The Great Gatsby
a research project across genres and modalities
Students will…
 communicate effectively by listening, speaking , writing, using a variety
of media and techniques
 read critically with understanding
 analyze and solve problems effectively by…
o identifying, clarifying and describing issues/problems;
o locating, organizing and processing information from various
sources;
o utilizing thinking skills and reasoning strategies;
o creating, testing and justifying solutions and conclusions
Assignment:
You will create a research project in which you choose one topic of interest
from the 1920s and develop it using research and textual excerpts from The
Great Gatsby as support.
You will write a 2-3 page paper and design a composition using at least one
other real-world genre, too.
Objectives:
You will choose an area of interest from the 1920s.
You will design an argument statement.
You will choose among genres and modalities to build your project.
You will support your argument through textual excerpts from The Great
Gatsby.
You will gather research from books and online databases and include excerpts
from research resources to support your argument statement.
You will manipulate media and design to suite your purpose and genres.
Purpose:
The purpose of any learning event is to explore and extend your thinking. The
research project accomplishes that purpose by giving you the opportunity to
express your ideas through a series of meaningful choices regarding selection of
information, interpretation of resources, writing, design, and public
presentation.
Whenever you synthesize your prior knowledge with new knowledge, you
change as an individual. Ultimately, you share a new sense of self through new
ideas, feelings, and thinking, which helps you to connect better to others in
your community and the world beyond it.
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The Great Gatsby
a research project across genres and modalities
PART ONE: The paper --- “You will write a 2-3 page paper”
Print length: 2-3 pages, not including Works Cited page.
The paper must cite all sources using MLA format, including in text citations.
Number of textual excerpts: at least three
Number of research sources: at least two different sources, with two excerpts
from each source
PART TWO: Your alternative composition --- “You will design a composition
using at least one other real-world genre.”
Other than your print paper, you will choose among digital, audio, and visual
modalities for the second part of the assignment.
What is a modality?
A modality is the way you decide to send information to your audience. It is
the representation format in which your information is stored. The medium is
the means whereby this information is delivered to the senses of the person(s)
receiving your message.
What is a genre?
A genre is a category into which humans fit a narrative that is considered an
appropriate intellectual work. It can be a traditional research paper, but it can
also be a newspaper editorial, a diary, a television series, a cartoon, a
billboard, song lyrics, poems, and many other new and old literacies and
texts.
What are some types of digital texts?
Many books, periodicals, images, and documents have been digitized and are
available online. These can include online research articles, encyclopedia
entries, PowerPoint presentations, hypertext, primary sources, reviews, and
other materials.
What are some types of audio texts?
Audio texts are pre-recorded messages heard by system users. These can
include speeches, recorded song lyrics, podcasts, live and recorded broadcasts,
interviews, audio books, radio programs, and other materials.
What are some types of visual texts?
Visual texts use symbols to express ideas or convey meaning in the form of
screen graphics, overhead transparencies, diagrams, flow charts, storyboards,
tables, bar graphs, calendars, consequence charts, story map, photographs,
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The Great Gatsby
a research project across genres and modalities
pictographs, portraits, pie chart, sociograms, Venn diagrams, timelines, word
wheels, signs, symbols, posters, and other visual items to get across messages.
How do I begin?
Review the back page to the “Introduction” to The Jazz Age. There, you
already created a hierarchy of topics that interest you from the 1920s.
Next, we’ll go to the school library together and review a reserve shelf, filled
my our school librarian, Ms. Waite with many books and ideas for you.
You’ll choose a topic and register it with Ms. Fortuna.
Happy composing!
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