Example Project...You'll need to write five of these

Mr. Melgarejo
January 12, 2010
The Many Hats We Wear

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Cousin/Nephew/Grandson

There is a hat that we all wear from time to time, but we are uncertain of how to wear it. It feels uncomfortable at forced meetings that occur on holidays like Christmas and Thanksgiving. We often complain about the relatives we do not want to see and also look forward to our favorite aunts and uncles that we do not get to see too often. These uncles make us laugh and smile with stories of their youth or stories of our parents getting in to mischief in their younger years.

Most recently I have just learned how to wear this hat. I never felt a connection to my extended family. The only relative I really looked forward to seeing was my older cousin David. He was goofy and usually made me laugh. He also had a collection of Sega and Nintendo games which kept me entertained for the hours we spent at his parent’s house in Elk Grove Village. I never felt a connection to these foreign like relatives.

It was not until most recently that I learned how to wear this hat. Last year I was in search of the unknown family from my father’s side. During this great adventure I traveled over 18,000 miles by taking trips to Peru and New York. This all lead to the door step of my Great Uncle Alberto. When we met I no longer had that uncomfortable feeling of being with family. Instead I had a feeling of connectivity. I had that connection with all my lost family. A connection forged in a hand shake, an embrace, or even just a smile. I now wear my family hat with pride as I go on to search for more family.

Inquiry Project Outline

Paragraph Outline

I. Define the Hat you’re writing about
a. Who wears this hat?
b. When/where is this hat worn?
c. How does it affect us when it is worn?
d. How do we feel when its worn
II. You and the Hat (Past)
a. When did you first wear this hat?
b. Explain that story
III. Conclusion: You and the Hat (Present)
a. What made you change your mind (Personal story)
b. How have you grown and changed?

Complete this is you missed school Friday

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Name:_______________________ Date:_______

Name that hat!

Directions: After finishing the reading, please categorize each “hat” along with the author’s definition. Then add your own personal experience of wearing the hat. Also, create a hat on your own.

“Hat”	Author’s Definition	Your Personal Example

The Many Hats We Wear

The Many Hats We Wear
~by Lucinda Schersing

How many times have you felt that you were simply spread too thinly over too many situations? It is not surprising that we often feel that way. We each wear many hats within one day.

There is the hat of the child-like qualities of innocence and joy. This is the hat we wear when we look at the world around us and enjoy each moment, watching the dew on the grass as it is kissed by the sun; or listening to the sound of birds singing or flying across the sky. It is this hat that we wear when we take a moment and watch with interest as a butterfly flits from one flower to another or watch as a bug scurries along keeping whatever appointments a bug keeps.

The hat of worry and sorrow is probably the heaviest hat to wear. This is when we become hopelessly lost in the problems of the moment or deep despair or the sorrow of loss.
The hat of the teacher is one that we all wear. Whether that is our profession or we are teaching our children. We also wear this hat when we demonstrate or teach a skill to adults. Sometimes this hat feels far too large as we begin to realize that what we are teaching can affect many lives in many ways for many years.

The hat of compassion, empathy, sensitivity, love and kindness looks very much like the hat of the teacher and yet, in some ways resembles the hat of child-like qualities. Each time we offer a small act of kindness - what we might consider 'the right thing to do' - we are wearing this hat.

There is the hat of creativity which is the hat of the poet, writer, painter, craftsperson, photographer. This hat expresses feelings through the arts and crafts and touches all our hearts and lives.

What does your hat look like? Is it well balanced so that a gust from the Winds of Surprise will not knock it off? Do you change your hat often? There is nothing so forlorn as a hat that is battered and rumpled because it has become unbalanced from being worn too long or a hat that simply sat on the shelf, unworn.

Sample Perspective Interview

Mr. Melgarejo
American Lit
December 6, 2009

Interview with a Perspective: Education

Purpose: To see how experiences have shaped the perspective of a Cejay Roman on education.
Back ground information:
1. Name: Cejay Roman
2. Place of birth: Chicago, Il
3. Age: 23
4. Where do you currently live: Wilmette, Illinois
5. Schools attended: Loyola Academy, Lake Forest College, Argosy University
6. Highest level of Education completed: 1st year of grad school (MS Psychology)

Experience questions:
1. What is the highest level of education your parents have completed?
a. My mom and dad both only completed high school.
My father took some collegecourses, but never finished.
2. What type of student were you in school?
a. I was always a good student. I usually earned A’s and B’s on my report card, but it
wasn’t easy. I managed to get a couple of D’s on a few exams. I did poorly my first year
of college because I couldn’t balance school and my life together right away.
3. Describe your time in grade school, high school, and college
a. Grade school was fun from what I remember, but I can’t really remember it all that
well. High school was great! Your remember, you were there! Football games, prom,
friendships. Mr. Seeburg’s class. So many memories. College was a great time too. At
the beginning I wasn’t so sure because it was a lot harder for me, but I feel that most
people didn’t have as hard of a time as I did.

Follow-up Questions:
1. Tell me how you’re parents’ experience with education helped shape your perspective
a. Well, my father worked very hard to open up his grocery store after coming to America
from Italy. He always worried about making enough money to support his family. I
think we are pretty well off, but he always worries about making enough to support us
since he the money we had was dependent on the amount of business the store had.
Because of this both my parents always forced me to get an education because of they
didn’t want me to depend on the success of a business for stability.
2. You said you’re experiences in school have been primarily positive. Is it safe to say you like school?
a. Yes, I do enjoy school. I don’t always like the classes or teachers, but I do know it
is necessary for me to do the best in all my classes because of the fact that it
determines where I get to work in the future.
3. What do you mean about your future?
a. Well, getting a good career. Since my field of study is psychology I need to get a
doctorate. There is more schooling that I need to complete in order to complete
degree. Each class I work as hard as I can.

Reflection:
After interviewing Cejay Roman, I can see why she believe education to be positive. The experiences she has had in school have helped shape this positive perspective. Since her parents have had such a hard time supporting their family it has made Cejay value education. She also seems to be motivated by her goal of earning a PhD in Psychology. Cejay recalls having fun in school with friends, sporting events, and social activities like prom. These experiences have left her with a positive perspective on education. Had she not earned the grades she did, not seen her parents struggle, and had negative experiences with school she would most likely have a negative perspective on education.

Our Perspectives Interview Project

An Interview with a Perspective Name:______________
This task is simple and can be EXTREMELY beneficial if executed correctly. The purpose of this is to understand how our perspectives are molded by our individual experiences. This is worth 100 points!

1. Purpose: It is important to choose a topic that we are close to and keep that topic in mind while thinking about the questions and conducting the interview (These topics were on the board).

2. Background Questions: Basics stuff to ask your interviewee (the person you’re interviewing). Name, where they grew up, education, anything that you believe to be relevant to your topic.
· Example: What is your name? Where did you grow up?

3. Experience Questions: Ask them about their experience with the topic you are trying to understand. These questions maybe
· Example: Explain both a positive /negative experience with a police officer.
· What is the highest level of education anyone in your family has accomplished?

4. Follow-up Questions: When the person shares something interesting or relevant it is important to ask more questions about that particular question. YOU COULD ALSO ASK THEM HOW THEY THOUGHTS WOULD CHANGE IF THE OPPOSITE OCCURRED TO THEM.
· Example: Tell me more about your negative experience, how did it make you feel after?
· Since the highest level of school for your family was HS, how do you view education?

5. Reflection: This should be in the form of a paragraph. In the reflection you should analyze how the person’s experience has shaped their perspective. ALSO, explain what would make them change their perspective.
· Example: After interviewing _______, I can see why they believe police to be _____. The experiences ____ had shaped this perspective.

Questions for Blue Highways

1. List some examples of the traditional Hopi way life (p102/105).
2. How could you follow the Hopi way of life?
3. How is Kendrick Fritz going against the “Status Quo”?
4. Fritz says, “It’s hard to be a Hopi anywhere.” What do you think makes it difficult to be a Hopi? (Think about how whites view Native Americans, how Native Americans view others for “acting like Anglos”, How the Hopi and other Native Americans have been treated)
5. How would you compare the Hopi experience with that of other minority groups in the U.S?