During midterm week, January 17th to January 23rd, the students in the Italian IV Honors class at Hawthorne High School researched and created a PowerPoint and video on an Italian company of their choice as their midterm exam project.

Students worked in groups of two and chose the Italian company they wanted. The Italian companies included were Ferrero (Nutella), Algida (ice cream), Benetton (clothing), Barilla (pasta), Lavazza (coffee), Fiat (cars), Piaggio (scooters), Ferrari (cars), and Alessi (designs).

The first part of the midterm project entailed research. The groups had to look up many different aspects of the company. Groups researched the history, slogans, product lines, and the product market.  After the research, students were asked to make a PowerPoint slide show of their company. The five-minute slideshow had to be fully in Italian. Students were encouraged to bring in props pertaining to their company. Students’ slideshows were evaluated on authenticity, fluency, comprehensibility, grammar and vocabulary, and preparedness.

“The midterms weren’t that difficult; it was better than taking a test,” senior Ashley Pierro stated.

After the students researched their companies, they were asked to make a commercial for their product. The commercial had to be two to five minutes and had to be in Italian. Many groups had creative ideas for their company’s products.  Students’ videos were graded on fluency, authenticity, comprehensibility, grammar and vocabulary, presentation skills, and creativity.