"I am your enemy, the first one you've ever had who was smarter than you. There is no teacher but the enemy. No one but the enemy will tell you what the enemy is going to do. No one but the enemy will ever teach you how to destroy and conquer. Only the enemy shows you where you are weak. Only the enemy tells you where he is strong. And the rules of the game are what you can do to him and what you can stop him from doing to you. I am your enemy from now on. From now on, I am your teacher." ~Mazer Rackham to Ender ("Ender's Game" pgs. 262-263)
Introduction
During this unit, you will read Ender's Game and select one of the six projects listed below. Each project not only targets different areas of literacy, but also targets different areas of interest. Select the project that fits both you and your interpretation of the story. Enjoy your selection and prepare to get much from your efforts.
Novel Companion Packet
Statements to Consider as You Read
Adults should always protect children from danger.
Violence is never a good way to solve a problem.
It is usually okay to kill someone in self-defense
Words are stronger than fists.
Bullies always deserve what they get.
Punishing someone for something they may do in the future is always unfair.
Winning a fight is only honorable if it is a one on one fight.
Revenge is a just desire.
Crying is often evidence of weakness.
Any action is acceptable in war.
Projects (Choose One)
Excerpted from http://hometown.aol.com/ryknroll/endergame2.html
Design an advertising campaign to promote the sale of Ender's Game. Include each of the following in your campaign: a poster, a radio or TV commercial, a magazine or newspaper ad, a bumper sticker, and a button.
Create a board game based on events and characters in the book. By playing your game, members of the class should learn what happened in the book. Your game must include the following: game board, rule sheet and clear directions, events and characters from the story on cards or on a game board.
Complete a series of five drawings that show five separate incidents from the computer game. Write captions for each drawing that describe what happens in that scene and why it is important or what Ender learns at that level.
Design a movie poster for Ender's Game. Cast the major characters with real actors and actresses. Include a scene or dialogue from the book in the layout of the poster. Remember, you are trying to convince someone to see the movie based on the book, so your writing should be persuasive.
Imagine that you are about to make a feature-length film of the novel you read. You have been instructed to select major characters in the novel from your English classmates and tell why you selected each person for a given part. Consider both appearance and personality.
What kind of career is Ender prepared for at the end of the book? Obtain a job application from an employer in your area, and fill out the application as Ender might. Be sure that the job is one for which Ender is qualified and would enjoy. Write a resume and cover letter for Ender as well.
You are a prosecuting attorney putting one of the characters from the book you read on trial for a crime or misdeed. Prepare your case on paper, giving all your arguments and supporting them with facts from the book.
Adapt the prosecuting attorney activity outlined above to a dual-role project: In one role, present the prosecuting case, and in the other present the case for the defense. If a classmate has read the same book, you might make this a two-person project.
Make a television box show of ten scenes in the order that they occur in the book you read. Cut a square from the bottom of a box to serve as a TV screen and make two slits in opposite sides of the box. Slide a butcher paper roll on which you have drawn the scenes through the two slide slits. Make a tape to go with your television show. Be sure to write out a script before taping.
Tape an interview with one of the characters in the book you read. Pretend that this character is being interviewed by a magazine or newspaper reporter. You may do this project with a partner, but be sure to write a script before taping.
