Personal Timeline: a Panoramic View of Your Life Name: ______

Personal Timeline: A panoramic view of your life Name: ______

Planning Sheet due 10/21

Final due 10/24

Introduction

In the last unit, we looked at how we see and perceive the Earth spatially through different maps with different projections, orientation and centering. We learned that we can take a view of the entire world from space and we can take a close-up look at a particular part of the world, or particular features of the world (physical features, political spaces, etc.) We learned that the “truth” about all the features of our Earth can only be seen if we look from multiple viewpoints.

In this unit we will study how historians look at human history through the lens of time. We can look at the entire history of the universe rolled out on 100’ timeline in the hallway. Or we can zoom in with a magnifying glass and focus on a particular era.

You can look at your own life as an entire span, or you can look at a few minutes to an hour in rich detail. You are writing personal narratives that take a magnifying glass to a particular significant moment. You will present yourself through the lens of that moment when you publish your story on November 4.

But your life is full of such moments, all strung together. In this timeline assignment, you will present the panoramic view of life as a series of significant events in the form of a timeline.

The “Top Ten” Timeline Task

On an 8 x 14 sheet of paper (provided in class), present a timeline of your life. Your timeline should have the calendar years marked for the year you were born and each calendar year since then in even increments (scale).

You should include:

____ a properly oriented and scaled number line

___ 10 entries containing top 10 significant dates of your life, including your birth date. Milestones and turning points are always good. Dates should include at least month and year. Your entry also should state one to two sentences about the event.

___ 3 eras or periods in your life that you have named.

____ at least 3 “visuals.” You may mount photos, draw the pictures, print from the internet. They have to relate to the event but they don’t have to be of you! You may use other decorative flourishes or motifs as long as they enhance, not distract from, your message. See construction tips below.

___ a title that conveys the main idea of the timeline (including your name)

Construction Tips

● Your timeline should be neat.

Use a ruler or a straightedge. When cutting, mark straight lines on the backside and cut along them. Or use an index card as a guide.

To keep writing straight, make heavy straight lines on a piece of scrap paper, then put this under your presentation paper. You will be able to see the lines through the presentation paper and use them as a guide to keep your writing straight.

Write in ink or type text in text boxes and cut it out. NO INK OVER PENCIL!!! You may use a colored ink if the color is purposeful, see below.

If you are pasting pieces down, use glue stick, not tape. Go all the way to the edge of the piece being pasted. You can mount pieces on a slightly larger rectangle of colored paper for a “framed” look. Use construction paper or colored magazine pages.

● Your timeline should be colorful but also be purposeful about color.

You can use color to indicate eras. You can make colored bars or put colored edgings around boxes or in the background.

● Your timeline should not be folded or rolled into a tiny scroll.

● Be creative about finding visuals.

Family photos are great, but you can also download photos/icons/maps, etc., from the internet for this project or use magazine images.

You can make photocopies of pictures at FEDEX-Kinkos. You can put several photos on the copier and make one 8 x 11” photocopy for $0.53. Then cut the pictures apart.

If you get photos from the internet, you can dump them all onto one page of a Word document (using text boxes if necessary), save them to a flash drive, then print color copies of that page from the flash drive at Kinkos for $0.53. If you do download a photo, be sure to copy the web address. You can put your photo credits in pencil on the back of your timeline or on a separate sheet of paper (WITH YOUR NAME ON IT!)

http://www.seattleunited.com/

Made-up Example

Mae Su’s Top Ten Life Events Timeline

_l______l______l______l______l______l______l______l______.

1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005

KEY

The Only Child Era

The Braeburn Elementary Era

Name: ______

PLAN FIRST. Brainstorm a list of events. There is space for more than 10 here! Put a star by your “top ten” and then fill in the sequence (chronological order) column on the planning sheet.

Make a rough draft of your timeline to figure out where your entries will go and how much space you have for them before starting your final timeline. Place your entries above OR below the line so that they do not interfere with one another.

Date Text description Place in

Chronology

______

Personal Timeline Rubric Author’s Name: ______

Self Assessment

4 / 3 / 2 / 1
Timeline events / Includes 10 events showing variety of aspects of life, described clearly; 3 eras with clear explanations and both beginning and end dates marked; and more than three pictures illustrating key events in creative ways / Includes 10 personal events with dates and descriptions; 3 eras with explanations and beginning and end dates; and 3 pictures that relate to the topics / Includes at least 9 personal events and almost all have both dates and descriptions, at least 2 eras with explanations and a picture that relates to the topic / Includes at least 5 personal events with dates (at least the year) and descriptions and at least one era;
Timeline construction / Timeline is straight with arrows at the end to show time before personal lifetime; timeline is oriented (left to right) and scaled properly; entries are organized above and below the line in a way that enhances understanding; event arrows are positioned precisely on the timeline; timeline has a title that clearly conveys the main idea of the timeline / Timeline is straight with arrows at the end to show time beyond life; timeline is oriented (left to right) and scaled properly; entries are organized above and below the line in a way that does not impede understanding; event arrows are positioned appropriately within a given year; timeline has a relevant title / Timeline is a line, dates are oriented properly (left to right); arrows may be missing; measurement of scale may be missing; entries are organized in a way that usually does not impair understanding; event arrows are positioned within the correct year; timeline has a title that is not helpful (for example does not say whose timeline) or interesting / Timeline is oriented; entries are not organized in a way that that confuses reader, for example not in order; arrows are positioned within the correct year but not within the correct part of the year or some arrows are lacking or arrows cross each other or other event boxes; timeline has no title
Timeline presentation quality / Timeline is appealing to viewer: printing is neat; ruler is used for all straight edges; color is used very effectively; if materials are cut and pasted on, edges are straight and glued completely; color scheme and decorative motifs (possibly a border) are selected with intention and purpose; / Printing is neat; ruler is used for all straight edges; color is used; if materials are cut and pasted on, edges are straight and glued completely; / Printing is legible; materials affixed are secure; most lines are reasonably straight; color is minimal; / Printing is hard to decipher; color is not used; ruler is not used or pasted materials are curling up; tape is used to secure materials

Personal Timeline Rubric Author’s Name: ______

Peer Assessment