"All About Me" Project

“ALL ABOUT ME” PROJECT

English

(Try to come up with a Creative Title!)

2,000 Word Project

This is your major first semester project. You need to be very creative (see below). It will be about your own Life Journey! You have to, as much as possible, compare yourself with/relate things to characters/events in the genres you are studying. You should create a “booklet jacket”/cover page in which you stick pictures or strips of pictures that represent you, your hobbies, interests, and achievements. You need to answer most of (if not all) the questions written below.

There are no font, font size, margins required. It is all up to you, except that the content has to be substantial/deep/ not superficial/taken seriously/providing important and essential information. When anyone reads this booklet, they are supposed to know almost everything about you. Do not forget to use as many expressions you have collected from your readings as possible. These expressions have to be underlined (with footnotes that mention the title/author of the book you took them from and the page numbers). Sections 4 to 10 of the project will be written in the form of short essays and will be evaluated according to the 6 + 1 Trait rubric. As for the project as a whole, it will follow a Final Scoring Rubric.

1. Title Page with Illustrations + your name, grade level, subject, teacher, date.

2. Index + Page Numbers

3. Introduction: (at least 120 words)
Be Creative. Invite people to read about you. Tell them why they should take a step, open the booklet, and read. Hook them, attract their attention. “Sell your work!” Write a thesis statement that tells your reader what this booklet will cover.

4. Information About You! (at least 350 words - answer at least twenty questions)

1. Who are you?

2. How can you describe yourself physically?

3. What is so special about you? What are your qualities in general? What is your most marked characteristic? What do you consider your greatest achievement?

4. Where do you live? What is your room like? What do you like about it the most?

5. What do you like/dislike about you? What would you like to improve in yourself?

6. What are the topics that you usually like to talk about with friends?

7. Did any friend hurt you but should be forgiven?

8. What do you think about humanity in general?

9. Consider the nature of man: what parts of human nature are valuable, what parts are unavoidable but despicable?

10. What is the quality you most like in a wo/man? What is the quality you most dislike in a wo/man?

11. What is the one million dollar question that you usually like to ask/answer?

12. What is the one million dollar question that you usually DO NOT like to ask/answer? What is your greatest fear?

13. What are your goals at school? In life?

14. If you had a million dollars to spend, how would you spend it?

15. What are the things that need to be improved in this world? What is one thing that you would do to improve it?

16. Describe a dream you've had more than once; embellish on details. Any premonitory dreams?

17. How would you change your life? How would your dream life be? What is the importance of our dreams?

18. What is your favorite song and why?

19. What is the best advice you have ever received?

20. What is your favorite day of the week? What is your favorite month? Why?

21. What is something that really makes you angry?

22. What are your strengths and weaknesses? Describe them and how they affect your life.

23. What does it mean to you to be a mature man/woman? What do you expect to be like when you are in your thirties, forties or fifties?

24. To what extent are you in control of your life?

25. What do you think about immortality? How could a person reach it? Would you like to?

26. What do you think about the role of women?

27. What do you think your responsibility is to people whose circumstances are beyond their control?

28. What is your vision of paradise? Does it exist?

29. Today’s high school students are faced with a world that presents ever more complex choices: for example, careers, family, morality, and so forth. In order to choose wisely, young people need a strong sense of who they are, where they are going, and what choices will get them there. Where do you think you stand?

30. "To sum up, we may say that the central problem is: Who am I? What do I want? What am I capable of? The individual who has failed to ask these questions in this phase of life—even if only by realizing that he suffers from not knowing the answers—has failed to lay the foundations for the awakening of his psychological being, so that he runs the risk in the important middle phase of his life of finding himself stuck at the passionately vital stage, an eternal adolescent who, in his appreciation of values, remains dependent on what the world thinks of him, or who, on account of his own insecurity, continues to kick against the world." (By Bernard Lievegood) Do you agree with this statement? Have you thought about these questions in regard to your own life?

5. Your Family: (250 words)
Father, mother, siblings… names, physical description, qualities, jobs, majors, studies (siblings), hobbies/ interests, favorite color/food/book/friend/country/… What makes them special? Why do you love them so much? What would you do for them? What wouldn’t you do for them? What is the worst thing your parents/siblings can do to you? What is the best thing your parents/siblings can do for you? Is there anything that you really want that your parents don't want you to have or to do? Why won't they let you? Why do you think you should be allowed to have or do this? Write a few lines to your parents explaining to them that you are enough of an adult to handle this situation. Be persuasive and convincing!

6. Your Friends: (250 words)
Who are they? Who are their parents/siblings? Where do they live? What do they look like? What are they like? Their hobbies? What do you have in common? Why have you chosen them? Why are they so special to you? What do you most value in them? What would you like to tell them? What do you think they say to each other when you're not around? How does friendship help people to combat loneliness? How much do you expect your friends to help you in times of trouble? To what extent would you help them? Do you expect your friends to be equal to you? What if you had one like Lennie? Would you accept that friendship? How would you behave?

7. Your School: (200 words)
What is it like? What do you like about it? What would you like to change/improve? Who are your favorite teachers? Why? Favorite subject(s)? Classmates? How lucky do you think you are when you compare yourself to other teenagers going to other schools? How could you help those teenagers who cannot afford to go to school?

8. Your Hobbies & Interests: (200 words)
What are they? What information can you give us about each one? Provide as much information as you can with as many pictures about it/you as possible. What hobbies/interests do you think poor people usually have? Do you think this is fair? How important is it for you to be able to practice expensive sports?

9. Your Holidays: (200 words)
Where have you been spending them? Provide a lot of details about each holiday you think is worth mentioning. Which is your favorite holiday? Why? Have you ever done anything worthwhile during any of your holidays? Any good deed that made you feel proud, that changed the way you used to see life?

10. Favorite Objects/Animals/Books: (200 words)
Describe them in detail (provide pictures to back up your descriptions) and say why they are your favorite ones. What is your most treasured possession? What do you think about animal rights? How can animals help humans? What are the benefits of reading? How much do you read? Do you think you should read more?

11. Idea Basket:
Fill your idea basket with article ideas, titles, future projects, favorite quotes, advice.

12. Conclusion: (120 words)
Make it compelling and unique… worth remembering! Start by summing up / restating your thesis, then answer the question “Who are you?” End your conclusion with the message you want your reader to leave with and some food for thought / question / quotation / recommendations.

13. References:
Do not forget to give credit to the authors/Internet sites you took your information from, especially when it comes to hobbies, sports, and countries. (APA style)

14. Appendix:
Save all your drafts and references related to this project and place a copy of them in this section.

Again…BE CREATIVE!

Notes

¨ You have to submit two copies of this project: one bound in a booklet form and another on a floppy disc that will not be returned to you.

¨ Each part should start on a new sheet. Each part should have a creative title.

¨ Number the pages.

¨ Do not forget to relate every section to characters/events you are studying.

¨ Do not forget to incorporate as many expressions you have collected from your readings as possible (without plagiarism!).

¨ Be prepared to present this project orally once you are done! (Rubric)

How to Proceed & Due Dates (Tentative)

Cycles 4-5: Oct. 7-22

¨ Start by choosing the questions you would like to answer for # 4 (do not just choose the easiest!)

¨ Organize and Categorize them + give titles to the categories

¨ Write an outline for # 4 => peer correction

¨ Write the first draft for # 4 => peer correction / evaluation => checklist

¨ Second draft for # 4 => teacher correction

¨ Final draft for # 4: Due on Oct. 22

Cycles 6-7: Oct. 25-Nov. 11

¨ Outlines for #s 5 & 6 => peer correction

¨ First draft for #s 5 & 6 => peer correction / evaluation => checklist

¨ Second draft for #s 5 & 6 => teacher correction

¨ Final drafts for #s 5 & 6: Due on Nov. 11

Cycles 8-9: Nov. 12-Dec. 3

¨ Outlines for #s 7 & 8 => peer correction

¨ First drafts for #s 7 & 8 => peer correction / evaluation => checklist

¨ Second drafts for #s 7 & 8=> teacher correction

¨ Final drafts for #s 7 & 8: Due on Dec. 3

Cycles 10-11: Dec. 6-Jan.4

¨ Outlines for #s 9 & 10 => peer correction

¨ First drafts for #s 9 & 10 => peer correction / evaluation => checklist

¨ Second drafts for #s 9 & 10=> teacher correction

¨ Final drafts for #s 9 & 10: Due on Jan. 4

Cycles 12-13: Jan. 5-20

¨ Introduction, Conclusion, & References

¨ Idea Basket (# 11): this involves some ongoing work. Every time you come upon something worth including, you do so.

DUE DATE: Thursday, January 20, 2005 (end of Cycle 13)

What Does it Mean to Be CREATIVE?
(Items collected from the sources listed below)

¨ To bring into being a manifestation of anything that has not occurred within one’s realm of experience.

¨ To apply non-traditional thinking to a concept.

¨ To innovatively turn something ordinary into something unusual.

¨ To make something where there was nothing; to extract meaning from abstraction; to order the elements around you; to be interesting.

¨ Having the ability or power to create.

¨ Producing something fresh and unusual; having a truly original approach.

¨ Being imaginative, inventive, taking risks and challenging convention.

¨ First, the characteristics of creativity always involve thinking or behaving imaginatively. Second, overall this imaginative activity is purposeful: that is, it is directed to achieving an objective. Third, these processes must generate something original. Fourth, the outcome must be of value in relation to the objective.

¨ Creativity is "the power or ability to invent". And to invent means "to use ingenuity in making, developing, or achieving". (Roget's II, The New Thesaurus, 1988)

¨ To be creative means "to be characterized by or productive of new things or ideas… to be inventive or ingenious". Ingenious is to be creative and resourceful.

¨ You are creative when you bring many pieces together to form something that didn't exist before…

¨ You are creative when what you produce is a change or departure from what existed before… a new form or method of doing something you or others around you have done for years, a new idea that changes and enhances a tradition, a new way of expressing an idea or belief.

¨ You are creative when you are able to take what you have available and make something more from it than what you had before…

¨ The creativity to which the world gives loud recognition are those new ideas and new things that radically change, challenge, entertain or inspire us as individuals or societies.

“All of us possess a certain measure of creativity and use it everyday whether we realize it or not. It is that very creativity in you that gives you the ability to approach each endeavor, challenge, or opportunity and make the most of it. Think you're not creative? Think again. I challenge you to pay attention to how you use your creativity in everyday life. I challenge you to use it more!” (Deborah Munson, 2002)

Sources:

1- What does it mean to be creative? http://www.compendium.org/knowledge/q6.html

2- http://www.thefreedictionary.com/Creative

3- What is creativity? http://www.ncaction.org.uk/creativity/whatis.htm

4- Creative Pathways- The Power of Creativity http://www.createyourpath.com/writings6.html

Useful Links:

Attributes Explained
(lots of adjectives to describe people)
VOCABULARY EXERCISES - 'CHARACTER AND PERSONALITY'

50 adjectives to describe the personality

Expressions to describe oneself

Personality Adjectives- Crossword Puzzle

Personality Adjectives- Crossword Puzzle 2

Personality Adjectives- Crossword Puzzle 3