Co-Curricular Guide Fall 2016/2017 Updated 6.21 | Page 9
Semester Long Projects
Create a Book Swap - Group Project – Adapted from FYS Professor Gwen Chastain
Gwen Chastain’s FYS consisted of students who all lived on campus. Her class worked on building a student library in the
Tower resident hall. They worked together throughout the semester on this project. In the end, the students created a
sense of cohesion as a class, a sense of pride towards their campus community, and learned the value in giving back to
their community. Listed below is the insert from Gwen’s syllabus used to describe this assignment.
The purpose of this project is to encourage recreational reading among IUPUI students. By creating an attractive,
comfortable space in the Tower Residence Hall where students can easily access reading materials. You will help build a
culture of reading on campus and a place where community centered on reading can occur.
Learning Outcomes:
Identify different kinds of genres of fiction in order to expand your reading options.
Create evaluative criteria for distinguishing between genres.
Analyze your own reading preferences in order to locate titles for leisure reading.
Assignment: You will be divided into groups of three and assigned a genre. Each group will be responsible for collecting
ten titles (total) of their assigned genre: Adventure, Mystery, Romance, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Historical Fiction,
Literary Fiction, Memoirs and Biography, Humor, Sports (nonfiction)
Your group cannot spend more than $10 (total) on titles. One of the purposes of this activity is to connect you with your
literary community in Indianapolis. Many organizations in the city will donate books. Try libraries (public or university) or
bookstores (Indy Reads, Half Price Books). Talk to teachers and professors. Thrift stores (Value World, the Goodwill and
the Salvation Army) are also great places to look for books on the cheap—if you must buy them.
Library Assignment #1 (DUE October 4)
Locate a definition of your assigned genre and, as a group, come to a consensus about what characterizes it. Develop a
list of criteria identifying the genre’s typical characters, plots, settings, and writing style—as applicable. This definition
should be no more than one single-spaced page. Bulleted lists are OK. Submit this definition online, via OnCourse, to
Meagan Lacy, librarian.
Library Assignment #2 (DUE November 22)
Once the librarian approves your criteria, use your criteria to select books. This step does not require you to read the
book (though, of course, you are always encouraged to do so!), but you will need to do some reading about the book to
figure out whether or not it fits the genre. Look at the book jackets. Read book reviews. You have a total of $10.00 as a
group to spend. Books will need to be collected and ready to place on shelves on November 22.
In addition to the above, now that you have explored different kinds of genres, each group needs to create at least one
annotation to one of your favorite books (it does not have to be one of the genres listed here). Using the handout
provided, specify its genre and take care to mention why fans of this genre might like it. Identify whether it is available
at the library (and where). Enclose a photo of yourself along with your annotation to use for a “Jag Picks” poster of
student reading recommendations for the book swap space.
Create Your Own Program with help from Leadership Consultants
This project would allow the class to have ownership over a program that could directly tie to the theme of the First Year
Seminar/Themed Learning Community. Throughout the semester you could have the students work together to develop
and execute the program. They will learn valuable skills in leadership, team building, and programming. Also, they will
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