The drive for connection is human. People typically connect with others who share a place of origin, cultural background, language, and/or experience. We also forge connections with people who are very different from ourselves. These connections, taken together, contribute to our understanding of the world and our place in it. The more connections we make, the fuller our understanding. While we continue to add new connections throughout our lives, we may also experience disconnection from people, places, and communities we were once a part of. Likewise, over time, we may find ourselves working to reconnect with those very same people, places, and communities. Human connection is never a static process.
Your study of the meaning of human connection will begin, literally, close to home. Home, in this case, can take the role of a microcosm of society at-large. For Project 1, you will use narrative inquiry to explore what home means to you and how your connections to home contribute to who you are now. You’ll then write a narrative essay (1000-1250 words) that makes a claim about how your connection to home (however you define it) contributes to your understanding of yourself in society, using stories as evidence to support your claim.
Narrative inquiry is a method of studying lived experience that begins with a question about some aspect of our lives that we want to understand better. The process of systematically recollecting and reflecting on our past experience allows us to turn our memories and experiences into evidence—research data—that we can analyze and draw conclusions from, ultimately leading to new insights.
In this project, you’ll be using narrative inquiry to answer the questions: What is home? In what ways am I connected to (or disconnected from) home? How does this connection to/disconnection from home reflect larger social practices? To get started, explore the people, places, and institutions that make up home for you and reflect on how and why you’re connected to/disconnected from them. After you’ve inquired into these connections, identify the dis/connection(s) you find most significant. Then use narrative evidence—stories—to support your claim about how your understanding of where you’re from affects your understanding of yourself in the present.
The cover memo should be a paragraph at the top of your composition. It should give a brief summary of what you were trying to do in your writing, what you feel comfortable with in your writing, and what weaknesses you see in your writing. It's a brief paragraph, so 100-150 words is fine. The function of this cover memo is to reflect on your own writing and to give some direction to your classmates who will offer feedback.
The portfolio is due on Friday, February 26 by 5:00 pm CT to your Google folder.
| Criteria | Incomplete/Not Submitted | Emerging | Developing | Meets Expectations | Distinguished |
| (This cover memo is for the final product not the first draft.) Cover Memo: (300 words) explains what you learned in this unit and what contributed to your learning. Be sure to discuss what you learned about narrative inquiry, about writing, and about connecting. List the two people whose essays you responded to in writing. |
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| Focus There is a clear controlling idea about how your connection to/disconnection from home (as you define it) affects you ; the controlling idea goes beyond the obvious, demonstrating insight that results from inquiry. |
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| Support The controlling idea is supported by evidence—a specific story or concrete examples from your experience that establishes for readers the significance of your connection to/disconnection from home. |
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| Organization/Structure The essay is organized to draw the audience in, maintain interest, and offer a resolution or insight. |
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| Style There is effective use of narrative technique. The writer depicts stories using setting, character description, action, dialogues, etc. Concrete details bring the narrative to life. |
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| Editing and Proofreading Sentences are complete and concise; Obvious errors have been eliminated. |
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| Drafting and Revision Complete drafts, with author’s notes, are submitted on time. Revision demonstrates attention to peer and teacher feedback. |
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| Process Work Active participation in activities during class |