EIGHTH GRADE FROM A-Z
The following project is the final assignments for your 8th grade year in Language Arts. This project records the history of your last year at this school through digital media. You are expected to provide a media response for each of the topics provided here. If the topic has more than one part, then each of the parts must be addressed. If a topic does not appeal to you, you may request a change with the teacher; however, the new topic must be the same letter as the original topic. The assignment will be presented through the use of iMovie, Keynote, or creating a Google site on your iPad. You will save it in your “Ungraded” folder entitled 8GAtoZ. You will need to create a title at the beginning followed by a table of contents. Please hand in the rubric on the due date.
You must start each new topic with the letter of that topic (for example, the first topic is A-Advice…..start an A before typing the paragraph.)
Your completed project is due on Tuesday, June 3, 2014.
Have fun with this project. This is an assignment you may keep for years. It will be fun to view again in the future and remember who you were in 8th grade.
A-Advice
1. What 3 pieces of advice would you give younger students before you graduate? (…about peer pressure, sports, or life in general)
2. What is the one piece of advice that you wish students had given you before 8th grade?
B-Book
Name the one book that you would choose as your favorite this year. Explain why you chose it and why it was significant to you.
C-Changes
What has changed the most for you this year, both in school and in your life?
D-Difficult Decision
What was one difficult decision you had to make this year? Explain how you went about making it and why it was difficult to do.
E- Exciting or Embarrassing Moment
Describe an exciting or embarrassing moment you experienced this year-either at school or outside of school-and tell how you handled it.
F-Friendship
1. Name your best friend(s) this year and describe the personality traits that drew you to them in the first place.
2. If you could change one thing about your friend(s), what would it
be and why? If you would not change anything, say so and explain
why.
G-Growth
In what way do you think you have grown the most this year, besides physically? For instance: are you more responsible? More mature? A better student? Better at sports? More patient?
H-Hardest Subject
Explain which subject this year was the hardest for you and explain why. Tell what you did to help yourself get better grades or what you could have done, but didn’t.
I-Identity
Identify one person who had a major influence on you this year-either positive or negative. Explain how or why this person influenced you.
J-Junk
What was your favorite junk food at school this year? Where do you buy it, why do you like it and where do you eat it?
K-Key
Discuss what you feel was the key to your success in school or sports this year, or, discuss what you think kept you from being successful in school or sports this year.
L-Lasting
Years from now, when you look back on this year, what is the one memory or event that will probably stand out in your mind? Describe the memory or event and tell why it is memorable to you.
M-Music Favorites
Describe your favorite kind of music this year and your favorite group or artist. What do you like about each?
N-Nervous Moment
Describe a moment this year that was nerve-racking or tense for you, and explain how you handled it-or did not handle it well.
O-Opinion
Discuss one problem that teens like you are constantly faced with today and give your opinion on how you think teens should handle it.
P-Pet Peeve (Things that other people do that really bother you)
Describe a pet peeve you have had this year. Explain why it bothered you and what you think you should do instead (of letting it bother you).
Q-Quiet Quatrain
Quatrain is a four-line poem that rhymes in one of the following ways: A. Lines 1 and 2 rhyme and then lines 3 and 4 rhyme.
B. Lines 1 and 3 rhyme and then lines 2 and 4 rhyme.
C. Lines 1 and 4 rhyme and then line 2 and 3 rhyme.
Create an original poem – a quatrain – about a quiet time, quiet person, or a quiet place you knew about during this school year.
R-Regret
What is one regret that you had this year? This could be something you did or did not do or something you wish you had said.
S-“Say It In Six”
Write a 6 word memoir. Create a 6 word phrase that summarizes you best.
“A Six-Word Memoir® is the story of your life—some part of it or all of it—told in exactly sixwords”
T-TV Shows
What was your favorite TV show this year and/or your favorite TV actor/actress and why?
U-Unforgettable
Describe one person (other than a student) associated with your 8th grade year whom you will never forget. Explain what this person has meant to you and why you will always remember him / her.
V-Video Favorites
Name your favorite video of the year (either movie or music) and explain what you liked about it.
W-Weaknesses
It’s only human to have weaknesses. Describe one weakness you see in yourself, and tell what you think you could do to overcome it or improve yourself.
X-Extra Effort
Describe a time this past year when you put extra effort into a school assignment or an event, and describe the results.
Y-Your Comments about the Future
1. What do you anticipate might be a difficult decision you will need to make during your high school years?
2. What is one goal that you would like to set for yourself and accomplish by the time you graduate from high school?
Z-Zany
What is the zaniest thing you did all year? Where were you, what happened, and what were the results of your actions?
8th Grade English
Scoring Rubric for A-Z Autobiography
Name______Student ID #______
1. Completion - Student wrote an eighth grade paragraph for each topic.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
2. Responses-Student responses were appropriate and showed a degree of maturity and thoughtfulness.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
3.Form-Student followed instructions. Script was neatly typed, presented via a multimedia presentation format.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
4.Correctness-Student’s script was free from errors in spelling, grammar and punctuation.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
5.Effort-Assignment shows extra effort by including personal images, illustrations, pictures, drawings, graphics and or music.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
TOTAL POINTS _____ X 2 = ______
GRADE ______
Comments:______
______