New Grade 10 Students Choosing a Personal Project-due Sept.

11, 2013
Stage 1: Brainstorming on the back of this paper.
1. What do you like to do? I like to play soccer, help people that are sick and poor, I like to
discuss about politics, I like to play jazz.
2. What are you good at? I am good at playing the trumpet, spending time in Community
Service, science and etc.
3. What would you like to be good at but have never tried? I would like to be good at making a
documentary film.
4. What is something crazy that you would never do? I would never write a creative writing
piece of 100 pages.

Stage 2: Evaluating your list
1. Choose your top 3 options out of your list. Make those the tops of the columns below. You
could use a simple numerical ranking, like 5 is excellent, 3 is ok, 1 is poor.
2. Evaluate your options with these questions/criteria:
a. Personal Learning/Expertise: What will you learn by focusing on this goal?
b. Story: What will you accomplish? What story will you have about yourself when youre
done?
c. Personal Growth: Will this help you to grow as a person in the way you would like to?
d. Outside World: What will the university of your choice think of this on your application?
What will people you care about think? *Note: This is a reason to choose a particular
option, but definitely dont make it your only reason.
Criteria of Importance Example:
Artificial
Limbs for
Amputees
Option 1
A Documentary
on the
importance of
US Immigration
Reform
Option 2
Finding the
importance of
Soccer to help
people fight over
poverty
Option 3
Help fundraise
money to improve
hospital equipment
and research to save
the lives of the
people in this
country
Personal Learning/
Expertise
4 5 4 4
Story 5 4 5 5
Personal Growth 3 4 4 3
Outside World 5 4 5 5
TOTAL POINTS 17 17 18 17

Stage 3: Choosing
1. Using your top 3:
a. Think of the type of product you might create.
b. Think of the process you would follow and the specifications you would write for
success.
c. Choose your PP goal and write it out completely on the sheet provided.
Your Personal Project






Circle the Area of Interaction (AoI) for your project:
Health and Social Education
Human Ingenuity
Approaches to Learning
Community and Service
Environments
Writing: Why did you choose this one?

I chose these two areas of interactions because I believe that I am curious to learn the important
issues that US government is being discussed today (immigration) and how these issues affect the
human lives in the world. After learning the importance of these issues, I will then teach it to others in
Peru so they understand the importance on this issue.




Specific

Measurable

Agreed Upon

Realistic

Time-based

S.M.A.R.T. Goal:
My goal for this project is to present and make awareness on the importance of US immigration Reform in
Peruvian Society, in the next 5 months. I will fully investigate/interview 2 families, 2 senators and 3
immigrants, to get first hand information. With my research I will than present both sides of the argument
using a trailer/documentary to get the audience hooked, and then ask at least 5 people from the audience
their personal opinion/position on the issue, not only that I hope I can have my own opinion on the issue.


Product being created to achieve the goal:

Writing: Why is this the best product for reaching this goal?
This is the best product for reaching my goal because it will hook the audience and grab their
attention so they are able to reflect and have a personal opinion on the issue, that affects every
immigrant that migrates in the US.

Design Specifications (What will success look like? How will you know when youve achieved it?):
Specification Did you achieve it?
How well? (Yes, No, In
between)
Justification/Evidence
Define what success will look like?

Having a documentary film that
hooks the audience to discuss about
the issue.

Having a full understanding both
sides of the political argument, so I
can present it to the audience.

Being able to connect the dots
between the Peruvian Society and the
impact of US Immigration Reform.

What you hope to learn?

I hope to learn and have a tight
connection with the immigrants
families, so I can understand the
suffering or pleasure they are feeling.

I hope I can learn in detailed how a
bill can pass through congress, senate
and then signed to the white house.

I hope I can learn the importance of
this issue and how it affects my life
and my personal opinions on the
issue.


Specifications for a Successful
Product

Having an interviewed with 2
different families and immigrants that
are living in the US, taking note on
how immigration laws in the US has
impacted their lives and the members
of their family.

Researching both sides of the
argument (Political, Economical,
Social and Ethical argument) on US
immigration reform, to be able to
present it to the audience and to
personally have an opinion.

Having interviewed with 2 US
representatives from Florida (one
Democrat and one Republican) to
analyze their opinion and political
partys opinion on US immigration
laws and if a reform is needed.

To be able to contact 2 lawmakers
that support both sides of the
argument, so I can have a better
understanding how a party passes a
law through the US government.