Hero Biography - Your first assignment - How I Chose My Subject

First, we will go to the CRHS library where you will select a biography from the Goodreads site or from those in the library Be sure that your biography/authobiography is about a person who truly interests you. Also, be sure that the book is of a mature length.  Let me approve it. There are also some religious leaders I would like for you to avoid--Jesus, Buddha, Ghandi -- as well as some despots--Hitler, Lenin, Khadaffi.  Be creative.  Pick someone that only you want to read about; since you will be spending several days with your subject, it would be best if you already like something about him or her.

Next, you will do a post.  It can be a simple paragraph or you can be more creative and do a video.  But, do write a rough draft first.  Think this through as you will receiv a grade for the post.. How did you pick this person?  Why?  Did you ask someone else for advice/direction. What interest of yours does this person reflect?

 

Your second assignment/post -- Heroes in Literature and LIfe

This post should contain several paragraphs, so write a rough draft, proofread, read it aloud, check spelling and punctuation, check that you have topic sentences and have not left out words. Let the content determine the number of paragraphs. This IS for a grade.

The content should contain several things:

What are you ideas about heroes?

Who were your childhood "heroes"/

How would you define a hero? Do you have contemporary heroes?

What have you learned about heroes from the literature you have read this year and in the past? This is a big part of the paper. (You are doing this for your English class, and it counts as a quiz grade.)

Step Three - A Timeline of Your Search

As you work,keep a sort of "diary" of the steps you are taking.  A timeline is a great way to do this. We want you to use the Timetoast site for this.  Sign up for an account making sure that it is public. When you finish creating your timeline, simply highlight the text where you want to imbed our link, click on the chain above, and follow the instructions.  The words you highlighted will turn blue and be underlined.

Step Four - Your interview

For this step, you will post either an audio or video of your interview, but don't worry--we will bring in our technology guru Mrs. Wade to give you options and instructions on how to do this.

So, whom should you interview?  If I wanted to write about Charles Dickens, I would interview his great, great, great granddaughter while she was still in Houston.  (I certainly can't interview him!)  I also have a friend with a PhD in British literature who is a walking encyclopedia about Dickens' works so I would schedule an interview with her.  A former student who researched Nikola Tesla, a contributor to the field of electrical science, interviewed his grandfather who was an electrician.  Use your imagination and ask for help if you can't think of someone.  Ask your parents and/or relatives to get involved with your "project".

Plan ahead.  Bring good questions to the interview. DO NOT "WING IT".  Use your manners and ask politely for an interview, preferable in person by phone.  Explain your project.  Arrive on time for the interview.  Be sure to write down all the answers and don't trust your memory.  Ask the person to repeat if necessary. Be sure to thank the person you interviewed and write a follow-up thank you note.  This person took his time to help you with your paper.

Watch television interviews.  Go on line for interviews.  Talk shows abound with interviews.

Step Five - Reflections

You have spent quite a bit of time with the person journeying through his life.  Take time to reflect on his journey and your journey with this entire project. This concluding paragraph must be a video. Plan ahead.  Write a draft of your words. 

Talk about the process of research itself.  What did you learn about yourself and your values or about your learning style?  What did you learn about meeting deadlines? What did you learn about technology?  Were you pleased with your results? Did your definitions/views of heroes and heroism change?  What would you change if you could do something differently/  What did you like most about this project?

About the project

This is a research project.  This is the section where you will present the information that you found on your topic, in this case a person you read about both from your written biography/autobiography and your interview. What have you learned about heroism and its definition? Do we use the word too lightly?  What new information did you gain about your person?  What did you find out that was surprising or unusual? Has your view of the person changed? This is still written in third person, though; not first person.

Present your conclusions.  Explain whether you think the person that you chose to investigate qualifies as a hero?  (It is okay to say "no").  You may write in first person in this section, but be sure that you write about the person, not about yourself.

What about length? It is sort of up to you, but you can't do this in three paragraphs.  On the other hand, I don't want to read more than five pages.  You are not recording the person's entire life--make it concise and interesting.  Cover the topic.  It is a test grade using MLA format for everything.  You will lose points for mechanical errors. You will receive a rubric a few days before the project is due.

Be sure to document ALL of your informationl

1.  It must be internally cited (parenthetical documentation.)  OWL Purdue is a great reference.

2.  It must contain a Works Cited.

3.  You must have three sources--your book and two other sources.

4.  Cite your interview.  If you have problems with the interview, see me.