This morning in class you will compose a response to a classmate’s literacy narrative.
Directions
- Go to the class blog page, and click on the link for the blog of the of classmate whose name follows yours on the roster. If you are last on the list, go to the blog of the student whose name is first on the list.
- If the student’s blog is not accessible, choose another student’s literacy narrative for your response.
- Read the classmate’s narrative and compose a handwritten response (75 words, minimum) that addresses one or more of these elements: the title, vivid details, scene and summary, dialogue, the image documenting part of the writing process away from the screen, the embedded link to a relevant website.
- Does the blog post include an image that documents part of the blogger’s writing process away from the screen? ____ (yes or no)
- Does the post include a relevant embedded link? _____ (yes or no)
- After you have composed your handwritten response, review the section of Writing Analytically devoted to basic writing errors, or BWEs (426-44), and correct any that you can identify in your blog response.
- Type your response as a comment for the blogger. You should see a leave comment/reply option at the top or bottom of the post. If you do not see that option, click on the title of the blog post, and scroll down. You should then see leave comment/reply.
- If you do not think that you will have time to type and post your handwritten comment before the end of class, take a picture of your handwritten response. That will enable you to submit your worksheet at the end of class and post your comment afterward.
- Submit this sheet at the end of class today. You will submit this paper copy of your comment because the blogger may not choose to make your comment visible. You will receive credit for this assignment only if you submit this sheet at the end of class today.
- If you complete this assignment before the end of class, devote the remainder of the period to one of the following: (1) reading and commenting on other classmates’ literacy narratives, (2) drafting a blog post based on one or more of your Scrabble debriefings, (2) reviewing your reading handouts and determining which one might serve as the subject of your upcoming analysis.
What makes a title effective? That’s an important question to consider since the title contains the first words of yours that a reader will encounter. First, it should be descriptive; it should evoke an image in the reader’s mind. It should also be relevant to your subject; it should convey something about the writing to follow. Lastly, it should be intriguing; it should create in the reader a desire to keep reading. With those traits in mind, review the titles of your classmates’ literacy listed below. Which of these is most effective and why?
- “Adapting to a New System”
- “Breaking Language Barriers: How I Gained Confidence in Myself”
- “Calmáte: A Summer so Fast”
- “Challenges You Face”
- “Error to Success”
- “Finding My Voice with Spanish”
- “From Panic to Proficiency”
- “From Stumbling to Strength”
- “From Terror to Hero”
- “Fruitful Smells of Learning”
- “G is for Grandma”
- “Growing as a Writer”
- “Hooked on a Book”
- “If You Read, You will Succeed”
- “Inside Look into Dyslexia”
- “The Importance of Life”
- “An Involved Teacher”
- “The Journey of the Greatest Story”
- “Journey to Literacy”
- “The Language Barrier”
- “Learning Spanish”
- “Learning to Write”
- “Lessons from Mr. Brady”
- “Looking Back on Reading and Writing Skills”
- “Mindset in Motion”
- “Morning, Morning!”
- “My Battle with Reading”
- “My Submergence into the Unknown Realm of Words”
- “One, Two, Three, Four, Five Stars for You!”
- “The Pen to Paper Routine”
- “Pushing through the Brick Wall”
- “Removing the Mask”
- “Research Paper to Passion”
- “Ti Amo: The Unknown Leads to Closure Through Language”
- “Who is Most Important to You?”
- “Yo Soy Hockey”
Bonus Assignment Opportunity
Directions
- Determine which of the titles you deem most effective.
- Compose a comment of one complete sentence or more that includes (1) the title enclosed in quotation marks, and (2) a brief explanation of its effectiveness.
- Post your comment as a reply to this blog entry no later than 5 p.m. today, Monday, September 15. (To post your comment, click on the post’s title, and scroll down to the bottom of the page. You will then see the image of an airmail envelope with a leave comment option.)
I will approve your responses (make your comments visible) after the 5 p.m. deadline. Commenters will earn a bonus assignment credit in the course work/short assignments category.
Next Up
In class on Wednesday, we will read a short story by Donald Barthelme. As an introduction to him and his fiction, read this biographical sketch. After you read the sketch, compose a one- or two-paragraph journal entry that includes (1) what you have learned about his writing style, and (2) what you have learned about readers’ and critics’ mixed responses to his writing.
Jane Lucas 