Introduction
by Christopher Callahan
This project will give students the opportunity to use their creativity and writing knowledge to develop a fictional newspaper article briefly covering William Shakespeare's story, Romeo and Juliet, by bringing it to life!
Introduction
This story is going to make headlines! You are a struggling news analyst who is on the verge of termination. The last good story you covered was the baker who tried to steal nearly two-hundred pounds of flour from the grocery store...one year ago! Now your boss is breathing down your neck, and has threatened your job. Rumor is, there's a new "hot shot" from New York City that's been sniffing around, looking for work. You need to get back on that high horse of yours, ride out and find a hit story before you're firing makes headlines! Lucky for you, there was a very tragic event that has just occurred. Officers are all over the scene! Two bodies were found, a boy and a girl, and the police are saying that it's the son and daughter of the two wealthiest families in town! You know them, the two families who have been feuding for generations. The Capulets and the Montagues, that's right! Get down there, interview as many people as possible! Family members, friends, associates, neighbors, witnesses, anyone! This could be your last chance at redemption!
Task
Task
I know, you have written a hit article before. Maybe I don't need to give you this advice, but you need to impress that boss of yours. He seems to be showing a lot of interest in that Yankee, hot-shot from New York City. Trust me, you don't want your job being taken by that sleeze bag. In order to get the best review on your article, follow these tasks:
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Record the events that took place by answering these questions: Who was involved? What happened? How did it occur? What events lead up to this outcome?
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Write the story as if you were reading it from a newspaper. Describe the events as best as you can. Between the "crime scene" and witnesses or even people who were close to Romeo and Juliet. Make sure the people you are "interviewing" for the story are still alive after the events of the story!
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Make it brief, no more than 1,000 words, but no less than 700!
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Make sure to "source" your information. Here is an example of how you should write this mock article (no, you may not use this): Friar Laurence helped Romeo and Juliet come together in the end, despite what their families wished, "I had no idea that this was what they had in mind," stated Laurence, "I was simply trying to bring these two lovebirds together. This wasn't how it was supposed to go. I am ashamed that it went this way and my prayers go out to their families." Laurence was trying to get them away from the chaos in the city and from their families. He claims that all they wished for was to be happily ever after.
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After completing the story, close it out in a creative fashion. You can make up your own ending to the events AFTER their deaths, or you can choose to leave your reader's on a cliff-hanger. Either way, it's up to you! Be creative!
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Don't forget to ask me if you have any questions! I am here to help!
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And remember, turn in this article on time. Otherwise, you won't get any credit and that hot-shot from New York City will be basking in what could've been your glory!
Process
Process
1.) Describe the events in detail! Make sure that you include how they died and who was "of assistance" to their deaths!
2.) Make sure your interviewees are still alive after the ending of Romeo and Juliet. It wouldn't make sense for you to be gathering a statement from a dead person, would it? A list of people you CANNOT use in the "interview":
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Romeo
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Juliet
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Tybalt
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Mercutio
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Lady Montague
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Paris
3.) Make sure you keep your essay between 700-1,000 words! You can type it out on a word processor (Microsoft Word, Google Docs, etc.) and copy/paste it to the blog on my website if that is easier for you.
4.) If you do not know how articles are written, look them up on washingtonpost.com or any other news source to gather an idea on how a news article is written. You can also pretend as if you are writing for one of those papers too! Again, I admire and support creativity!
5.) Finally, finish it off with a creative ending or cliff-hanger and submit it to the website! Copy and paste it as a response on the blog post, Breaking News: The Fate of Romeo and Juliet. No images are required with the submitted copy.
Turn it in on time! I can see the timestamps of your posts! Email me or ask me directly if you have questions or need a little bit of guidance.
Evaluation
Evaluation
This is how I will score your submissions:
Unsatisfactory (0-1) |
Moderate (2) |
Satisfactory (3) |
Proficient (4) |
Excellent (5) |
Overall Score |
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Content |
There was a lacking in a story or effort in the project all together. Had grammatical errors. Did not meet minimum requirements or did not exist at all. | Little effort in the project provided, did not follow directions, or did not meet minimum requirements, and had grammatical errors. | Minimum requirements were met, but a lot of the story seemed to be missing or looped. May have had some grammatical errors. Did not have any new information as the story continued. | Followed directions and met or exceeded requirements. Little to no grammatical errors. Had a lot of elements in the story, but may have left loose ends in the story or failed to answer laid-out questions. | Went above and beyond requirements and expectations. No grammatical errors and had a sufficient amount of material that did not leave any loose ends in story. | |
Organization |
Information was all over the place and went nowhere. Or it was nonexistent all together. | Pieces of information was put together, but most of it made little to no sense. Story seemed to be bouncing all over the place. | Some organization to the story, making it readable, but not bearable. Some aspects made sense, while others did not. | Organization was great for the most part. Had some slip-ups here and there, but overall made complete sense and tied together from beginning to end. | Organization was superb and tied together really well! Made sense from beginning to end and remained on topic the whole time. | |
Creativity |
There were no creative elements in this project. It was all bleak or nonexistent. | Student gave little creative thought to the project, thus making the project too wordy or lacking description. | Student gave competent creativity in the project. It was slightly entertaining to read and is somewhat unique. | Student added a decent amount of creativity into the project, making in fun to read. It stands out from others, but may carry some unoriginal qualities. | Student used a substantial amount of creativity. It's extremely unique and stands out from all of the others. | |
Time Management |
Student did not use any time given in class to complete this project. They slacked off and showed no interest in wanting to work on this project. |
Student utilized little of the time given in class to work on their project, and it shows. Because of their distraction and being off topic, they receive a lower score. | Student showed enough effort and utilized some of their time. They got off track quite often and did not utilize all of their time when it was given. | Student utilized most of their time on this project when it was given to them in class. They may have spent a handful of minutes off topic, but they had a majority of their attention on the project itself. | Student utilized all of their class time in order to complete this project. They stayed on task and made sure that this project was their focus when the time was given. |
Conclusion
Conclusion
Congratulations! You finished your article and it was a huge hit! Your boss absolutely loved it and told that New York "hot shot" to hit the road. And another positive, you got that promotion you've been looking forward to for over a year! Do you feel guilty that your career has hit a new peak off of a tragedy of two lovebirds...but don't think about it too much! You've made it, you reached your goal! People love bad stories anyway, that's what the news is all about! Fantastic job!
Teacher Page
by Christopher Callahan