EOF Class #7 Assignments, July 13, 2010

MODULE: Today, you will begin working on your research project for this course. It involves the characters and conflicts explored by Warren St. John in Outcasts United. This assignment will be accomplished in families. One document will be turned in per family. All questions will be numbered. Answered in complete sentences (in your best writing) and typed to the same specifications as your formal essays. Each family should also plan on presenting their findings orally. Each numbered question should be answered in approximately three to seven sentences.  

Begin by collaborating to choose five characters from OU (must be foreign born) whom you feel are the most vital to the story. For each character do the following:

1. Summarize each character's importance to the story. What is memorable about him/her? Why did you chose him/her?

2. How has the character assimilated to life in Clarkston? What major obstacles/forces of conflict has each one faced?

3. What country was the character from? Where is that country (Please provide a printed map or visual that will provide the class with context of the country's location)? Write down what you know about the country and its surrounding areas WITHOUT any research. It is ok to make generalizations, assumptions and guesses. I am interested in what your family BELIEVES.

4. Now find out for real...Do some light research (Wikipedia is ok, because you are just doing background, not citing it). Find out what spceific problems, violence, social situation your character may have been running from. Be specific and be brief. You may need to pursue other people and terms to understand the situations, but don't go overboard. You are just creating CONTEXT for the problem, you DO NOT need to know it all. If you get stuck, The New York Times topic pages are really good places to look.

5. Now, SUMMARIZE. How has pursuing the questions above made you better understand the character? What do you predict for this character in Part 2 of the book?

This assignment will be due at 4pm tomorrow. Presentations will begin in Wednesday's module. I am giving you time in case you want to meet up with your family quickly before presenting. DO NOT forget the tenets of presentation discussed at the beginning of the course.

Use Steph and Ana as resources, but they are NOT here to hold your hands. Be brave. Be independent. Do your best. I'm giving you the LL right now for inspiration.

READ: 1. Peruse the The Basics in Hacker pgs. 529 - 563

2. Outcasts United Chapters 10 & 11.