Grading criteria

Jessie and I are not creating a unit for our final project, so these are sort of "imaginary" criteria.

Our final project revolves around the cinematic interpretation of Beowulf. Specifically, we are looking at:

• the filmmakers choice of casting
• character development
• choice to make the film in 3D
• directors choice to animate real actors (vs. strict animation)

If I were to incorporate this type of activity into a classroom, it would most likely be woven into a unit on the literary text Beowulf. The movie would serve as a supplement to the reading of the poem. We would talk about the movie both during whole-class and small-group discussions. Ultimately, students would work in small groups to create a 5 minute presentation focusing on one of the aspects of the cinematic interpretation mentioned earlier. I would here are some of the criteria I would use to evaluate students:

• Depth of analysis (Do the students offer a thesis/hypothesis about the topic and support it with more than one example?)
• Accuracy (Does their interpretation make sense?)
• Relationship to today's culture (Do the students relate their interpretation to modern sensibilities, technology, etc.?)
• Individual participation (all students would have to turn-in a one-page essay about their contributions and ideas on the topic)