NAME ______________________

		Time Capsule Project

F.R.Haythorne Jr. High
Grade Nine Honours

Introduction:

Aim: 
Through this thematic unit I hope that students will become more self-aware by:
•	Reading a variety of literature
•	Using a variety of media
•	Writing in a variety of styles and genres
•	Exchanging opinions 

In this unit, students will create a time capsule project that contains several student-created objects that result from much introspection and pride of workmanship.  This time capsule will hopefully become a keepsake for the student and his/her family.  The intent is that this keepsake will be put away and re-examined in about ten years; and when it is examined at that time, it will give insight as to how this student viewed life when he/she was in grade nine, in 2006 – 2007.

 Time Capsule Project

Soon you will start working on a series of assignments that will become the objects that will go into your time capsules.  There are several choices that you have as you proceed through these assignments.

Your First Set of Choices
Twenty possible assignments are described on the following pages, and you have the option of proposing more!  However, you need to complete a minimum of ten, so you can be selective about which ones you want to do.  If you wish to complete more, you can do that too.  You may also select the order in which you choose to do the assignments.  

Your Second Set of Choices
One thing that you must keep an eye on, though, is that you must complete a variety of objects.  I have listed a few choices in a chart (handout) so that you can use the chart as a checklist to ensure that you have completed this part of the requirement.  Only the objects that are bolded must appear in your time capsule at least once, and may even appear twice, but not more often than that.  Of the other choices, you may have as many or as you wish, and you may use any of these up to two times as well.  (Remember, you have been asked to complete a variety of objects.)  There are also some blanks on this chart.  If you have some types of objects in mind that are not listed, you may add them to the list.  If you are not certain that the object you have in mind qualifies for this project, please check with me.  

Keep this chart up-to-date regarding the completion of objects so that I can check it when I come around to see how you are doing. 

If you need help with a particular approach to an assignment, talk to me.  That is what I am there for.  Be prepared, though, because I will first try to get you to problem solve on your own by directing you to resources that should help before I step in and ‘give’ you answers.  The point here relates to the saying:  “Give a man a fish and he eats for a day; teach a man to fish, and he eats for a lifetime” (Source unknown).

Where You Have No Choice!
For several of these objects, you will also find a variety of selections that you should read because they compliment the assignments and may give you ideas about what to write about, design, or illustrate for that project.  They are examples of professional work that deal with the theme of the assignment.

All of the readings or activities attached to the twenty assignments must be completed, even if you are not doing the project. The readings will be discussed on dates that will be set in class, in advance.  Some projects have no readings or activities attached to them.  Still others may require you to research or find text that addresses the topic, and you may be asked share your findings with the class.  Further instructions will be given before these readings/activities are taken up.

Before You Begin the Assignments:
You will be placing all of your projects into a container of some type – of your own design. You may want to consider the nature of this container before you start any of your projects in order to help you to figure out the scale of the work that you will be doing.  For example, if you create a meter square collage for an assignment, how would that fit into your time capsule so that it can easily be stored for at least ten years?  If you decide to record everything on a CD, are you sure that the technology ten years from now will still allow you to read it?  When you cover a sheet of paper with images, will the product you use for binding your project end up seeping into some of these images?  Please consider, very carefully, how this project will ultimately be stored and preserved.

Questions????

Twenty Possible Assignments

#1 Who I Am

Purpose:  This assignment will be a single image of you that represents the following key features: 
•	what you think you look like
•	activities you enjoy
•	things that you value
You are expected to work abstractly or symbolically.

Possible problem: You will be looking at this some time in the future.  How will you remind the ‘future you’ about the interpretation of the abstractions / symbols you have chosen?

Note: There will be other assignments that can include actual photographs, so do not worry that this image is not realistic.

Research Assignment:  Find works by abstract artists and try to figure out what they are conveying about their subject.  Find an image that you want to talk about and bring it to class, or provide a URL so that the class can view it via the projector.  Be prepared to discuss your findings in class.

You will be shown a slide presentation on design elements to help you when you use elements of composition in this assignment or any other assignment that you may wish to complete in image form.  

You will also receive notes on preparing PowerPoint presentations that contain design hints as well as information on that medium.

Read “The Bridge Builder” by Margaret Mahy (Sightlines 9 – Pg.254) 
Prepare responses to the following questions:
•	List the different bridges that the father made in his lifetime in the order in which they appear in the story.  Along the side of this list, track the changes that occurred in the father as the story progressed through these bridges and his lifetime.
•	If you were to build a bridge that represents who you are in terms of its building materials, its architecture, what it spans and its location, what would this bridge look like?

#2  Looking Back

Purpose:  This assignment will represent your life from your birth to right now. You will first have to decide on five or more events in your life that have made a significant impression on you so far.  These events may be personal, or global. You will also have to decide on a format that will best convey how you remember these events right now.  Remember, this is a time capsule that represents you as a 15 (?) year old, and you are preparing it for your 25 (?) year-old self.

Use the ResourceLines 9/10 book to read about 
•	brainstorming (pg. 145 – 146)
•	graphic organizers (pg. 33 – 35)
Check the following URL to see how to create a timeline in Microsoft Word
•	http://www.microsoft.com/education/timelinesword.mspx
Be prepared to brainstorm possible formats or format treatments for this project.

#3 Today!

Purpose: This assignment will give a reference to some of the everyday things that you are surrounded by today.  For example, you may want to include the wrapper of your favorite candy bar, along with a notation regarding its normal price.  Or you might still have the ticket stubs for a concert or movie you went to as well as its current cost. Some of the headings that you may want to *archive through this project are:
•	T.V. shows
•	Fast foods
•	Fads
•	Fashions
•	Sayings
•	Current events
•	Can you think of more?
Although you will only have to represent five of these headings, you may do more if you wish.  Make sure that each of these five headings are fleshed out with good examples that are truly representative of today’s world.

*archive – (Find the definition of this word that fits this sentence and write it below.)

Contest time!  In your group, use the headings above to generate several ideas that might be used for this assignment.  Try to come up with new headings, and ideas for those headings as well. The group with the most ideas will win!

#4 Tomorrow

Purpose:  In this assignment, you will communicate with yourself ten years from now.  For example, if you are writing a letter, the salutation might be:  Dear Me (ten years from now)…or it can be a creative version of this. (Dear Millionaire, Dear CEO, Dear Dr. ____, Dear Father of Two).  
This is your chance to reach into the future from the here-and-now and to remind yourself what it is that your goals were, what the values were that you hoped not to ever forget, what you hoped you would become, and what you hoped you would NOT become.  
This is also an opportunity to speak to your adult self from the point of view of a teenager.  What do you want that adult to always remember when they are interacting with teens like you?

In order to get an idea of the creative use of letter writing, first read the selection “Dear Bill, Remember Me?”   (Responding to Reading – Pg. 11)
Once you have read this selection, discuss the following questions within your group and come up with an agreed-upon answer for each.  Be prepared to share your group’s answers in a full-class discussion.

•	What do you think is the most important thing Kathy wants Bill to understand?
•	Which letter do you think expresses Kathy’s feelings most directly?
•	What is the significance of the crossed out line on the bottom of pg. 15?
•	Why is Kathy’s last letter so brief?
•	Kathy’s level of language changes from the first few letters to the last.  In which letter is the language most formal?  Why do you think this change occurs?  (What level of language will you use for your assignment?)
(Ireland, Responding to Reading, p. 17)

#5 My Family

Purpose:  Your family will also change over the next ten years, as will the type of relationship that you have.  As you grow older, and things happen, your parents will likely see you in a different light, and you will likely see them differently, too.  The same goes for relationships you will have with your siblings.  In this assignment you will be capturing the way things are today.

For each member of your immediate family, you will create an ‘object’ that captures your relationship with that person.  You may find yourself talking about how that person has influenced you, what you have learned from them, or an experience with that person that displays your relationship the best.  

You may need some help with poetry styles, if that is the way in which you plan to create the objects for this assignment.  If so, you might try the following website for ideas: http://ettcweb.lr.k12.nj.us/forms/newpoem.htm 
You may also want to include some photos in this section.

Read the following selections.  They all deal with family relationships, and offer some additional insights as to how other authors deal with this subject. After reading each one, take a moment to write down what the author did that might inform you  as to how you will handle this theme.
•	Sucker – by Carson McCullers (Responding to Reading – pg. 18)
•	Sister for Sale – by Shel Silverstein (poetry - handout)
•	Secret Heart – by Robert P. Tristram Coffin (poetry - handout)
•	Erosion – by E.J. Pratt (poetry - handout)

#6 School Years

Purpose:  In the past nine years of school (K – 8), you have made many memories that are connected to what has happened in school.  This assignment will take the form of a table.  An obvious column in your table will be ‘Grade’.  What will the headings of your other columns be?  Do you want to include the names of the schools you attended, your final marks for each grade, a list of favorite teachers*, best friends, memorable assignments, projects, activities, field trips, …  ?  How many columns will work for this chart?  Do you want to change the direction of your page?  Do you need more than one page?

*NOTE: Sometimes students want to talk about horrible teachers in this part of their project.  Please note that I cannot allow negative comments about my colleagues.

Contest time again!  Again, prizes for the winners! 

(To enhance your chances for winning this contest, quickly review the process of brainstorming – ResouceLines 9/10 – Page. 145 – 146)

1)  With your group, brainstorm all the possible headings that could be used in a chart about a grade nine student’s school history.

2)  With your group, come up with a layout for a chart that will allow the inclusion of a good variety of information.

#7 My Most Influential Person (or People)

Purpose:  This assignment will allow you to reflect on how someone has made a real difference in your life.  This may be a person directly in your life, or it might be a more distant hero.  For example, it might be your friend, teacher, uncle, or mother – or it might be Terry Fox, Joan of Arc, Howard Hughes, Oprah, …  
As you create this object, imagine that the person you are describing will be able to read your words, or view your work.  If that person is still alive, please consider giving him/her a copy of this work when it has been perfected.

In-class brainstorming: Consider all the different ways that someone can make a meaningful contribution to someone else. 

Read the following selections:
•	“Pangaea” by Sally Ito – (Sightlines 9 – Pg. 158)  
(Ask Mrs. Kimura who Sally Ito is)
•	“S.E. Hinton” by William Walsh – (Responding to Reading – Pg. 368)
•	“The Nature of Heroism” by Roy MacGregor – (Responding to Reading – Pg. 385)
•	“Living Life to the Max” by Penny Williams – (Sightlines 9 – Pg. 73)

I would like to encourage you to visit the following website.  This website offers hints that will allow you to hone your writing skills, and it offers samples of writing that illustrate these concepts.  If you are writing at home, bookmark this page for future reference.  
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/

#8 Risky Business
Purpose:  Although risk taking is often dangerous, a certain level of risk taking often produces dramatic growths in learning or awareness.  For this assignment, you will be sharing what happened when you made a decision to do something risky. An important part of this assignment will be your ability to convey suspense, which will be created when you clearly describe all the dangers within the situation, as well as the powerful motivation that moved you to do what you did.  Your skills in descriptive writing will be tested! Also, as part of the conclusion of this piece, you will be expected to indicate the personal growth or awareness that resulted from this experience.

Read the selections listed below. For each selection prepare answers to the following questions:
•	What was the risky decision the protagonist faced?
•	Explain what the conflict was?  
•	What did the author do to clearly describe the dangers of the situation?
•	What did the author do to let us understand the motivation that moved the protagonist to do what he/she did?
•	What personal growth or awareness resulted from this experience?
Selections:
•	“The Taste of Melon” by Broden Deal (Sightlines 9 – Pg. 130)
•	“In the Silence” by Peggy S. Curry (Sightlines 9 – Pg. 190)
•	 “Cook’s Brook” by Al Pittman (Handout)
•	“O” by Carl Leggo (Handout)
•	“Lake of Bays” by Raymond Souster (Handout)

#9 My Treasures
Purpose:  Do you have an item or items that you presently feel are very important in your life?  These items usually remind you of incidents, people, places etc. that are meaningful to you.  Represent this/these items for this assignment.  Make sure to include an explanation that captures why each item is important to you.

Read the following selections:
•	“The Blue Bead” by Norah Burke - (Sightlines 9 -  Pg. 56)
•	“Granny Glover’s Dream” by Al Pittman and “Looking Back” by Enos D. Watts - (Sightlines 9 -  Pg. 231)

#10 My First Love
Purpose:  Describe a person or activity that first became a passion for you.  You may also describe ways in which your behaviour was affected as well as what was so wonderful about this person or thing that caused you to be enamored by it.

Read 
•	“Someone Who Used to Have Someone” by Miriam Waddington (Sightlines 9 – Pg. 111)
•	“help I’ve just been run over by a bus” by Gwen Hauser – (Handout)
•	“The Masks of Love” by Alden Nowlan – (Sightlines 9 – Pg. 117)
•	“To Christine” by Susan Forde – (Sightlines 9 – Pg. 146)
•	“The Dream” by Sandra Bezic (Sightlines 9 – Pg. 264)

#11 A Famous Relative
Purpose:  Describe a relative who is famous.  Give details about their accomplishment(s) or notoriety, and note your relationship to this person.

#12 Pets
Purpose:  Describe your pet in such a way that its appearance and personality are detailed.  Would a painting or photo that has artistically included design features to convey this information work for this assignment?  Would it be possible for someone who is not familiar with this pet to really understand its personality from this image?  If you are using words, you might consider including some tricks that your pet can do, or an incident it has caused or been involved with.  You may also want to describe some changes that this pet has caused in you or your home. 
Maybe you will want to combine well-designed images with well-edited words.

#13 A Family Tragedy
Purpose:  This assignment would portray an incident that caused sorrow, and possibly a change of life for your family.  Consider that this change of life may have been positive and/or negative.

Read 
•	“On the Sidewalk, Bleeding” by Evan Hunter (Responding to Reading – Pg. 49)
•	“David” by Earle Birney (Responding to Reading – Pg. 323)

#14 Nightmares (or Dreams)
Purpose:  Here you will be allowed to create an imaginative story.  It can be as wild as some of our dreams are.  It can be a great dream, or a horrible nightmare.

Read the following selections:
•	“The Execution” by Alden Nowlan (Sightlines 9 – Pg. 19)
•	“Gore” by Sarah Ellis (Sightlines 9 – Pg. 3)
•	“At the Bus Stop, One Autumn Morning” by M.W. Field (Sightlines 9 – Pg. 2)

#15 Memorable Vacation
Purpose:  Have you been on a vacation or holiday that you want to remember for ever?  The feature that makes this a strong memory will dictate the approach you take.  If it is strong because of an incident, you may want to use narrative as the basis for your work (storyboard, comic book, short story…).  If it is strong because of a setting, you may want to use art as the basis for your work (photography, painting, …).  

Why is it important to identify why the memory of this vacation is so strong for you before you start working on a project for this topic?

	

#16 The Funniest Thing Happened!
Purpose:  This assignment will emphasize the humorous. This may require descriptive detail, as well as good timing in disclosing information.  For example, often the person on whom a joke is played, or to whom an incident happened, was unaware of some detail that the others (or the teller) is aware of. If this is carefully cultivated in the story, the result will make the reader smile.  The incident that you use should be something that happened to you or a member of your family.

Notes – Irony (sarcasm, dramatic irony)
Read the following selections:
•	“The Open Window” Adaptated by Henry Gilfond from the original by Saki – (Sightlines 9 – Pg. 22) AND (Reflections – Pg. 103)
•	“The Last Saskatchewan Pirate” by The Arrogant Worms – (Sightlines 9 – Pg. 28) 
•	“Sir Gwain and the Loathly Lady” retold by Selina Hastings, illustrated by Juan Wijngaard. (Sightlines 9 – Pg. 176)
•	

#17 The Scariest Thing Happened!
Purpose:  This assignment will emphasize the frightening.  Descriptive detail is often a great way of writing about horror.  Contrast is also effective as the reader is lulled into a false sense of serenity and is suddenly frightened by a horror that was hiding in the serene scene all the time.  Another way of building horror is by having the central character unaware of the impending danger, although the reader or other characters are aware of that danger.

Students will complete a brief writing workshop on honing descriptive writing skills at this time.

#18 Hobbies and Interests
Purpose:  Here you can disclose one or all of your current hobbies or interests.  Ten years from now, will you still be pursuing these interests?  Detail them here and find out if you are still ‘into’ these things later in life!

#19 Favourite Foods
Purpose:  Are you a cook, or do you just really appreciate certain dishes?  Include pictures and recipes so that years from now you can recreate the tastes that you are enjoying now.  What kind of format could you use for this assignment?

#20 Favourite Music
Purpose:  Will the music you are listening to now become the classics of a decade from now?  Write out the lyrics of some of your favorites and explain why these mean a lot to you now.  You might even take a chance and record a CD of the music in the hopes that CD’s still will be playable in ten years.

Other
Did some other topic occur to you as you were working on this unit?  Talk to me about what you would like to include.  It just might be possible…

Finally… 
Consider the title for this work.  This title will appear on the container for all of these objects.  How can you be creative in your title, and the container?

Have a look at the biography / autobiography section of the library.  Record five titles that really caught your attention.  Be prepared to share these titles in class.
How will you decorate the container that holds this assignment?  
When I ask you how the container symbolizes what this assignment means, what will you answer?