Julius Caesar Project List – Grade 10
Directions:
1. Students should review the following project choices.
2. Each student must complete a minimum of two (2) projects from two (2) different acts. For example, a student can choose a project from Act II and Act IV. A student cannot choose two projects from the same act.
3. All projects should be typed using Microsoft Word (when allowable).
4. All projects are due the day after we take the test for the specified act.
5. A student can start a project after a specific act test. If a student is not completing a project for a specific act, he/she will be required to work on “station” items.
6. Five points will be deducted from grade for each day a project is late after each act. No projects will be accepted after the secpmd day past the due date.
7. A grading rubric will be provided.
8. If there are any questions or concerns, please ask/see me.
Act I Choices
Artwork - . ARTISTIC INTERPRETATION
You may choose to
do an artistic interpretation of something from the play. Draw a picture, make
a collage, or make a diorama that represents a major character, event, or scene
from the play. Then, write at least TWO paragraphs describing what you created
and why it is significant/how it relates to the play.
Explain what it means
and reference two (2) specific quote(s) from the play. Remember to list the act,scene,
and line(s) you are referring to when using quotes! You may even choose to
create something that represents a relationship between two or more characters
in the play if you’d like (ie. Brutus and Cassius, the conspirators and Caesar,
Antony and Brutus, etc.)
Drawing/ writing – Political
Turmoil
Read act 1
again. Create 3 scrolls: 1 for each
letter Cassius forges. Write the letters
and address them to Brutus. Convince him
that he needs to join the conspiracy, rid the world of Caesar, and control
Roman government. ( Each scroll should contain a letter and artwork.)
Detail: Using any
kind of art materials, you should draw an image depicting the point
of view of each letter.
-Each scroll should be created on an 8 ½ x 11 sheet of paper.
Writing - Advice
Column
As Brutus, write a
letter to an advice columnist requesting the help with the problem of betraying
a loyal friend in order to save a country.
First, list the reasons Rome may
be doomed under Caesar’s rule. Next, discuss how you could improve this situation. Write a letter that explains your list and
asks for advice. In the end, decide if you should side with Caesar or the conspirators and explain why.
Writing- Journals
JOURNAL ENTRIES
Write at least
THREE journal entries (Minimum of TWO paragraphs each) from the point of view
of one of the main characters. You may choose to write from the perspective of
Caesar, Brutus, Cassius, or Antony. All journal entries should be from the SAME
character. The journal entries can span from a few different scenes or come from one scene, whichever you would prefer. Be sure to list the act(s) and
scene(s) which the journal entry is referring to—you may want to use that as
the
date for the
journal entry. A partial example is below:
Example:
Dear Diary, Act I,
scene 1
I was so excited to
hear the news of great Caesar’s return to Rome today. Some
of the other
commoners and I decided not to wear our work clothes and celebrated in
the streets while we
waited for Caesar to return…One of the officials scolded us, but we
had some fun with
it and made a joke of him. He wasn’t too happy about it, but…
(journal entry
continues)....
—Cobbler
Act II Choices
Creative Design -
Character Sketch
Construct a
character sketch on a main character of your choice that illustrates the
character’s personality, relationships, feelings, and motivations during this
act. Your sketch will include images, quotes and words.
-The character sketch should include the following:
2 images of the
character
4 images
representing personality traits of the character
4 words to describe
the character’s personality
3 quotes by the
character
All images should
be put together in a collage using Microsoft Word, Publisher or a program of
your choice. You should also include a paragraph explaining why you chose
the specific items on your project.
Writing – Poetry
(Iambic Pentameter)
Create a poem that
consists of at least eight lines in iambic pentameter. Your poem may be in
blank verse, consist of rhymed couplets, or follow some other rhyme scheme.
Specifics:
Write a poem about
one of the major characters from the story. You may choose
to write about the
personality, downfall, relationships, problems, struggles, etc.
of Brutus, Cassius,
Caesar, or Antony. The poem should have AT LEAST 10
LINES with TEN
SYLLABLES in each line to follow the iambic pentameter
rhythm used by
Shakespeare. Remember to give your poem a creative title! Do
not worry about
stressed and unstressed syllables, but do make sure that each line
adds up to ten
syllables.
Creative Writing -
Text message
Rewrite a dialogue
between two characters that takes place in Act II of the text in modern-day
format as if it took place via texting on a cell phone.
-Chose a section with a minimum of 25 consecutive lines. Make sure you write
the Act #, Scene #, and line numbers on your paper.
Act III Choices
Visual - Imagery
Depict the imagery in
Antony’s monologue / funeral speech. Use a graphic organizer on Microsoft Word
to organize his points that will manipulate the crowd.
Writing - Character
Analysis
Choose one of the
main characters introduced in Act I. Then write a short essay in which you
analyze this character’s personality traits.
Writing - Editorial
Imagine that you
are the editor of a newspaper in Rome at the time of the play. Write an
editorial addressing the Anthony’s response to the death of Caesar.
1) Reread the Anthony’s dialogue in the scene.
2) Decide whether the conspirator’s reactions were appropriate, and explain.
3) Write the editorial, supporting your ideas with details from Acts I-III.
or
NEWS STORY
Imagine that you
are a reporter on the scene of Julius Caesar’s murder. You just witnessed everything that happened to
Caesar. Write an article for the local
newspaper and
report to the public what has happened to their leader. Remember to give your
news article a creative TITLE that will make it stand out! Report everything
that you saw, including the crime itself, how it happened, where it happened,
when it happened, who was involved in the
crime, perhaps how
some of those people knew Caesar, and what happened directly afterwards. Note—News
articles should NOT include reporter opinion. Paragraphs are shorter, and should
follow inverted pyramid style writing. Inverted pyramid means that the most
important information (the murder itself) comes first, followed by less and
less
important
information, with background information coming last. To help, use an article
from the local newspaper as your guide.
Act IV/ Act V Choices
Writing – Your own
ending – THIS PROJECT HAS TO BE COMPLETED AFTER ACT IV
If you were to
write your own ending for the play, what would it be? Write a narrative of
events that would occur in your version of Act V. Make sure that your version
develops naturally out of the events in Acts I through IV.
Music - Play list
Choose one of the
characters from the text and create a play list of five songs that that
character would have on his or her iPod or MP3 player. Invent the name for the play
list. Burn a CD of the songs and create a CD label with the appropriate details
or put the play list on your iPod or MP3 player. You also need to print
out a list of the following:
1) artist name
2) name of song
3) name of album
4) relevance to character (paragraph for each song)
Creative Writing -
Digital Artifacts
Imagine that you
find a portable disk next to the computer of one of the characters from the
play. It
might be a USB keychain disk, or another device. This storage disk contains
personal documents—letters, “to do” lists, data, and poems written by the
character for his or her eyes’ only. Recreate the following files and hand in
the device.
Include the following:
1) to do list with 10 tasks to complete
2) letter to a friend
3) poem to or about a loved one (minimum of 10 lines)
4) sales receipt for a purchased item
Creative
Writing:
CHARACTER
HOROSCOPES—
Superstition
is used often throughout Julius Caesar. Daily horoscopes are a modern-day
form of superstition, and they usually give a somewhat vague prediction
of something that may happen to you that day. Write one “daily horoscope”
for each of the major characters in the story (Brutus, Cassius, Caesar,
and Antony). You may choose any scene from the play to write that day’s
horoscope about. Be sure to reference the act, scene, and, if applicable,the
line(s) the horoscope is referencing/predicting for the character. You should have a
total of at least FOUR horoscopes, one for each character. Each horoscope
should be about one paragraph in length. Note—you do not need to make
every character’s horoscope from the same day/scene. They can come from
practically
anywhere in the play. Look at your daily horoscope in the newspaper or
online to
help give you an idea of what to write.
