8th grade students should read ONE of the two novels below and complete ONE of the two projects. The Giver , Lois Lowry (ISBN 9780440237686) Fahrenheit 451 , Ray Bradbury (ISBN 9781451673319) Project Option 1: Build a Utopia In The Giver and Fahrenheit 451, Jonas and Montag live in communities that have been constructed with an eye towards perfection. Ideal societies are called utopias , a term coined by English author Sir Thomas More. The word utopia has a double meaning: More was thinking of the Greek eu + topia , meaning "good place," but also ou + topia , meaning "no place." Over the course of the summer reading novels, Jonas and Montag begin to discover that their communities are not as perfect as they seem, and that they may in fact be living in a dystopia (from the Greek for "bad place"). Obviously, no perfect societies exist on Earth today, but for this summer r eading project you will get to design your own utopia. Write a blueprint for an ideal society, as you envision it. This can take several forms: you can structure your paper as an encyclopedia entry, a creative writing piece, a persuasive proposal…whatever you like. You may include supplemental materials such as illustrations, video footage, etc., but these should serve to enhance your written blueprint, not supplant it. Topics you can cover include the economics of your society (how does business get done? What are the methods of trade? Is property held in common?), interpersonal relationships (what does romance look like in your society? How are children raised? What about care for the elderly and sick?), and general ethics/justice (how is the justice system structured? What role, if any, does religion play? How does the society approach war and provide for its defense? What about education?). You should also make sure to cover how the government is structured (is there a supreme leader, a council, a republic?). I suggest that you begin by thinking what aspects of our current society need reforming, then coming up with your best solutions. Your utopia does NOT need to be possible in the real world, so don’t fret too much wondering about “how to make it realistic.” No matter what you choose to do, this is a reading response first and foremost. Please devote a portion of your written blueprint to your novel and how your utopia relates to the book you chose (even if the relationship is one of opposition, along the lines of “I did this because it’s not what’s in The Giver/Fahrenheit 451) . Possible sources of inspiration : The Giver and Fahrenheit 451 (of course), Plato’s Republic , Thomas More’s Utopia , Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels , the Diggers of 16thcentury England, American utopian communities of the 19th century (Shakers, Oneida, Brook Farm, Fruitlands), Israeli kibbutzim , Indian ashrams. You may also want to look at spiritual and philosophical texts from around the world to see what they have to say about living a good life. Project Option 2: Both The Giver and Fahrenheit 451 are books that fundamentally deal with the idea of being uncomfortable...Guy Montag says that "we need to be really bothered once in a while," while the Giver passes various painful memories on to Jonas during his training. Write a response paper about discomfort and the role it plays in the novel of your choice. Use quotes from the book to support your arguments. What are the benefits of discomfort? Is being uncomfortable necessary in a civilized society? Do you agree that we need to be "bothered" sometimes, or does bother only lead to division and strife? Work hard to bring nuance and precision to your essay...this is a complicated topic that deserves care and attention! What is a response paper? Response papers are short, informal pieces that ask students to respond to class material. Unlike analytical and argumentative essays, which reject the use of firstperson pronouns, reflection papers often carry a strong individual voice as students grapple with the philosophical, ethical, and literary implications of their sources. Response papers are not book reports, and you must take your thoughts deeper than just “I liked this story.” A good response paper provides clear, insightful analysis that is devoid of fluff or surfacelevel banalities. You may also address how the work applies to life today. This project is due on the first day of school. It is worth 75 points. Email [email protected] with any questions and consult attached rubric for writing guidelines. Rubric An EXCELLENT response paper (“A” quality) will display the following characteristics: ● Excellent organization. Paragraphs proceed from clear topic sentences to persuasive support. Structure contributes to logical flow of analysis. Transitions provide clear connections among paragraphs. ● Excellent insight. Direct quotes are expertly used to sustain and enhance analysis, and the author is making a compelling point about the work in question ● Excellent style. There are little to no errors in spelling, capitalization, punctuation, verb tense agreement, or use of pronouns. There are little to no fragments or runon sentences. The handout describing the assignment and the list of “Tips for Writing Successful Essays” has been closely followed. Writing is clear and concise and sentence structure is varied. A SATISFACTORY response paper (“B” or “C” quality) will display the following characteristics: ● Satisfactory organization. Paragraphs may need rearranging in order to better serve the logical flow of analysis, but there has been some attempt at good structure. ● Satisfactory insight. The author has something deeper to say about the work in question. Direct quotes are used to support analysis, but the author could have engaged with the text in a more sophisticated manner. ● Satisfactory style. There are some errors in spelling, capitalization, punctuation, verb tense agreement, or use of pronouns. There are some fragments or runon sentences. The handout describing the assignment and the list of “Tips for Writing Successful Essays” has been followed, but not as closely as it should have been. Writing is mostly clear and concise with some lapses, and sentence structure is sometimes repetitive. A response paper NEEDING IMPROVEMENT (“D” or “U” quality) will display the following characteristics: ● Organization needing improvement. Paragraphs are weak and some key support seems to be missing. Structure inhibits clear flow of argument. ● Insight needing improvement. The paper does not go beyond surfacelevel observations and/or the analysis has nothing to do with the text in question. No direct quotes are used. ● Style needing improvement. There are many grammatical errors and/or fragments and runon sentences. The assignment handout has not been followed. Writing is incomprehensible or overly simplistic. Sentence structure is difficult to interpret or repetitive.
© Copyright 2026 Paperzz