Assignment: Bucket List
In 2007, Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman starred in a movie called The Bucket List. They played two older men with terminal illnesses who happened to share a hospital room. While their lives were very different, they each had a bucket list of things they wanted to see or do before they died, so they went on an adventure together to complete their bucket lists.
STEP 1: Make a bucket list of at least twenty things (in rank order) of what you’d like to see or do before you die.
STEP 2: Considering your list, write a reflective essay explaining the most important things that you want to accomplish in your lifetime and why. Also analyze your bucket list in term of Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development. Explain how completing your list would help you to positively resolve the stage of ego integrity vs despair. Be sure to describe and explain this stage in Erikson’s theory and to include specific examples of how completing items in your list (or not completing them) would affect how you resolve this stage. Keep in mind that how previous stages are resolved may also affect this developmental stage. Include detailed discussion of specific examples from your list. Your essay should be 300-500 words; use APA format for citing any sources.
| Criteria | Exceeds Expectations | Meets Expectations | Does Not Meet Expectations | Points |
| Creates original Bucket List of at least 20 ranked items. | Creates original Bucket List of at least 20 things they would like to see or do before they die, in rank order. Demonstrates thoughtfulness and consideration of various aspects of lifespan development, including different stages and contexts. | Creates Bucket List of 20 items they would like to see or do before they die, in rank order. | Does not include at least 20 items in Bucket List. Rank order is not apparent. | __/6 |
| Writes reflective essay about most important things they want to accomplish in lifetime and why. | Writes reflective essay about most important things they want to accomplish in their lifetime, referring to their Bucket List. Explains why these things are important to them. Specific and detailed descriptions and explanations; link to lifespan development. | Writes reflective essay about most important things they want to accomplish in their lifetime, referring to their Bucket List. Explains why these things are important to them. | Essay is not reflective, specific, or detailed. Does not refer to their Bucket List, or not to several top ranked items in their list. Does not explain why these items are important for them to accomplish. | __/5 |
| Describes and analyzes how accomplishing items in Bucket List will help resolve Erikson’s ego integrity vs despair crisis. | Describes and explains Erikson’s ego integrity vs despair crisis and connects the accomplishment of several items in their Bucket List to the positive resolution of this stage (or the lack of accomplishment to the negative resolution of the stage). May also discuss connections to the resolutions of previous stages. Detailed, specific examples included. Critical analysis and application demonstrated. | Describes and explains Erikson’s ego integrity vs despair crisis and connects the accomplishment of a few items in their Bucket List to the positive resolution of this stage. Detailed, specific examples included. Critical analysis and application demonstrated. | Does not describe and explain Erikson’s ego integrity vs despair crisis sufficiently. Does not connect the accomplishment of at least a few items of their Bucket List to the positive resolution of this stage. Does not provide sufficient details with specific examples. Critical analysis and application not demonstrated. | __/5 |
| Writing Mechanics & Grammar/APA Citation of Sources | Well-organized college-level essay; clearly written; proper use of APA citation of sources within essay and in reference list (if relevant). Excellent writing style. | Organized college-level essay; clearly written; proper use of APA citation of sources within essay and in reference lit (if relevant). | Essay is not well-organized; not clearly written; grammatical and/or spelling errors. Does not use APA style of citing sources within essay and in reference lit (if relevant). | __/4 |
| Total: | __/20 | |||
