Tuesday, September 23 2008

Today’s Agenda

1) Let’s get out our books. For today, you were to read 89-122. I want you to go over your annotations for few moments and circle or underline passages that caught your attention.

2) Let’s get into groups and discuss the reading. In particular, I want you to talk about the way in which Mitch DESRIBES SETTINGS.

3) Class Discussion of reading

4) Now let’s get out our writing for today. You were to incorporate the tension of opposites into your writing. Discuss in your groups how you did that.

Read your groupmates’ papers, and note how they incorporated the tension of opposites into their writing. On the back of the paper, write a few sentences about how you think they did it, or if they did not do it well.

In a new journal entry I want you to do the following:

I want you to describe in SPECIFIC detail exactly WHERE this event took place. Describe the place, the sounds, the smells, the objects that were around you in as much detail as possible. Describe what the WEATHER was like. I want you to produce a SIGNIFICANT amount of writing that you may be able to incorporate into your draft. This is all information that relates to SETTING.

Second Journal Entry

For the next 15-20 minutes, I want you to write an extended and detailed (two pages) journal entry on the following subject:

WHO was present when you had this life changing experience? How were they dressed? How were you dressed? How did they speak? What did they say? What gestures did they make? What did they show you?  You are to be as specific as possible.

When you are done, I want you to get into groups and distribute your three copies. Group members are to:

1) Comment on how the author could improve or otherwise reform their draft so that his or her description of the SETTING better incorporated into the writing.

When this is done, I want you to go around and discuss EXACTLY where in the paper you could incorporate details that pertain to the PEOPLE who were PRESENT during your important moment.

Homework:

Bring to class three copies of the third draft of your Literacy Autobiography. It should include dialogue! You must add several lines of dialogue in the narrative for the next draft.  Use active verbs, indentations, quotation marks. At this stage, you should be editing out all the extraneous material. You may need to condense the time frame and focus more tightly on a single conversation or moment in the relationship. You may want to refer to the book again, especially the episode when Morrie meets the news anchor for an example of packing meaning into a very short descriptive narrative.

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