For this assignment, you'll be creating a new, original, and personalized coat of arms for your family. You can draw it by hand, create it using construction paper and markers, make a digital illustration from scratch, or composite elements from online sources. Also, while you will only be graded on the colors, motto, charges, and symbolism of your coat of arms, feel free to add more elements (such as crowns, crests, mantles, etc.) to make your design look more regal and impressive.

Whichever way you go, remember that your final design needs to be rich with symbolism, thoughtfully and clearly layed out, and meaningful to your family aspirations, history, and traditions. It also has to pay attention to the heraldic conventions of the past in terms of layout, style, and color choice.

Once you've finished your work, describe the rationale of your design choices and the symbolism of your coat of arms by completing the Family Coat of Arms Rationale worksheet.

Turn in both assignments to your teacher when you've finished.

Your Family Coat of Arms Rationale worksheet will be graded using the following rubric:

Family Coat of Arms Rationale Worksheet Rubric

	Criteria
Family Heritage 1 Point	1 Point: You clearly describe the values, traditions and accomplishments that is most important to your family.
Motto 2 Points	1 Point: You list the motto (and translation if appropriate) that appears on your family coat of arms.
	1 Point: You fully describe how the motto applies to your family and represents your heritage.
Colors 2 Points	1 Point: You correctly list the colors that appear on your family coat of arms.
	1 Point: You skillfully describe how the symbolism behind each color represents your family.
Charges 3 Points	1 Point: You correctly list all of the charges in your coat of arms (including ordinaries, animals, and objects).
	2 Points: You skillfully describe the rationale behind each charge, how they work together, and what they symbolize to your family.

Your Family Coat of Arms Assignment will be graded using the following rubric:

Your Family Coat of Arms Assignment Rubric

	5 Expert	3 Strong	1 Beginning
Motto	Your motto is powerful, timeless, and inspiring, perfectly fitting with the overall themes of your coat of arms.	Your motto is interesting and successful, and fits well with the themes of your coat of arms.	Your motto is cliché, uninspiring, or may not fit the theme of your coat of arms at all.
Colors	Your design only uses classic heraldry metals and tinctures, and masterfully expresses symbolic meaning through the careful use of color.	Your design sticks mainly to classic heraldry metals and tinctures, and uses color to effectively express symbolism.	Your design introduces many colors that are not part of classic heraldry, and shows no meaningful symbolism.
Charges	All of your charges are thoughtfully chosen and highly meaningful, and respect the traditions of classic heraldry.	Most of your charges are effectively chosen and connect to your main themes. Your charges look like they belong on a coat of arms.	Many of your charges seem random or unconnected. The design style doesn't fit at all with classic heraldry.
Symbolism	Your family coat of arms is rich with deep meaning and effective symbolism, with all elements fitting together in a unified theme that perfectly represents your unique family.	Your family coat of arms uses symbolism to express what your family cares about, and many elements work well together thematically.	There is little to no symbolism uniting the elements of your family coat of arms, or the symbols conflict in a confusing and careless way.
Elements of Art and Principles of Design	Your family coat of arms has a clear, clean, and effective design. Its layout, style, color choice, and proportions make for a pleasing and powerful work of art.	Your family coat of arms has an effective design. Your use of layout, colors, style and proportions are successful.	Your family coat of arms has an ineffective design: it's too cluttered, or lacks effort, or is hard to interpret.