My Book of Memories Project Overview: During this term 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 next year 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 13 week 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 me 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, or a spiral binding. Your cover may have drawings or pictures pasted on the outside cover, inside cover, and the spine if you wish. Content: Your Book of Memories must include the following 10 Chapters, Table of Contents, Dedication Page and Epilouge: Chapter 1: "Who Am I?" (Who are you? Where do you live? WEEK TWO What are your life goals? How do you expect to reach DATE 3/4/05 those goals?) FIVE PARAGRAPH FORMAT Chapter 2: "Before I Was, There Were . . ." (Your parents grandparents, aunts, uncles, older cousins and siblings and anybody who may not be a relative but WEEK THREE who has helped to pave the way for you and your DATE 3/11/05 family.) LETTER FORMAT Chapter 3: "Suddenly, I Became Me" (Earliest memories: people, places, events, all those cute things that WEEK FOUR you did when you were tiny, that your mother, DATE 3/25/05 father, grandparents or guardians tell you about.) FIVE PARAGRAPH FORMAT Chapter 4: "School Bells" (Your earliest years in school -- K through 3 -- learning to read, special school WEEK FIVE programs, special teachers and special friends, DATE 4/1/05 favorite subject) Poetry form – Narrative Poetry Chapter 5: "I Grew Up Here" (Describe your town, WEEK SIX neighborhood, rural community) DATE 4/8/05 FIVE PARAGRAPH FORMAT Chapter 6: "My First Boyfriend/Girlfriend" (That first crush WEEK SEVEN in elementary school) If you didn’t have one, you DATE 4/15/05 can substitute the following topic: "Let's Go to the Movies" (Favorite movies at different times in your life: childhood, early teen years, and now) FAVORITE ORIGINAL POEM FORMAT Chapter 7: "I Wish I Could See _____ Again" (Tell about a WEEK EIGHT childhood friend that you have no contact with any DATE 4/22/05 more but would like to see again.) ANY FORMAT Chapter 8. "Middle School" (Fears, emotions, how you have changed, WEEK NINE teachers, friends, activities, successes, heartbreaks) DATE 4/29/05 FIVE PARAGRAPH ESSAY FORMAT Chapter 9: "Let's Take a Vacation" (A memorable trip you took WEEK TEN with family or friends or a trip you would like to DATE 5/6/05 take) NARRATIVE POEM – 4 STANZAS Chapter 10: "High School Expectations” (What do you expect WEEK ELEVEN High school to be like? What are your fears? What DATE 5/13/05 Are you looking forward to most? Where do you expect to be in 10 years) FIVE PARAGRAPH ESSAY FORMAT FINAL TWO WEEKS Epilogue: "If I could change one thing about my character, I would….” FINISHED BOOK: Due May 28th or Sooner If your Book of Memories is complete and shows creativity and thought, your overall grade will be no less than 120 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, photographs, newspapers or brochures. Any book that does not contain all 10 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. * All deadlines above must be met on time. A rubric will be given for each chapter assignment and a point value will be assigned. * Your final project will be a major portion of your second semester grade. I highly recommend you begin developing ideas without hesitation. * ALL SIX TRAITS MUST be visible within your writing. We will be reviewing them regularly. * Self-assessments and peer assessments must be completed on each section of this project. * Evidence of the writing process must be included in your final draft turned in each week. * The purpose of this activity is to apply what you have learned about the Six Traits of Writing this year. * Common Conventional errors should not exist within your writing. We will be focusing on those types of conventions when assessing your writing during this assignment. * Tests will be given several times during this period to make sure you have grasped the traits of writing and specific writing conventions. * ASK A LOT OF QUESTIONS!!!!!!!!!!!! THERE SHOULD BE NO MISUNDERSTANDINGS!!!!!