Multimodality Quest Project

8.9.5.5 Integrate multimedia and visual displays into presentations to clarify

information, strengthen claims and evidence, and add interest.
8.9.1.1 Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-onone, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 7 topics,
texts, and issues, building on others ideas and expressing their own clearly.
a. Come to discussions prepared having read or studied required material;
explicitly draw on that preparation by referring to evidence on the topic, text,
or issue to probe and reflect on ideas under discussion.
b. Follow rules for collegial discussions, set specific goals and deadlines, and
define individual roles as needed.
c. Pose and respond to specific questions with elaboration and detail by
making comments that contribute to the topic, text, or issue under
discussion.
d. Review the key ideas expressed and demonstrate understanding of
multiple perspectives through reflection and paraphrasing.
e. Cooperate, mediate, and problem solve to make decisions as appropriate
for productive group discussion.
8.4.3.3 Analyze how particular lines of dialogue or incidents in a story or
drama propel the action, reveal aspects of a character, or provoke a decision.
8.5.3.3 Analyze how a text makes connections among and distinctions
between individuals, ideas, or events (e.g., through comparisons, analogies,
or categories).
8.5.6.6 Determine an authors point of view or purpose in a text and analyze
how the author acknowledges and responds to conflicting evidence or
viewpoints.
8.5.7.7 Evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of using different
mediums (e.g., print or digital text, video, multimedia) to present a particular
topic or idea.
Instructions:
You are an author struck with an amazing idea for the worlds next great
adventure novel and just got the okay from a big-shot publisher to start
creating a story that appeals to young readers around the middle school
age.. However, you want to go against the convention of having it being a
paperback novel with no pictures.

You are going to make it multimodal, meaning using different forms of

media to tell your story. You are allowed but not limited to using print,
images, sound/music, video, podcast, Vlogs, VoiceThread, iMovie, and
Windows MovieMaker. If you have any form of media in mind, by all
means run it past me to get the okay to use it.
In your story, you will create a character who goes on a quest to acquire
something, but ends up learning something about themselves and their
world in a different way that they didnt realize before. Keep in mind the
elements we talked about while reading The Hobbit. Your story must
contain a quester, a place to go, a stated reason to go, challenges
and trials while on route, and in the end, a real reason to go.
Keep all characters, setting, plot, and your story original. Use your creative
mind to create any world that you want!
We will have a topic proposal with the class so you can get ideas from your
peers. After you okay a topic, you will go through three different workshops
throughout the semester. Two will be in class, and one will be on your own
time with me. After the topic proposal we will be exploring different genres
and forms of media for you to use.
Along with the topic proposal for generating ideas, there will also be specific
journal prompts that you will write about in your Writers Notebook that
you will indicate with sticky notes and turned into me along with the rest of
your project so I can see your brainstorming.
Along with your final project and drafts, you will also hand in a two page
Reflection Paper on your project. This will identify why you chose the forms
of media that you did, how and why you used them, the moves you made
during your story, the elements of quest found in your story, and any
reactions or changes you would do to your story.
There will also be three Writers Workshops that are mandatory for
participation! You will have two with your peers, then one with Ms. Karels.
Expectations for workshops will be positive language and respect for your
partner. You will explain your story with limited interruptions from your
partners, then vice versa. We will model expectation further in class before
they are held.

1 Acceptable

3 Meets
Standards

4 Exceeds
Standards

Character
Development

Characters
found in story
and are
created by
the author.

Characters in
story are
original and
have
dialogue or
incidents in
the story that
propel the
action, reveal
aspects of
the
character, or
provoke a
decision.

Writing
Process

Student
reflects on
their writing
process.

Student is
able to
thoughtfully
reflect on the
writing
process by
identifying
and justifying
decisions
based on
evidence
found on
feedback
during
workshops.

Plot
Development

There is a
story line
present in
the work.

The story
makes
connections
among and
distinctions
between
individuals,
ideas, or
events in
series of

events that
make sense
and follow
the elements
of a quest as
talked about
in class.
Multimedia
Incorporation

Multimedia
elements are
incorporated
and found in
work.

Multimedia
elements are
chosen with
thought and
support
found in the
Reflective
Piece and
strengthen
claims and
create
interest in
the story.

Checklist:
You must have Ms. Karels initials by each line before you go to the
next step in this process. All work on checklist will be turned in on the
final day of the semester, so keep all materials in binder and organized.
__
__
__
__
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Topic Proposal of idea for story annotated by peers

Draft from Workshop #1 notes
Draft from Workshop #2 notes
Draft from Workshop #3 notes
Writers Journal with prompts indicated by sticky notes
Reflection of project
Final project

Self Evaluation
The point of this assignment if to have the students identifying the basic
elements of a quest that Tolkien neatly lays out for us in The Hobbit and
transform it into their own work. I also think that 8th Grade students need to
be more aware of the different uses of technology and how to play around
and use their own creativity. I am happy with the revisions in the rubric and
using language from the Standards to define criteria, because it makes a lot
of sense to take what we are measuring and putting it exactly into the
project. I also like the revisions I made with my language and vocab making
it all more clear and understandable to my class.
I also always forget about checklists and how useful they are for students.
Being an avid checklist maker myself, I know that they are simple to keep
track and organized when constructing a huge assignment like this one.
This is actually my rubric for my Unit Plan due in ENGL 4922 and will be my
huge summative piece for the Unit. I created it entirely on my own and was
influenced by using multigenres in papers, and the media aspect came to me
when we talked about in my content class how pen and paper stories are
disappearing. Students in the future will most likely be making stories solely
on the use of technology. Performance Assessments are great for
Communication Arts and Literature because you can measure A LOT of
standards and what you worked hard on a Unit for the students to
understand from literature or other work.