Autobiography Assignment Dear Parents, One of the major projects I would like to students to do this year is a simple autobiography.

I feel it will be a valuable learning tool in many areas. It will be an on-going process beginning at the first of this school year to the end. The experiences gained from writing, researching, interviewing family members and discussions about your child's heritage and life will become priceless. I know this may become a big task for you, therefore, I have organized this list of photographs, items and stories that will need to be collected for the year. I hope you and your child will take advantage of this and begin now. I will send weekly reminders home for when each item is needed for the following week, but it would be to your advantage to prepare yourself ahead of time so things are not done at the last minute. We will go in order that the items are on the list, but as of right now, I am not sure of the dates they will be needed. Please help your child to be prepared. Copies of photographs are just fine. If photos are not available, your child may illustrate a picture.
Photographs needed: 1. Birth photo 2. Present photo 3. Favorite toy or "imaginary friend", blanket 4. Family portrait 5. House 6. Neighborhood 7. Room 8. Three memorable, vivid memories of life (i.e. holidays, trips, etc.) 9. Possible photo of oldest relative that came to America 10. Family customs and traditions 11. Photo of memorable family meal (i.e. Thanksgiving) 12. Picture of an heirloom or family treasure 13. Meaningful family snapshot (i.e. family trip, park etc.) 14. Oldest item family has (i.e vase, chair, etc.) 15. Collection child or family member has (i.e. baseball cards, rocks, etc.) 16. Good friends 17. Pets 18. Heroes, fictional or non-fictional 19. Someone very special in their life right now 20. Possible others as ideas pop up.

Items and Stories Needed: 1. Full name of parents

2. Parent's occupations 3. Information on birth (i.e. time, place, day of the week, etc.) 4. Think of special toys, blanket or imaginary friends child has had or has. 5. Information on first and last names or nicknames (i.e. what it means, why it was chosen, famous people with similar names, etc.) 6. Discuss physical characteristics, where or who they cam from (i.e dad's mouth, mom's eyes, etc.) 7. Information on how the oldest or first relative came to America 8. Family tree going back at least four generations from the child. 9. Color a map of areas parent's relatives came from. 10. Develop a time line of important events that have happened so far in the child's life 11. Discuss favorite words, expressions or phrases that your family uses right now. 12. Discuss family traditions 13. Discuss most memorable meal with family (i.e. who was there, what was eaten, why was it important.) 14. Get two favorite recipes with directions 15. Have a relative (grandparents, or uncles/aunts) tell a story that needs to be remembered and written down. 16. Find a treasured heirloom; discuss when it was received, who gave it to your family, why it is valuable. 17. Learn about collections family members have and what was collected. 18. Discuss heroes that your child has. 19. Changes in child's life time (own personal life or societal changes i.e. computers) 20. Embarrassing moments

"The only thing that is certain is that we need to record our thought, feelings and experiences as soon as they happen, because our minds play tricks on us, and what we thought we'd remember for the rest of our lives, we begin to forget as each day's sun sinks beneath the horizon." Thanks for your support and help.

Halley Tucker

Birth Acclaim

You will need to know: 1. Your parent's names 2. The day and year you were born 3. The city and county you were born in 4. The state and country you were born in You will need a picture of you as a baby. In addition, you will be writing a one page paper about what you know about your birth.

Who Am I? For this assignment you will need to know: 1. Your full name 2. Street address 3. City, state, and zip code 4. Age and birthday 5. Color of eyes and hair 6. Father and mother's occupation 7. Names of your brothers and sisters 8. Paternal and maternal grandparents' names and where they live I am the _____ child in my family. I _________ being the ______child in my family because _________. You will also need a picture of yourself My Name To complete this assignment, you will need the following information.

1.Your nickname 2. Name 3. Other famous people who have your first name. 4. If you could give yourself another name, what would your name be? 5. If you have children of your own when you grow older, what would you like to name them? 6. Why did your parents give you your particular name? 7. What does your surname mean?

I am Unique You will be writing a paper entitled, I am Unique. On another sheet of paper, you'll be answering the following questions. 1. What are 3 things you are especially good at? 2. What are 3 things you really like about yourself? 3. What are 3 things that people say you do well? 4. What are you most proud of and why? 5. What is the best thing about you? 6. What are two things you do well with your hands? 7. How old were you when you started doing chores around the house? What are two chores you do now?

My Hands For this assignment you will be sketching and tracing your hands.

My Family Bring a picture of your family for your autobiography. You will write a page about the members of your family. Examples: What are your family member's interests? What are their personality traits? What do you like to do as a family? Anything that is interesting to you.

Age of Twenty For this assignment you will draw two things that you would like to be at the age of twenty.

My Special Friend (stuffed animal or blanket) Bring a picture of your special friend . Who gave your special friend to you? When did you receive your special friend? Describe the appearance of your special friend. Tell what makes your special friend so special.

My Room ~ My House You will need to bring in a picture of your bedroom and your house. In addition, you will be writing a half page essay about why you like each.

My Neighborhood You will need a picture of your neighborhood. Also, be prepared to answer the following questions: 1. I live at... 2. I have lived there for.... 3. The homes in my neighborhood are.... 4. One memory I have about where I live is.....

Four Generations You will be completing a "family tree." You will need to know the names of your family going back 4 generations. (Starting with you, you will need your parents names, their parent's names, and their parent's names.)

Did you Ever? ~ Across the Generations These 2 assignments require you to interview one or both of your parents and a grandparent. The papers are self-explanatory. These page can be completed in the child's handwriting or can be filled out by the parents and grandparents.

First Ancestor in America You will need to find out how your first ancestor came to America. Some information that would be helpful is: Where he/she is from , why he/she came to America, the job he/she had

Ancestor's Country You will be writing a paper about a country that one of your ancestors came from. Make sure you have the following information: Capital of the country. Location of the country . Currency used . Main sport. Two national food dishes . Type of government Other interesting information.

School Days Name of the first school you attended . Tell about a teacher who changed your life in someway. What is your favorite subject? Explain why it is your favorite subject. Describe your fondest school memory. Describe something funny or sad that has happened to you at school . You will illustrate one of your favorite school activities . Describe what you think would make an ideal school in the future. (For example, classes, kind and size, the teachers, the curriculum)

Mealtime ~ Favorite Family Recipe You will need a picture of your favorite meal. (or you can draw a picture) You will be writing about a typical mealtime with your family. You will need to include your favorite family recipe.

Hobbies and Collections The information you will need are: List three things that you collect. Tell how you got started with your collections. Ask three different people what they collect. (Parents, friends, etc) What do you think will be a collectable item in the year 2010? What kind of collections do your grandparents have and what happened to the collections? Who has the collections now? What do your parents collect. What got them involved in their collections and who will inherit their collections?

Favorite Things This page in your autobiography this week is about your favorite things. You will be writing a one page paper about your favorite words or expressions. In addition, you will need to know your favorite: Song TV Show Food Sport Store Kind of Jeans Hobby Magazine

Car Vegetable Holiday U.S. City Gym Shoes Musical Group Restaurant Kind of Chips Cartoon Snacks Expression Color Radio Station

Soft Drink Author Candy Kind of Pen Movie Actor/Actress Bar of Soap Place to Vacation Sports Team Artist Flower Chewing Gum Ice Cream Flavor

Friends and Friendship You will need a picture of a friend. (or you can draw a picture) You will need to answer the following questions: 1. A friend is.... 2. Tell about the first friend you can remember having 3. Who is your best friend now? 4. How long have you been friends? 5. Why is this friend important to you? 6. What qualities do you look for in a friend? My Pets You will need a picture of your pet(s). You will need to write about your pet(s) and tell some of the funny or memorable moments.

Ways I have changed Come prepared to answer the following questions:

1. What do you think has been the most important change in your life? Why is it the most important change? 2. Tell what you have done in your lifetime which has given you the greatest sense of satisfaction. 3. If there is one thing you could change about yourself, what would it be? Why would you like to change it? 4. What have you done that you are most embarrassed about? How old were you at the time? 5. Identify two ways in which you have changed for the better.

Remembering Someone Special

You will need to answer the following: 1. My special person is.... 2. How are you related to your special person? 3. Which two words best describe your special person? 4. Recall a time when this person came to your rescue. What did you need? How did this person help you? 5. What lessons have you learned from this person? You will need to include a picture of your special person. (or you can draw a picture)

Heirlooms 1. What is your most treasured object? When did you get it? Who gave it to you? What is its history? What makes it valuable from your point of view? 2. Look around you and make a list of two items which are important to your way of life, and that you think will be important to the generation who will be living in the year 2121. Tell why you think each object will withstand the test of time or project your thoughts forward to the year 2121 and think of two inventions that will be in use then, which do not exist today. Give a brief description of these two items and illustrate each

of them. 3. What do you own that you treasure most? If you don't treasure anything at this time, but had the opportunity to own something of "your dreams" list it as your most treasured for future family generations. Then tell why you want to leave this treasure for future family generations.

My State You need to be able to answer the following questions: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. I live in... The capital is. Its nickname is. The governor is. Two main tourist attractions are. Two of its most famous citizens are. Two major league sports teams are Two main products are. The state flower. The state animal is. The state bird is. What I like best about my state.

The Best Gift I Have Ever Given Think about the best gift you have ever given someone. What makes it the best? Who did you give it to? Why did you choose them? Why did you give it to them? How did giving the gift make you feel?

My Dream Job What would you dream job be? Where would you work? What would your hours look like? How much would you get paid? What would you have to do to get the job?

Time Line You will be creating a time line of important events that have happened so far in your life. Such as your birth, family trips, 1st step, first book read, first haircut, an accident you had, first stitches and anything else that has happened in your life so you can remember it. This may be a typed list, it can be one page or several pages. It may include pictures if you would like. The paper should not exceed 8 1/2 by 11.

Family Traditions Does your family have any unique traditions? This can be something as simple as a Friday night pizza or as big as a holiday celebration. Write about a memory you have of a family tradition. Why does your family do it?

Memories You will need to answer the following questions: 1. My happiest day was... 2. I feel proudest about... 3. What I learned from a great disappointment. You will need to illustrate what makes you happy.