Happy Holidays from Mrs. Cook
This is a one-time only, extra credit project for Intensive Reading class. You must complete this project by Friday, January 9, 2008. NO LATE PROJECTS WILL BE ACCEPTED. You must complete this project entirely on your own; plagiarism will result in zero credit.
In order to complete this project, you may want to look back over the text of this story. You may find a copy at your local library or look online. Here are some web sites where you can view the text and summaries of the text:
- text online
- Wikipedia
- Sparknotes
For your project, you must complete the following activities. Put them together in a stapled packet or folder and turn them in to Mrs. Cook. This project will be worth 50 extra credit points.
A. First Task: Draw the Pentangle
When Gawain’s armor is described in the story, it is said that on his shield he has a pentangle, or a 5-pointed star representing the five virtues of knighthood. These virtues are:
(a) free-giving (or generosity)
(b) friendliness (or brotherhood)
(c) chastity (or purity)
(d) chivalry (or courtesy)
(e) piety (or compassion)
For this part of the project, you must draw a shield (on paper or on the computer) that represents these five virtues in a modern way. Use drawings and symbols to represent the virtues on the shield. It should be full-color and accurately depict what a knight’s shield would look like.
B. Second Task: Modern Gawain
Think about how the modern man or woman might represent these five virtues of knighthood. For each virtue, choose someone (famous or someone you know personally) who represents that virtue well. For example, you might choose a person who does a lot for charity for the first virtue, or someone who helps other people for the last one. Write out a short paragraph (2-4 sentences) for each virtue, explaining who represents that virtue and how they represent it in a modern way.
EXAMPLE – You may not use this one:
Mrs. Cook is an extremely compassionate person. She is so nice, that she let us complete this extra credit project as a way to improve our crappy grades in her class. I have never known a teacher as nice as Mrs. Cook, and this is why I am choosing her to represent piety, or compassion.
You must complete BOTH PARTS of the project in order to earn any points. You will be graded on effort, creativity, and understanding of the text.
aj ramos said,
January 6, 2009 at 1:16 pm
For the drawing do we just draw the star and draw something that represents the five points within the star or do we make something up?
jessecreations said,
January 6, 2009 at 2:07 pm
Yes, for the drawing you make something up. Think of what a shield for a knight would look like, and incorporate symbols or pictures that show those ideals listed in the assignment. It can be an actual star, or just have 5 sections, or whatever you want. Use your creativity.