Generic_Name rocket flew through the air higher than the trees, until it came crashing back to the ground. She recorded the information thrilled to present her project when school started again. Some schools require students to complete a summer project to assure they continue learning during their break. Although a teacher-designed project could help prepare students for the next school year, summer projects should be student-designed because they can do a project on something that interests them, decide how extravagant they want it to be and they are more likely to do it.

To begin with, students should design their own projects so they can do something that interests them. For example, Generic_Name was extremely interested in robotics. She loved designing different robots that could do many things, such as feeding a baby, turning on a light and drawing. When she heard about the summer project, she decided she wanted to create a robot that could write her name. Generic_Name immediately began planning how it would look, if it would write in cursive and how fast it would write. She spent her summer building, redesigning and perfecting her robot. By the time school started, Generic_Name had built a robot that wrote her name perfectly and got a one hundred on her summer project.

Secondly, students can decide how extravagant they want their project to be. For example, Generic_Name was extremely busy during the summer. She had to go to camp, do the summer musical and marching band thus she did not have much free time to do her project. Generic_Name did not want to do a time consuming project but still wanted an A so she went online to discover how to make bottle rockets. It only took one day to do and she could easily finish it and still have time to do everything she wanted to. However, her friend Generic_Name was not doing anything over the summer. She wanted to do something that would take all summer but would also give her enough time to be with her friends and family. She decided to do an art project that showed the most interesting and oldest parts of her city. She went downtown everyday to paint bridges, buildings, and the view of the city from the roofs of buildings. She was able to show her city's history through her paintings and show her talent.

Lastly, students are more likely to do their projects if they design it. For example, Generic_Name assigned the students a project on the book they were reading. The students did not find the project interesting and most either waited until the night before to do it or did not do the project at all. Most of Generic_Name students failed the assignment or barely passed. However, Generic_Name allowed his students to choose the project that most interested them from a list. They had many different options, such as making a play list, drawing a picture or rewriting the ending. Most of his students were interested in at least one of the options and those who were not could ask him if they could do something that interested them. The students enjoyed working on the project and seeing what their classmates had done.

In conclusion, students should be able to design their own summer projects because they can do a project on something that interests them, decide how extravagant they want it to be and they are more likely to do it. Teachers who let their students choose a project that interests them will have higher project grades than teachers who choose their students projects.