Name______

Anthem: Art Show Project

Strong readers are able to visualize or “see” what they read, helping them to understand the situations in the story. However, as we all know from experiences reading a story before seeing the movie, what we see when we read is open to interpretation.

►Assignment: To help us develop a deeper understanding of Equality’s world, you will draw the society in which Equality 7-2521 lives and present your interpretation in an “art gallery” for others to analyze. This means that your assignment has two parts: the artwork and the explanation.

$ Artwork: After reading Chapters I and II, you should be able to imagine many of the different physical and social aspects of the community. While some aspects of the society are clearly stated (i.e. what certain buildings look like, etc.), others are open to interpretation; there is much room for creativity when representing implied social structures and norms.

You have had some experience identifying symbols during your reading and assignments last semester. This assignment will require that you apply this knowledge to represent not only the physical structure of Equality’s world, but also the social structure of his community (rules, customs, values, etc.). For example, if you were to “draw” the social structure of the United States of America, how would you visually represent diversity? What might be a symbol for the value Americans place on the media? These are the sorts of questions you will have to address in your drawing.

*Your drawing must clearly represent the most important physical structures and social aspects of the society (a good rule of thumb is a bare minimum of 10 physical and social aspects; more is required of groups).

6 Explanation: In order to be sure that the audience understands the choices you made, you will also draft a ‘placard’ to accompany the artwork, explaining what physical features were included in the picture to represent the rules you identified and explaining why certain symbols were chosen (i.e. how were they supposed to represent the society). This should be written in paragraph form and include sufficient explanation and support to make your interpretation clear (it will be at minimum one page).

U Presentation: After the drawings have been completed, they will be exhibited around the classroom for other groups to visit and appreciate. Each group will visit the other groups’ exhibit, taking notes on the ways that the drawings are similar to and different from their own, recording questions to ask the authors about their interpretations, and evaluating how accurate the drawings are.

After groups have seen all the art, groups will take turns holding a Question and Answer session, allowing other groups to ask them questions and providing the presenting group the chance to defend their interpretation.

When the presentations are over, the artwork will be hung in our class gallery (the bulletin board!), accompanied by the placards for future art-lovers to appreciate.

►Procedure:

Planning

1)  As you read (and reread), you will be required to take notes of the physical and societal features you find so that you can incorporate them into your drawing.

2)  Once you visualize the community, begin to “sketch” what you believe it looks like. Keep in mind the purpose and “connotation” of each place. Remember that while there is some room for creativity and interpretation in the way you represent social value and the ‘feeling’ of the community, the details of physical structures should be as described in the book.

3)  Think about how you can symbolically represent the social aspects of the community: what metaphors can you incorporate into your depiction? à

Composing

4)  Once you have agreed upon a plan, you will create the real thing. In groups, each person will take a specific role (Artist, Author, Organizer/Presenter), each person must take notes on the reading and work on the drawing, whether physically drawing, drafting the explanation, or checking the book to ensure the accuracy of the details included; this will help in case anyone is absent as the group prepares the placard and presentation.

5)  As you complete the drawing, outline what you will write on your placard to explain your artwork to the viewer. How did you decide what features were most important to include? What details should the viewer take note of? What is the significance of the symbols that you incorporated? Be specific—this will help you when you defend your interpretation to the viewers.

Viewing and Presenting

6)  As you visit each exhibit, take notes on the organizer sheet provided. Determine how the group’s interpretation was different from yours. Write down questions for the group if you are unsure of what they were trying to express or if you want to question the validity of their interpretation. Observe what choices the group made that were effective. As groups present, you should record the answers to your questions and additional notes.

7)  During the Question and Answer sessions, you will entertain questions and comments from the other groups, and then explain the choices you made when drawing your picture. The speaker will use the explanation on the placard to organize the presentation of your interpretation.

Evaluation: / Your Points
Detail and Accuracy:
·  Your drawing of the community should be detailed, incorporating specifics from the book and world knowledge to produce clear pictures of both places and symbols.
·  Although people may have different interpretations, your drawing should include accurate details gleaned from the descriptions in the book and include the most important locations from both chapters:
Chapter I Chapter II / /30
Creativity:
·  The picture should show both the physical and social structure of the society (creatively including laws, maxims, etc.).
·  While some details of the society are clear, there is room for interpretation, especially in regards to how you can symbolically represent the rules, attitudes, and values of the society. / /10
Quality:
·  Your drawing should be clear and neat, reflecting your best effort and the amount of time allotted.
·  Your drawing should be dark enough to see clearly and your use of color and other techniques should be appropriate to your interpretation. / /10
Placard:
·  The writing should identify and explain most of the features in the drawing.
·  The writing should be organized logically, clearly explaining the overall concept and elements of the drawing using complete sentences and paragraph form.
·  Your explanation should be detailed, incorporating specifics from the book and world knowledge to defend your choices.
·  Explanations of the symbols used should make sense in the context of the novel. / /50
TOTAL / /100
*Preparation and Work Ethic:
A) You planned before beginning your drawing, taking detailed notes, brainstorming, and sketching.
B) You used class time wisely, keeping extraneous discussion to a minimum. You performed assigned roles and shared responsibility for products. / /25
*Presentation & Participation:
A) You were able to answer all questions and provide coherent explanation and textual support for your interpretations and choices.
B) You participated actively in the presentation and discussion, taking detailed notes on other groups’ drawings and presentations and asking questions. You kept extraneous discussion to a minimum. / /25