Introduction

Have you ever heard about a famous person and wondered what it would be like to meet that individual during the time in which they lived?  Or have you ever wondered what it would be like to live through a historical event in a specific place?  Having and using "firsthand" information can bring a story to life. 

Imagine you are an author who will be writing a new story. The editor at your publisher, Harborside Press,  has asked you to base your story on an American historic figure and time period in order to bring your story and a key character to life for your reader. 

Your editor will be providing you with some alternative approaches to this assignment. 
 

         Every assignment turned in must include the answers to the following basic questions:

•  WHO?  Who are (or were) the key individuals involved?  What is important for the reader to know about these individuals?  What did they look like?  What clothing did they wear?
•  WHAT?  What is (or was) each of these key individuals known for?  How are the important to the story you will be writing?
•  WHEN?  When did each of these key individuals live?
•  WHERE? Where does your "story" take place?  Is it the place where you would most likely find your key individuals?  Or is there a special circumstance that causes one or more of your characters to be in a different place? 
•  WHY?  Why is this character (or are these characters) important to the story you want to tell?
•  HOW?  How will you put yourself into the story?  Invent a role for yourself.  What could you be to make the story more interesting to the reader? 

Your role will be fictional.  You will need to select (or propose to your Editor/Teacher) the specific role you will have in your story.   Select from the following roles:

         1. Newspaper/Radio/Television Reporter:    If you decide you want to assume the role of a newspaper reporter for a famous paper such as "The New York Times" or "The Washington Post" or the role of a radio or television reporter for a national station or network, you will need to work from a list of questions to gather the information and facts needed to write your story. 

            A partial list of important interview questions will be provided in the Task Section below. You will be writing your story from the perspective of a reporter based on the information you discover from your "interview" (research).
 

         2. Historian or Archeologist:     If you decide you want to assume the role of an historian or archeologist doing research, you will need to do background research on the "artifacts", architecture, clothing, vehicles, etc. that would be in use during the time period you are researching.  The person you are researching must be placed within a historically significant event which took place during their lifetime.  This type of story could be written using "flashbacks" to the past to bring the story to life.  In a "flashback", you place yourself in the story by writing about your discoveries.  Then you make the item or artifact appear withing the context of the  historical person's life (as if that life was happening in the present).
 

         3. Intern/Assistant:    If you decide you want to assume the role of an intern, assistant, or in some type of training position where you can observe one or more of the key individuals you will be writing about, you will write your story from the perspective of someone who is "shadowing" someone and observing their life in real time.  You will have to do sufficient research on your famous person's life to imagine and "fictionalize" -- that is you will "invent" dialog to show what might have been said during the "real life" events which actually took place.
 

       4. Colleague or friend:   If you decide you want to assume the role of a colleague or friend of a famous person, you will need to collect enough background information about both individual's (unless you decide to create an imaginary role for yourself as the colleague or friend). 
 

Editor's Assignment:
 

You will be creating an original story based on one or more of the following:
 

ï An American individual you would like to know more about.  This individual can be someone who is no longer alive --such as inventor Eli Whitney, former United States Presidents, a Civil Rights leader, a legendary sports figure (Babe Ruth or Mickey Mantle are two examples) -- or you can write about a living person who is having or has had an important impact on the world.

ï An American historical event you would like to know more about.   Research this event.  Learn what took place, where the event took place, why it may have happened, and who played important roles in this event.



 

AT THE END OF YOUR TASK, YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO:

1.  Show photocopies and/or printouts of your background research on the famous person (people) you selected, historical event(s), settings, etc.

2.  Have the key information from your background research underlined and/or highlighted.

3.  Complete an original story based upon your research --which has you included in the story in one of the four roles described above.  Your story can be presented to your Editor/Teacher in a format appropriate to the role you selected (as long as supporting evidence is presented in print form). For instance:
 

ï If you are a newspaper reporter, you can make a "mock newspaper" and make your story the main front page story.

ï If you are an historian or archeologist, you can write your article (story) for a real (or fictional journal/magazine -- such as "The Historical Record").  Make a cover for the magazine with artwork and/or a photograph and create a headline on the cover to attract attention to your article/story.  Include your article/story with your cover. 

ï  If you are an intern or assistant or a colleague or friend, you could make your story a "journal or diary" you kept while:  1. either working for or with your famous person, or 2. sharing some part of their life as their friend.  

Other ideas possible include:  you could narrate a story with you describing the events you "experienced" as an intern or assistant and add dialog for all the characters in your story (including what you said in your story role);  you could create letters or correspondence between you and your famous person.   The letters could include reflections on key historical events and decisions made by the famous person and/or advice or counsel that was given or received by you as a friend or colleague to the famous person.  Or you could write your story as a series of memos and responses, if you are an intern or assistant.

ï If you were a radio or television reporter, after you write out your "script" for your chosen media, you can ask someone to play the part of your famous character and make an audio or videotape of your "interview" to submit with your written script. For the TV interview, the characters should be dressed appropriately for their roles in the interview.

ï Create an original children's book with illustrations/photos based upon the role and famous person/historical event you selected.

ï  Other:  Make a proposal for an approach you might like to try and determine if your Editor/Teacher will approve your idea.

5.  Write a assessment of the research and writing experience that includes observations about the most difficult or challenging parts of this assignment, as well as the aspects at which you believe you were most successful.

6.  Show that you have included in your story accurate physical descriptions of all main characters and yourself.  You will need to include a photo or artwork of any famous people in your story.  You will also need to include a real or digital photograph of yourself (your Editor/Teacher can help you with the digital photograph).  Your written descriptions should "match" the visuals you provide.

7.  You must include at least one description of an historical setting important to your story.  The description should be based on images you find and copy or print out for your Editor/Teacher to use for verification of accurate reporting and research.

8.  Provide your Editor/Teacher with a detailed bibliography of any books, magazines, internet websites, newspaper reports, etc. used to prepare your research and story.
 

To accomplish your task, you will have to go through a series of steps. Use the list below to keep track of your progress.  Check frequently with your Editor/Teacher to make sure you are following all of the guidelines appropriately.

You need to make several important decisions in order to get started:

1. DECIDE THE TYPE OF PERSON YOU WOULD LIKE TO RESEARCH.

Below are some possible categories.  Please feel free to add to this list, but double check with your Editor/Teacher to make sure your idea would be acceptable.  Use Library/Media Center resources to help you identify possibilities.

ï Government Official/World Leader- such as a President, Vice President, Secretary of State, Senator, Congressman, Governor, Mayor, Prime Minister, etc.

ï  Inventor/Entrepreneur/Business Figure

ï  Scientist

ï  Explorer/Astronaut/Adventurer

ï  Sports Figure (Especially an historic or legendary character, team, event).

ï  Artist/Composer

ï  Civil Rights Leader or Activist

ï  A Distinguished Individual who has played an important role in history or is noted for unusual accomplishments including awards such as a Nobel Prize, the Pulitzer Prize, etc. 

 

2.  MAKE SURE YOU WILL BE ABLE TO FIND ENOUGH INFORMATION SOURCES FOR ANY NOTEWORTHY PERSON YOU SELECT TO RESEARCH. 

- You may want to research more than one person at first before you decide who you should select.  Being able to compare both the quality and quantity of available information and resources, as well as your interest level in the individuals you have identified can make the decision-making process easier for you. 

- If you really want to write about a particular individual and can't find many information sources, ask for help!  If (with help from you Editor/Teacher) you still can't find enough resources, you'll need to pick a different person to research.

-  While you may collect both "Primary" (original information) and "Secondary" (information written by someone else about your subject), you will get bonus points toward the research portion of your grade for any primary research you uncover that you utilize for this project. 

-  Your Editor/Teacher will provide guidance on what constitutes "Primary" and "Secondary" sources of information.

-  Books, periodicals (magazines and newspapers), Internet sources, etc. should all be explored.  If you limit yourself to only one of the above listed resources, you will lose points.

LINKS TO ONLINE WEBSITES

Library of Congress:  American Memory Collection
Use the link below to get started.  It will help you identify possible individuals for you to research.  This site will also give you some preliminary information and photographs about famous Americans.
 http://memory.loc.gov/

After exploring this site, check out Harborside Middle School Media Center's web-linked resources.   This site is part of milforded.org.
 http://milforded.org/schools/harborside/mediamain.html

 Once in the Harborside site, try the following links:

 SEARCH!
 Virtual Reference Desk
 On-Line Services

OTHER USEFUL GENERAL SEARCH ENGINES INCLUDE:

Google  (when you use this search engine, it searches multiple search engines at once)
 http://www.google.com/

Yahoo
 http://www.yahoo.com/

3.  IF YOU ARE HAVING DIFFICULTY FINDING WHAT YOU NEED: Check to determine if you need to modify your research approach or the topic or person you are researching.

-Check with your Editor/Teacher and/or the Media Specialist to determine what else you should try, if problems arise.
 

4.  TAKE NOTES ON ALL USEFUL SOURCES.  Make sure you know how to find all important sources again.  Write down titles, publications, page numbers, date of publication, source of information, etc.

** When possible, photocopy and/or print out important reference information and if it is not obvious where the information came from, on the copy or printout write down the source or web information needed to find the original again.  Make sure you list sources on any notes you take, too.

5.  ORGANIZING THE INFORMATION YOU GATHER:

a.  Maintain a folder for all of your research.

b.  Use/create a checklist to determine if you have found enough usable information on your individual to know them well enough to incorporate them into your creative writing piece.

c.  Highlight and/or underline the key pieces of information which you intend to incorporate into your creative writing piece. 

d.  Make an outline, "web", or story map to organize what information you want to include and in what way.  (You might use the program "Inspiration" on the computer to make a web organizer.

e.  Show your Editor/Teacher what you have done to determine if you are ready to proceed to the creative portion of this project.

6.  MAKE YOUR CREATIVE PROJECT:

Reread the Task Section above for your instructions.

7.  SELF EVALUATIONS & EDITOR/TEACHER ASSESSMENTS

Complete the following evaluation form and submit it with your project.

___________________________________________________________

Student Name: ____________________   Subject: __________________

Teacher Name:  ____________________  Course Section:  _________

PERSON SELECTED FOR PROJECT/RESEARCH

_____________________________

Check all attachments submitted with this Project Assessment Form:

___ Highlighted Research materials/information
___ Creative Writing Project
___ Classmate Assessment Form:
        (what you wrote about someone else's project)
___ Bibliography
___ Other materials:

Which resources were the most useful to you for your research and why?  Did you find any "Primary" information sources or did you rely mainly on "Secondary" information sources?
 
 
 
 
 
 

What role did you select for yourself?

___ Newspaper Reporter
___ Radio News Reporter
___ Television News Reporter
___ Historian
___ Archeologist
___ Friend
___ Associate
___ Intern
___ Assistant
___ Other:  ____________________

How did the information you found about your "person" influence your decision on what role and creative project to select?
 
 
 
 

Describe what you wrote/produced for your creative project.
 
 
 

Each student will need to evaluate another classmate's project.   Your Editor/Teacher will provide each student with a Classmate Assessment Form.  On the line below, please list the name of the classmate whose project you assessed.

_______________________________

On the line below, please list the name of the person who assessed your project.

_____________________________

Write an assessment/self evaluation of your research and writing experience.  Include:

ï What were the most difficult or challenging parts of this assignment and why?

 
 
 

ï  Describe the part(s) of this project where you believe you were most successful and why?  (Answer this question after your classmate has reviewed all of your work and given you feedback.)
 
 
 
 

Show that you have included in your story accurate physical descriptions of all the main characters (include yourself, if you are a character in a story), as well as historical settings.

Give appropriate credit to all sources used!

Check all that you have included:

1.  ___ Photo(s) or artwork of any famous people in your story.
     ___ Written descriptions which "match" the above visuals.

2.  ___ Regular or digital photograph(s) of yourself.
     ___ Written descriptions which "match" the above visuals.

3.  ___ Historical photo(s), illustrations, and/or artwork of at least one key setting 
            in your story.
     ___ Written descriptions which "match" the above visuals.

Provide your Editor/Teacher with a detailed bibliography of any books, magazines, Internet web sites, newspaper reports, etc. used to prepare your research and story.  Ask your Editor/Teacher for a handout that shows the written format to be used.

___ Bibliography Attached.

Submit this assessment and all required work to your Editor/Teacher. 

Click on the word "Evaluation" above to link to the Rubric which your Editor/Teacher will use for assessing your project.  

If you have completed everything above successfully, congratulations! 

Your skills should have improved in the following areas:

ï Finding and utilized a variety of print and online resources.

ï Documenting sources used for research.

ï Reading and highlighting research to find the main ideas and key pertinent facts.

ï Comparing sources to find differences.

ï Identifying which sources are likely to provide more reliable information.

ï Assessing learning- including your strengths and weaknesses related to this project's requirements.

ï Descriptive writing of people and places.

ï Completing a long term assignment with multiple components.

ï Synthesis:  Applying knowledge gained in a new and creative way.  Learning how to create History based fiction:  While a story and its dialog may be invented, the basic facts about the main character and historical events are based on fact.

The WebQuest Template was used to create this page.  Help in the creation of this page was received from Janet Wislocki, Beth Maroney, Debbie Hourigan, and Janet Scire.

Images taken from Web Graphics Library:  Web Explosion 20,000 Images by Nova Development.