The Chrysalids invites readers to take a good look at how fear can shape & manipulate society. People living in a "culture of fear " often suffer the effects of one or many of the following:
Horrific themes:
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Brutality & murder
- Casting away “imperfect” people
- Control of knowledge
- Heavy handed enforcement of tradition
- Individuals doing the unethical state work
- Innocents tossed out like garbage
- Sacrifice of children
- Living outside the law to maintain humanity / family
- Rigid beliefs, threatened by new ideas
- Safety within & betrayal of family to state
- Threat to the natural environment & biodiversity
- Torture
- Us versus Them mentality
- Xenophobia
- photo credit
Don't forget to cite your sources
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Assignment
Step one: online, individual
After being assigned a group & theme, read & watch the online resources. Take notes using the attached sheets for text & images.
Step Two: group
Share your notes & insights - create a 3 - 5 minute group presentation about your case study to share with the class (what, when, where, who, why & how you were affected). (10 marks)
Step Three: Individual reflection log book: (100 marks – 15 marks for each entry)
Read the required chapters. Then, with your “fear” theme and the chapters you have read in mind, scan the daily news to find examples of stories in the news that mirror or parallel events from the Chrysalids. Use your article to complete your individual log.
Keep an individual log in the format below. The log must be typed. All 3 columns must be filled out.
Title: Chrysalids Chapters ________ Theme: ________________________
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Quote from Chrysalids or brief description of event(s). Include page numbers. |
Summary of a current news story that connects to the theme your group has chosen and, if you have seen evidence of the theme in the chapters read, to the quote you have chosen. Attach a copy of the text or image from news. Cite sources with Citation Machine. |
Comments for discussion. Make the connection between your theme, the quote you have chosen, and the news story you have found.
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Hand in your log sheet each day for a completion mark. It will be returned to you promptly. Once we finish reading the novel, you must hand in all reflections in a duo tang.
You can either consult the print newspapers in the library, or on-line. The Sun, The Province and the Globe and Mail are on the podium near the check-out desk. Here are on-line suggestions.
NEWS SITES:
- TriCity News . Coquitlam NOW
- CBC British Columbia
- Vancouver Sun
- Province
- CKNW 980
- bclocalnews
- CBC . Radio-Canada
- Globe and Mail
- Guardian Unlimited (UK)
- New York Times
- Huffington Post (liberal American blog aggregator)
- Reuters . BBC . CNN
- Truthout
- Fox vs Nation
- Aljazeera vs Haaretz
Step Four: Final group project (90 marks)
Create a living breathing presentation relating the Chrysalids to today’s world. Each group will have a maximum of 10 minutes. You must use quotes from the novel & communicate the connections. Be creative & engaging (e.g. a dramatic presentation, a computer generated presentation, or a concrete, visual creation.) Anything but stand and read from a piece of paper or a powerpoint.
Evaluation Rubric
Teacher evaluation of group project: (60 marks)
- Quotes show consideration of the entire novel
- Connections between quotes and world events are reasonable, timely and respectful
- Visual components are completed with the viewer in mind
Presentation: (30 marks)
- Engaging – you do not simply read from notes or powerpoint
- Creative – you have presented in a way that is individual and imaginative
- Organized and confident
Student evaluation of group project: (20 marks)
- In an individual written composition, evaluate yourself & your group. Describe the group process, both successes and frustrations, including the sharing of the workload. What worked really well? What didn’t work well? Be specific.
Criteria for evaluation of composition:
- Written in paragraphs
- Shows clear evidence of revision and editing
- Written respectfully and honestly about the contributions of all group members, including concrete details
