SENIOR LITERATURE



Name:_______________________________________________________Hour_______

Accelerated ENGLISH 12 and A.P Literature

TIME CAPSULE

Time Capsule Box or Binder: 10 points for effort and presentation (prefer a binder to a box, but your choice)

• Creative

• Represents you

• Appropriate

• Typed and clearly labeled

EACH SHOULD BE TYPED and IN ORDER.

|Assignment |Points |EARNED |

|Box/Folder- Creative and represents you |10 | |

|You are to put together a list of 10 events that occurred in the year 2014/2015. |5 | |

|You will need a minimum of 5 appropriate pictures from your high school years, |5 | |

|individually pasted on any type of paper, along with captions. (I would put this into a| | |

|Word Document and copy and paste in the pictures and write the captions underneath.) | | |

|Write a one-page paper on the most memorable moment in high school. (See requirements on|5 | |

|next page) | | |

|Write a profile for 3-5 of your closest friends. (1 paragraph each) Put each person on a|5 | |

|separate piece of paper with his or her picture on it. | | |

|Write a one-page paper on how you will see yourself at your 10 year reunion. (See |5 | |

|requirements on next page) | | |

|Write a description of each teacher and class you had in your senior year. (2-3 |5 | |

|sentences each) | | |

|Make a list of what’s in and what’s out in 2014/2015. (10 ins and 10 outs) This can be |5 | |

|clothing, fads, whatever you choose, but keep it to one topic. | | |

|Write a one-page paper on one person who had influenced you the most in your high school|15 | |

|years. Tell how and why. Include a picture of this person. | | |

| Write a graduation speech. (TYPED-requirements below) |25 | |

_____Total points (80) DUE: Friday, May 22nd

If you know you are out, realize this is not an excuse, because this due date is FIRM. Turn it in on Thursday if need be, so that you are not marked late. NO EXCUSES!!

Most Memorable Moment

I. Introduction: Introduce your memorable moment in 1 paragraph.

II. Body:

a. Events leading to the moment

b. The actual moment

c. After effects

III. Conclusion: Wrap up your essay

How you will see yourself in 10 years

I. Introduction: Introduce your 3 points of your life that you will be at in 10 years in 1 paragraph.

II. Body:

a. First part of your life

b. Second part of your life

c. Third part of your life

III. Conclusion: Wrap up your essay

GRADUATION SPEECH ASSIGNMENT

Requirements & Recommendations:

(begin by acknowledging “dignitaries” who may be present and other groups of attendees.)

1. Typed – 12 point font double-spaced

2. 1-2 pages (no more)

3. Try to engage and inspire your listeners from the start

4. Reflect on past years in the SOUTH LAKE SCHOOL DISTRICT. Share special memories, but no inside jokes. Write for you AUDIENCE!

5. Also, LOOK AHEAD to the future

6. NO NEGATIVITY

7. Thank parents, teachers and friends

8. Be creative! Consider using HUMOR!

Other helpful tips:

Graduation is a formal occasion and your speech should reflect this.

Your speech should have a unifying thesis and your ideas should be listed in a clear logical order. Do not simply thank lists of people. You should express ideas that will help your classmates with the challenges they will face after graduation.

You should have control over spelling, sentence structure and mechanics. Your paper should not, for example, contain grammar errors or sentence fragments. Many people will be reading the text of your speech.

Avoid clichéd metaphors and mixed metaphors. Do not write “We were like seedlings who flourished in the fertile soil of Tiburon, and now we are ready to spread our wings and fly.” (Are the students plants or birds, and is either comparison flattering to the intellectual abilities of the graduates?) Please avoid comparing life to a journey…

Avoid passive voice constructions, vague adjectives (great, marvelous, incredible), and indirect phrases (in terms of). All of these can make your writing wordy and unclear. If in doubt, check a grammar handbook about wordiness, or see resources listed in your “How To Write a Graduation Speech packet.”

➢ Avoid “like,” “and,” “um,” “you know,” etc

“How to Write a Graduation Speech”

How to write an inspiring graduation speech by Norma Budden



Graduation is a momentous occasion to be remembered for a lifetime. A milestone has been achieved. Students have become young men or women and, overnight, have become responsible for their future. The world of opportunity opens before them as they had only dreamed or imagine.

Some tips to keep in mind when writing an inspiring graduation speech are:

1. Engage the listeners

An inspiring graduation speech - whether given by the valedictorian, a graduate's parent, or a special speaker invited by the graduation class - should engage listeners and be entertaining. Like any speech, the first sentence will either gain the attention of the audience or will cause them to lose interest.

Many speakers begin with a story from their own experiences. Even popular writers, musicians, singers, and so on, are regular people with events happening to them which prove they are just as human as anyone else. When speakers bring themselves to the level of their audience, they will gain their respect and attention and, providing their speech continues to be engaging and entertaining, everyone should be in for an enjoyable evening.

2. Use every day language

Even world renown scholars appreciate the opportunity to sit, relax, and listen to a speech where they don't require use of their built-in mental dictionaries. Speaking in every day language will be more interesting for everyone. Also, it will enable graduates to remember what was said long after graduation day is over, which is what speakers aim to do. After all, what speaker wants to pour his or her heart into a graduation speech that won't be remembered?

3. The message

A graduation speech needs to have a primary message. Often, graduation speeches encourage graduates to pursue their goals in life - that the sky is the limit to what they can achieve if they put their minds to it. The message may even encourage other people in attendance to work at achieving personal goals they had set aside for too many years.

However, a word of caution: don't focus an entire speech on personal definitions of success because people view success differently. Some measure it by the amount of money in their portfolios while others measure it by the amount of time they spend with their families. Some graduates may feel their level of success would be to work with non-profit organizations - working with underprivileged children - while others feel they need to be at the top of a corporate ladder. Thus, motivate an audience to be the best they can be and they will decide what personal success means. In time, success may be defined differently, but that can only be gained through life experience.

4. The delivery

After the message has been delivered, it should live on in the minds of graduates. As such, if it's delivered in the same manner as a classroom lecture, graduates may soon turn a deaf ear.

If delivered without passion, graduates and their guests will become bored. If it drags on, everyone will wish they could escape.

The speech has to be upbeat and inspirational. When delivered as though the speaker is talking directly to each person present, it gains many points. Graduates become motivated to be the best they can be, as individuals and professionals, and even the remainder of people attending become inspired.

5. Conclusion

While the opening of a speech is designed to captivate the attention of the audience, the conclusion is designed to leave a lasting impression. Often people will remember bits and pieces of what a speaker has said but the conclusion, if written and delivered properly, will stand out.

The conclusion can be a famous quote to be reiterated to the graduation class and their guests. However, it could simply be a point which has directed the life of the speaker on many occasions. Whatever the speaker chooses to share should be delivered in a manner to catch everyone's attention. For example, a quiet natured man who concludes his speech by shouting, "Reach for the stars, and don't quit in the face of adversity," will catch attention.

Furthermore, it will be a moment everyone will remember for years to come. They will talk about it and, perhaps, laugh about it. However, throughout the course of peoples' lives, these words will come back as a source of inspiration when life gets rough. It can be the fuel that lights the torch in others taking action to reach their goals despite the obstacles involved.

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“How to Write a Graduation Speech” by Naomi Rockler-Gladen



Most graduation speeches aren't very good. You know why? Because they're too generic. They talk about the future and "spreading your wings" and all kinds of cliché things that can apply to any graduating class. A good graduation speech should be tailored only for your graduating class. The speech should be unusable by other classes because it is filled with details and stories specific to these students' experiences.

Here are some tips to writing an unforgettable graduation speech:

* Tell lots of stories. The stories should be about the students in the graduating class, the teachers, and other important people in the school. The stories can be funny, or touching, or just descriptive. The audience is filled with parents and people who are not part of the graduating class, so what you want to do is make that graduating class come alive for the people who aren't a part of it.

* Talk about major events. What are some important things that happened in the world, your community, or at your school in the last four years? Include them in your speech, especially if these events evoke emotion. If a teacher or student died, mention them and say how much everyone misses them. If your football team won the state championship, mention this (and expect enthusiastic applause from the audience).

* Talk about meaningful activities your class did together. Here's where you talk about the prom, Spirit Week, a successful charity event, the awesome school play, etc. If your school has some traditional events, mention them. Some of the audience members will be alumni and will appreciate this.

* Talk about values that are important to the students and the audience. If this is a liberal arts college, talk about the value of a liberal arts education. Don't dwell on these kinds of topics or you risk sounding corny, but mentioning them will make your speech feel more inclusive to everyone.

* Be inclusive. Talk about everyone in the class: the jocks, the band geeks, the Honor Society kids, and everyone else. This speech is for everybody.

* Use popular culture references. This is a popular culture era, so including popular culture references is another thing you can do to make your speech more personal. Work in references to popular TV shows, movies, and songs.

* Don't talk about yourself. Well, you can talk about yourself a little bit, but only a little. This speech is for everyone, and it isn't very classy to steal the focus.

* Don't speak badly of anyone. This is not the time to make fun of that nasty English teacher, nor is it time to get even with that kid who bullied you from grades 3 through 8. Be nice. You can gently poke fun of quirky things, like that weird green stuff they serve every Thursday for school lunch, etc. But do this sparingly, and be careful not to offend anyone.

* Be appropriate. Use common sense. Don't swear.

* Use inside jokes sparingly. Your classmates might appreciate inside jokes, but the audience won't know what you're talking about.

* Avoid clichés. The phrases "spread your wings and fly," "new chapter in our lives," and "be true to yourself" should not appear in your speech, and neither should other clichés.

* Give advice sparingly. Graduation speeches do not have to contain advice, and if you're part of the graduating class, you may not have much advice to give.

* Thank the parents. Ask everyone in the graduating class to give them a round of applause. This will mean the world to them. Make your mom cry.

* Thank the teachers. Lord knows teachers don't get enough praise. Thank the principal or the assistant principal too.

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Check out some graduation speeches – read some samples to give you ideas… but be very careful NOT to BORROW SPEECHES that others have given in the past. (That’s plagiarism!!!) Some helpful sites include:







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