THE YEARS OF YOUR LIFE & IMPORTANT EVENTS IN HISTORY

A Web Quest By:

Marney Sobel & Mary Anne Lapenna

INTRODUCTION:
Millions of people have come to know and to love Anne Frank through her diary. As we have read her thoughts, we can "see" her growing up; we can share her feelings of sorrow and joy, despair and hope. Her words speak to everyone who has experienced the feelings she has expressed. In her writing, perhaps you can see something of yourself. 

You, too, have had experiences and feelings that others can relate to. You may not have had to face the crises and the tragedies that engulfed Anne Frank, but the joys, sorrows, and hopes of your life are also of interest to others. 

The purpose of this project is to put a piece of your life- your memories, thoughts, and attitudes into words. This should help you learn about yourself and should reflect your personality. Use the first person point of view, as Anne Frank does in her writing. This project will give you the opportunity to remember special and important memories and events in your own life, as well as learn about many events that have taken place in history. You are the writer. The subject is YOU!

Note: If you have forgotten what first person point of view is, click on this link and type in, "Where can I find a definition of the literary term point of view?" Link to:
www.askjeeves.com

*Getting started is one of the most difficult parts of the writing process-even when writing about yourself. Some students say, "What can I write about? I've never done anything exciting." Actually, everyone who is alive has had important personal experiences. The trick is to recall events from your past that have had an impact on you!

TASK & PROCESS: 
This project is about the important events that took place in the years of your life. You will also be asked to record an important event in history that occurred in that same year!

For Example: If you were born on Tuesday June 6th, 1986, you will state that the important event that took place on that particular day was your birth. Next to it, you will record an important event in history that took place in that particular year.

For Example: On January 28, 1986, at Cape Canaveral , five career astronauts, an engineer, and a school teacher boarded the space shuttle, Challenger at a few minutes past eight in the morning.
Christa McAuliffe, the high school teacher from New Hampshire and the winner of a nationwide competition to be the first teacher and ordinary citizen on such a flight was aboard to give the children of the world their first lessons from space. After 25 years and 55 successful space flights, NASA'S luck had run out. The Challenger and its crew died in fiery explosion just 73 seconds after lift-off.

Note: I am providing some details about the event!

You will continue to do this for every year in your life up until the present year.
You can submit this in any way, shape or form that you wish. It can be written in any style and you can be as creative as you like. Incorporating personal pictures, as well as pictures of the event are always a good idea!

EVALUATION:
1. I will be looking for an event for every year in your life and in history? (Basically, did you follow the instructions?) (20)
2. How accurate and researched is your information? (20)
3. How much overall effort went into this project? (20)
4. Writing ability and expression (This includes spelling, punctuation and sentence structure) (20)
5. How CREATIVE is it? (10)
6. Overall presentation (10)

REMEMBER: This should be a FUN project, so ENJOY! We will have time in class and I will arrange visits to the library for the use of Internet and/or other methods of research!

RESOURCES AND GREAT LINKS TO BEGIN:

http://www.datesinhistory.com
http://www.newspaperarchive.com/
http://www.scopesys.com/today/
http://dewey.chs.chico.k12.ca.us/decs8.html
http://blackout.gmu.edu/events.html

CONCLUSION:
One of the main reasons for reading autobiography is to discover the personality of another human being. As we saw with Anne Frank, by sharing the experiences and thoughts of an interesting person, you may gain a better understanding of your own life. This project will give you the opportunity to share events in your own life, as well as learn about important events that have taken place in the world!

HAVE FUN!