paragraphs long (standard MLA
formatting). Each should be clear enough and include enough relevant
information that a very bright seventh-grader could read the entry and
understand your topic. In addition to being informative, each entry should also
incorporate humor and satire where appropriate.
PROJECT DETAILS
All entries must be
submitted to me via email by the due dates listed
below. Each entry must be in final-draft form: polished, free of grammatical
and spelling errors, and MLA-formatted. Send your completed entries as
attachments to melissa.n.schulz@gmail.com.
Entry #1: Literature
Due: Monday, 5/7 (email) /
Wednesday, 5/9 (email revised draft)
Choose one book to describe
and critique. This entry should include: a rough outline of the book’s plot;
relevant information about the book’s genre and historical context; background
information about the author; and your assessment of the book.
Entry #2: Grammar
Due: Monday, 5/14 (email)
/ Wednesday, 5/16 (email revised draft)
You will be assigned a
grammatical concept to explain. Your explanation should include both a
discussion of the concept and two or three examples. Keep your bright
seventh-grade audience in mind here: make your explanation and examples
interesting, conversational, and informative.
Entry #3: Personal
Interests
Due: Monday, 5/21 (email)
/ Wednesday, 5/23 (email revised draft)
Write two paragraphs about
something that interests you and about which you know more than the average
person. Some ideas: a hobby (fencing, building ships in bottles, philately,
parkour); a band, movie, or TV show you enjoy; a type of food; a sport; an
academic subject (outside of English and literature); a historical period or
figure; an artist or artistic movement; etc. You must clear your topic with
me by Tuesday, 5/15.
Entry #4: Apocrypha
Due: Monday, 5/28 (email)
/ Wednesday, 5/30 (email revised draft)
Create a fictional object,
event, person, phenomenon, sport, etc. to describe as though it were real.
Consider all aspects of your fictional item and provide enough information to
make it credible. For example, if you choose to create a fictional person,
provide that person’s name, birth and death dates, biographical history (what
important things did he do?), historical relevance (what was his legacy?), and
one or two quirky personal details to make the entry entertaining. You must
clear your idea with me by Tuesday, 5/22.
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The Wayfarer’s Guide to Nearly Everything
Collaborative Project
Saturday
As we read Douglas Adams’s The
Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, we
will work together to create our own interactive online encyclopedia. Through
this project, you will:
§
work collaboratively
with your classmates
§
interact with your
classmates and me online
§
learn how to write in
the comedic, satirical style of Douglas Adams
§
create four polished
encyclopedia entries that will be published online*
Each of your entries must be two
paragraphs long (standard MLA
formatting). Each should be clear enough and include enough relevant
information that a very bright seventh-grader could read the entry and
understand your topic. In addition to being informative, each entry should also
incorporate humor and satire where appropriate.
PROJECT DETAILS
All entries must be
submitted to me via email by the due dates listed
below. Each entry must be in final-draft form: polished, free of grammatical
and spelling errors, and MLA-formatted. Send your completed entries as
attachments to melissa.n.schulz@gmail.com.
Entry #1: Literature
Due: Friday, 5/11 (email)
/ Sunday, 5/13 (email revised draft)
Choose one book to describe
and critique. This entry should include: a rough outline of the book’s plot;
relevant information about the book’s genre and historical context; background
information about the author; and your assessment of the book.
Entry #2: Grammar
Due: Friday, 5/18 (email)
/ Sunday, 5/20 (email revised draft)
You will be assigned a grammatical
concept to explain. Your explanation should include both a discussion of the
concept and two or three examples. Keep your bright seventh-grade audience in
mind here: make your explanation and examples interesting, conversational, and
informative.
Entry #3: Choose either
“Personal Interests” or “Apocrypha”
Due: Friday, 5/25 (email)
/ Sunday, 5/27 (email revised draft)
Personal Interests
Write two paragraphs about
something that interests you and about which you know more than the average
person. Some ideas: a hobby (fencing, building ships in bottles, philately,
parkour); a band, movie, or TV show you enjoy; a type of food; a sport; an
academic subject (outside of English and literature); a historical period or
figure; an artist or artistic movement; etc. You must clear your topic with
me by Saturday, 5/19.
Apocrypha
Create a fictional object,
event, person, phenomenon, sport, etc. to describe as though it were real.
Consider all aspects of your fictional item and provide enough information to
make it credible. For example, if you choose to create a fictional person,
provide that person’s name, birth and death dates, biographical history (what
important things did he do?), historical relevance (what was his legacy?), and
one or two quirky personal details to make the entry entertaining. You must
clear your idea with me by Saturday, 5/19.
