Junior English
Tuesdays with Morrie
Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom – Creative Project – 100 points
Morrie Schwartz has a love for music and dancing in Mitch Albom’s novel, Tuesdays with
Morrie. Many songwriters have used and continue to use their art to express their philosophies
on life and the meaning of existence. This is especially relevant to our reading because Morrie
has many life philosophies and aphorisms to share with us.
Your Task: Create a Tuesdays with Morrie CD in which you…

record a working CD that includes 6-8 songs that relate to Morrie’s lessons/aphorisms in
Tuesdays with Morrie

at least five songs must be chosen and connected with five of Morrie’s Tuesday lessons
and the song choice must be explained in terms of the lesson itself (“See Document
Below.”)

create an attractive cover for your CD

include a booklet with samples of the lyrics of the songs chosen

write a one-paragraph explanation for five of the songs in which you analyze the
message, purpose and artistic style of the song. The best responses will include references
to specific lines from the songs and make connections to our reading.
All written work must be typed. As this is a project and not a paper, neatness and general
presentation are major considerations. The greatest concern, as always, is the content of your
work, which should be creative and relevant.
CD/DVD Case Creator: http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/interactives/cd-dvd/
*Save all work on your Word Document! This program does not save your work!
The due date for this project is Tuesday, December 18 (100 Points)
Name:
Junior English
Tuesdays with Morrie
Tuesdays with Morrie - Creative Project Preparation
Read through the following song lyrics. Respond fully to the questions posed alongside and at
the bottom of the lyrics. Whenever possible, be specific and cite lines of text or music to clarify
your response. Also, highlight specific lines from songs that you find particularly relevant and
explain in space provided. This is what you should do for each of your five song choices.
Stevie Wonder’s “I Just Called to Say I Love You” (1984)
No New Year's Day to celebrate
No chocolate covered candy hearts to give away
No first of spring
No song to sing
In fact here's just another ordinary day
No April rain
No flowers bloom
No wedding Saturday within the month of June
But what it is, is something true
Made up of these three words that I must say to you
I just called to say I love you
I just called to say how much I care
I just called to say I love you
And I mean it from the bottom of my heart
Repetition = repeating of sounds,
letters, words or lines, which
helps create meaning, form and
sound.
How is repetition used in this
song?
What is the tone of this song?
No summer's high
No warm July
No harvest moon to light one tender August night
No autumn breeze
No falling leaves
Not even time for birds to fly to southern skies
No Libra sun
No Halloween
No giving thanks to all the Christmas joy you bring
But what it is, though old so new
To fill your heart like no three words could ever do
How does this song connect
with Tuesdays with Morrie?
Which lines stand out to you?
Song # 1 – Tuesday Song Choice:
How does this song choice reflect Morrie’s lesson?
Which lines stand out to
you? Explain the
significance of these lines:
Song # 2 – Tuesday Song Choice:
How does this song choice reflect Morrie’s lesson?
Which lines stand out to
you? Explain the
significance of these lines:
Song # 3 – Tuesday Song Choice:
How does this song choice reflect Morrie’s lesson?
Which lines stand out to
you? Explain the
significance of these lines:
Song # 4 – Tuesday Song Choice:
How does this song choice reflect Morrie’s lesson?
Which lines stand out to
you? Explain the
significance of these lines:
Song # 5 – Tuesday Song Choice:
How does this song choice reflect Morrie’s lesson?
Which lines stand out to
you? Explain the
significance of these lines:
Song Choice #6:
How does this song choice relate to Tuesdays with Morrie/ Morrie’s lessons/aphorisms?
Which lines stand out to
you? Explain the
significance of these lines:
Song #7:
How does this song choice relate to Tuesdays with Morrie/ Morrie’s lessons/aphorisms?
Which lines stand out to
you? Explain the
significance of these lines:
Event #3 - Song Choice #8:
How does this song choice relate to Tuesdays with Morrie/ Morrie’s lessons/aphorisms?
Which lines stand out to
you? Explain the
significance of these lines:
Junior English
CRITERIA
PHHS
A/B
B/C
C/D
D/F
Incomplete
Creativity of Project &
Requirements
Final write up and visuals were
creative. Included original and
different ideas and thoughts.
Format of the project followed all
requirements
Final write up and visuals were
creative, but certain aspects might
not have been quite as unique in
ideas and/or the format required.
Final write up and visuals was
complete, but failed to
demonstrate creative thinking and
different approach to the task.
Requirements may be incomplete.
Final write up and visuals did not
demonstrate creative and original
thinking. Final project was
unimaginative. Requirements may
be missing.
No creativity evident in final
project. The final submission does
not demonstrate effort put forth to
be original/ take a different
approach to the task.
Level of Effort
Challenging endeavor that
demonstrates energy, attention to
detail, thoughtfulness and
substantial planning.
Challenging and completed, but
lacking in one area: attention to
detail/ thoughtfulness and/
substantial planning.
Challenging and completed, but
lacking in two areas: attention to
detail/ thoughtfulness and
/substantial planning.
Lacking in three or more areas:
attention to detail/ thoughtfulness
and substantial planning OR did
not meet time requirement.
Below level of capabilities. Little to
no effort displayed.
Level of Knowledge &
Song Choices
Demonstrates a superior
understanding of the reading from
Tuesdays with Morrie. The
resulting submission reflected on
Morrie’s five lessons, events, and
incorporated specific
quotations/details. Song choices
reflect superior knowledge.
Demonstrates a strong
understanding of the reading from
Tuesdays with Morrie. The
resulting submission reflected on
Morrie’s five lessons, events, and
incorporated specific
quotations/details . Song choices
reflect strong knowledge.
Demonstrates an adequate
understanding of the reading from
Tuesdays with Morrie. The resulting
submission reflected on Morrie’s five
lessons but may be missing all
specifics. The incorporated specific
quotations/details could have been
more focused. Song choices reflect
adequate knowledge.
Lacking in understanding of the
reading from Tuesdays with Morrie.
The resulting submission does not
incorporate all five lessons AND
may be missing the events/
explanations for the events. The
incorporated book references are
vague. One or more song choices
do not seem to fit the lesson/event.
No understanding of the reading
from Five People. Errors in the five
lessons OR the three events. The
explanations for the lessons and/or
events do not match the song
choices. Little to no details from
the book incorporated. Song
choices are inappropriate for
lessons/ event.
MLA Format
All quotation choices are in correct
MLA format.
One quotation choice has an MLA
formatting error.
Two quotation choices have MLA
formatting errors.
Three quotation choices have
MLA formatting errors.
More than three quotations
demonstrate incorrect MLA format.
Presentation and
Neatness
Outstanding presentation of the
final project. The final submission
is colorful, the overall appearance
is neat and all parts are in hard
copy.
Good presentation of the final
project. The final submission is
colorful, the overall appearance
attempts neatness and all parts
are in hard copy.
Sufficient presentation of the final
project. The final submission is
mostly colorful & the overall
appearance attempts neatness.
All but one parts is in hard copy.
Unsatisfactory presentation of the
final project. The final submission
is not colorful & lacks neatness.
Two parts are not in hard copy.
Ill-prepared presentation of the
final project. The final submission
is only in B&W AND lacks
neatness. No hard copy
submission.
Name:
Comments:
Time: