The Great Gatsby Final Project
Introduction
For your final Gatsby project, you and your group members will
design your own project, which will be displayed as part of The
Big Read (in association with the Massanutten Regional Library)
and our English Department’s Barnes & Noble book fair.
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Your projects must stand alone—they should require no
explanation. Think about what is provided for you when you
visit a museum.
All projects must
1. go beyond the surface of the novel to explore,
highlight, and engage the text and themes of The Great
Gatsby,
2. give a sense of the novel’s story,
3. engage the audience,
4. achieve a professional, publishable level of
excellence,
5. include the title and author, and
6. display your name(s).
Class time for the creation of the project will be limited
to three class periods, from October 13 to October 22. You
will have one class period to plan the project, on October
6 and 7. You should therefore try to finish the book as
quickly as possible to facilitate that initial planning
meeting; choose your group members wisely; and plan
carefully. Not having time to meet with your group outside
of class will not be accepted as an excuse for late or substandard projects.
Your Proposal
You will need to provide the following for approval:
1. Names of persons working on the project
2. The idea for the project, including the format/medium; how
it will meet bullet items 1, 2, 3, and 4 above; and your
focus (for example, color symbolism, style, setting,
conflicts, etc.).
3. Explain how the viewers of the projects will be interested
in, drawn to, or invited to interact with the project.
4. How will you insure a quality, publishable project? Do you
have the means to create the type of project you have
chosen at the professional level?
5. What special arrangements, equipment, or supplies do you
foresee needing to display the project?
Grading Methods
First, you will be graded on the list in bullet #2 of the
introduction (a rubric appears at the end of this document).
Second, you will be graded on criteria you determine based on
the type of project you submit.
Create a working rubric in this table. You must have four areas
for evaluation that are exclusive to your project. I will
refine your choices and levels of accomplishment if necessary.
See the sample rubric for help.
Categories
for
Evaluation
(25 points
each)
Old Money
24-25
points
New Money
22-23
points
Middle
Class
20-21
points
Valley of
Ashes
19 or fewer
points
Sample
Rubric
Outstanding
(22-25)
Satisfactory
(19-21)
The metaphor
evidences some
insight into the
book. While the
conclusions are
apparent, the group
could have made them
by reading a summary
or skimming the
text.
The group has built
a metaphor that
conveys information
about the book and
presents required
information in a new
way that is not
entirely unexpected.
Unsatisfactory
(15-18)
Insight
The metaphor evidences
outstanding insight into
the book. The
conclusions drawn about
the text go beyond those
noticed by the casual
reader (or those noted
on Sparknotes or similar
websites).
Creativity
The group has built a
metaphor that creatively
conveys information
about the book and moves
into the unexpected in
its presentation of
required information.
Accuracy
The group has accurately
chosen the information
for each section of the
metaphor, and all
elements are supported
with rational, specific
citations from the text.
The group has
accurately chosen
the information for
each section of the
metaphor, but the
elements’ support is
somewhat sparse.
The group has
made important
errors in their
presentation of
information OR
no support for
their choices is
present.
Polish
The metaphor shows the
thought and care that
went into the creation
of project. Planning
and hard work are
obvious.
The metaphor shows
some evidence of
thought and care,
though planning and
work are average.
The metaphor is
sloppy and
poorly planned.
The metaphor
reveals little
insight about
the text.
The group’s
metaphor shows
no creativity in
its presentation
of information.
You can consult
http://school.discoveryeducation.com/schrockguide/assess.html#ru
brics for additional sample rubrics.
Moyers Rubric
Old Money
24-25 points
New Money
22-23 points
Middle Class
20-21 points
Exploration
and engagement
with novel’s
text and
themes
The project
explores,
highlights,
and engages
the novel’s
text and
themes, moving
beyond the
surface of the
The project
explores,
highlights,
and engages
the novel’s
texts and
themes but may
not
consistently
The project
highlights and
engages the
novel’s texts
and themes.
Valley of
Ashes
19 or fewer
points
The project
fails to
highlight or
engage the
novel’s texts
and themes.
novel to give
insight into
the book.
move beyond
the surface of
the novel.
Sense of the
novels’ story.
The project
provides a
clear sense of
story for the
audience.
The project
provides a
fairly clear
sense of story
for the
audience with
no major gaps.
The sense of
story is
somewhat
clear, but
someone
unfamiliar
with the story
would have a
difficult time
understanding
the project.
Audience
engagement
The project is
highly
interesting
and engages
the audience.
The project is
interesting
and engages
the audience.
The project is
interesting.
The project
fails to
engage the
audience.
Level of
excellence.
The project is
of
publishable,
professional
quality.
The project is
of almost
publishable,
professional
quality.
The project
needs work to
reach
publishable,
professional
quality.
The project is
not
publishable or
professional.
Included.
n/a
n/a
Not included.
Included.
n/a
n/a
Not included.
Title and
author
Group members’
names
The sense of
story is
unclear and/or
lacks many
details.