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"Not that the story need be long,
but it will take a long while to make it short."
Henry David Thoreau, philosopher
"The difference between the right word and the almost right word
is the difference between lightning and the lightning bug."
Mark Twain, novelist and humorist
"I'd rather see a sermon than hear one any day;
I'd rather one should walk with me than merely tell the way."
-Edgar Guest, poet
LESSON ONE: BREAKING DOWN A PERSONAL NARRATIVE INTO ITS PARTS
Seating arrangement: Students will sit in assigned writers' groups.
Below is the full set of essay prompts from the Common App for 2021-2022.
Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.
The lessons we take from obstacles we encounter can be fundamental to later success. Recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback, or failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?
Reflect on a time when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea. What prompted your thinking? What was the outcome?
Reflect on something that someone has done for you that has made you happy or thankful in a surprising way. How has this gratitude affected or motivated you?
Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others.
Describe a topic, idea, or concept you find so engaging that it makes you lose all track of time. Why does it captivate you? What or who do you turn to when you want to learn more?
Share an essay on any topic of your choice. It can be one you've already written, one that responds to a different prompt, or one of your own design.
Notecards: Put your Name on the top line. Beneath it, list all the activities you'll be involved in this year (i.e. sports, music, volunteerism, social groups, etc.).
Mini-Lesson: What elements are in a personal narrative?
How long is a paragraph? 4-7 sentences --- only
3 PARTS = Story + Theme + Future Goals (1 paragraph each)
Let's break this down a little more......
1) What elements should be in your Story?
Zoom into a particular, frozen moment in time in which we see you in action, achieved through sensory language
Lots of "I" narrator
Specific description of setting
Characterization (physical appearance, behavior, language use)
A sense of conflict embedded in narration
2) What elements should be in your Theme/ Lesson Learned?
Explanation of what you learned through this story
Description of how you are changed forever by going through this event
Details about how you came to see the world differently through this experience
3) What elements should be in your Future Goals?
Identification of what you still want to accomplish after having this experience
Description of what a college could provide toward this goal
Reflection on the growth you still need to accomplish
Quietly read: "What's the Purpose of the College Essay, anyway?" Discuss by identifying main idea and supporting details.
Stations: Survey previous students' Story Paragraphs. Identify what is successful, what needs improvement, and why, using the Stations for Student Samples document.
Homework: Design five writing goals you have for this semester, using this Writing Goals Template. Be as specific as you can.
LESSON TWO: REVISITING THE STORY PARAGRAPH
Objective: By the end of class, you will be able to... design a Story Paragraph so that it more keenly meets personal writing goals you have set.
Let's Get Started! Share your Writing Goals Template homework with your assigned small group.
Share Stations explorations as a whole class.
Each writer picks three events from his/ her Memory Map. Focus Groups, Writing Story Paragraphs
Let's write a Sensory Poem that will help us to get to the essence of each of our Stories!
Homework: Write up your Story paragraph, based on the feedback from today's Focus Group session. Remember to look at the Story Paragraph Rubric as you write. Be ready to revise tomorrow. Should you use the following document?
Paragraph Writing Template for 4-7 Sentences
LESSON THREE: REVISING IS RETHINKING
Objective: By the end of class, you will be able to... revise for the most concise language possible within storytelling.
Let's Get Started! Please open up your Google Doc with your Story Paragraph homework.
Survey: A Scavenger Hunt for Revision
Individual and group writing time. Revise your Story Paragraph. Dr. Carolyn will conference with each student to determine how precisely you have so far met the criteria within the Story Paragraph Rubric.
Optional: Introduction Examples: Personal Narrative Essays....
Homework: List five lessons you learned from the experience you have described in your revised Story Paragraph, using the Lessons I Learned Template.
LESSON FOUR: SHIFTING TO THEMES IN PERSONAL NARRATIVES
Objective: By the end of class, you will be able to... post your Story Paragraph on your personal Google website on a new page called "Personal Narrative."
Let's Get Started! Please open up your Google Doc with your Story Paragraph. We'll spend the beginning of class today with one more opportunity to refine our language choices.
PART I.
We'll move to new writer's groups and continue our Survey: A Scavenger Hunt for Revision. Offer your new group of writing companions advice on ways to revise.
Then we'll post our Story Paragraphs together on your personal Google website. Rename "Test Page" as a page called "Personal Narrative." Please copy and paste your Story Paragraph onto your page.
PART II.
Please open up your Google Doc with your Lessons I Learned Template. Sharing session.
Next, we'll work through a series of prompts to help us write about themes within a personal narrative.
Please make a copy of The Theme Paragraph of the Personal Narrative and answer each question, to the best of your ability, in 2-3 sentences.
Optional/ Extra Credit: This website contains a series of activities to help you self-reflect on your personality, personal qualities, and ability to apply yourself to future goals.
Homework: Please compose a full second paragraph about your Theme/ Lesson Learned for your personal narrative. Write on a Google Doc. Be ready to workshop it in our next class.
LESSON FIVE: BRINGING TOGETHER READING AND WRITING
Objective: By the end of class, you will be able to... synthesize meanings behind a story you have written through collaboration and revision.
Let's Get Started! Please open up your Google Doc with your Theme paragraph.
Round-robin responses to your Theme/ Lesson Learned paragraphs, in writer's groups of 4-5 students.
Mini-Lesson: Let's review the elements in the second paragraph of a Personal Narrative.
What elements should be in your Theme/ Lesson Learned?
Explanation of what you learned through this story
Description of how you are changed forever by going through this event
Details about how you came to see the world differently through this experience
What areas should you focus on in revision?
Catchy topic sentence
Cohesive flow of sentences
Lots of abstract nouns
Thoughtful closing sentence
What else might we focus on in revision?
Let's look at the Personal Narrative final drafts from last year's seniors. Study their middle paragraphs. Then make a list of three major areas upon which you'd like to work, below your own Lessons Learned paragraph, now that you've seen what these students did.
Homework: Revise your Lessons Learned paragraph one last time. We'll be posting them on our personal Google websites at the beginning of our next class. Optional help tool: Transitional Words and Phrases
LESSON SIX: PRE-ASSESSMENT --- TECHNICAL TERMS (1/2 DAY)
Objective: By the end of class, you will be able to... self-assess the key English class terms you have accommodated over the last few years.
Let's Get Started! Please open your up two tabs: 1) Your personal Google website; 2) your Theme/ Lesson Learned paragraph. Copy and paste your revised Theme/ Lesson Learned paragraph below your Story Paragraph. Remember to Save. Then, let's choose an image to brighten up our pages, shall we?
Afterward, we'll play a game online. The Common Core of Standards has suggested that all seniors should master a certain set of literacy definitions. Let's play with the English 12 Technical Terminology Quizlet. Then we'll each have a chance to show what we know as a pre-assessment.
Homework: Read Get to the Point: Using Digital Sources to Learn to Write Succinctly. Take down five sentences of notes about what you found most valuable.
LESSON SEVEN: A MENTOR TEXT TO INSPIRE OUR OWN WRITING
Objective: By the end of class, you will be able to... synthesize meanings behind a story, then apply it to your own writing.
Let's Get Started:
Let's share our homework: Get to the Point: Using Digital Sources to Learn to Write Succinctly with five sentences of notes about what you found most valuable.
Next, please open the following: The Glass Castle Passages and The Glass Castle Directions for Future Goals. We'll do some collaborative small group work, then we'll jigsaw our results with other individual class members. You'll use the sentence starters in this template to compose your writing.
PART 2. Mini-Lesson:
What elements should be in your Future Goals paragraph?
Identification of what you still want to accomplish after having this experience
Description of what a college could provide toward this goal
Reflection on the growth you still need to accomplish
Homework: Use these Future Goals brainstorming document to begin the third paragraph of your Personal Narrative, called Future Goals. Then fill out each item in this Future Goals Sentence Starters template. Both documents will give you the foundation to write the third paragraph of your Personal Narrative tomorrow in class.
Homework: (B Period) Write a first draft of your Future Goals paragraph.
LESSON EIGHT: FROM FUTURE GOALS TO FULL REVISION
Objective: By the end of class, you will be able to... envision ideas about your future and incorporate them into your own writing.
PART I.
Let's Get Started: Please have the two documents open that you completed for homework: these Future Goals brainstorming and this Future Goals Sentence Starters template. We'll do a homework check. Write then share your draft of your Future Goals paragraph.
Then, copy and paste your Future Goals paragraph onto your Personal Narrative page of your personal Google website.
PART II.
Carousel Revision: Please follow the directions on this document, called Carousel Stations for Final Drafts. You'll take on the role of Expert in one are of revision and, subsequently, help your peers to deepen the three paragraphs of their Personal Narrative.
Homework: Revise the three paragraphs of your Personal Narrative into a cohesive whole, right on your personal Google website. Here is the Rubric for the Personal Narrative.
Dr. Carolyn will be grading the Personal Narratives starting midnight on Friday... so keep revising as you need until that time.
Optional Viewing: Blendspace Videos on Writing the College Essay
LESSON NINE: CELEBRATION TIME, C'MON!
Objective: By the end of class, you will be able to... synthesize seven lessons of writing instruction by writing one paragraph.
Let's Get Started! Let's Celebrate! We're done with our Personal Narratives!
Next, though, in order to meet the requirements of our curriculum, each of you must take a post- assessment in Story Paragraph writing to demonstrate what you have learned in this unit. You will only use paper and pen for this assignment. You have the remainder of the class.
E Period: When you're done the post-assessment and have submitted it to Dr. Carolyn, please go to this website and play grammar games.
Homework: None!
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