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Pre-reading: Wiki Project

In order to prepare for the text we will be reading this semester, you will complete a project on one of the cultural/historical topics that arises in the text. This project will be completed before we begin reading the text so that all the students in the class have access to the information as they read the text.

This project will be completed in German and posted on the class wiki so that everyone has access and will be completed with 2 other classmates. There is a discussion board on the wiki where you can discuss the organization of the project. The project will consist of the following components and steps:

1. Jan. 22 - Topic: Choose a topic from the list below. Check with your teacher to be sure that no one else in the class chooses the same topic.

__Themen:__ Potsdamer Konferenz (Ducate's class) Die Grenze (Todesstreifen, Aussichtsturm, Grenzgebiet) (Ducate's class) Verbotene Lieder, Bücher, Sachen (Ducate's class) Freie Deutsche Jugend (FDJ) (Arnold's class) Der Eiserne Vorhang (Arnold's class) Staatssicherheit (Stasi) (Arnold's class) Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands (SED) (Arnold's class) Jugendweihe (Arnold's class) Existentialismus (Arnold's class) Religion in der DDR (Arnold's class)

2. Jan. 29 - Research: Begin to research your topic. You may use the Internet for your research, but be sure to use a variety of sites. Turn in an annotated bibliography with the name of at least 6 sources and a summary of the information you found there. Justify the reliability of each source. You may use sources in German and English, but remember that the final product will be in German.

3. Feb. 7 - Outline: Using the information from the annotated bibliography, write an outline for your project. Include 1) an introduction to your topic with a brief description/definition of the topic, 2) a brief history of the topic (for example, answer where, when, why, what, and who about the topic), 3) its significance today and in the past and how and why it has changed if at all, 4) how someone your age may have viewed the topic during the time it was most common/popular and 5) the reputation it has today. For the final product, you will be required to include at least 3 pictures that have to do with your topic. You could include those pictures in your outline or links to where you hope to find them. Also include what each group member will be participating to the project.

4. Feb. 19 - First Draft: Using your outline, write the first draft of your wiki page. For this draft, focus only on the content of the page. You can incorporate the aesthetics of the page later. Also list the sources you used for your research on the bottom of the page, including links if they are webpages. Remember that this page is supposed to be a reference for your class. If you use lots of new vocabulary, your classmates will not be able to understand the page and therefore won’t benefit from the information. If there are some new words you feel you must include, then define them in a glossary. However do your best to use only words that your classmates would know. On this draft, be sure to also turn in a description of how each of your group members contributed to the project.

5. Feb. 28 - Second Draft: Taking into account the suggestions from your peers and your teacher, revise the content of your wiki page. For this draft, you should also focus on the aesthetics of the page. Remember that since it is a webpage, you can include links to other sources and it should also be user friendly to read. Be sure to include at least 3 enhancements in this draft. On this draft, mention how each of your group members contributed to the revision.

6. Mar. 18 - Final Draft: This should be your final draft that is ready to be published on the WWW for both your classmates and other German students to reference when they are reading //Am kürzeren Ende der Sonnenalle//. Now that the project is over, you will fill out an assessment of each of your group members and how they contributed to the project.