Final Project- A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah

As a culminating project, you will write a letter or develop an i-movie explaining what you learned about Africa/ Sierra Leone and child soldiers.

This is intended to take a significant amount of time, energy and thought.

·  You may use this as part of your Senior Exit Project

·  You may use this as a sample of your best work for a college application/ job interview/ portfolio.

Choose from the following 2 options:

1)  A letter to Ishmael Beah

2)  An I-movie infomercial for one of the NGO organizations (3-4 minute)

3)  An African song using Garageband

4)  A poster using Picasso or Glogster

Following World War II, the countries of the world came together in the United Nations to try and prevent atrocities such as what happened to the Jewish people during the Holocaust. One result was that the United Nations signed a Declaration of Human Rights that listed all rights human beings should have. After reading A Long Way Gone, we want you to consider what rights were violated and what the role of the United Nations should be in preventing the use of child soldiers in current/ future conflicts.

UN Declaration of Human Rights: http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/index.shtml

You must select the right or rights violated in the UN Declaration of Human Rights.

First Draft Due Wednesday

First Draft- Google Docs- Linked to Wiki by Wednesday/ Final Draft- Due Friday

Letter to Ishmael Beah-What did you learn about child soldiers/ Africa/ Sierra Leone from the book? What UN Declaration of Human Rights are being violated? What should be done about the use of Child Soldiers?

Analyze how issues may be viewed differently from cultural groups- What did you Learn? / Use primary sources to explain current issues / Business Letter Format
(For the Letter)
A / 3 clear examples/ 1 quote with page- numbers/ analyzes what the book teaches you about Sierra Leone / Child Soldiers/ Africa. / Identify the human right(s) that are violated from the UN Declaration of Human Rights and describe 1-2 specific examples of how this is violated in the book. Explains what specific responsibility (if any) countries should have in working to stop the use of child soldiers / Proper Business Letter Format (see Write Source book) with 4-5 paragraphs. Edited First and second draft person/ peer edited with significant revisions, spellchecked and grammatically correct. Completed in Google Docs. First Draft – Green
Second Draft- Blue Edit-Red
B / 3 examples/ quote with a page number- mostly analyzes what book teaches / Identify human right/ 1 specific example and explains how it is violated in the book. Explains the responsibility with child soldiers / Mostly proper business letter format- Edited first/second draft- A few grammatical mistakes. Google Docs
C / 2 examples/ or no page number some discussion of what book teaches / Identify UN Dec of Human Right with general explanation of how it is violated in the book. / Mostly proper business letter- Some spelling errors/ Grammatical Mistakes. Google Doc
F / 2 or fewer examples/ little discussion of book teach / UN Declaration of Human Rights violated discussed but no clear explanation. / Improper business letter format/ Not spellchecked.

Wednesday- Rough Draft- Friday Final Draft

By Wednesday-

Imovie- in Powerpoint/ Keynote- 10 images/UN right violated/Quote post on wiki

Song- Lyrics- with a beat imbedded on wiki with UN right violated/ Quote

Poster- 10 Images/ cite images- Quote/ UN Right Violated- posted on wiki

An I-movie infomercial for one of the NGO organizations (3-4 minute)

Song-African Beat using Garage Band, Poster- Glogster/ Picasso.

Analyze how issues may be viewed differently from cultural groups- What did you Learn? / Use primary sources to explain current issues / Imovie
Graphics/ Images/ Song
(For the I-Movie
A / 3 clear examples of what the book teaches you about Sierra Leone / Child Soldiers/ Africa. with 1 quote written with page number and explained in your own words / Identify the human right(s) that are violated from the UN Declaration of Human Rights and describes 1-2 examples of how this is violated in the book. Identifies and explains 1 NGO that works with the issue and specifically how they help. / 10 or more appropriate images and give proper citation. Song with meaningful explanation for each image. 3-5 facts about current child soldiers
B / 3 examples/ quote with a page number- mostly analyzes what book teaches / Identify human right/ 1 specific example and explains how it is violated in the book. Explains the responsibility with child soldiers / 8-9 Images/ mostly proper citations. Some explanation of using each image. 3 facts current child soldiers
C / 2 examples/ or no page number some discussion of what book teaches / Identify UN Dec of Human Right with general explanation of how it is violated in the book. / 6-7 images/ citations incomplete. Some explanation- fewer 3 facts of current child soldiers
F / 2 or fewer examples/ little discussion of book teach / UN Declaration of Human Rights violated discussed but no clear explanation. / 5 or fewer images and/ or no citations and/ or no facts about current child soldiers

Business Letter Tips

Type in Google Docs. Use 1 colored font for your first draft. Have a trusted person read your draft. Have a teacher/ adult also read your draft for suggested improvements. You can email an adult with the attachment and ask for feedback.

The letters will actually be emailed.

The address for Ishmael Beah:

Mr. Ishmael Beah

c/o Sarah Crichton Books

Farrar, Straus and Giroux

19 Union Square West

New York, New York 10003

Shroder’s Address

5030 Duck Creek Road

Cincinnati, Ohio 45227

Dear Mr. Beah

I learned many things from reading A Long Way Gone. This book taught me

1.

2.

3.

A quote I found that was meaningful was . . . (page #____)

The United Nations created a document called the UN Declaration of Human Rights to try and protect the rights of people around the world. Clearly, what happened to Ishmael Beah violated #_____ and # ______because ______. Since the issue of child soldiers continues today, I feel that ______should be done to help address this problem.

I Movie Tips

Type things in Keynote or Powerpoint and move them into I-Movie. It can be challenging to type wors into I-Movie.

As you find images, make sure you copy and paste where you found them. Do not just type google images, but the actual site you found them. (click on the pictures).

Take your time choosing the song. It should be meaningful and relevant. If you want a particular song, download it on a zip drive and you can convert this.

Talk to students who have completed an imove in the past. Derrick Cox, Jarell Young, LaToya Taylor, Davonna Jones, Tyler Avant and others are experts you can ask to help you.