(Adapted from an NCEE Exercise Exchange Lesson by Thomas Friedman)
John Williams: 28 years old; professional basketball star and TV personality; last year’s MVP; $3.5 million salary; married; 26-year-old wife; 4 children.
Archibald McFarland III: 70 years old; former statesman and diplomat; awarded Nobel Peace Prize; former UN representative, Secretary of State, and Governor; many children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.
Gloria Nguyen: 4 years old; able to walk and talk at an early age; only child of immigrant parents.
Rachel Greenberg: 26 years old; freelance writer of some renown; married, mother of 3 children; husband is a paraplegic from birth with a degree in chemistry who earns $65,000 per year as a research chemist. Parents killed in Kuwait.
Jacob Smith: 24 years old; high school dropout who enlisted in the military; sent to Gulf War where he was seriously wounded; developed heroin addiction while in army; kicked habit and returned to school where he received high school diploma and won college scholarship; 18-year-old brother lives with him. Both students are on their schools’ honor rolls.
Marilyn Wilson: 16 years old; straight-A high school student, active in drama and speech clubs. Works as camp counselor in summers, in local big sister program during school year. Parents divorced; lives with mother, a nurse; maintains close ties to father, an attorney; 2 younger brothers, 13 and 8. Battles anorexia.
WHO SHOULD BE GIVEN THE HEART?
Your task is to write a paper presenting your position to the hospital Board of Directors and convincing them to follow your recommendation.
Research Project English I
Independent Reading Project
Mrs. Mattox
OverviewYour research project will meet three major English Language Arts standards: Reading, Writing, and Speaking, Listening and Viewing.
You will be expected to meet each standard in order to receive full credit for this research project.
PurposeThe purpose of this project is to meet district requirements for completing a research paper in English I.
ObjectivesYou will gain insight into one author of your choice. You will gain this insight by conducting a biographical research of that author and by reading a minimum of one novel by that author. You will complete your project by sharing your new knowledge with your peers.
You will apply the following writing traits: Ideas and Content, Organization, Voice, Word Choice, Sentence Fluency, Conventions.
GuidelinesReading: You will be expected to read at least one, preferably two, novels written by the author you are researching. You will conduct a biographical research into the life of your author. Your research will be completed mostly as homework; however, some class time will be given for research and organizational purposes. You will be expected to use magazine and newspaper articles, books, the internet and contact with the author as sources of information for your research. You should have at least two cited sources that are not from the internet.
Writing: Your written research paper should consist of 4 sections: Biography of the Author, Summary of the Author’s Writing Style, Peer Recommendation, and Works Cited. Your written work should be submitted to Turnitin.com.
Speaking, Listening and Viewing: You will complete your project by providing visual evidence of your research. You will complete an iMovie, Windows Movie Maker feature, or PowerPoint presentation, to include biographical information about your author, pictures of your author and a video picture book of the novel you read. You will narrate the information presented in your video.
Independent Reading Project English I
Recommended Author List
Mrs. Mattox
- Meg Cabot
- James Patterson
- Stephen King
- Robert Cormier
- Christopher Paolini
- Lurlene McDaniel
- Walter Dean Myers
- Garth Nix
- Tamora Pierce
- S.E. Hinton
- Philip Pullman
- C.S. Lewis
- Orson Scott Card
- Jane Austen
- Sarah Dessen
- Eoin Colfer
- Lois Lowry
- Jerry Spinelli
- Laurie Halse Anderson
- John Steinbeck
- Tim O’Brien
- Maya Angelou
- Sandra Cisneros
- Mark Twain
- William Faulker
- Margaret Atwood
- Lois Duncan
- H.G. Wells
- Robert Jordan
- Margaret Mitchell
- Alexandre Dumas
- Sharon Mills Draper
- Judy Blume
- Rodman R. Philbrick
- Toni Morrison
- Dave Barry
- Clive Barker
- Ray Bradbury
- Avi
- Gary Paulsen
Character Analysis Project
Ms. Mattox
English I
Due Friday, September 21
You will choose a character from your novel and write a diary entry addressing the chapter(s) covered that day from the point of view of that character. Include visuals in your diary. Your visuals can be drawn, from clip art, or cut from a magazine. For example, in Chapter 2 of To Kill a Mockingbird Scout might write, “Dear Diary, today I met my teacher. She is not very nice.” This might include a drawing of Scout’s teacher. I want the entries to be more than a plot summary; you are expected to develop an in-depth understanding of your character. Here are a few examples of issues your character might face:
- What are you most afraid of or worried about? What is making you anxious? Describe the person, object, or event that bothers you. What’s the worst thing that could happen? What do you hope will occur? How do your fears or worries relate to the things that have happened so far?
- Who has impressed, annoyed, or pleased you most so far? What other character has had the strongest effect on you? Who is the other character? Describe the interaction you’ve had why you feel the way that you do. How have the other character’s actions influenced the way you feel?
- What is your biggest accomplishment so far? What do you want to accomplish in your life? What big goals have you set for yourself? Why?
- Sketch your house, yard, office, or another important space that you know well. Once you’ve sketched things out, write a description about the place that explains why it is important to you. How does this place make you feel and why?