Generic_Name

Writing SOL

3/6/20

Being a student myself, there is nothing I love more then Summer break! Going to the beach, hanging out with my friends, staying up late, there's nothing better! Those three months of Summer break, everyone tends to forget what school is and what we had learned that year. The thought of doing homework during the Summer can make me cry, but I do think it's important that we do it during Summer so we don't totally forget what school is. Last Summer before school had started, I had to solve a math packet before I came back so I could refresh my mind on how to do it. To me it was very beneficial, because I was reviewing what I learned the year before so I will be ready for this year. I believe that doing a Summer project so the students could keep learning during break is a great idea. That being said, I believe that it should be teacher designed project so the student's can really understand what the teacher wants, and know how to complete the project.

One important factor is knowing what the teacher want's for the project is crucial, your grade can depend on it. Whether it's spelling matters more then the paper itself or vice verse. Having that expectation of what the teacher wants is a lot easier then guessing if your project is good enough if it was student designed. A rubric has helped me a lot during my career in school so I know exactly what the teacher wants and almost know the grade I am going to get. During the summer for AP Lang, I had to read a book called

" Thank You for Arguing".

While reading this it was a bit confusing because it was hard to understand, but when school had started up I knew why I had read it. I had read it for all the papers we were beginning to write that had used some of the rhetorical devices in the book. As the school year goes on I am thankful that I read this book because of how useful the rhetorical devices are. If the AP Lang teachers hadn't told the students to read the book, I believe this year would've been a lot harder.

Another important factor of doing a project is knowing how to actually complete it. I know that might sound weird, but having the directions is a big part. With out directions or a plan to follow the project would be all over the place. For example, if I was doing a project on George Washington, it could be about anything about George Washington. It could be that he was the first president or that he was married to Martha Washington. While following the directions to the project I would see that it is about him being the first president of the United States. If it was a student designed project, the student would make their own directions and might not follow the teachers criteria. All that being said I believe that this a important factor to doing a project; knowing how to actually complete it.

Although doing a student designed project might be easier for the student, it could also really hurt the students grade. As it is a summer project you want your grade on it to be really good so you can start off the year right. Doing it to what you think your teacher may want it to be like is risky. Not knowing what exactly the teacher wants or how you should do it, your grade will suffer. I have had summer projects before and only one of them had been a student designed project. I have found it to be way more beneficial for it to be teacher designed projects than student designed. My grade can prove that is true. Having that rubric or direction sheet in front of you can go a long way instead, of basing it off of what you think.

Whether it is a student designed project or a teacher designed, you should always choose the teacher designed. I have learned a lot from basing it off of what I want instead of what the teacher wants, and it did not help me. Knowing what the teacher wants and how to do it is the right way to get a good grade on that project.