Unit 1 Lessons | WRT114 Creative Nonfiction

Day 1

Objectives: Students will be able to understand the course expectations and goals of WRT114 by reviewing and discussing the course syllabus.

Do Now: What’s Creative Nonfiction? Give your own definition and example. Write-Pair-Share.

Agenda

Teacher-led discussion: overview of the SUPA course
Student independent work: Jigsaw the syllabus-Identify the key phrases or sentences that you believe best describe the course. Put them on a poster paper and be ready to share your understanding of the ideas.
Visit http://supa.syr.edu/ to become familiar with the registration process.
Introduce the website and become familiar with its contents

Summary: What do you feel most comfortable about the course? What kind of challenges do you feel you will face? Explain. What do you hope you’ll gain from the course? What are you willing to do to accomplish the goal(s)?

Homework: Respond to the prompt: Why I Write

Day 2

Objectives: Students will be able to gain new understanding of CNF through small group discussion and writing through sensory details.

Do Now: Round Robin read aloud: share one or two ideas od why you write.

Agenda

(Mini Lesson) Reading and unpacking: “Why I Write?” by Terry Tempest Williams; Jigsaw Brett Lott, “Toward a Definition of Creative Nonfiction” (PDF); Class read excerpts from“The Body of Memory,” Tell It Slant: Ch.1 pg 3-16 and make note of at least one strategy.

(Independent Practice)Writing Prompt: :Recall the neighborhood you grew up in, and describe the environment—the houses, buildings, landscape, and people. Use your five senses to tap into concrete details of sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell. Then, try crafting a scene—something that happened—in which you are the main actor in that world.

Quick Write to Reflect: What is one new idea you gained today through the discussions about CNF?

Homework: (Over the three-day weekend)1) Continue reviewing the course syllabus & student manual. 2). Finish annotating Brett Lott, “Toward a Definition of Creative Nonfiction” ; 3) Read “The Body of Memory,” Tell It Slant: Ch.1 pg 3-16 and make note of at least one strategy of using each of the five senses to inspire your writing. (4)Use the strategies to help you expand your response to the writing prompt ( above).

(5)Select one of the following to annotate :

Tell It Slant: xiii-xvi;
Lee Gutkind, “The Creative Nonfiction Police?” In Fact, xix-xxxiii;
Mimi Schwartz, “Memoir? Fiction? Where’s the Line?” (PDF)

Day 3 Focus: The ethics of truth-telling

Objectives: Students will be able to describe what defines CNF and the ethics of the genre through small group discussion.

Do Now: Select one best quotations from Brett Lott, “Toward a Definition of Creative Nonfiction” and one from Mimi Schwartz, “Memoir? Fiction? Where’s the Line?” to define CNF.

Mini Lesson (Reading and unpacking): Mimi Schwartz, “Memoir? Fiction? Where’s the Line?”; Lee Gutkind, “The Creative Nonfiction Police?” In Fact, xix-xxxiii; “Leap” by Brian Doyle (pdf). What makes the narrative believable? What kind of truth does the narrative reveal? ( Hulu9/11 The Falling Man documentary)

Share one strategy about how to use five senses to help you write descriptively. Share in small groups your response to the prompt from Friday.

Independence Practice:

Writing Prompt: Brainstorm some of the historical and cultural events that have come to define your generation in the way that 9/11 defined the consciousness of the generation before you. Write about how you’ve witnessed this major event or cultural shift, how it has impacted you, your family, your community, your generation. ( Recommendation: watch a documenry about 9/11).

Guiding Question: What’s the ethics in writing CNF? Why is it important?

Key Ideas in ” The Body of Memory:”

a. The Earliest Memory

What’s the memory that always emerges from dim reaches of your consciousness as the first one, the beginning of your life you call your own? ( p. 4)
a mysterious fascination( p.4)
Memory has been called ultimate myth maker ( p. 4)
” How we create ourselves through Memory”
The first memory then becomes the starting point in our own narratives of the self ( p. 4)
” This is who I ma because this is how I begin”
river teeth… vivid moments that stay in mind long after the events that spurred them have been forgotten(p.5)
moments of being
we get jolted out of our everyday complacency to really see the world that all that it contains- the shock receiving capacity
the pattern of her mother’s dress, the pull cord of the window blind skittering across the floor of their beach house( p.5)
the memories that have the most emotional impact( p.5)
the images that rise up before us quite without our volition ” our mother’s face as she sips from a cooled cup of coffee, her eyes betraying some private grief you have seen before, or the smell of grapefruit ripening on a tree outside your bedroom, the touch of a stranger’s hand (p.5)
what repository memory do you hold in your heart rather than your head?what pictures that rise up to the surface without your bidding?

Metaphysical Memory

make intuitive connections( p.6)
probe for any insights they may contain( p.6)
ask what but why-why these memories and not others ( p.6)
most stubborn and intractable part of the scene
The best material cannot be deciphered in an instant..inscrutable images whose meaning is never clear at first( p.6)
As a child I realized no such thing. but AS AN ADULT-AS A WRITER PRESERVING THIS MEMORY IN LANGUAGE- I BEGIN TO CREATE METAPHOR THAT WILL INFILTRATE BOTH MY WRITING AND MY SENSE OF SELF FROM HERE ON OUT.( p. 6)
Where is your body in this memory? What kind of language does it speak? What metaphors does it offer you to puzzle out in writing?

Muscle Memory

the memory of how to execute these movements will be encoded in the muscles ( p.7)
Because memory is so firmly fixed in the body,it takes an object that appeals to the senses to dislodge memory and allow it to float freely into the mind or onto the page ( p.7)
the body’s story
the most potent images and stories are those that ” by pass the rhetoric and piece the heart”( p.7)
The body can offer an inexhaustible store of triggers…( p.7)
Sometimes what matters to us most is what has mattered to the body…
Memory pretends to live in the cerebral cortex but t requires muscle to animate it again for the page.

Writing Prompt: Unit 1 #7

Write about your earliest memory of being “yourself.” Stay in the 1^st person point of view. Imagine yourself back in your small body, and feel what it was like to be that little person. Go back to that moment in time, and try to recreate it in the form of a scene. Use your five senses to tap into concrete details of sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell. Try to remember what you were doing in that moment and describe your actions.

Revisit one of the journals:

After reading ” The Body of Memory”, revisit one of the journals you have written. Use the following guidelines to help you revise:

Is there a “river teeth” in your writing form your memory?
Is your story a metaphor for something more universal that we all share?
Does your writing focus on a specific sight, sound, smell or touch?

Use the tips in ” The Basics of Good Writing in any Form” to do a peer review or self-evaluation:

Scene vs Exposition

Scene is based on action unreeling before us as it would in a film, and it will draw techniques as fiction-dialogue, description, point of view, specificity, concrete details. ( 164)
Scene also encompasses the lyricism and imagery of great poetry.
[scene] gives eh reader a more experiential version of the time
Moves:
1. include representative scene
2. make a choice for point of view
3. dialogues sound real

Go back to your writing, apply the moves to revise your journal.

Homework (Read one of the following and we’ll jigsaw the essay discussion) : 1) Read the essay, “On the Street” (In Short, 144-145). In her essay, Vivian Gornick says she feels “stricken” after the death of a writer she knew only casually (only through chance encounters “on the street”). The woman Gornick mourns was not exactly a friend, but an important (though marginal) presence in her life. Scan your own “landscape of marginal encounters” and write about a person you know who interests you greatly or is very important to you, but who nonetheless exists only as a peripheral presence in your life. Focus on what you don’t understand about this person. What mystery do they hold in your eyes?

2) “The Basics of Good Writing in Any Form,” Tell It Slant: Ch. 13: 163-180 ( Provide an observation and example for each basic strategy discussed in the chapter)

3) Alec Wilkinson’s essay “Call Guy” (In Short, 146-148) grows out of an overheard telephone conversation that also proved a bit scandalous and would have certainly embarrassed the woman in Apt. 7C had she known he was listening.

4) Joan Didion” On Keeping a Notebook”

Writing Prompt: Try capturing a short bit of an overheard conversation, and write down (as precisely as possible) actual fragments of the dialogue exchanged. Then use analysis and detective work to define the relationship between the speakers and the context, tone, and subject of their conversation. What was at stake in this conversation? In what ways does their conversation speak to some larger cultural truth? Use your imagination to speculate on parts of the conversation you may not have been privy to. Consider the ethics of representing this conversation, and make decisions in your writing that allow you to represent it in the most ethical way possible.

Day 4 Focus: craft ( Review Notes on Craft)

Objectives: Students will be able to see how craft of CNF is embedded in the pieces they have read from In Short.

Do Now: Read ” Leap” by Doyle and how the short piece illustrates Lott and Schwartz’ definition of CNF. How are five senses used to guide the author’s remembrance of the tragic event? Where did he ” color” in ?

Mini Lesson:

The Basics of Good Writing in Any Form,” Tell It Slant: Ch. 13: 163-180
Discuss “On the Street” (In Short, 144-145).

Independent Practice:

Share responses to the prompt “try capturing a short bit of an overheard conversation…”. What strategies do you notice your classmate is using?
Read in small groups-David Huddle, “Museum Piece,” In Short pp. 183-184 ( How is the lady in writing portrayed?)

Writing Prompt: In the essay “We Are Distracted” by Michael Shay, he portrays his “ADD” son Kevin through scene construction (rock climbing), setting( outdoor vs indoor), characterization, and dialogue. Write a character sketch of someone you know who impresses you as eccentric, weird, interesting, intense, or simply memorable—perhaps someone very close to you, someone you feel conflicted about, or someone who stands out as a unique individual. Describe the person’s physical appearance, posture, facial expressions, hand gestures, way of moving or walking, nervous ticks, and significant behaviors or activities. Think about this person’s general disposition, moods, and manner of speech (both the tenor of voice and the particular words and expressions this person would use). Try to call up a few specific interactions with this person, and see if you can use your character description as a way into a scene.

Homework:1) Continue working on your character sketch based on the prompt. 2) Read Mimi Schwartz, “The Special Power of Present Tense” (PDF)

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Day 5

Focus: craft ( Review Notes on Craft)

Objectives: Students will be able to share their flash writing and critique each other’s craft by referring to “The Basics of Good Writing in Any Form” in small groups.

Do Now: Make a list of the “Basics of Good Writing”

“The Basics of Good Writing in Any Form,”Tell It Slant: Ch. 13: 163-180;

Mini Lesson:

Read and discuss David Huddle, “Museum Piece,” In Short pp. 183-184 ( How is the lady in writing portrayed?)
What is the power of present tense?
Elicit questions about the following prompt-

Writing Prompt: In the essay “We Are Distracted” by Michael Shay, he portrays his “ADD” son Kevin through scene construction (rock climbing), setting( outdoor vs indoor), characterization, and dialogue. Write a character sketch of someone you know who impresses you as eccentric, weird, interesting, intense, or simply memorable—perhaps someone very close to you, someone you feel conflicted about, or someone who stands out as a unique individual. Describe the person’s physical appearance, posture, facial expressions, hand gestures, way of moving or walking, nervous ticks, and significant behaviors or activities. Think about this person’s general disposition, moods, and manner of speech (both the tenor of voice and the particular words and expressions this person would use). Try to call up a few specific interactions with this person, and see if you can use your character description as a way into a scene.

Independent Practice: Share in small groups one of your best flash writings. Peers comment on the craft consciously or unconsciously used by the writer to create a specific effect.

Homework:1) Continue working on your character sketch based on the prompt. 2)Read and annotate Scott Russell Sanders, “The Singular First Person” (PDF) (What does it mean to write in the “ singular first person” in CNF?) ;Mimi Schwartz “ Voice Lesson”( pdf)

Writing Prompt: Write a paragraph describing a place you remember from your childhood that holds great meaning for you even now—whether joy, pain, or some other quality. Don’t explain the meaning of this place, but try to reveal it through detailed description. Use present tense. How does using present tense change your way of remembering and describing the experience?

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Day 6

Objectives: Students will be able to obtain the basics of a good writing in all forms through small group presentations(“The Basics of Good Writing in Any Form,” Tell It Slant: Ch. 13: 163-180)

Do Now: What does it mean to write in the “ singular first person” in CNF Scott Russell Sanders’ “The Singular First Person” ?

Why does Sanders consider writing essays as a “risk”?
What does he mean by stating that “In the era of prepackaged thought, the essay is the closest thing we have, on paper, to a record of individual mind at work and play”?
Stephen Dunn, “Locker Room Talk,” In Short pp. 149-151 ( What risk does the author take in this piece? How does the author reveal his singular voice on a specific issue?
According to Schwartz, what creates voice?

Presentations

Homework:

Writing Prompt: As an individual, it’s only natural we find ourselves in discord with some our friends’ views on certain issues. Describe an incident or reoccurring issue that has bothered you because you don’t seem to go with the “flow”. Describe in details the incident or issue. What caused the discomfort? Discord? Who else were involved? What was their reaction? What did you learn from this experience? Use the language and depiction that are singularly yours to reveal the dilemma we all encounter. Search for your “ burning question” through writing.

Read and annotate 1)Read Tracy Kidder, “Making the Truth Believable” (PDF)( How does the point of view matter in writing CNF?); 3) Read “Three Spheres “ by Lauren Slater In Fact 3-23

Select a piece from the 7 responses you have written, which you would like to share in class tomorrow. Use the basics of good writing in any form to evaluate the piece.

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Day 7

Objectives: Students will be able to examine the basics of good writing by reviewing a partner’s response using the rubric provided.

Focus: Ethics of revelation, fact-checking, tone, and writing for an audience

Do Now:

Stephen Dunn, “Locker Room Talk,” In Short pp. 149-151 ( What risk does the author take in this piece? How does the author reveal his singular voice on a specific issue?
According to Schwartz, what creates voice?

Mini Lesson

Reading and unpacking: Lee Gutkind, “The Creative Nonfiction Police?,” In Fact: pp. xix-xxxiii; “ Last Shot” by Tobias Wolff, In Short 57-59; “ Mix-Blood Stew” by Jewell Parker Rhodes ( How are facts presented in the two essays? Are they presented differently? How?)

Independent Practice: Peer-editing

Heuristic #2: Proving Feedback during Peer Review

What is this essay really about, or what could it be about? Try answering this question in 3 different ways.
Who are the main characters so far, and what do you know about them? Pinpoint places in the essay where the writer is providing strong character development, and other places where you want/need to know more the characters.
What are you curious to know more about? Draft 3 questions for the writer.
What additional scenes could the writer include in this essay to help illustrate some of the questions you raised in part c (above)?
Where in the essay would you like to see the writer delve deeper and provide more “vertical” movement or reflection on difficult/complicated parts of the story?

Writing Prompt: As a class, we will come to an agreement to write about an event with which we are all familiar. Write about the truth that you know about the event. You may consider describing the “river teeth” of the event or what Virginia Woolf calls “shocks of memory” or Karen Blixen ‘s “I will answer” or Bret Lott’s “ my truth”.

Homework: 1) Read “ My Mother in Two Photographs, Among Other Things” In Short 138-141; 2) and bring in 3-4 family photos( individual family member or family together) for a writing activity tomorrow. Read and annotate “Writing the Family,” Tell It Slant: Ch. 2 ( 17-24)

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Day 8

Objectives: Students will be able to search for a ” burning question” through discussions of ” Three Spheres” and ” Blood Stew ” as well as their reflections on the responses to the writing prompts.

Do Now:

Select a small part of your writing and share out loud in class. Round robin reading. No comments. All writers simply listen.

Reading and unpacking:

Tracy Kidder, “Making the Truth Believable” (PDF)(a. How does the point of view matter in writing CNF? b. Why does it become necessary to use a 2^nd or 3^rd person point of view in CNF?);
In “ Three Fragments” by Charles Simic, In Short 191-192( How does the author use different points of view to tell a war story? Why does he make such a choice?)

Writing Prompt: Write about your earliest memory of being “yourself.” Stay in the 1^st person point of view. Imagine yourself back in your small body, and feel what it was like to be that little person. Go back to that moment in time, and try to recreate it in the form of a scene. Use your five senses to tap into concrete details of sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell. Try to remember what you were doing in that moment and describe your actions.

(Review)Shift Point of View exercise :

Previous Homework: 1) Go back to the scene you rendered in response to Prompt #3, and rewrite it in the 3^rd person point of view. Don’t just translate the scene sentence by sentence, but REWRITE the scene without the first draft in front of you. Think about what you can see from this other point of view, what you can say, what other forms of knowledge you’re privy to, what you know about the other characters involved in the scene, what you know about the history and context shaping this moment.

2) Review the essay Lee Gutkind’s “The Creative Nonfiction Police?” In Fact: pp. xix-xxxiii;

Mini Lesson: Continue searching for your “ burning question” through writing. Reading through your responses, did you notice any particular imagery, metaphor or scene that repeated itself? Could that motif be your ” river teeth”? or what Virginia Woolf calls “shocks of memory” or Karen Blixen ‘s “I will answer” or Bret Lott’s “ my truth”?

Independent Practice:

In pairs or small groups-

Read and discuss “Three Spheres “ by Lauren Slater In Fact 3-23;

Discussion Questions based on “ Three Spheres” by Lauren Slater or “ Mixed- Blood” Stew by Jewell Parker Rhodes-

Who are the characters and what do you know about them?
Identify scenes that correspond to each sphere. How does the author use various scenes to move the story horizontally?
What’s the purpose of the initial intake notes?
How does the author portray a conflicted character through a blended doctor-patient image?
How does the author use writerly techniques to create “I”? ( self as a character, as described in Lopate’s piece)
How does she move between past and present? What effects does the movement have on the reader?
What’s the purpose of specific places used throughout the essay?
What tension/conflict does the author explore to keep the story moving? When and where is it revealed first? How does she iron out the conflict in the end?
How does Slater use language ( i.e. doctor’ jargons) to shift her voice?
How does Slater trek the borderline between fiction and non-fiction?
Ethically, how does she select report or details that are within the boundary of a doctor-patient confidentiality?
What makes us believe her story? To what extent is her story believable? Why?
How do we write about secrets? What can we learn from her piece? ( i.e. academic distance, sensibility, making ethical decision, narrative voice showing vulnerability / authenticity)
What kind of connections can we make with other readings such as thematic connection, character connection or craft connection?

B. Discussion Questions based on “ Mixed- Blood” Stew by Jewell Parker Rhodes

Examine the diction of “Slave Auction”.
What details are specific references to “truth”?
How are child’s curiosity and mother’s shame juxtaposed?
Chunk up the scenes that move the story horizontally.
List five characters and each group focuses on one character. Identify lines that suggest action, or reveal quirks in the character.
How does Rhodes inject historical context in her essay?
How does her personal story reflect history?
How do we use documents or artifacts to explore our past ( discover personal story)?
How does the author use dialogues in this piece?
How does Rhodes end her piece? How does she explore the ethical implications and lyricism through the ending?

Homework:

Step 1: Read Tell It Slant: Ch. 2 “Writing the Family,” 17-24 ( How to negotiate some tricky issues involved in the family topic? Why is it crucial to approach the big issues by focusing on the smallest details? How can you combine the objectivity of a researcher with the subjectivity of the biographer?)

Step 2: Writing Prompt: Read Aleida Rodriguez’s essay, “My Mother in Two Photographs, Among Other Things” (In Short, 138-141). Then, choose your own photograph—or, perhaps two or three photos that are loosely related in your mind. Describe the person/people in the photo(s), including what they look like, what they’re doing, who they’re with, and the setting or context for the photo. How well does this photograph represent the individual(s) it depicts, and what makes you say so? What’s the occasion for this photo? What meaning does it hold for you now? What’s happening just before or after the photo is taken? What’s happening outside the frame? What information doesn’t the photograph supply that you think is crucial to completing this description or character sketch? Who is missing from the photo and why?

Step 3: Read One of the following essay from In Short-

“The Fine Art of Sighing” by Bernard Cooper 301-303,
“Growing up Game” by Brenda Peterson 115-119,
“Buckeye” by Scott Russell Sanders 247-250,
“ Hands” by Ted Kooser 128-130.

1)Write down your observations of how the author uses small details to portray the family member.2) Think back to the way your family dealt with one of these subjects: money, sex, race, or religion, etc. What were their attitudes, and how did they strike you? Where do you think these attitudes came from? How did they teach you, or try to teach you, to share their sensibilities or abide by their rules? What did they say, or communicate silently? Write a scene in which you recall a family encounter around one of these issues. As you write, pay special attention to describing the setting (time and place) and characterizing the members of your family in question. Recall distinctive mannerisms, ways of speaking, lines of dialogue, actions, reactions, facial expressions, moments of conflict or shock, etc.

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Day 9

Objectives: Students will be able to write a vignette about his/her family using photographs.

Do Now: Share reading of Tell It Slant: Ch. 2 “Writing the Family,” 17-24 ( How to negotiate some tricky issues involved in the family topic? Why is it crucial to approach the big issues by focusing on the smallest details? How can you combine the objectivity of a researcher with the subjectivity of the biographer?)

Mini Lesson

Read “ My Mother in Two Photographs, Among Other Things” In Short 138-141; How does the writer approach the ” tricky” issue? What is the big issue? Which part of the writing may be the result of research( objectivity )?

Independent Practice:

Thur. 9/22-Fri. 9/23 Focus: Writing about the family

Reading an unpacking: the class will be divided into four groups and each group will focus on one of the essays : “The Fine Art of Sighing” by Bernard Cooper 301-303, “Growing up Game” by Brenda Peterson 115-119, “Buckeye” by Scott Russell Sanders 247-250, “ Hands” by Ted Kooser 128-130 ( How does the author use small details to reveal something significant? What do we know about “ I” through the narrative? How is the portrayal of “ I” and family members interwoven to reveal something much larger?

Writing Prompts: Pick one of the prompts to respond-

Write about a family ritual ( such as a family dinner described in Charles Simic, “Dinner at Uncle Borris’s,” 85-91).It could be something as simple as sitting down to a meal, going to church, going camping, or cleaning the house. Or it could be a ritual you suspect most families do not practice but that is/was unique to your family. In either case, describe your family’s special way of engaging in this ritual. Step through the motions of the ritual in your mind. Consider each person’s individual task, and their special way of completing that task. What’s the history or basis for this ritual? What do you like about it / hate about it? What does it mean to others in your family?
Write about a food you loved growing up that’s particular to your family or your heritage. Who made it, or where did you get it? Describe what it was like to make this food, to watch someone else make it, or to go to the place where you’d eat it. Describe the experience of anticipating this food and eating it. What ceremonies or rituals were attached to it? How did it smell before you ate it? Who else would be there with you when you’d have this food? Would it be something you’d make/get in order to give away or in order to eat yourself? As you recall all this, pay attention to the dialogue of your memory. Is there anything coming to mind that has nothing to do with the food itself?

Homework: Finish reading the “Three Spheres” or “Mixed-Blood Stew”and use the discussion questions to guide your reading. Be ready to join the small group discussion tomorrow.

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Day 10 Focus: The Beginning, Diction, Syntax, punctuation

Objectives: Students will be able to revise the piece about their family by examining the beginning , point of view, tense and vertical & horizontal movement.

Do Now: Reading and unpacking: Deneen L. Brown, “To Begin the Beginning” (PDF)( How do you make the beginning of your essay “ the first note of a song” or the beginning of a journey?

Writing Prompt: Examine the beginning of “Three Spheres “ by Lauren Slater, In Fact 3-21 , “Mix-Blood Stew” by Jewell Parker Rhodes and “LZ Gator, Vietnam, Feb. 1994” by Tim O’Brien In Short60-61. How effective is each beginning? Why? In what way does the beginning suggest deeper layers that are yet to be revealed? Use ideas from our discussion to revise the beginning of your selected essay.

Examine the horizontal and vertical movements in) the essays- “Three Spheres “ by Lauren Slater,In Fact 3-21 or “ Mix-Blood Stew” by Jewell Parker Rhodes 382-394.

Then describe how the author moves from scene to scene (horizontal movement).

Once you have understood how the author moves horizontally through scenes, observe in between the scenes: How does the author use self as a “historical actor” or reveal his/her inner voice? How does s/he frame the narrative in a way that it logically delineates to deeper reflections or goes inward (making pack with the reader or vertical movement)? Bring the illustration to the class to share. Guiding questions for each essay will be provided.

Homework:

Read “The Way Essays Work” pp 93-94 Tell it Slant
Complicate 1 piece of writing ( Handout: Craft Questions)
Writing Prompt: How can we complicate an essay by moving a narrative both horizontally and vertically?

How can we use the other writers as mentors to help shape your own writing?
Identify traits and examples in Slater and Rhodes’ essays to help shape your writing.

We will use this activity to revise one of the pieces you have done. You will incorporate distinctive craft to develop the narrative movements both horizontally and vertically. You will need to tell the story as well as making a “pack with your reader”.

Follow the gudelines-

Identify the specific craft each author uses to make his/her moves. Pick one of the essays you enjoy the most and illustrate the author’s moves by identifying key scenes and moments when the author “packs with the reader”.
First, create a storyboard and place a one-sentence summary of essential scenes in each box. Then describe how the author moves from scene to scene (craft).
Once you have understood how the author moves horizontally through scenes, observe in between the scenes: How does the author use self as a “historical actor” or reveal his/her inner voice? How does s/he frame the narrative in a way that it logically delineates to deeper reflections or goes inward (making pack with the reader)?
Select strategies that are appropriate for your essay development and incorporate them in your revision.
Save the 1^st draft, at least one revised version and the final work. Write a reflection on how you have come to the final draft of the piece. You may reflect on how you decided to frame your narrative, add tonal range or lyricism to your piece, etc.

Bring in your complicated piece for a workshop tomorrow.

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Day 11 Review and Reflect

Objectives: Students will reflect on what worked and didn’t work during unit 1 and share excerpt from their unit portfolio in a small group.

Do Now: Raise the last minute question and share one strategy or writing technique that worked for you. Describe how.

Agenda

Share in class what worked or didn’t work. Why and how can we move forward with our strengths and overcome the obstacles we have encountered?
Share excerpts from unit 1 with group members.
What readings helped you the most? Why?

Independent Work: Getting ready your portfolio.

Homework: Portfolio due today.

Our journey of exploring our lives begins here!