Major Assignments
World History – WWI Unit Project Assignments
1. Propaganda piece (press release, speech excerpt, poster, essay) by the government of any WWI country (20 points)
This project is designed to demonstrate your understanding of the types and purposes of propaganda used during World War I, such as that used by the British War Propaganda Bureau. We will discuss these in class, and look at examples of written and visual propaganda.
Rubric: For this project, you will create a writing or poster designed to achieve one or more of the purposes of WWI propaganda, from the perspective of the European country of your choice that participated in WWI. The message of your propaganda piece must be one that your chosen country would have wished to deliver through propaganda. To receive full credit, your piece should be historically accurate, carefully designed to deliver a clear message of propaganda, effectively/powerfully deliver the message, and reflect real effort on your part (i.e., writings will be carefully edited and error-free; artwork will reflect care and desire). Writings should be at least one and one-half full pages, double-spaced, in length; posters should be at least the size of letter-sized paper.
Grading:
Historical accuracy & Clarity of message – 15 points
Care and effort of piece – 5 points
2. Song lyrics regarding war and its human costs (25 points + extra credit)
This project seeks your personal thoughts/feelings about the difficulties faced by those touched by war – soldiers, fearful or injured civilians, survivors of persecution, family members, etc.
Rubric: Your work should reflect a clear understanding of the difficulties experienced by, and express a deep feeling of empathy for the person(s) of your choosing. Your work may, but need not make reference to or depict actual persons or events. The lyrics need not be realistic or graphic; they may be vague or abstract. In sum, your work should evoke in the listener feelings unmistakably consistent with the difficult experiences of wartime.
The lyrics should be one page long, single-spaced. You will be required to “perform” your song before the class; it should take approximately 1.5 – 2 minutes to “perform”. You need not set the lyrics to music, but you will receive extra credit if you do so. You may write original music or set your lyrics to the music of an existing popular song.
Grading:
Clarity of message & Depth of feeling evoked by piece – 20 points
Care and effort of piece – 5 points
Extra credit for setting the song to music – up to 5 points (more credit given for original music)