Bellwork March 15 th :

1. Bellwork March 15th: • Describe a quality about yourself that you are proud of OR an event in your life that you will never forget. • 7-10 sentences.

2. Goal: • Write autobiographical personal statements that communicate the significance of narrated events to the audience. • (Brainstorm these events using a personal mandala. )

3. Borrowed from the UC Counselor Conference The Personal Statement:

4. Purpose of the Personal StatementImagine a minute….

5. Purpose of the Personal Statement • Part of UC and other college’s comprehensive review process • Opportunity to provide information that supports and augments ( adds to) the review process • Enables applicant to make the best case possible for admission

6. Purpose of the Personal Statement • Adds clarity, depth and meaning to information collected in other parts of the UC application • Completes the application for admission • An admission decision will never be based on the content of a personal statement alone

7. A Message from UC Faculty • While it is acceptable to receive feedback or helpful suggestions, applicants’ personal statements should reflect their own ideas and be written by them alone

8. Understanding the Task

9. The Instructions • Three rationale statements and questions (prompts) • Your World • Potential to contribute • Word limits • Two Responses: 1000 word maximum • Recommended minimum of 350 words

10. Prompt #1 Question: • [Freshman Applicants] Describe the world you come from – for example, your family, community or school – and tell us how your world has shaped your dreams and aspirations.

11. Potential to Contribute (#2) Rationale: • The University welcomes the contributions and experience each student brings to the campus learning community. This question seeks to determine an applicant’s academic or creative interests and potential to contribute to the vitality of the University.

12. Potential to Contribute (#2) Question: • Tell us about a personal quality, talent, accomplishment, contribution or experience that is important to you. What about this quality or accomplishment makes you proud and how does it relate to the person you are?

13. Open Ended ( #3) • Is there anything you would like us to know about you or your academic record that you have not had the opportunity to describe elsewhere in this application? • The point of this question is to allow you to share anything of value that you have not been able to share about yourself up to this point.

14. Things to Notice • All of the questions require you to have a depth of knowledge about: • Who you are • Where you came from • How you became the person you are today • What you will contribute because you are the person you are today

15. Brainstorm 1 • On your paper, jot down answers to the following questions .They can be complete sentences or just lists of ideas. Try to be thorough and thoughtful in your responses. • THINK DEEPER because that leads to more intriguing, better responses for your personal statement.

16. 1. accomplishments • What are my top accomplishments at this point in my life?

17. 2. Changed me? • How have these accomplishments ( from the last question) helped me to learn about who I am and to help others around me?

18. 3. Unique? • What is a unique skill I have? How did I develop this skill?

19. Bellwork March 18th: • Today we will be continuing our personal statement brainstorming by creating a Mandala. Look at the following mandalas and make a list of qualities they have in common. What is a symbol? Identify any that you can in the mandalas. 7-10 sentences

20. What is a Mandala? • meaningful design made in the form of a circle. • first created in Tibet over 2,000 years ago. Traditionally, they displayed highly intricate illustrations of religious significance • Indians have created medicine wheels, sand mandalas. Aztec calendar was both a timekeeping device and a religious expression of ancient Aztecs. In Asia, the Taoist “yin-yang” symbol represents opposition • it is a circular drawing made to represent the wholeness of a person. a simple representation of who they are.

21. Goal: • Write autobiographical personal statements that communicate the significance of narrated events to the audience. • (Brainstorm these events using a personal mandala. )

22. Continue: Brainstorm 1 • On your paper, jot down answers to the following questions .They can be complete sentences or just lists of ideas. Try to be thorough and thoughtful in your responses. • THINK DEEPER because that leads to more intriguing, better responses for your personal statement.

23. 4. Background? • What is my favorite book/movie/short story/ work of art? How has this changed who I am?

24. 5. Challenges? • What has been my greatest challenge? How did I grow and change as a result?

25. 6. Testing my limits? • When have I pushed myself to the max, physically /emotionally/ or mentally, in an effort to succeed? How did I meet my goal? Which defining factors of my personality happily revealed themselves to me as I persevered through this struggle?

26. 7. Plans? • What are my primary goals and ambitions? If I could fast-forward to 10, 20 years from now, what would most closely define a “successful” life in my eyes and estimation? In which specific ways, does college support my future plans?

27. 8. Traits? • what is my strongest, most unwavering personality trait? What about me has stayed the same for as long as I can remember?

28. 9. Journey? • See your life as a journey. What does it look like—a bumpy road, a river...? Where did the journey begin? Where has it led you? Where is it heading? How has the trip been? What part of the journey might be particularly important, maybe a defining moment?

29. Look at your brainstorm thus far: • Star anything that is absolutely important to who you are.

30. Symbol Vs. Sign • Symbol • Can stand for many things • Ex: a ring can stand for promises, wedding, love, engagement, family, etc. • Sign: • Stands for one thing • Ex: stop sign means stop and only stop

31. Pick Five • From brainstorm number 1, choose five of the most important ideas you have written. • Think of a possible symbol that might represent this quality, memory, idea from your life. • Write the symbol on your papers now for your five items.

32. Creating the Mandala • The Mandala should be a representation of : • Who you are and how you got there • What is important to you • Thus everything in your design should be symbolic

33. Brainstorm #2 : Mandala • Choose FIVE symbols from your list to use to create a Mandala representing who you are. • The larger the symbol, the larger its importance to who you are. • Connect the symbols artistically. • Even colors and shapes can be symbolic representations of who you are.

34. Mandalas: • Take the rest of class today to begin working on your Mandalas. • Remember: • The larger the symbol, the more important • Everything should be symbolic to who you are • Be creative in your artistic display • FINISHED Mandala due Tomorrow!

35. Bellwork March 19th:

36. Bellwork March 19th • Tell a story about what was happening when this picture was taken. • 7-10 sentences

37. Partners • Now, swap papers with your partner. • Add to the writer's story and share your thoughts or the life lesson. • 2-3 sentences

38. Partners • Pass back to the original writer. • Read the story, edit and revise it for clarity, and give it a title. • Does the story still make sense?

39. Bellwork March 20th: • Finish one of these statements in 7-10 sentences: • An event or experience that taught me something special was…. • An achievement that made me feel terrific was……

40. Mandala Presentations: • Share the following: • Write your name on the board for everyone • What each symbol means and why you chose it ( Why one is central/ larger than others; what that says about who you are…etc) • What the other aspects of the mandala mean and why you chose them ( colors? Shapes? The outside of the circle? )

41. For each person: • Write their name • 1 symbol that stood out to you from their mandala and what it represents to them • 1 thing you liked about their mandala assignment

42. Reflection Questions: • Fill out the reflection questions on your notes sheet. Answer in complete sentences.

43. Reflection Questions: • 1. What could you have done better to represent who you are on the actual mandala and/or in the presentation portion? • 2. What was the most prominent symbol /group of symbols in your Mandala? Is this topic able to be written in detail or might it be difficult to write about? • 3. Take your symbol that was the most prominent from your Mandala and create a bubble map for this topic. What is important to explain? How did it make you who you are today? (6-10 bubbles )

44. Decisions, Decisions…. • Now that we have brainstormed for your personal statement, it is time to decide on topics for each question. • On your worksheet, write a 1-3 sentence description of the focus for each question.

45. Prompt 1 : • Describe the world you come from – for example, your family, community or school – and tell us how your world has shaped your dreams and aspirations. • Write your answer in “ Focus and Descriptive sentence #1”:

46. Prompt #2: • The University welcomes the contributions and experience each student brings to the campus learning community. This question seeks to determine an applicant’s academic or creative interests and potential to contribute to the vitality of the University. • Write your answer in “ Focus and Descriptive sentence #2”:

47. Prompt #3: • Is there anything you would like us to know about you or your academic record that you have not had the opportunity to describe elsewhere in this application? • Write your answer in “ Focus and Descriptive sentence #3”:

48. Bubble Map • For each statement: • Bubble possible evidence you could mention to support your answer • Finish this for homework on the worksheet provided

49. Bellwork March 21st: • If I think back to why I wanted to attend college, I cannot help but to acknowledge my computers teacher from ninth grade. He wasn’t particularly engaging nor did he bring the topic up often. However, He told me that getting a 4.0 was the way to getting into the college of my choice. At that point in time, a high GPA and college was in my mind as my own personal goal. Describe the events that led you to your own goals ( for college and/or a specific career). Who and/or what led you to these goals? • 10-15 sentences

50. Mandala Presentations: • Share the following: • Write your name on the board for everyone • What each symbol means and why you chose it ( Why one is central/ larger than others; what that says about who you are…etc) • What the other aspects of the mandala mean and why you chose them ( colors? Shapes? The outside of the circle? )