This I Believe

What do you believe? We all have strong beliefs; beliefs that shape our personalities and the way we live our lives. What we are going to do is write an essay based on the This I Believe essays we will listen to and read in class.

Mode: You will be writing a This I Believe essay expressing and emphasizing one belief you are passionate about. Audience: Your classmates and the teacher will be reading your essay. You will also be posting your polished essay
online to share with others. Think about your audience and their various levels of background knowledge as you compose this piece.

Purpose: through narrative and augmentative techniques, you will show your abilities as a writer and become more
familiar with professional technology as you publish online.

Situation: We will write the essay in and out of class over the next weekbe prepared to share with your peers. After our
essays have been revised, we will record our essays in the computer lab, so pay attention to how you pronounce words when you are considering word choice.

Final Draft Formatting

MLA Format o 1 Margins o 12 pt Times New Roman Font o Name, Teachers name, class, date (day month, year) o Last name and page number in header Length: 350-500 words excluding header

Brainstorming Questions
What personality trait is important to you? What is most important to you in life? What is an important moral?

What is important to a functioning society? What I one thing everyone should do?

Suggestions for Writing

Brainstorm possible topics Pick two or three topics you are passionate about and write down possible support for those topics Narrow your focus down to one topic
Day 1 _____________________ This I Believe introduction Share my example Brainstorm topics Share topics in small groups

Write, revise, read aloud, write, peer review, revise, read aloud, peer review, revise, read aloud, record, revise, edit, read aloud, recor

Day 2 _____________________ Computer lab Thisibelieve.org Listen to/read 3 or 4 essays This I Believe Worksheet Share favorite essay in groups Day 5 _____________________ Lab- recording lesson Students play with recorders and record their piece- have a friend, parent, or someone they know edit the assignment over the weekend Revise Few days (ish) later____________ Review essays in class share with someone you have never shared with

Day 3 _____________________ What did we notice about This I Believe essays? Model essay writing Tips for Writing Your This I Believe Essay Students begin draft

Day 4 _____________________ Shitty-first-drafts due Edit in class Second half of class type and print for tomorrow

1 week (ish) later _____________ Revisit our This I Believe essay Reread aloud and practice inflection/emphasis in class.

Next day (ish) _______________ Students will upload their recordings and essays to the class wikis.

10 Maintains focus on belief throughout essay, either implicitly or explicitly Contains clear belief accompanied by stand-out explanation/ elaboration

Focus

8 Somewhat maintains focus on belief throughout essay, either implicitly or explicitly Contains clear belief followed by solid explanation/ elaboration

This I Believe Rubric 6

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Strays from focus on belief throughout much of the essay Contains clear belief with below basic explanation/ elaboration

2 Lacks focus on stated belief throughout entire essay

Student does not complete the essay

Content

Contains clear belief with medicore explanation/ elaboration

Contains clear belief but a lack of explanation/ elaboration of belief The essay lacks organization to the point of affecting the reading process

Student does not complete the essay

Organization

There is a clear, strong organization to the essay Clear, strong tone and creative approach to the essay 1-2 basic conventional errors

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The essay is organized for the most part, with some trouble throughout

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Student does not complete the essay

Style

Clear tone and creative approach to the essay 3-4 basic conventional errors

Clear tone or creative approach to the essay 5-6 basic conventional errors

Weak/bland tone or approach 7-8 basic conventional errors

Weak/bland tone Student does not and approach complete the essay 9+ basic conventional errors Student does not complete the essay

Conventions

http://cpeng10.acsd.wikispaces.net/file/view/This+I+Believe+Essay+Rubric.pdf

Do what you Love

Tony HawkSan Diego, California Entered on July 24, 2006
I believe that people should take pride in what they do, even if it is scorned or misunderstood by the public at large. I have been a professional skateboarder for 24 years. For much of that time, the activity that paid my rent and gave me my greatest joy was tagged with many labels, most of which were ugly. It was a kids fad, a waste of time, a dangerous pursuit, a crime.

ThisIBelieve.org
When I was about 17, three years after I turned pro, my high school careers teacher scolded me in front of the entire class about jumping ahead in my workbook. He told me that I would never make it in the workplace if I didnt follow directions explicitly. He said Id never make a living as a skateboarder, so it seemed to him that my future was bleak. Even during those dark years, I never stopped riding my skateboard and never stopped progressing as a skater. There have been many, many times when Ive been frustrated because I cant land a maneuver. Ive come to realize that the only way to master something is to keep it at despite the bloody knees, despite the twisted ankles, despite the mocking crowds. Skateboarding has gained mainstream recognition in recent years, but it still has negative stereotypes. The pro skaters I know are responsible members of society. Many of them are fathers, homeowners, world travelers and successful entrepreneurs. Their hairdos and tattoos are simply part of our culture, even when they raise eyebrows during PTA meetings. So here I am, 38 years old, a husband and father of three, with a lengthy list of responsibilities and obligations. And although I have many job titles CEO, Executive Producer, Senior Consultant, Foundation Chairman, Bad Actor the one I am most proud of is Professional Skateboarder. Its the one I write on surveys and customs forms, even though I often end up in a secondary security checkpoint. My youngest sons pre-school class was recently asked what their dads do for work. The responses were things like, My dad sells money and My dad figures stuff out. My son said, Ive never seen my dad do work. Its true. Skateboarding doesnt seem like real work, but Im proud of what I do. My parents never once questioned the practicality behind my passion, even when I had to scrape together gas money and regarded dinner at Taco Bell as a big night out. I hope to pass on the same lesson to my children someday. Find the thing you love. My oldest son is an avid skater and hes really gifted for a 13-year-old, but theres a lot of pressure on him. He used to skate for endorsements, but now he brushes all that stuff aside. He just skates for fun and thats good enough for me. You might not make it to the top, but if you are doing what you love, there is much more happiness there than being rich or famous.

ThisIBelieve.org

A Grown-Up Barbie
Jane Hamill - Chicago, Illinois As heard on NPRs Morning Edition, May 22, 2006 As a child, Jane Hamill thought Barbie was the ultimate in cool. Now a fashion designer in Chicago, Hamill realizes her belief in a doll was a belief in her own skills, creativity and ability to succeed. Age Group: 30 - 50 Themes: creativity, popular culture, work I consider myself a feminist and I feel like a moron admitting it, but its true: I believe in Barbie. For me, as a kid, Barbie was about cool clothes, a cool job, cool friends and cool accessories: the airplane, the apartment building and the camper. I learned to sew so I could make outfits for Barbie and her friends, who took turns being the airplane pilot, the doctor, the fashion designer. Barbie was never about Ken. He was always a little dusty and in the corner. My Barbie didnt enter beauty contests, get married or have children. She went to Paris and New York for fancy dinners and meetings. Years later, I became a fashion designer. I lived in Paris and New York and went to fashion shows and fancy dinners. It was all about the outfits and I began to wonder: am I just a grown-up Barbie? I am a strong, intelligent woman. My idols are supposed to be Georgia OKeeffe or Gloria Steinem or Madeleine Albright. Am I in danger of becoming a puff piece like Barbie? When I achieved my Barbie-style life, I wasnt so sure I wanted it. My husband is a prosecutor. He can change a persons life forever in just one day. I come home from work and say, I sold a great green dress today and you should have seen the shoes! Today, Im sort of the anti-fashion designer fashion designer. I dont particularly like shopping and if someone says fashion is silly, Im the first to agree. Its just clothes. But if the sleeve is cut just right, it makes a difference. It makes a difference in how you present yourself. So many people have body issues. I hope I can help people like themselves more. Clothes are personal. And theyre part of your identity. A few weeks ago, I got a call from a customer. She told me now that she has my clothes to put on in the morning, shes never felt so confident in her life. They may just be clothes, but they help her to be who she wants to be and to believe in herself. The blonde-haired, blue-eyed Malibu Barbie I loved looked nothing like my red-haired, freckled self. But that didnt stop me from thinking I was just like Barbie cool and independent and smart. Its only as an adult that I realize that my belief in Barbie is really a belief in my own imagination, in whoever I imagined I could be, and whatever I imagined I could do. I believe in imagining a life, and then trying to live it.

ThisIBelieve.org

Give it a Chance
Bethany Niznak- Lansing, Michigan June, 2013 Age: 22 One grain of sand on the beach. Miniscule, solitary, insignificant. But what happens when this single grain of sand gets wet? It begins to bond with the particles nearby. It becomes part of something bigger, more noticeable. This is how I feel we are as people. If we are willing to change our environments, and bond with others, we will grow. Anyone who knows me would chuckle that I am writing about change, growth, and impulse because I am the definition of a creature of habit. I could eat the same thing for dinner every day- in fact, I do (mixed veggies, egg, avocado, and soy sauce). I always do my grocery shopping at the same store, and I am cheap so spontaneity is difficult because I am a financial Grinch (I currently have a bank account with numbers I wholeheartedly consider three sizes too small). This all being said, I know it is important to experience the world to become the person I want to be. When I was a kid with protective parents, reading was my gateway to new experiences. Peter Pan taught me how amazing it is to be a child when I constantly saw my friends wanting to drive and drink and do adult things. Cinderella taught me how great it was to wear a pretty dress and feel beautiful when I didnt own a single dress until my freshman year of college (now I own 22). Now that I am older, I travel to have new experiences. I visit my brother in DC and see what it is like to be a senator in a 600 suit, and also what it is like to be a kid without a home at a school with no funding. I see life lived in ways I can barely comprehend. Every day I have the opportunity to read a book, travel to some place I have never been, or hear someones story. With each experience I gain a new perspective and learn a little more. My head and my heart open a little bit each time and my world gets a little smaller and a little bigger all at once. New experiences are scary, exciting, sad, devastating and absurd all at the same time, but I keep searching because I know that each experience makes me better. Each moment where I push myself to do something new helps me grow. Perhaps grow into something unexpected, this is why I believe in the importance of new experiences.

This I Believe
Your job is to listen to or read three essays during todays class period. When you open ThisIBelieve.org, you will have the option to browse many essays. Consider browsing by theme (like I showed you in class yesterday). Once you have found an essay you like, fill out the following information in complete sentences. I will collect this assignment at the end of the hour.

Essay #1
Title: Author: What does this person believe?

What reasons/examples/experiences does the author use to show why he/she believes their belief?

Essay #2
Title: Author: What does this person believe?

What reasons/examples/experiences does the author use to show why he/she believes their belief?

Essay #3
Title: Author: What does this person believe?

What reasons/examples/experiences does the author use to show why he/she believes their belief?