To
the decades.
Select a decade you wish to immerse yourself in, anyone from the
1910's to the 1970's. There are six components to completing the ISU.
There will be deadline dates assigned for each component.
NOVEL: Read an approved novel of at least 200 pages that deals with
your chosen decade and write three response journals of 100 words
each (first third, middle third, final third of book).
POETRY: Find and analyze two approved poems that were written during
and about that decade (100 words each).
MEDIA: Find six newspaper or magazine articles over the next three
months that relate somehow back to that decade and write a Media
Journal for each (6 journals, 100 words each).
CREATIVE WRITING: Write a short story (minimum 500 words), or a long
poem (minimum 200 words) that set your characters back in your chosen
decade. You will submit both your rough draft and a proofed type copy
(red-marked), and a final clean copy typed. Everything is to be
Double Spaced.
ESSAY: Write an essay that puts you right in the decade as a reporter
writing the stories as they happen. The essay will be written in
first person and will include editorial opinions by you. This essay
will take research to complete. Through your research you can get
first hand accounts of the people who lived during those times, and
what they witnessed, and what they saw. For example, your
essay question might be from the 1960's decade. You may want to prove
the statement: John F. Kennedy sent troops to Vietnam, not to fight
Communism, but rather to help American business get oil cheaply.
Another example could take you to the Kent State campus in Ohio where
four students were shot dead by the National Guard during a war
protest rally. You may want to prove the statement: National Guard
troops should not have been summoned to this rally. No one would have
been hurt had they stayed in their barracks. You will then have to
research from five different sources those facts and opinions of
others that prove this point. Your sources must include at least two
books (none can be an encyclopaedia), and one magazine or one
newspaper article. No Internet sources will be accepted for this ISU.
The essay will follow a multi-paragraph format and be 500 words long.
Footnote it following the MLA method. The MLA method of footnoting
can be found at www.aresearchguide.com.
ORAL PRESENTATION: Present a 6 minute oral talk in January on your
ISU.