The First Project of the Year 100 points possible Dr. J. Thomas Son English IV/Senior English One Hundred Words About Me: A Diction Project in a Self-Reflective Mode STEP ONE: Choose 100 words to describe yourself. The catch? … Your one hundred words must be according to specific parts of speech in the following amounts. The Words: 30 Nouns 15 concrete nouns (e.g., things you could touch) 10 abstract nouns (e.g., emotions, concepts, ideas) 5 proper nouns (e.g., official names of persons/places) 20 Verbs (i.e., doing words, action words) 30 Adjectives (i.e., words that add descriptive detail to nouns) 20 Adverbs (i.e., words that add descriptive detail to verbs) Feel free to be creative with your vocabulary. But be sure you know what a word means before you choose it, and be sure it applies to you. (Oh, and be sure that it’s appropriate for a public classroom presentation.) STEP TWO: Choose something as an expressive symbol of yourself. It needs to be small enough that you can carry it easily (and use it in a presentation to the class), but large enough that you can write all 100 words on it. (For example, an astronaut might choose her space helmet, while Superman might choose his cape. Both could be easily carried and presented, and both could easily provide space for 100 written words.) **Be sure to include your name somewhere on your symbol. That can count as one of your proper nouns. ***Be sure your symbol choice is appropriate for a public school presentation. STEP THREE: Using any efficient method of your choosing, put all 100 of your self-description words on your symbol. If you choose to simply write the words on your symbol, a Sharpie marker will probably work best. Feel free to be creative with this, using multiple colors, mediums, or whatever. STEP FOUR: Prepare a single page (or two if needed) that lists all 100 of your words, organized into the categories required in Step One. Add a one-paragraph explanation of why you chose the object you did as a symbolic representation of yourself. (Be sure to include your name at the top of this part of the assignment.) STEP FIVE: Bring your word-covered symbol of yourself to class. (DUE Thursday/Friday, August 22nd/23rd) During class time other students will be “reading” you, using your symbol and word lists, and analyzing you as if you were a text. And you, of course, will do the same for others. Points will be awarded for completion of the assignment and evidence of thoughtful, genuine effort. The First Project of the Year 100 points possible Dr. J. Thomas Son English IV/Senior English Here’s the deal: When reading literature, you don’t get to ask the writer what she or he meant. You have to figure it out on your own, based on the language of the text alone—its diction, images, figurative language, symbols. So, during this process, the “creator” will be a silent partner while others are considering his/her project. “Reading” Your Classmates View and discuss each symbol one at a time. (pass it around) Your Task: What does the symbol, and its words, tell you about the creator? (Support your interpretations with evidence from the “text”.) 1. Write the creator’s name at the top of the page. Then, start with the words only. 2. Each group member (excluding the creator) must contribute one specific statement (a sentence) about the creator based on the specific language. e.g., Based on words like ------------, --------------, and ------------, I can tell this person is someone who …. (Each member must write his/her name by his sentence interpretation.) 3. Entire group (excl. creator) must discuss and write a 2-3 sentence explanation of what the symbol tells us about the creator. Be as specific as you can! 4. The sheet comes back to the creator. The creator of the symbol must now write 1 – 2 sentences each about “How the ‘readers’ got it right.” and “How the ‘readers’ got it wrong.” (or “Something about me the readers missed.”) Sample Group “Interpretation” with Dr. Son’s Symbol Dr. Son • • • • • From the nouns “father” and “husband” I can infer that Dr. Son is married and has children, or at least one child. (I can also guess that he’s not a grandfather since he probably would have included that word if he were.) Adjectives like “tolerant,” “compassionate,” “amiable,” and “accepting” tell us that Dr. Son tends to be a nice person who is open to people who are different from him. There are many words that refer to cooking, even gourmet cooking, like “sauté,” “braise,” “herbs,” “French skillets,” and “sauces.” This suggests that Dr. Son enjoys cooking and maybe even prefers to fix fancier dishes. (Or at least he enjoys eating that kind of food.) Words like “contemplation,” “wonder,” “ponder,” “inquisitively,” “pensive,” and others tell us that Dr. Son tends to be a thinker, and probably enjoys spending time alone. The symbol of the work pouch tells us that Dr. Son is not afraid of hard work, and that he may actually enjoy manual labor. The smaller size of the work pouch tells us that Dr. Son is not a professional carpenter, which would require something larger. So he works around the house or as a volunteer.
