Welcome
Welcome and Congratulations! You have been chosen to be a part of the Deep Ocean Explorers. Their purpose is to explore the ocean and then report how the ocean links to our lives on Earth, and how the ocean will soon be an important step forward in the chain of human events. Your mission is to be submerged to the bottom of the ocean floor to live in an ocean colony. The work being done is experimental and will not be allowed to return to Earth until the mission is complete. Good luck and have fun as you journey...20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
The Task
At the end of this two week long unit you should have the following in your writing portfolio:
- a story impression,
- paired-shared reading responses,
- a character map,
- a story board,
- vocabulary journal,
- a daily diary journal of your mission
- compare/contrast essay of book and movie
- a biography of the author.
Entering the Ocean
In order to complete this task you will need to locate and read the assignment. Books will be available from your teachers, however, if you would like to check out the unabridged version of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea you can see it on-line.
Prior to entering the ocean world you may want to locate information on Jules Verne. It was his creativity and imagination that has made 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea a classic for all ages to read.
You may want to view the burial sight of Jules Verne.
You can also check out clips from the movie version 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. This site can help you feel what it may be like to be submerged beneath the ocean, and it can give you a better understanding of how the characters in the book act and react to situations. This site is great for gaining a better understanding of characters, characterization, and setting.
The Process
It will be your responsiblity to check the assignments each day during this lesson. There will be daily lesson plans availabe to you on this site. Be sure that you follow all directions carefully and if you still have questions ask a teacher.
Each day you will be responsible for writing in your daily diary journal. Link the journal entries to what is happening in the story. How would you feel if you were one of the characters?
You will also be responsible to write down at least one word each day you read in your vocabulary building journal. Make it a word you don't know or one that you do but you never use it in your writing and you would like to. If you don't know a word you may look it up using the online Webster's Dictionary. Or of course you may always use a dictionary in the classroom.
To locate words which are similar to the one you have found for your vocabulary journal search the online thesaurus, and place those words alongside your vocabulary word for the day.
Since this project includes a journal and writing portfolio which includes a variety of different writing styles you may wish to review "How to Write Good". Or locate the specific help you need for a variety of writing problems and styles at Writer's Resources. This link provides an array of help and will link to other various sites for further writing tips.
DAY ONE
Who is Jules Verne?
In class assignment:
Locate information on Jules Verne. More.And More.Still More.And Finally
Begin writing a chain of events which happened in the author's life. This type of writing is called a biography. Your biography should be at least two pages, double spaced, one inch margins on each side, and use a standard 12 font please.
Homework: NONE tonight unless you need to put the finishing touches on your biography!
DAY TWO
The Journey Begins
In class assignment:
Story impression: (twenty minutes)
Using the following words in order, create your own original story. You may use as many words in between as you like, but please use the followng fifteen in the order they appear here:
1.Ship
2.Professor
3.Atlantic Ocean
4.Monster
5.Hunt
6.Abraham Lincoln
7.Submarine
8.Prisoners
9.Captain Nemo
10.Oyster
11.Iceberg
12.Trap
13.Nautilus
14.Squid
15.Maelstrom
Read chapters one and two of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.
Homework Assignment:
Write your daily diary journal entry.
DAY THREE
The Sea Monster
In chapters one and two the Abraham Lincoln encounters a sea monster, so the crew believes, and today as one the members of that crew it will be your job to recreate the sea monster.
In class assignment:
Create your own sea monster.
The teacher will provide you with paper, markers, crayons, glue, etc. Your mission is to create a monster which links to the monster you read about in chapters one and two. After finishing your monster write a paragraph on the back using adjectives and verbs which link to the description of the way the sea monster looked and moved. Presentations will be made in class to share monsters.
If you need ideas on what sea monsters may look like search the World Wide Web for sea monsters.
DAY FOUR
Lost and Alone
In class assignment:
Read chapters 3 and 4 in class.
Create a Haiku about "the strange whale."
Writing assignment:
Write a two page story about how you would feel if you were Professor Pieere Aronnax and you had been thrown overboard and are now lost at sea. Can you link this to any events in your life? Have you ever been lost? Alone? How did you feel? Be as descriptive as possible.
Homework Assignment:
Finish your lost and alone stories.
DAY FIVE
Saved!
In class assignment:
Prewriting assignment:
Predict what you think is going to happen to the Professor on the submarine. Will he be put in chains or free to roam the submarine? What will happen next?
Read chapters 5 and 6.
Draw the inside of the Nautilus using the description that Professor Arronax gives to the reader.
Homework Assignment:
In your daily diary journal give some indication of why you think the food makes you sleepy.
DAY SIX
The Ocean Bottom
In class assignment:
Pair Share read chapters 7 and 8.
Complete a pair share response form.
Explore the under world of the ocean. How do you feel observing the coral reefs, having a close up view of the fish, and other life forms under the ocean?
Write a two page report about what you discover on your under water adventure. What does the ocean bottom look like? How do you think it links to the land above? Remember this should be a report back to the people on land who are trying to comprehend all of the benefits of the ocean.
DAY SEVEN
Mapping Your Journey
In class assignment:
Read chapters 9 and 10.
Create a map of the direction the Nautilusis going.
Link your map with you daily diary journal and write about your voyage to the South Pole. How do you feel? Do you trust Captain Nemo? Are you ready to return to the land? If so, how do you plan to get back to the land with Captain Nemo watching?
DAY EIGHT
What is that?!
In class assignment:
Read chapters 11 and 12.
You are exploring the ocean bottom and you notice a strange creature from the porthole. Use the link above and your own imagination to create your own myth about the creature you see.
DAY NINE
BAck Home!
In class assignment:
Read chapters 13 and 14.
Finally you have completed your journey to 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. Imagine you wash ashore in a remote fishing village and you want to link your adventures to others. Write a message that will recount your adventures. Put them in a bottle and send it out to sea. Hopefully someone will intercept and send you a reply.
Homework Assignment:
Bring some type of food with you to class which will link to our underwater adventure motif and be prepared to present your writing portfolios and projects. Scroll down to day ten to find links which may help you find a delicious recipe to use.
Squid Recipes
Salmon Recipes
Rolling Your Own Sushi
Recipes of the Week
DAY TEN
PARTY
Nautilus Party
This your chance to celebrate that you have once again surfaced into the community. Bring to class with you some type of food to share which will link to our underwater adventure. Available here are some links with various recipes which you may want to check out.
Evaluation
Your portfolio and presentations will be graded on creativity, use of the Web, and of course grammar, spelling, and puctuation. Assignments must be turned in on time and deductions will occur for any late projects.
Conclusion
At the end of this unit you will have a writing portfolio which will demonstrate your ability to write in a number of different forms including being able to write haiku, biographies, and a variety of essays. Your portfolio will also serve as an example of your ability to read and comprehend literature.
In addition this unit will provide you with an array of background knowledge on how to read literature, comprehend literature, and write about literature. As well as giving you the necessary literary elements to make this link.
Last updated April 23, 1997. Return to the Links and Chains Page
Based on a template written by Bernie Dodge.
