By Mitch Albom
“So many people walk around with a meaningless life. They seem half-asleep, even when they’re busy doing things they think are important. This is because they’re chasing the wrong things. The way you get meaning into your life is to devote yourself to loving others, devote yourself to your community around you, and devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning” (page 43).
Goals : To listen, interpret, respond, and evaluate your chosen person’s message. Through your project you should learn the relevance of mentors and the importance of living a life that sets positive examples for others.
Assessment : Your tasks are to read the text, have at least six weekly visits with an adult of your choice, and write about your experiences. Your assessment includes daily grades for the writing assignments, final product, circle discussions and test grades.
Activities: Over the next six to seven weeks, you will read Albom ’s memoir of his conversations with his mentor teacher. Before you start this project, you must select an older person to serve as your mentor —a person who can teach you many of life’s lessons (e.g., grandparent, aunt, uncle, parent, etc.). During this project you will visit weekly with your mentor and then complete the following writing activities. Your first visit must be in person. You must meet at least one more time in person with your mentor. If needed, you are allowed to meet over the telephone with your mentor.
1 st Week:
Reading: Read the entire book-Tuesdays with Morrie.
2 nd Week:
Writing Assignment: Write a flashback vignette about a fond memory with your chosen person.
3 rd Week:
Writing Assignment: Write about the room or place where your chosen person spends most of his/her time or where your chosen person is most comfortable. In this writing, include a constant object that is associated with your chosen person. (Mitch Albom uses the Japanese maple tree and the hibiscus plant.)
4 th Week:
Writing Assignment: Write about something that you accomplished with your chosen person’s help.
5 th Week:
Writing Assignment: Ask your chosen person the following questions and write a thorough answer to each: What is your favorite childhood memory? What is the meaning of life? What was the hardest time in your life? What are your prized possessions? If you could re-live a time of your life, what would you do differently? What lesson did you learn from a mistake you made? Who was an influential person on your life and what impact did he/she have on your life. What is a dream you had and you never achieved? If you could reconnect with anyone from your past, who would it be and why? What lasting memory do you want to leave on your family?
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6 th Week:
Writing Assignment: Write what you gained or learned from your chosen person.
7 th Week:
Writing Assignment: Write about what you gained or learned from reading the text.
Vocabulary: As you read the book, write down words in your notebook that you are unfamiliar with.
Additionally, look up and write the definitions. I will select certain words from the text for a vocabulary test.
First Day of School:
Writing Assignment: Have a final product ready to turn in. You must have:
 A creative cover
 Creative chapter titles for the seven writing assignments
 Appropriate pictures inserted

A table of contents
 A dedication page – to your mentor
 A title page

An acknowledgment page (those who helped you make the assignment successful)
 A page about you
 A booklet spiral bound where you kept all of your notes. NOTES MUST BE DATED.
Writing assignments are to be discussed thoroughly (NO LESS THAN 400 WORDS PER
WRITING ASSIGNMENT, AND YOU MUST HAVE A HAND WRITTEN WORD COUNT ON EACH
PAPER) and have a strong command of language, consistent command of spelling, capitalization, punctuation, grammar, usage, and sentence structure.
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