The Puritan Authors Project

 

The Puritan Authors Project

    This project will be a comprehensive application of the material and skills covered over the past four weeks.  It will take the format of a group presentation on two of the authors in our text, focusing on analysis and comparison, followed by research of two similar authors online.  Groups will be utilizing internet search engines like Google, Google Scholar, Bing and Wikipedia to efficiently locate relevant information.  Group collaboration and presentation will incorporate Gmail, Google Chat, Hangout and Drive.  The presentation must address the following: 

 

 1.  Comparison & Analysis:  Anne Bradstreet & Jonathan Edwards

Compare and contrast Puritan authors Anne Bradstreet and Jonathan Edwards according to the authors' viewpoints on the following issues:  

1. Eternal Life  

2. God’s Relation to People  

3. Religious Beliefs  

4. Human Frailty 

Support your analysis through specific, relevant examples from each of the author's works in the text.  Begin by locating passages of text for your analysis and comparison in each category.  You should reference the works we have already covered in class, specifically:  “To My Dear and Loving Husband”, and “Upon the Burning of Our House - July 10th, 1666” by Bradstreet, and Edwards’ sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”.

 

2.  Research:  Cotton Mather & Michael Wigglesworth

The second portion of the presentation will require group members to research Puritan authors  Cotton Mather and Michael Wigglesworth.  We will search legitimate academic sites and sources online in order to efficiently and accurately retrieve the following information for each author:  

A.  Locate Images of the author, and/or images relating to the author’s work

B.  Write a concise, relevant and original biography of each author, citing multiple sources

C.  A representative quote or relevant excerpt of each of the author’s most influential work

D.  A summary of the author's view on God's relationship to people, as evidenced in their work (above)

3.  Analyze, Evaluate, and Predict (the most important part of the project!!!):  

Based on the examples you cited from the works of Wigglesworth and Mather, and your knowledge of their life work, determine whether Wigglesworth and Mather would prefer Anne Bradstreet's interpretation of God, or Jonathan Edward's (this is the purpose of the project).

4.  Present:

All group members should be prepared to answer impromptu questions during your presentation and afterward; from me as well as from the class.  You will be graded as a group on the content, quality, and professionalism of your presentation.  You will be graded individually on your level of collaboration in all portions of the project.   In addition, students will conduct peer evaluations of each group’s presentation.  Grades will be assigned with consideration for the following:

CCRS Alignment:

Reading:  

1. Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text. [RL.9-10.1]

2. Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze in detail its development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the text. [RL.9-10.2]

4. Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the cumulative impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone (e.g., how the language evokes a sense of time and place; how it sets a formal or informal tone). [RL.9-10.4]

6. Analyze a particular point of view or cultural experience reflected in a work of early American literature to 1900, drawing on a wide reading of American literature. [RL.9-10.6]

8. Analyze how an author draws on and transforms source material in a specific work (e.g., how Shakespeare treats a theme or topic from Ovid or the Bible or how early American authors draw upon the Bible for religious themes and issues). [RL.9-10.9]

Writing:

22. Write informative or explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas, concepts, and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content. [W.9-10.2]

a. Introduce a topic; organize complex ideas, concepts, and information to make important connections and distinctions; include formatting (e.g., headings), graphics (e.g., figures, tables), and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension. [W.9-10.2a]

b. Develop the topic with well-chosen, relevant, and sufficient facts, extended definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples appropriate to the audience’s knowledge of the topic. [W.9-10.2b]

c. Use appropriate and varied transitions to link the major sections of the text, createcohesion, and clarify the relationships among complex ideas and concepts. [W.9-10.2c]

d. Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to manage the complexity of the topic. [W.9-10.2d]

e. Establish and maintain a formal style and objective tone while attending to the norms and conventions of the discipline in which they are writing. [W.9-10.2e]

f. Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the information or explanation presented (e.g., articulating implications or the significance of the topic). [W.9-10.2f]

24. Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. (Grade-specific expectations for writing types are defined in standards 21-23 above.) [W.9-10.4]

25. Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on addressing what is most significant for a specific purpose and audience. (Editing for conventions should demonstrate command of the first three standards in the Language strand in Grades K-10.) [W.9-10.5]

26. Use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update individual or shared writing products, taking advantage of technology’s capacity to link to other information and to display information flexibly and dynamically. [W.9-10.6]

27. Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question) or solve a problem; narrow or broaden the inquiry when appropriate; and synthesize multiple sources on the subject, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation. [W.9-10.7]

28. Gather relevant information from multiple authoritative print and digital sources, using advanced searches effectively; assess the usefulness of each source in answering the research question; and integrate information into the text selectively to maintain the flow of ideas, avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for citation. [W.9-10.8]

29. Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research. [W.9-10.9]

a. Apply Grade 10 Reading standards to literature (e.g., “Analyze how an author draws on

and transforms source material in a specific work [e.g., how Shakespeare treats a theme

or topic from Ovid or the Bible or how a later author draws on a play by Shakespeare”]).

[W.9-10.9a]

b. Apply Grade 10 Reading standards to literary nonfiction (e.g., “Delineate and evaluate

the argument and specific claims in a text, assessing whether the reasoning is valid and

the evidence is relevant and sufficient; identify false statements and fallacious

reasoning”). [W.9-10.9b]

 

Presentation:  

34. Present information, findings, and supporting evidence clearly, concisely, and logically such

that listeners can follow the line of reasoning and the organization, development, substance, and

style are appropriate to purpose, audience, and task. [SL.9-10.4]

 

35. Make strategic use of digital media (e.g., textual, graphical, audio, visual, and interactive

elements) in presentations to enhance understanding of findings, reasoning, and evidence and to

add interest. [SL.9-10.5]

 

36. Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and tasks, demonstrating command of formal English

when indicated or appropriate. (See Grade 10 Language standards 37 and 39 for specific

expectations.) [SL.9-10.6]

 

Language:

38. Demonstrate command of the conventions of StandardEnglish capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing. [L.9-10.2]

a. Use a semicolon (and perhaps a conjunctive adverb) to link two or more closely related independent clauses. [L.9-10.2a]

b. Use a colon to introduce a list or quotation. [L.9-10.2b]

c. Spell correctly. [L.9-10.2c]

 

39. Apply knowledge of language to understand how language functions in different contexts, to

make effective choices for meaning or style, and to comprehend more fully when reading or

listening. [L.9-10.3]

a. Write and edit work so that it conforms to the guidelines in a style manual (e.g., Modern Language Association’s MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, American Psychological Association’s Publication Manual of the American Psychological

Association) appropriate for the discipline and writing type. [L.9-10.3a]

 

Vocabulary:

1. Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word

meanings. [L.9-10.5]

a. Interpret figures of speech (e.g., euphemism, oxymoron) in context and analyze their

role in the text. [L.9-10.5a]

b. Analyze nuances in the meaning of words with similar denotations. [L.9-10.5b]