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The Bestiarium

(working title)

Art + ELA

Fall Project

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In ELA, you will write a description of an original creature whose purpose is to teach humankind a moral lesson. You will create an organized "book of lore" that describes the creature's appearance, origins, and how it teaches mankind its moral lesson of choice.

In Art, you will create a 3D sculpture of the creature itself.

OBJECTIVES

You will present your sculpture and lore for the fall exhibition on January 15th

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Essential Questions

How do imagined creatures in literature and art explore and critique real world problems?

What makes a character compelling and memorable versus one-dimensional?

What questions do our imagined creatures and the novel "Pet" ask about effective justice?

What is the difference between justice and revenge?

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GENERAL GUIDELINES

Your creature must be an original concept (you can't just create a knockoff version of Shrek for instance).
The moral lesson your creature teaches must be SPECIFIC. Your creature can't just teach people "not to be evil," for instance. The type of evil needs to be specified.
The way the creature delivers justice needs to address the root of the problem it is criticizing or solving. Remember that Pet could not simply kill Hibiscus because it would not have addressed the root of the problem in Redemption's house and Lucille in general

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Lore Book Examples

From:

"Spiderwick Chronicles: Arthur's Field Guide"

By: Holly Black, Tony DiTerlizzi

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Lore Book Examples

From:

"Dragonology"

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From:

"Spyology"

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FAQs

Can I work with a partner?

Not for the writing portion. However, if you want your creatures to exist in the same world and share lore, you can do that!

How much gore / violence can I include in my writing and art?

The focus of your creature should not be the violence itself, but the story and lessons behind it. If the violence depicted is purposeful and not exploitative or just meant to be shocking, you are more likely to be able to depict it. Please check with teachers first before proceeding. Remember that you are presenting to a crowd that may have young children in it. Visual depictions of gore / violence should be limited to suit this audience.

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FAQs

How will this be displayed?

Your sculptures will be displayed on tables alongside their lore books.

What can I put in the lore books?

Your lore book is basically a fancy-looking organized essay about your creature and the moral issues its exploring. Your essay will be in there, but you can also put images, character sheets, sketches, maps, anything you think is relevant! It can have a multimedia look, like the "Dragonology" or "Egyptology" books.

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purposeful vs. shallow violence

Purposeful	Shallow
The violence helps communicate and address the root of the problem The violence is part of a moral reckoning (think about Pet blinding Hibiscus with visions of the truth instead of merely killing or torturing him)	The violence is merely a scary punishment for wrongdoing. If violent public punishments actually solved problems, the middle ages would have been a much more peaceful time… The violence mostly serves to shock or disturb the audience and does not trigger any deeper thinking about human nature

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ELA CALENDAR

11/13	Prewrite Due
11/18	Lore Paragraphs Outline Due
11/21	Draft of one lore paragraph due
11/28	Drafts of two lore paragraphs due
12/5	Drafts of intro + conclusion paragraphs due
12/16	PEER REVIEW on drafts so far.
12/22 - 1/2	WINTER BREAK
1/9	Final drafts due. Begin book formatting.
1/13	EXHIBITION WEEK - Printed Lore Book due.

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ART CALENDAR

11/17	Design Creature of Myth - Blueprint for Sculpture Due
11/24	Demo: Constructing a paper armature
12/1	Paper Armateur Due. Begin Paper-Maché
12/8	Final Day for Paper-Maché (Complete Sculptures)
12/15	Demo: Techniques in painting (apply foundational colors)
12/22 - 1/2	WINTER BREAK
1/5	Final painting details and mixed-media attachments
1/12	EXHIBITION WEEK - Critique - Prepare/install for exhibition