7. Mini-project: Class Magazine¶

At a glance

Time: 2 periods + work at home or in free lab time over at least 3 sessions · Tiers: 0–3 · You need: a repo (Tier 1+) or a stack of commit cards (Tier 0)

Before this: Modules 1–6.

By the end you can: keep a real piece of writing under version control over several days, use restore or revert on purpose, and present how your work grew.

Each student keeps one article (a poem, a school news item, a description of a local festival, a recipe from home, a short report on a science model) under version control. At the end the class holds an exhibition of the "evolution" of each article: not only the final text, but how it was made.

Why a project?¶

Everything so far was practice on someone else's article. Now it is your own work, over several days — exactly how real people use version control. You will find out for yourself why small commits and good messages matter, because you will be the one reading your history.

The brief¶

Choose a topic from the school or community. Do not include real names of classmates, phone numbers or addresses; use roles ("the captain", "our neighbour").
Make a repo: copy practice-repos/g08-class-magazine and replace article.md with your own text, or create a new folder and Initialize Repository (Tier 1+). Tier 0: a card stack.
Write the article in at least 5 commits over at least 3 sessions.
Include at least one restore or revert, on purpose, with a message that says why.
Draw the commit-count chart from Module 6.
Prepare a 2-minute explanation for the exhibition.

Suggested shape of a good history¶

c1  Add working title and three ideas for the article
c2  Write first paragraph about where the festival happens
c3  Add paragraph about the food
c4  Change opening line after partner's feedback
c5  Revert "Add joke in the conclusion" — it was unkind
c6  Fix spelling of Janakpurdham and Mithila
c7  Add closing sentence

Notice: each commit is one idea; the messages tell a story; feedback and the revert are visible.

Plan¶

Stage	Time	What
Choose and plan	10 min	topic, 3 bullet ideas, first commit
Draft	1 period + home	first version, commits 2–3
Peer feedback	10 min	swap with a partner; partner reads your history first, then the text, and writes 2 suggestions on paper
Improve	1 period	commits 4–5+, one restore or revert
Chart	10 min	commit chart from Module 6
Exhibition	20 min	show `git log` (or card stack), one diff, one chart; explain a key commit

Peer-feedback questions (for your partner)¶

Reading only the messages, can you tell how the article grew?
Is any commit doing two things at once?
One thing you liked in the text; one suggestion.

Exhibition checklist¶

[ ] My history (git log --oneline printed or written, or my card row).
[ ] One diff I am proud of — I can explain the red and green lines.
[ ] My restore or revert, and why I did it.
[ ] My chart, titled and labelled.
[ ] The final article.

Rubric (commit-history rubric)¶

Criterion	3	2	1
Number of commits	≥ 5	3–4	1–2
Messages	each says what + why	most do	vague ("done")
One idea per commit	yes	mostly	no
Restore/revert used	with explanation	used	not used
Oral explanation (2 min)	clear	partly clear	unclear
Chart	correct and labelled	minor errors	missing

Maximum 18 points.

Common mistakes¶

Mistake	Fix
All commits in one session, minutes apart	spread work over ≥ 3 sessions
Writing everything, then committing once	commit after each paragraph
Names, phone numbers or addresses of real people	remove them; use roles
Forgetting the restore/revert	plan it: write a sentence you will revert on purpose
Messages like "update"	use the Module 2 message rules

Practise more with free resources¶

#	Exercise	Tier	Time	Hand in
1	Before you start, play Learn Git Branching `intro1` once more and draw the history you plan for your article (5–7 circles with messages). Compare it with the real history at the end.	1 / 3	10 min	plan vs real drawing
2	Write your article in Markdown (headings with `#`, italics with `*`). Use the CommonMark 10-minute tutorial (teacher can print the reference card, or use it at home with internet).	1 / 3	15 min	article with ≥ 2 Markdown features
3	Badges: create `BADGES.md` in your repo and record the badges from the Grade 8 cards page you earned this chapter — commit it!	1	5 min	`BADGES.md` commit

Exit ticket (5 min)¶

Which commit are you proudest of, and what does its message say?

Key points¶

Version control is most useful on your own work over several days.
Small commits + clear messages = a history that tells a story.
Undo (restore/revert) is a skill, not a failure.
Private information never goes into a repo.

Extension quest¶

Compare two classmates' histories of different topics: whose is more detailed? What makes a history useful to a reader?

Chapter complete. You can now keep your own work's history. In Grade 9 you will use Git from the terminal, learn branches (try two ideas at once) and send your work to another computer with remotes.