Introduction
Welcome to a quest through the story of "Year One", by Nora Roberts. This story follows a group of diverse characters as they try to navigate and escape the post-apocalyptic world. Overrun by a virus and with the emergence of magic, the world descends into chaos. The government collapsing, and society deteriorating. We follow a group of survivors, from reporters to magic users, as they try to escape New York.
Many people say the out-of-this-world concepts are too unrealistic for a story, thus hurting the effectivenss of the book. In this webquest, you will analyze the validity of these statements and explore the intricacies of "Year One".
Task
After reading the three articles, choose one of the two prompts to do:
Prompt 1
Analyze how realistic the book is compared to what would happen in the real life scenario in a 500 word essay.
- Analyze how the problems faced in the story(disease, magic, economic/government collapse) all correlate with one another to create the events of the story.
- Predict how the events of the story would play out in real life.
- Compare the events of the book to the information in the articles provided.
Prompt 2
Create a presentation on how you would choose to survive the apocalyptic scenario shown in the book. This should almost a "Survival Guide" that is loosely based on the situations that the characters of "Year One" are put in.
- Analyze choices in the story that you would do differently.
- Come up with problems you might face in the scenario and how you would react.
Process
Read this article on the spread of disease, then answer the questions:
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/e/economic-collapse.asp
https://www.everydayhealth.com/news/how-fast-can-virus-spread-faster-than-you-think/
1) Why are viruses able to spread so rapidly through a person that was very recently infected?
2) Why are viruses able to skip over previously infected cells?
3) How fast can a disease spread through an office if only one doorknob is contaminated.
Read this article on The Salem Witch trials, then answer the following questions:
https://www.history.com/topics/colonial-america/salem-witch-trials
1) What caused the Salem Witch Trials to occur?
2) How did the witch hysteria spread throughout Massachuesetts?
Read this article on the collapse of a government and economic crash, then answer the questions:
https://www.livescience.com/8038-viruses-spread-fast-cell-surfing.html
1) When an economy starts booming, what is ultimately going to happen when it reaches it's peak?
2) What are some signs of an economic crash?
Evaluation
Prompt 1
| Comprehension | Analyzing | Grammar | Appropriateness |
| 4-The student shows that he or she understands the parallel between realistic events in a story and in real life. | 4-The student shows an in-depth understanding of the articles provided and the book itself. He or she uses examples from both in their paper. | 4-There are few to no grammatical errors in the paper. | 4-The student creates/analyzes events that might play out in the real world in an appropriate manner. It is based in fact and is related to the story |
| 3-The student shows a slight understanding in the difference between realistic events in books and real life. | 3-The student shows an adequate amount of understanding from the book and articles. Using some examples from them. | 3-There are 4-7 grammatical errors in the paper. | 3-The student creates scenarios that are based in fact but have little relevance to the story and task at hand. |
| 2-The student shows little understanding of the articles and book. The parallel between real life and book is hard to find. | 2-The student shows little to no understanding of the articles and book. He or she uses 1 or 2 examples from the articles and book in the whole paper. | 2-The paper has over 10 grammatical errors that are deemed acceptable and able to still be read. | 2-The student creates scenarios that are not based in fact or have any relevance to the story. Scenarios are deemed appropriate. |
| 1-The student shows no understanding of the book or articles presented, leaving the parallel of realism no where to be found. | 1-Student shows no comprehension of the book and articles, using no examples from either. | 1-The paper is full of grammatical errors. There is not much in the paper that can be understood. | 1-The student makes no scenarios in the paper. |
/16
Prompt 2
| Choices | Analyzing | Originality |
| 3-The student shows that they have identified choices and situations the characters were put in. | 3-The student shows that he or she can analyze the situations and connect a real world solution to the problem, or explain why what the characters did was a good choice. | 3-The student shows an adequate amount of originality in the choices he or she presents. Using more than conventional survival techniques. |
| 2-The student is only able to identify 2-3 situations that the characters are put in. | 2-The student does not make a strong connection between real world solutions for problems and the story. Nor does he or she analyze the characters actions in an adequate amount. | 2-The student uses conventional survival techniques in their survival technique. A few original ideas occur but are not prominent. |
| 1-The student is unable to identify major choices that the characters are put in. | 1-The student does not show an adequate understanding of the situations the characters are put in, nor do they analyze the reasons for which characters made their choices. | 1-The student either comes up with no solutions for problems or does not explain why the characters choices were good ones. |
/9
Conclusion
"Year One" by Nora Roberts is a tale of survival in an apocalyptic situation. With the criticism surrounding it regarding it's realism, this webquest has taken you through a task to determine the validity of these claims. Hopefully finding not only that the apocalyptic situations is unrealistic, but that the choices made in the story were ones based around surviving and thriving. This style of survival is how we came to be as humans, we survived and advanced in how we lived, in the stories terms, moving to safety and building a new society. Thus, the story of these characters matches the ark of human survival, creating a realistic appeal to it, while adding a creative and whimsical twist to it.