Week 2 - Lesson Plan

Week 2 Lesson Plan

READING LIKE A WRITER

Below is the lesson plan, which includes the objectives guiding the lesson, the schedule breakdown, the homework assignment, and a link to a downloadable version of the lesson plan.

Objectives:

Practice reading like a writer (focusing on personal nonfiction writing)
Identify and practice strategies for approaching a writing assignment
Finalize class contract

Schedule:

Hand in homework.
- Before handing it in, answer these questions (written on the board) on the back of the page: How did doing the homework go for you? What questions do you have for the teacher about homework assignments in general? How was the amount of reading? (Too much, too little, just right.)
  I address these questions so students can communicate any individual concerns they have about approaching the homework. This is also meant to help them start reflecting on their reading and writing process.
Read “Superman and Me” out loud as a class and discuss.
- Push students to “read like a writer,” pointing out when they are doing so. Basically, any time they are focusing on the language, or the way the text is structured. This narrative is so fun to teach because it is filled with different devices and strategies, and students often have strong responses to certain parts. When they do so, I keep asking them - why? What does the text do to make you have that reaction?
- Define these terms together as they come up: biography, autobiography, memoir, tone.
- This essay has lots of specific, concrete details and images. Be sure to point out places where the imagery is concrete, and where it is abstract. Write these terms on the board so that you can refer to them throughout the semester.
In small groups (3 or 4 students), have students discuss one of the other personal narratives they read for homework.
Here are some guiding questions for small group discussions (given to each student on a small slip of paper):
- Does anyone have questions about this narrative? (Work together to make sure that everyone has a basic understanding of what is happening in the text.)
- What parts (words, lines, sentences, or sections) stand out to you? Why?
- What are some strategies the writer used to write this narrative? What are the effects of these strategies?
- Pick one sentence that you really like, or that really stands out to you. Try to think of all the reasons it stands out, and get ready to share it with the class.
Come back and each group shares out.
- Post-class reflection: The small group conversations were pretty good, but in terms of sharing out afterward, it took so long for everyone to get to the right passage, and then to understand the context, that it wasn't super successful in terms of identifying the tone or style of each piece. In the future, we need to spend time doing this more together as a group first. Then, it would be good if each group read the same thing and discussed, so that everyone would be on the same page in terms of what is going on.
Break
Write about home. These are a series of writing prompts meant to offer students different strategies for starting personal writing assignments.
- Pair share: What is your earliest memory?
- Writing prompt: Where are you from? What do you consider "home"?
- Make a list of verbs the you associate with yourself as a child. Circle one and freewrite starting with, "When I was ______". Introduce the concept of freewriting here.
- Engaging the senses
  - This is a guided assignment. Tell students to make a list of the following things. After each prompt, give students a few minutes. Then at the end, tell them to put “I am from” before each list and invite students to share their poems with the class.
    - List 5 images you remember seeing as a child
    - List 5 smells you remember smelling as a child.
    - Describe one of your favorite places to be as a child.
    - What is something you remember hearing? (A phrase someone in your life always said; sounds you remember; etc.)
    - Write down 3-5 people who were important to you as a child.
Identify all of the strategies we just used to approach personal writing (Talking to a peer; writing reflectively; freewriting on specific images; making lists; engaging the five senses). Invite them to try out some of these strategies while writing their own personal narrative. Read the homework assignment together.
Workshop the class contract.
Using the drafts they wrote last week, I grouped similar items together and typed up a master list. We read this out loud, and then students commented on which ones felt strongest and which needed modifications. This is both to finalize the class contract, and to get them in the workshopping mindset!

Assignment

Week 2: Personal Narratives

due next class

Write

Essay 1: Personal Narrative

Most of the texts we’ve read for class so far are personal narratives. A narrative is a story or account, and in the personal narratives we’ve read, the writers write about themselves. Rather than writing about themselves in general or abstract ways, however, they write about specifics, choosing a particular event, relationship, person, place, or idea and spending time really digging in. For all of our writers, stories of the past are meant either explicitly or implicitly to be claims about the development of the self.

So now it’s your turn! Write your own personal narrative. This can be about anything you want from your past. (And “your past” can be any time since the day you were born until the moment you begin writing.) Since this is a short essay, hone in on something specific--a memory, a place, a relationship, an aspect of your identity, etc. Here are some questions to consider if you don’t know where to start (though you don’t have to address them in your personal narrative if you find another topic):

What are some of your earliest memories?
What is a place where you spent a lot of time?
Is there a book or movie that impacted you as a child?
Did your family or friends have any specific rituals, traditions, or activities?
What did you love as a child, teen, or young adult? What did you hate?
What are your most important relationships?
What was your favorite sport? Activity? Place? Food?

You can also use any of the writing prompts that we’ve done in class.

Write something that you would be comfortable sharing with our class. Type the essay (if possible), and it should be 500-750 words long. Make sure it has your name, the date, and a title.

Read

Read:

Here are more examples of personal narratives. While it is not required that you read them (we won’t be discussing them as a class), hopefully the pieces will provide you with some inspiration for your own writing!