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World War I – Letter Project
US History – Motowski & DeMarco

For this unit, our project will consist of writing two letters, pretending to be participants of the time period.  You will also need to analyze two primary source documents.  You will use the Internet sites provided for your research.  We will have ONLY TWO DAYS in the lab.  Use your time wisely.

Part 1:  The Sources
For the first part of the project you will need to find two primary sources.   One of the primary sources MUST be a photograph of something on the front lines.  The other primary source may be a photograph of something on the home front, or it may be a propaganda poster relating to rationing or conservation of scarce resources (food, metals, etc.).  The photographs should have at least one person depicted in them.  Photographs that show some sort of action are better than those showing someone posing for a picture.  Your documents need to relate to America’s involvement in the war.  You will need to print a copy of the photographs/poster to turn in with your project.

Go to some of the following sites to find your two primary sources.
http://www.firstworldwar.com/posters/usa.htm http://www.ku.edu/~kansite/ww_one/photos/greatwar.htm http://www.worldwar1.com/pharc002.htm http://info.ox.ac.uk/departments/humanities/rose/trenchw.html
http://www.ibiscom.com/w1frm.htm
http://userpages.aug.com/captbarb/femvets4.html
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/FWWtrench.htm

You could also try to find sites of your own.

Part 2: The Evaluations
Use the Poster Analysis Worksheet and/or the Photo Analysis Worksheet(s) to evaluate your two primary source documents.  Answer the questions on the sheet.  I will have copies of the sheets available or you can get them at http://www.archives.gov/digital_classroom/lessons/analysis_worksheets/photo.html and http://www.archives.gov/digital_classroom/lessons/analysis_worksheets/poster.html

Part 3:  The Letters
You will need to write two letters to include with your project.  One of the letters will be written by one of the people depicted in your photo of the front lines.  It will be written to a loved one at home.  You will need to describe what life was like for the soldiers at the front lines.  What did they do?  What were the conditions at the Front?  What is depicted in the photo?  How did they feel?  What were the hardships? How did the fighting take place?  Etc.  Use details and be descriptive.  It is OK to use your textbook, but you will need to get information from other sources as well.  Don’t limit yourself to what is in the text.  The person receiving the first letter will write the second letter TO the writer of the first letter.  This letter should describe what life was like at home.  Again, you should use detailed information.  How has life changed since the war started?  What are the people at home doing to help the soldiers?  How do the people at home feel about the war effort and the soldiers?  What do they know about the war?  Etc.  The two letters should combine to be at least 550 words long (about 2 pages double-spaced, 12 pt font, 1 inch margins).  The letters should be typed or neatly written.  Please double space, whether you type it or not.  You need to use correct grammar, spelling and other writing rules.  Please make sure that what you write actually reads like a letter, not like something out of a textbook.

Part 4:  The Bibliography
You need to submit a bibliography page with your project.  A bibliography is used to cite (give credit to) the authors of your sources.  It is essential to give credit to the work of others in order to avoid being accused of plagiarism.  For this project, YOU MUST NOT PLAGIARIZE.  If you do, you will receive a zero for that portion of the project.  The following is an example of how to write your bibliography entries.  It comes from Columbia University.  The entries should be on a separate piece of paper, at the end of your project.  Put the entries in alphabetical order.  If you cannot find the author’s name, use the name of the organization which produced the page, or if you cannot find that, use the title of the page as the first part of the citation.

Humanities Style
To cite files available on the WWW, give the author's name, last name first (if known);
the full title of the work, in quotation marks; the title of the complete work (if
applicable), in italics; any version or file numbers; and the date of the document or
last revision (if available). Next, list the protocol (e.g., "http") and the full URL, followed
by the date of access in parentheses.

     Burka, Lauren P. "A Hypertext History
         of Multi-User Dimensions." MUD History.
         1993. http://www.utopia.com/talent/
         lpb/muddex/essay (2 Aug. 1996).

The CHS Student Handbook defines plagiarism as
-  Direct quoting without giving credit to the source.
 -  Omitting quotation marks to indicate quoted material.
 -  Paraphrasing the idea(s) of others without giving them credit.
 -  Copying any work of other students.

The Grading:
Your grade on the project will be out of 55 points.
 - 5 points for each primary source
 - 5 points for each document analysis
 - 15 points for each letter
 -  5 points for bibliography
You will be evaluated on neatness, creativity, following directions, appropriateness of subject matter, accuracy of information, thoroughness, spelling, grammar, etc.
 

REMEMBER:

DO NOT PLAGIARIZE!!!!
Please do not turn in your project with a folder, simply stapling it together will be sufficient.
 

THE PROJECT IS DUE ON FRIDAY DECEMBER 13, AT THE BEGINNING OF THE HOUR!