Overview

In this first part of the course, we are using language to describe ourselves and others, discuss our cultural roots, and discuss our pasts. We have told our own stories and listened to the stories of others. In this project, you will demonstrate your ability to communicate about your own and others’ pasts by writing a biography of an immigrant.
The biography will be submitted through Assignments in Sakai and is due on Monday, September 13.

What will I do?

You will interview a Spanish-speaking immigrant and write his/her story as a biography to turn in through Assignments in Sakai. The interview and presentation should be completed entirely in Spanish.

Who can I interview?

You can interview anyone who has immigrated to the US who speaks Spanish. This can be a family member, friend – really anyone. I would suggest choosing someone who immigrated at a mature enough age to remember what life was like in their homeland. This is a perfect opportunity to converse with an older family member about their background.

What if I can’t find someone?

If you are having trouble finding someone, let me know asap. I can help! I have contacts I can connect you with, so just ask with enough time to make it happen.

What do we talk about?

In the Week 2 lesson, we are going to look at some questions to get the conversation started and give us all some baseline information to share; however, you can go where the conversation takes you. The person may share a great story, you may get off on a tangent…it’s all ok as long as you stay in Spanish and you end up with something you can write up for the presentation.

What do we do with the information?

You will write a biography in paragraph form to present your person and his/her story. You will submit it through the Assignments tool in Sakai as a document attachment. Documents formatted as Word docs or PDF are generally preferred since the system handles them well.

A couple of notes...

I do not want a transcript of your conversation. The purpose of the interview is to gather information to write the biography. What you submit to me should be in paragraph form talking about the person you interviewed and sharing his/her story.
Not everyone is comfortable telling everything about their story. Be sensitive to this. If your person doesn't want to share certain details, that's perfectly fine. You may find it's easier to focus on what life was like in his/her home country and how it differs from their life here, especially if they are not comfortable talking about their immigration story itself. The information you write will not be shared publicly outside of our class.

What types of information are required in the biography?

All information presented must be in Spanish.
The following are the minimum requirements:

A picture – either of the person or something that represents the person or the conversation. (Not everyone is willing to have their picture shared, but you need some sort of image for the page.)
Biography of the person which addresses some of the questions developed by the class as well as other interesting information learned during the conversation.
Typed in 11- or 12- pt font and double-spaced. (I need the spacing so I can mark it with feedback.)
Minimum 300 words

Assessment grading

The biography will be graded based on the following rubric.

CRITERIA Points	Exceeds Expectations 4	Meets Expectations 3 2		Does Not Meet Expectations 1
		Strong	Minimal
PRESENTATIONAL MODE: Historia personal
Content	Page includes all required elements. Information is presented with accuracy and rich details. Is appealing to the audience visually and in the content presented.	Page includes all required elements. Information is presented with accuracy. Some detail. May not be appealing visually or in the content presented.	Page includes all required elements. Information is presented with accuracy. Lacks details and is not appealing visually or in the content presented.	Page does not include all required elements and/or includes inaccurate information.
Comprehensibility	Page is understood without difficulty by those accustomed to the writing of language learners.	Page is understood with only occasional difficulty by those accustomed to the writing of language learners.	Page is understood, although often with difficulty by those accustomed to the writing of language learners.	Page is difficult to understand.
Grammar control	Page uses accurate structures. Some errors occur with more complex structures, but show no patterns of error. Errors do not impede understanding.	Page uses mostly accurate structures, with more errors occurring with more complex structures. Errors show no more than one pattern of error. Errors do not impede understanding.	Page uses mostly accurate structures, with more errors occurring with more complex structures. Errors show few patterns of error. Errors only slightly impede understanding.	Page uses many inaccurate structures, even on a basic level, showing multiple patterns of error. Errors do impede understanding.
Vocabulary and spelling	Page uses a rich variety of vocabulary appropriately. Has few to no spelling errors, including accent marks.	Page uses a rich variety of vocabulary appropriately. Has some spelling errors, including accent marks, but spelling does not impede communication.	Page uses mostly appropriate vocabulary but lacks variety. Has some spelling errors, including accent marks. Spelling errors may impede slightly with communication.	Page uses inappropriate vocabulary and lacks variety. Has spelling errors, including accent marks, that impede communication.