HISTORY WRITING PORTFOLIO: Specific Assignments

Students are encouraged to take a dive into themselves, learning about their family, culture, and
internal world. Students are to choose 8 of the following assignments and complete them. Students
should have a Title Page, Table of Contents, and assignments in the order they have chosen. Students
may type, handwritten, or place the assignment in a ppt. If a student hand writes the assignment, it
must be neatly done.

1. What’s in a Name?: Names are an integral part of who we are. They shape our sense of who we
are. Explore your feelings about “the unity between [your]self and [your] name.” Are these the
names you would have chosen for yourself? Surname, middle name, Christian name? Is there a
story behind your naming? Someone famous, a family member, weird initials? Does your name
have symbolic meaning? Is it ethnic or historic or literary? Did your parents consider other
names? In short, how do you live with your name?
2. Personal Alphabet: Browse through a dictionary, looking for adjectives to describe yourself.
Know the meaning of the words you select and be able to explain how each word you’ve chosen
fits you. Choose at least ONE adjective for each letter of the alphabet. Be sure you choose the
adjective form of words. For example, “excite” is a verb and “excitable” is an adjective.
“Exciting” is a participle so it can be used as an adjective…BUT “excitable” and “exciting” mean
very different things.
3. Likes / Dislikes List: Make TWO columns, one titled “Likes,” the other “Dislikes,” and list from
TEN to FIFTEEN specific items in each column. Avoid naming specific classmates and teachers by
generalizing. For example, “that mean teacher who’s making me write an autobiography,” not
my name!
4. Sensory Experiences: The five senses allow us to perceive whatever is tangible, or concrete. A
sensory experience is something we can taste, touch, smell, see, or hear. For example, ice-cold
water-melon, hot dogs sizzling over a charcoal fire, mosquito bites, fireworks, and the music of
the ice-cream wagon are sensory experiences I associate with a Fourth of July picnic. Describe a
specific time and place which recalls rich sensory experiences for you. Include at least TWO
details that appeal to each of the FIVE senses. Metaphorical Definitions: This kind of definition
helps make abstract words easier to under-stand by giving a specific concrete example. A
famous metaphorical definition is “Happiness is a warm puppy.” For you, happiness may be
something very different — a raise in your allowance, a banana split, a room of your own. Write
metaphorical definitions of TEN different abstract nouns. Your concrete example must be
something specific that you can sense — taste, touch, smell, see, or hear. Your definitions
should follow the format below: METAPHORICAL DEFINITION = ABSTRACT NOUN + IS +
CONCRETE
5. Color Your World: In color, and about color, this assignment honors every crayon ever nibbled
by any kid. Although you don’t have to use crayons, use the color(s) themselves as part of your
writing. You could write a poem about the things you associate with a specific color, such as all
the blues there are! Or explain the colors you associate with different emotions. Or make lists of
best colors to wear or drive in or…You have freedom with content here, since color is the key
ingredient. Maybe a myth about “How Pink Was Born”?
6. Room Sweet Room: We are territorial animals, instinctively seeking a place we can call our
own. The rooms we live in and how we decorate them are as revealing as our clothing. Examine
 your own room and all the things that make it uniquely yours. Describe the room, not just by
listing the things in it, but by conveying the feelings you have for the room and the items in it.
7. Personal Metaphors: Make a list of metaphorical comparisons. Think, “If I were an animal,
what kind of animal would I be?” For each item, write the general LABEL and then your specific
comparison. Be realistic, be somewhat honest, and be able to explain your choices. Don’t say
you are a rose, if you’re really a daisy. 1. Animal 11. Musical Instrument 2. Car 12. Geometric
Shape 3. Article of Clothing 13. Piece of Furniture 4. Day of the Week 14. Song 5. Food 15.
Season of the Year 6. Color 16. Television Character 7. Movie 17. Cartoon or Comic Character 8.
Fragrance 18. Appliance or Machinery 9. Type of Building 19. Natural Phenomenon 10. Plant 20.
Word
8. Symbolic Recipe: Write a symbolic recipe for yourself. This means your ingredients are not
blood, muscle, bone, and a hank of hair, but abstract qualities and personality traits (like
patience, friendliness, humor). What is really necessary to create you. Follow standard recipe
format: a list of ingredients and exact measurements, followed by a paragraph of instructions,
advice about the proper sequence of the steps, and any tips or warnings.
9. The Ultimate All-Purpose Excuse: Just in case you are tardy some day, write an elaborate,
exaggerated, fantastic excuse for yourself. Be as creative as you can. In about 150 WORDS,
convince your heartless English teacher that your excuse is a valid reason for being tardy.
10. Telling Tales: Think back to memories you associate with family storytelling. You know, the
ones you hear over and over every holiday. Maybe these tales are the legends that have given
your family courage in hardship? Maybe they are religious stories or goofy songs or true family
history? Maybe they all seem to be about what a bad kid you were? Embarrassing, hilarious,
unbelievable? Retell a story you remember as part of your family’s heritage OR makeup one you
wish had been told (and may tell in your own family circles later).
11. Unfinished Sentences: Complete each of the following sentences by expanding them into short
paragraphs. As always, be specific. 1. I usually worry about… 6. I feel frustrated when… 2. I feel
angry when… 7. I feel depressed when… 3. I’m moody when… 8. I am comfortable when… 4. I’m
happiest when… 9. I feel nervous when… 5. I feel confident when… 10. I feel sentimental when…
16. Personal Symbol: Write about an object that has special symbolic meaning for you. It might
be a gift from someone you love, an award of which you are proud, a souvenir from a place you
miss, a childhood toy you still treasure, a family photograph, whatever. Describe the object,
appealing to the senses as appropriate and giving specific details. Also explain what it
symbolizes for you.
12. Map of Life: Draw a map or timeline, beginning with your birth and ending with the present.
Along the way, include little labels, pictures, or diagrams of what you remember as important
events, places, and people in your life. Keep all items in order, but leave enough space between
individual items to fill in as you think of additional information. Write small since it must fit on
ONE page. You may use branching paths or a legend.
13. Synectics: Synectics makes the familiar strange and the strange familiar. It is the basis of all
metaphor and involves the process of creative problem-solving. Each of the following sets of
questions ask for choices between unrelated answers — answers which can be logically related
somehow — and yet, there is no single correct answer. BUT correct answers would rephrase the
question as part of the answer. Think carefully about the choices offered, make a choice, and
then explain your reasons for choosing as you have. It is your explanation which proves your
 answer “right” or “wrong.” Answer at least TEN. 1. Which is wiser? a pen or a pencil? 2. Which is
easier to forgive? a street or a sidewalk? 3. Which is smarter? a clock or a calendar? 4. Which is
easier to teach? a question or an answer? 5. Which is like a contest? a cloud or a sunset? 6.
Which is more fearful? new or old? 7. Which is like a promise? mathematics or science? 8.
Which is more difficult? a dream or a nightmare? 9. Which is braver? an hour or a year? 10.
Which has more pride? an entrance or an exit? 11. Which is easier to close? a road or a map?
12. Which is like a legend? a mirror or glass? 13. Which is more suspenseful? rain or snow? 14.
Which has less charm? a signature or an autograph? 15. Which is more trustworthy? history or
literature? 16. Which is more useful? a friend or an enemy? 17. Which is sadder? seek or find?
18. Which costs more? a home or a house? 19. Which is happier? music or art? 20. Which is like
a valentine? the truth or a lie?
14. In Other Words: Try expressing yourself through someone else’s words. Select at least ten
“Quotable Quotes” which express your philosophy of life. Choose quotations which represent
your thought on several aspects of life – not only love, but also faith, success, integrity.
character, friendship, etc. List the TEN you have selected, including ATTRIBUTION (who said it)
and why they are important to you.
15. Flashback: If you could relive one day or experience in your life, what would it be? You might
choose to relive this time because it was so wonderful you want to experience it again, or you
might choose a day you want to change in some way. Identify the day or experience, tell why it
was so important to you, and explain what reliving it would accomplish. 24. Remembrance of
Things Present: In twenty years you will have forgotten most of the things that fill your life now.
What are the things about who you are now, what you enjoy and value, what you do with your
time, and so on that you want to remember twenty years from now? Imagine what will be
important to your memory of yourself later on. Write these things down.