SNAPSHOT AUTOBIOGRAPHY
Acknowledgments
Parker, W., Reading Like a Historian. "Stanford History Education Group." Retrieved January 10 (2017).
Parker, W., Reading Like a Historian. "Stanford History Education Group." Retrieved January 10 (2017).
How do you know the story of your first day of secondary school?
What evidence do you have to back your story? How might someone else remember this story? Snapshot Autobiography Project
What is history? Many people describe history as the study of the past, a huge collection of names, dates, and facts that you are expected to memorize. The goal of this assignment is for you to discover other meanings of history and to recognize why it is important to study history. In this project, you will think about the meaning of history by describing and illustrating several events from your own life, finding a witness to provide another description of one of those events, and thinking about the similarities and differences between the two descriptions. |
Task 1: The pamphlet
1) Take blank, regular size piece of paper and fold it so that it forms 3 panels (like a letter you’d mail). Counting front and back, you should have 6 panels.
2) The first panel is the cover for your Snapshot Autobiography.
• Give your autobiography a title, for example, “Snapshots from the Life of Kathy.”
• Illustrate it (It doesn't need to be beautiful but try your best).
3) On the back panel write a brief “About the Author” section. Include your name, place and date of birth, and anything else you want people of know about you. • Include a self-portrait to the best of your ability.
4) This leaves four panels. In the first of these panels, write about your first day of secondary school.
• Make sure you describe it from start to finish.
5) In the other three panels, you are going to write about important events that have shaped you as a secondary school student. This means that you are selecting a total of three important events (besides your first day) from your time in secondary school.
• You will be interviewing another person about one of these events, so make sure to pick at least one event that someone else knows about.
• For each of these three events, write a narrative (story) describing what happened.
• Make sure you describe it from start to finish.
• Pretend that someone who doesn’t know you will be reading your story and trying to understand it.
• Be sure to include details!
• Illustrate each event with a small, hand-drawn picture.
2) The first panel is the cover for your Snapshot Autobiography.
• Give your autobiography a title, for example, “Snapshots from the Life of Kathy.”
• Illustrate it (It doesn't need to be beautiful but try your best).
3) On the back panel write a brief “About the Author” section. Include your name, place and date of birth, and anything else you want people of know about you. • Include a self-portrait to the best of your ability.
4) This leaves four panels. In the first of these panels, write about your first day of secondary school.
• Make sure you describe it from start to finish.
5) In the other three panels, you are going to write about important events that have shaped you as a secondary school student. This means that you are selecting a total of three important events (besides your first day) from your time in secondary school.
• You will be interviewing another person about one of these events, so make sure to pick at least one event that someone else knows about.
• For each of these three events, write a narrative (story) describing what happened.
• Make sure you describe it from start to finish.
• Pretend that someone who doesn’t know you will be reading your story and trying to understand it.
• Be sure to include details!
• Illustrate each event with a small, hand-drawn picture.
Task 2: The interviews
Now is your chance to talk to somebody else who remembers one of the important events you chose.
1) Select one of the events you wrote about.
2) Find a classmate who remembers that event.
3) Ask the classmate you chose to tell you their version of the story. In order to make sure that you are getting their version, ask them an open question about the event, for example, “Mary", do you remember when Jane and I started being friends in fifth grade? Can you tell me what you remember about when we met?”
• Take careful notes of the interview. Pay attention to which parts of their story are different from your own.
4) Complete the following in your notebook.
1) Select one of the events you wrote about.
2) Find a classmate who remembers that event.
3) Ask the classmate you chose to tell you their version of the story. In order to make sure that you are getting their version, ask them an open question about the event, for example, “Mary", do you remember when Jane and I started being friends in fifth grade? Can you tell me what you remember about when we met?”
• Take careful notes of the interview. Pay attention to which parts of their story are different from your own.
4) Complete the following in your notebook.