My Book of Memories

Project Overview:

During this unit you will write a book, a book of memories. It will consist of your memories and thoughts from your life. You will be entering high school in two years and this memory book will be a project you can look back on to see where you came from and where you thought you were going. Your finished book will be due at the end of this unit; however you should begin now and work on it daily for the remainder of this term in order to complete it on time, without rushing.

Book Format:

The final product will be presented to your communication arts teacher in book form. It must be bound, not stapled. You can choose your binding format, for example, weaving your pages together with string, a three ring binder, a scrapbook, or report folder with brads. I will have the school spiral binder to use also. Your cover may have drawings or pictures pasted on the outside cover, inside cover, and the spine if you wish. Your project should be attractive, neat, and easily legible.

Content:

Your Book of Memories must include the following eight chapters, a table of contents, a dedication page and an end note:

WEEK ONE – DUE DATE 5/5/10

Chapter 1: "Before I Was, There Were . . ."(Family history: your parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, older cousins and siblings and honorary relatives)

Chapter 2: “What’s in a Name?” (The origins and history of your name and the story of how you were named)

Chapter 3: "Suddenly, I Became Me"(Earliest memories: people, places, events, all those cute things thatyou did when you were tiny, that your mother, father, grandparents or guardians tell you about.)

WEEK TWO – DUE DATE 5/12/10

Chapter 4: "School Bells"(Your earliest years in school – Kthrough 3 -- learning to read, special school programs, special teachers and special friends, favorite subject)

Chapter 5: "I Grew Up Here"(Describe your town, neighborhood, rural community) DATE 5/01/09

Chapter 6: "Who Am I?"(Who are you? Where do you live? What are your life goals? How do you expect to reach those goals?)

WEEK THREE – DUE DATE 5/19/10

Chapter 7: "I Wish I Could See _____ Again"(Tell about someone you no longer have contact with, but would like to see again - either a friend you’ve lost touch with or someone who has passed away.)

Chapter 8: "The Future" (What are your goals, hopes, fears for the future. Include high school, college, and beyond. What will you do for a living? Will youhave a family? Where will you live?)

End Note: Each portfolio will include an endnote. This is where you explain and reflect about each piece of writing. How did you decide to use this genre? What difficulties didyou have in writing it? What did you like best about it? What are areas you would go back and change or do differently?

FINISHED BOOK: Due May 21st or Sooner

If your Book of Memories is complete and shows creativity and thought, your overall grade will be no less than 125 points. The more thorough and creative you are in decorating your book cover, pages and sections, the higher your grade will be. Possible ideas for decoration may include drawings, pictures, clip art, photographs, scrapbooking, newspapers or brochures. Any book that does not contain all eight chapters, table of contents, dedication page and epilogue will receive a lower grade, regardless of how fancy it is. Any book that has been obviously “thrown together”, which demonstrates an extreme lack of effort, will not be graded.

  • No formats may be repeated. That is, if you choose to write an acrostic poem for one chapter, you may not use the acrostic poem format again. If you wish to use a format not listed above, you MUST obtain permission from your communication arts teacher BEFORE you begin writing. You may choose from the following formats for your pieces: five paragraph essay (introduction, 3 body paragraphs, and conclusion, each containing no less than 7 sentences), narrative poem, annotated map (drawings with detailed descriptions of each place), annotated family tree (with explanations of each person, from great-grandparents forward), acrostic poem (no less than 5 words per line), diamante poem, bio poem, interview, Where I Stand essay (following the format given), children’s story (at least 6 pages, 1 paragraph per page), newspaper or magazine article (at least 3 paragraphs), obituary, poem for two voices, short story, friendly letter, eulogy, diary or journal entry, crossword puzzle (at least 10 words), detailed annotated timeline (at least 10 events), song/rap, comic strip (at least 6 frames), series of haiku (at least 5), series of tanga (at least 5), series of limericks (at least 5), shape poem, phone number poem (at least 3), I AM poem.
  • Examples of each format are available. If you’re not sure how to do one – ASK!
  • You may choose to complete additional chapters for extra credit. Please note that these chapters WILL NOT replace any of the required chapters. The quality and formatting expectations are the same for extra credit chapters. Options for extra credit chapters include: “My Favorite Vacation,” “My First Boyfriend/Girlfriend,” “Let’s Go to the Movies” (your favorite movies from childhood until the present, including why that particular movie is your favorite), “If I Could Change My Character”
  • You will be given the writing period of each comm. arts block to work on your book.
  • All deadlines above must be met on time. I will collect rough draftsof assignments on the date they are due. You will call your parents during class if you miss a deadline.
  • Your final project will be a major portion of your thirdtrimester grade. I highly recommend you begin developing ideas without hesitation.
  • Common conventional errors should not exist within your writing.
  • ASK A LOT OF QUESTIONS!!!!!!!!!!!! THERE SHOULD BE NO MISUNDERSTANDINGS!!!!!
  • While your work is not required to be typed, it is required to be legible. Anything that cannot be read will not be graded.
  • Each page should have the following header: top left corner = name of chapter, top right corner = page number of book

VERY IMPORTANT