Coming of Age Writing Project

Coming of Age Writing Project

The transition from middle to high school is an important one. This is the perfect time to reflect on your past, present, and future. One way to focus this reflection is through thinking about what it means to come of age, what it means to grow up and become an adult. In this final unit of your 8th grade careers, we are going to embark on a short reading, writing, and discussion-based journey to explore different perspectives on coming of age.

1st Writing Assignment Due Monday May 9
1) Choose and bring in two artifacts, one that represents your childhood and one that represents your coming of age, growing up. These artifacts should be distinct from one another to show a clear contrast between being a child and being an adolescent nearing adulthood.
Here are some ideas:

an object of attachment such as a toy, blanket, etc. photograph, painting, or other visual art song

book article of clothing recipe things that you wrote or created

2) Finally, write a short story, article, essay, or series of poetry about each artifact. Please bring in the artifacts and your written responses together.

Daily Writing Prompts
To help guide your thinking, here are some prompts to write about in any style or genre you choose.
1) Pick a different one and write about it for 5-10 minutes at the beginning of class.
2) Due every Friday, choose one of the prompts you wrote about in class and revise it into a more creative, elaborate final piece. Publish on your blog. You can choose any genre you wish to write in.

1. Create a timeline of your time in middle school. Include important moments, both good and bad.
2. What are some questions about yourself that you are trying to or wanting to figure out? List the questions. Choose 1 and write about in more detail. Examples: should I break up with my boy/girlfriend? Why? Should I tell my parents about my boy/girlfriend? Do I even want a boy/girlfriend?
3. Who was I? Who am I? Who do I want to be?
4. Describe a time you went from being disillusioned or ignorant to being aware and wise.
5. What are some important realizations and/or epiphanies that you have had about yourself, friends, family, and the world overall? How did you arrive at these realizations?
6. What is rebellion? Why do so many young people “rebel”? Is rebellion a necessary element of growing up?
7. What are the main similarities and differences between childhood and adulthood?
8. What inner and external conflicts arise in the transition from childhood to adulthood (ex. fighting with parents for more independence, peer pressure, etc.)?
9. What does it mean to grow up? In what ways are and aren’t you grown up? What are your feelings about this?
10. What are some traditional markers for growing up in our culture? How do you think society defines adulthood?
11. How do people come of age in different parts of the world? How do our surrounding and upbringing influence this?
12. How do family and friends influence our coming of age?
13. How do some texts, films, songs, etc. portray coming of age? Give at least one specific example.
14. What are some questions and concerns you have about growing up and adulthood?
15. Some aspects of coming of age are pain, loss, disappointment, and disillusionment. Write about 1 experience you have had that relates to one of these aspects.
16. What memorable texts (picture books, poems, oral stories, films, etc.) have influenced your definition of growing up?
17. Feel free to present other questions to write about.