Process: Project Focus

"The urge to make and build seems to be an almost universal human characteristic. It goes way beyond meeting our need for survival and seems to be the expression of some deep-rooted part of being human." - Mister Rogers

Some projects focus on a concrete topic while others are more abstract. Consider ways to make your product reflect your thinking process. How did the "scraps" come together into the final form? What connections did you make among the elements?

There are many approaches to projects:

• Concrete or Abstract
• One thing in-depth
  • Senses (i.e., focus on a color, smell, view)
  • Ordinary or extraordinary
• Range of an idea
• Evolution of an idea

Consider using the Speaker Notes in Powerpoint, Comments in Word, or Notes in Inspiration to annotate your visuals and journal your ideas. Also consider writing an introduction to your scrapbook that expresses what you learned from the experience.

Action Focus
Work, school, and play are just a few of the activities that are part of our world. Do you participate in sports, theatre, or hobbies? Have you been geocaching?

• Writing Ideas: What do you do for work and leisure? How have these changed over time? What is life like at home, in the office, in town, on the farm, at church, in the park, at a historical site, at a carnival, in the yard, at the zoo, or other trips?
• Visualizing ideas:
• Examples:
• Lessons: When Work is Done from Library of Congress

Artifact Focus
Focus on a particular artifact. Consider objects in your life such as musical instruments, sports equipment, heirlooms, furniture, tools, machines, clothing, computer, and hobbies. Create a list of objects in your life. Create a list of objects in the lives of others through history. How are objects related to each other? Consider objects in nature such as trees, gardens, grass, flowers, river, or rock formations.

• Writing Ideas: What is the object? How is it defined? What's special about this particular object? How is this object meaningful to you? How was this object acquired? What is it's value to yourself and others? What fictional or true story can be told about this object? What different stories would others tell?
• Visualizing ideas: What does the object look like in isolation? What about in the context of a special event, family celebration, or historical event? How have views of the object changed over time? How has it been viewed in different context? What objects are related to this objects? For example, sheet music, piano stools, a church, a music teacher, and your mother could all be related to your piano. You can find visuals or new objects ar Froogle and old objects at Ebay. Are these smells or sounds related to this object? What are specific ares of the object that can be emphasized (i.e., tree, branch, leaves, seeds, buds, woods)? Consider specific aspects of the item such as the nutrition content label of food or the washing directions on a clothing label.
• Examples: Farmall tractors, piano, trumpet, hot wheels, softball glove, Clue game, Maple tree

Art and Architecture Focus
Focus on art or architecture.

• Writing Ideas: What art draws your interest? What do you dislike? Why? What public art is in your area? What art is in your town square, city, park, or area (i.e., fountains, statues, sculpture, memorials, clock, architecture, landscaping)?
• Visualizing Ideas: What visuals represent this art?
• Examples: van Gogh, Impressionists, rock art, American Indian art
  • Trace the history of a postage stamp and the topic (i.e., sickle cell disease)

Autobiographical Focus
Focus on self and family.

• Writing Ideas: What do you want to share about yourself?
• Visualizing Ideas: What visuals represent this aspect of your life?
• Examples: Grade 9, my childhood

Custom Focus
Focus on a custom or tradition particular to your family, culture, or religion. Does the tooth fairy come to your house? Do you eat banana bread at Christmas?

• Writing Ideas: What is the custom or tradition? Where and why did it start? Does it symbolize on commemorate something? Why is it important to you, your family, and/or your group? What's the history of the idea? How has it been modified by different people or groups?
• Visualizing Ideas: What photos would help others learn about your tradition?
• Examples: red poppies

Document Focus
Focus on a specific document. Consider a treaty, law, certificate, or deed. How has it impacted you, your country, and the world?

• Writing Ideas: Why is this document important? Are there different versions of this document? Does this document have particular significance to you? How? Are there passages that could be quoted? What about key words defined?
• Visualizing Ideas: How can the document be digitized (i.e., website, scanner, digital camera)? How can the document be visualized (i.e., thumbnail, zoom in, transcribe)? Could key words or passages be highlighted or "pop-up"?
• Examples: Declaration of Independence, birth certificate, American Revolutionary War pension document, Patriot Act, Brown vs Board, Clean Air Act

Event or Experience Focus
Focus on a specific event or experience. It could be something emotional such as a birthday, tragedy, disaster, or graduation. Also consider the impact of a historical, cultural, musical, social, or other event. Consider a specific day in history. Or, a celebration such as a special month or day. What about birthdays, anniversaries, local centennials, multi-generational activities, reunions, retirements, weddings, funerals, or championships? Have you met someone famous, had a unique experience, or interesting happening growing up?

You might separate events and experiences. An event may be something that involved you as an observer such as a historic space flight or landmark court decision. An experience may be something that involved you directly such as conducting a science experiment or playing in a football game. It could be as simple as an anecdote or silly story about yourself.

• Writing Ideas: What was the event? Who was impacted? What did it mean? Where were you and what were you doing when you heard the reports? What are the key words that reflect your feelings? What were the reactions and actions of the people around you? What did you think and do? What is the lasting impact? What news articles, books, websites, editorial, or primary documents (i.e., journals, legal documents, fliers) reflect the event?
• Visualizing Ideas: What photos best reflect the event (i.e., objects, action, people, impact)? What visuals reflect your feelings (i.e., faces, encounters, landscapes)? What artifacts (i.e., tickets, clothing, objects, buildings) could be recorded through photos, scanning, or drawings?
• Examples: 911, Smithsonian Museum, winter solstice, melted pumpkin pie, virtual field trips (i.e., animals cams), Immigrants at Ellis or Angel Island

Issue Focus
Focus on an issue. Contemplate the options and your perspectives. Consider why others might feel differently from you. Think about how people's thoughts have evolved over time. Canvas the ideas of others.

• Writing Ideas: What are your passions, frustrations, or concerns? Write or find a poem related to your issue. How does it reflect the topic?
• Visualizing Ideas: Who can you visualize these ideas?
• Examples: Brown vs Board of Education (i.e., judgment, photos, timeline),
• Child Labor in America from Library of Congress

Life Focus
Focus on plants, animals, and organisms. Think about pets, endangered animals, viruses, and issues in life.

Literature Focus
Focus on literature including picture books, novels, short stories, and poems. Think about genres: historical fiction, realistic fiction, biography. Consider a book theme such as birth, death, growing old, passage of time, war, peace, or other topics. Also think about the elements including character, plot, seeting.

• Writing Ideas: What area of the bookstore draws your interest? What genre of literature is your favorite? What is your favorite book? Why? After learning about an author through the web or a book signing, how does this change your feelings about the book or its characters? How is your life connected to a fairy tale or folklore? What poem addresses an idea, setting, or character in the book? What quote by a famous person expresses the issues and themes of the book? What does the character look like and act like?
• Visualizing Ideas: What magazine or book cover best reflects your feeling about your magazine/book (i.e., particular artwork, new or tattered)? What photograph or drawing reflects the setting of the book (i.e., Tuck Everlasting)? Why? What other visuals would you include in the book if you were the illustrator? What visual would you put on the cover of your life story? What work of art (i.e., painting, sculpture) reflects the book? Would the artist agree? Why or why not?
• Examples:
  • Author Paula Danziger uses scrapbooking to develop characters
• Standards:
  • Students create a scrapbook from the character's point of view. Winnie Foster from Tuck Everlasting tells about her magical week with the Tuck family. Students include diary entries, advice column, sample of magic water, and picture of tree (Instructor, 1990).
  • Students create a page to describe what a character looks and acts like.
    LA 3.3.3 Determine what characters are like by what they say or do and by how the author or illustrator portrays them.

Myth and Misconceptions Focus
Focus on a myth, legend, or misconceptions. Is there an urban legend you think is spooky? Is there a myth you want to bust? Explore one of these ideas that often circulate around the Internet. Also consider local legends, folklore, and stories you may be able to prove.

• Writing Ideas: What is the myth, legend, misinformation, or story? Can you find contradictory information about this idea?
• Visualizing Ideas: What photos would help others learn about your story?
• Examples: Marfa Lights, 42explore: Mythology

News and Information Focus
Focus on news.

• Writing Ideas: What newspaper, magazine, or journal do you respect? What article reflects this perspective? Why?
• Visualizing Ideas: What magazine or book cover best reflects your feeling about your magazine/book (i.e., particular artwork, new or tattered)?
• Lessons: Photojournalism: A Record of War from the Library of Congress

Person or People Focus
Focus on a particular person or group of people. Select well-known people who represent an idea or movement. Also consider less-known people who are also significant. Connect these people to yourself. Also think about family members, people you've met, or people you admire. Groups might include Danish, veterans, or hikers. Consider both biographical and autobiographical projects.

Consider interviewing someone. Base your project on a career of interest.

• Writing Ideas: Who inspires you? Who has made a difference in the person you have become? How does this person reflect a group of people? Why is this person famous or infamous? What barriers did this person break? What makes this person unique? What characteristics do you share with this person? Do you consider this person a hero? Why or why not? Is this person a leader? Why or why not? What would you put in a nomination letter for a special award?
  • Character. Create a scrapbook page for a character in a book.
  • Local political candidate. Choose a candidate and chronicle their campaign.
  • Professional. Choose a profession. Conduct an e-interview, seek want ads, put yourself into the field through photos. What would be interesting, boring, cool, or dangerous about the job?
• Visualizing Ideas: What photographs reflect this person? What are different views of this person? Are there photos from different times in their life? How do the photos reflect this person's personality? What photo of this person is surprising? What books, speeches, objects, songs, or places are associated with this person? What's the timeline of this person?
• Lessons: Photo Diary: A Separate Peace
• Examples: Rosa Parks, Rachel Carson, Terry Tempest Williams, American Indians
• Standards:
  • LA 3.5.2 Write descriptive pieces about people, places, things, or experiences that develop a unified main idea and use details to support the main idea.
    Students pick a famous person and use them as the focus of a scrapbook page. Students will then journal describing the person.
• Synthesis: How does this person reflect a group or generation of people? How are these people connected in time, philosophy, discipline, or leadership characteristics?

Place Focus
Focus on a particular setting, location, or geographic feature. Explore ideas for place-based learning in the local community through local historical and natural areas.

• Writing Ideas: What makes this place unique? How could it be described to others? What is your favorite local landmark? Why? Where would you take a tourist? Why? What most location reflects your local history?
• Visualizing Ideas: What photographs reflect this location? What close-up or far-away views are interesting?
• Standards:
  • LA 3.5.2 Write descriptive pieces about people, places, things, or experiences that develop a unified main idea and use details to support the main idea.
    Students pick a famous place and use them as the focus of a scrapbook page. Students will then journal describing the person.
  • Create pages focusing on the places scientists work. (IN Standard Science 6.1.5) Identify places where scientists work, including offices, classrooms, laboratories, farms, factories, and natural field settings ranging from space to the ocean floor.
• Lesson Ideas
  • Teaching with Historic Places from National Park Service
    Explore how dozens of National Historic Landmarks and Sites can be used to address Social Studies standards such as Andersonville, Bryce Canyon National Park, Carnegie Libraries, Trail of Tears, Battle of Glorieta Pass, Key's Ranch, Herbert Hoover, San Antonio Missions, Two American Entrepreneurs, Weir Farm: American Impressionist, Wheat Farms, Flour Mills, and Railroads: A Web of Interdependence, , or the Washington Monument.
  • Teaching with Historic Places - Author's Packet: A Guide for Developing Historic Places Lessons
• Website Ideas
  • HAARGIS - Historic Architectural/Archaeological Resources from Illinois
  • National Register of Historic Places - great text, maps, photos, etc.
  • They Came They Saw, They Surveyed from the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency
  • Roadside Attractions: Roadside Attractions from NPS, Roadside Attractions

Quote Focus
Focus on a quote, statistic, or piece of information.

• Writing Ideas: Start with a quote. How does it connect to your life? What about others? Do you agree or disagree with the quote?
• Visualizing Ideas: What visuals represent this quote? Create a collage of people who might agree with the quote or relate to the quote.
• Examples:
  "I base most of my fashion sense on what doesn't itch" - Gilda Radner
  "I have a dream..." - Martin Luther King, Jr.
  “Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature’s peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves.” - John Muir, Our National Parks, 1901
  "There is something of yourself that you leave at every meeting with another person." - Mister Rogers from The World According to Mister Rogers.
• Websites:
  Quote Garden

Song Focus
Focus on a song.

• Writing Ideas: Start with the lyrics. What do they mean to you and your world? How do they connect to a particular place and time?
• Visualizing Ideas: What visuals represent this song? What images do you see in your mind?
• Examples: John Denver songs, Gladstone folk songs

Symbols, Signs, and Marker Focus
Focus on symbols, signs, or markers. Consider street signs, historic markers, political posters, commercial signs, or cornerstones. Explore cemetery tombstones or commemorative markers. Are there war memorials in your town? What do they mean to the local residents? Also, think about crests, totems, and other family symbols. For example, lobster companies have their own buoys. Consider nature too. Did you know that each thumbprint is different? Did you know that the fluke (tail) of each whale is unique?

• Writing Ideas: Is there particular meaning for your family, culture, or religion? Why is it important to you, your family, and/or your group? What's the history of the idea? How has it been modified by different people or groups? How do the signs in your town reflect the personality of the town? Who is buried in your local cemetery? What stories can be told by exploring the cemetery?
• Visualizing Ideas: What photos would help others learn about this idea? Start with a photo of a street sign. Use this as the title of a story, poem, or project.
• Examples: historic markers, tombstones, FDR memorial, lobster buoys (lobsters), family crests, whale fluke identification (whales)

(We took the photo above near Bar Harbor, Maine.
Then, we found the same whale in the WhaleNet database)

Theory Focus
Focus on a theory, formula, or concept.

• Writing Ideas: Why are ideas accepted or rejected? What does it take to convince people of a theory? How can a formula or model be so important? Who are the people involved? What's the history of the idea?
• Visualizing Ideas: How can you visualize these ideas (i.e., formula, people, products, alternatives)?
• Lesson: DNA - Unity & Diversity
• Examples: evolution, pi, golden triangle, e=mc2

Value Focus
Focus on a value, character trait, or ethical issue. Consider a word such as respect, gratitude, prejudice, or honesty.

• Writing Ideas: What do you value? What's important to you?
• Visualizing Ideas: How can you visualize these ideas?
• Examples: bullying,

Word Focus
Focus on a specific word or concept. Consider an abstract word such as aspirations, frustrations, fears, bored, or thrills. Also, think about words connected with subject areas such as democracy, drought, poverty, beauty, freedom, irony, or red herring. Consider character words such as respect and honesty. What are your hopes, dreams, obsessions, and fears? When have you felt foolish or frightened?

• Writing Ideas: What is the definition of this word? What are related words? Use Visual Thesaurus for ideas. What are examples and nonexamples? What personal experience do you have with this word? Can this word be viewed from different perspectives? How? What are common misconceptions or misinformation about this concept? Are people's idea about the word likely to evolve or change? Why? How? Can you speculate on the definition of this word in the future? What is the root and history of the word? How can you create or impact this word?
• Visualizing ideas: What image best reflects this word? How can these visuals be organized to tell a story or define the word? What colors best reflect the word?
• Examples: peace, erosion
• Lesson: Vocabulary Scrapbook: A Separate Peace
• Standards:
  • Focus on basic features of words: word parts, patterns, relationships, and origins.

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