Autobiography Scrapbook Project

Required Scrapbook
Section links:

  1. Family History:
  2. Ambitions
  3. Events / People Affecting My Life:
  4. Cause I am Willing To Fight for: What are you passionate about?
  5. Who Am I:
  6. Friends:
  7. Letters(s) from Mom, Dad, Grandparents, best friend whomever:
  8. Four Required Poems:
  9. Contact Mr. Williams Info:
The Autobiography scrapbook is a long-term and very rewarding opportunity for you to chronicle the experiences you have had in your life up to this point. It is a project you will labor over in the coming months, and hopefully look back on with fondness for years ahead. It comes at a perfect time for you to reflect on your adventures and choices you have made in life and your continued journeys through life. Everyone should be prepared to struggle a little bit with the preparation of this project, but when completed, it should be a wonderful memento of your early years.
This project involves a series of essays, poems, photos, and letters from loved ones. You will be required to use the writing process: prewriting, drafting, revising/ editing, and publishing. You will be asked to focus on the various traits of writing: organization, sentence fluency, word choice, conventions, voice, and ideas. You will need at least one page for each essay to provide ample detail that will enable both you and the reader to get a clear picture of who you are. The final publishable draft should be typed, 12pt, appropriate font (example: times, aerial, comic sans, times new roman), double spaced and a 1 inch left hand margin.

During the project you will want to gather photographs and other mementos to display with your writings to help make your scrapbook a more complete representation of yourself. All of these items and writings will be bound into a book format. 

I will help you in any way I can. I will provide you with time to write and opportunities to edit your work. I will help you brainstorm ideas and add details/ descriptions, however the ultimate responsibility in completing this project is yourself. If you need help of are uncertain on something dealing with this project ask. Do not wait until the last moment to begin the project.

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Project consists of the following essay writings and poems.

Six Required Essays: 7 essays – counting letters
from Mom, Dad, Grandparents, best friend whomever:
 and Four written original poems.
1) ** Family History: What is your cultural and ethnic heritage? When did your family immigrate to this continent? Unless you are a pure Native American your family has a history that precedes its establishment in the United States. Do you have any interesting ancestors? What can your grandparents tell you about the early days of your family? Do you have a family tree, a record of births and deaths that documents your family? What are some of the stories that tell about your family? This is the one essay that requires some research. Call or write your family members and ask for details. You might consider exploring the facts and details about your immediate family. Who are the members of your family? What can you tell about each one? How did Mom and Dad meet? What can they tell you about their romance and decisions about life? Did you always live in the same neighborhood? What are some of the events that highlight your family history? This essay will, in all likelihood, be longer than any other in the scrapbook. Take the time to do this one well. It will be worth it in years to come.
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2) ** Ambitions: Past and Present: What did you want to be when you were younger? A lawyer? A doctor? A fireman? A movie star? Astronaut? How about now? What goals or dreams do you have for your future now? What do you think you might be “when you grow up?” Why have you chosen this profession or career? Do you have any dreams for yourself that are not related to a job? Do you have things you want to learn to do? Skiing, Skydiving, gourmet cooking, traveling? Do you want to become an expert on something just because you’re interested in it? What is it that interests you? What goals have you set for yourself?
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3)** Events / People Affecting My Life: Some events in our lives stand out as being more significant than others. Some of these events may be happy and joyous, always bringing a smile to your face. Others can be sad or frightening. Regardless of whether these have been happy or sad events, they have managed to shape your life. Though your lives have been short so far, you do have events that you can recall that conjure up some fairly important emotions. Maybe it was the birth of a younger brother or sister. Perhaps it was the death of a family member or close friend. Where you ever involved in an accident that nearly took your life or the life of a dear one? Did you ever break a leg; get in serious trouble that taught you an important lesson, witness something catastrophic? This will require a close and important exploration of your life to reflect upon the events of it and select the ones that did affect you in some way. Maybe that affect was positive, maybe not. Is there someone in your life that has made a difference, someone who has influenced you in a positive way? It might be a parent or grandparent, a teacher, a minister, a coach. It might be a close personal friend. You may not have ever met this person. For example, a well known person may be someone you look up to and admire and has influenced your thinking or the way you conduct your life, like Mother Theresa, Martin Luther King Jr., a great musician, or philosopher. It might be an adult or it might be another person your age that you admire for his or her courage and strength.  Who is / are your personal hero(es)? Why do you admire them? Haw have they influenced you or affected your life?
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4) ** Cause I am Willing To Fight for: What are you passionate about? Are you willing to devote time, talent, and resources to help out someone or something other than yourself? What is your stand on gun control, environmental issues, political issues? Which ones are most important to you? Are you willing to go out on a limb to work toward your cause? What are your views on segregation? Do you think animals should be used for medical research? How do you feel about medical issues like abortion, stem cell cancer research, organ donation? Would you work to improve the conditions for the homeless? Would you raise money or put in hours to feed the hungry? Some things, events, conditions that exist in our world probably cause strong feelings in you. What are they? What do you feel about them? Why do you feel so strongly about them? What would you be willing to do to change the injustices that you find in the world?

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5) ** Who Am I: This will be your most challenging essay because you are going to have to examine who you are on the inside. What pleases you? What hurts you? What kind of a person do you want to be someday? How do you see yourself developing as a person over the years? What kind of personality characteristics are important to you? What do you hope others say about you now? What do you hope you will be remembered for in the future? This is the hardest kind of writing anyone has to do because it examines your inner-self and may not be what people commonly know about you. Do you hate spinach but love broccoli? Are you nuts about old movies, but could do with out another run of “The Simpsons?” Do you envy people who can paint beautiful pictures? Does your little brother/sister drive you crazy but you can hardly wait to play with him each day? Think about the things the you really can’t stand and the things that you really love; Don’t mention food. This is an opportunity to find a different, clever way to present this piece of the autobiography. This is not meant to be just a list. Perhaps you will accompany this essay with a collage.
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6) ** Friends: Who are your good friends of the past/present? How long have you known them? Where did you meet them? What are they like? Why do you like them? What do you respect about them? What annoys you about them? (Be careful. They may read it.) What do you like to do together? What adventures have you been on together? Do you have any friends that have moved away? Do you still keep in touch with them? Do you miss them? Why? How do you choose a friend? What is important to you in selecting friends? How do you treat your friends? Are you fair with them? Are you kind to them? Do you have one special, best friend?
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7)** Letters(s) from Mom, Dad, Grandparents, best friend whomever: You’re off the hook on this one. Someone else gets to write it. And yes, it must also be correct. Oh dear! HOMEWORK for your parents. Revenge can be sweet!

Dear Parent(s) / Significant Others in This Students Life:

This is your opportunity to sit down and tell this young person why they are special to you. It is a time to reflect on the years and share with him / her some of the memorable moments you’ve had together; to remind him/her why he/she is unique. This doesn't’t need to be lengthy, but it can be the opportunity you’ve been looking for to let this young person know how much you care and why.

This letter is a chance for you to share past and present dreams for your child. You may want to write it by hand, so that he/she will always have a record of your handwriting. I feel this young person will treasure this forever.

Thank you for taking the time to write this letter,

Sincerely,
Chad Williams  

P. S.– I will not be reading these letters in any shape or form. They are between you and this important individual. I will only be checking them off that they have been done.

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Four Required Poems

1)** Autobiographical poem: We will work on this together in class toward the end of the project. You may find it a good brainstorming activity for the “Who Am I” essay. It will be the conclusion to your autobiography.

2)** Bio-poem:  I will supply you with the format if you desire to create another bio-poem.

3-4)** Free Choice: Choose two different styles of poetry from the examples we do together in class.

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If you manage your time and keep up in class, this is a very manageable project. If you put off getting your essays done or doing your revisions, it can be a nightmare. Decide how you are going to handle this project. Set some goals for yourself and then stick to that commitment. I know you can be successful and I have faith in your ability.

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to call or email me.

Email Mr. Williams : Williamsclass@Williamsclass.com

A very special thanks for this project goes to Darin Mills
 at Roosevelt Middle School in Port Angeles, Washington.

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