Final Project

Hello again!

The last week and half has seen the clouds begin to part and sun shine in planning for the unit. The next hurdle, and perhaps the biggest at this point, is putting together the final project prompt, which I have decided will be a portfolio. Our good friend, Peter Smagorinsky's, insights on portfolios seem well aligned with what students would be expected to produce throughout the unit I have planned, and how they might synthesize their writing projects to create newer, more in depth understandings of relationships between the individual and society. Although Smagorinsky notes that portfolios for individual units would require more frequent selections of exhibits gathered from a more limited pool of possible items, I feel that this unit still would still offer a fair compilation of writing pieces from which students could pick for the project.


First, students would choose 2 of their projects from the following 3 prompts assigned:

-Comparative analysis essay, noting how the narrator from Bartleby and Andrew Carnegie align or conflict in the experiences they write about communication and relationship building, and how this informs students' own understandings of the concepts.

-Interview report for Tyler Miller (Twisted) five years after his high school graduation.

-Business letter, speech, and persuasive essay projects based on Romeo & Juliet (students would choose one of these).


Next, students would choose 3-4 journal responses they have written throughout the unit. These include (to name a few):

-Views by Carnegie students might agree and/or disagree with.
-Discussing how Tyler goes against his own personal desires to get along with society.
-Identifying how fathers, or parents in general, are depicted in Holmes' poem, "The Fathers" (Poetry 180), how this relates to Tyler's relationship with his own father, and students' own perceptions of "a father's role."
-Picking an advertisement (commercial, print, or billboard) and discussing how it seeks to draw consumer interest.
-How mundane experiences can have significant meanings, based on Sirowitz's poem, "I Finally Managed to Speak to Her." (Poetry 180)
-How Grease depicts the differences between our individual selves and who we are among peers.


Based on what they choose, students would write a reflective essay in addition, exploring how specifically these writings, in unison, have influenced their understandings of managing one's individuality to connect with and relate to society. Plus, I would like to have them create an artistic representation of these ideas (such as in the form of an interpretive dance, artistic collage, poem song, comic strip, skit, or video) and present for the class. I am trying to think outside of the box for the latter portion, and would welcome ideas!


Hope the sun is shining down on you all in your unit planning also, despite the inclement weather we have had, and see you Wednesday.


-W