The 5 R's of Creative Non-Fiction

Creative Non-Fiction is the newest genre in Literature. Last year this was the favorite unit of many of my seniors. Two of my seniors even went on to declare a Creative Non-Fiction major in college. I worked over the summer break last year to make it even better and am excited to share it with you.


First we begin with a cornerstone article about what it is. The 5 R’s of Creative Non-Fiction By Lee Gutkind is an interesting read. I've also put together some questions to help focus your reading.

As a side note: In the article Mr. Gutkind writes about a heart lung transplant. I believe that a longer set of essays on this topic comes from his book Many Sleepless Nights. I am trying to get a copy of that book to share some of those essays with you. If you want to read more of his outstanding writing, you can check out his website for a list of books, news and interesting information. You can also check out the Creative Non-Fiction Journal to find more great stories.


The 5 R’s of Creative Non-Fiction By Lee Gutkind
Comprehension Questions

1. What is your response to paragraphs 1-4 and 6-8?



2. What does the author mean when he uses the term “fly-on-the-wall” or “ living room sofa” concept of immersion?




3. Use your own words to describe what the author means when he uses the term, “immersion journalism”.




4. Read paragraph #12 * (“The other phrase…) to get a sense of what he means when he uses the term, “creative non-fiction”. Make a bulleted list that explains what creative nonfiction is according to this description:




5. Explain what Gutkind means when he writes about “’immersion’ or ‘real life’ aspect of the writing experience.” R1 = Real life)





6. What is reportage and how does it relate to creative nonfiction?




7. The R2 is reflection. Whose reflection are we talking about? Why is it important?






8. The is R3 research important? Why or how is it used in creative nonfiction?



• How does is launch and anchor the creative process?


• Why research? What is the benefit?




9. The R4 is reading? What kind of reading should be done? Why?



10. Explain the two phases of R5, writing

• Phase #1:


• Phase #2:


11. Why are vignettes important in creative nonfiction?




12. Explain the importance of the following elements of a scene:
• Action –


• Dialogue –


• Intimate and specific details –


13. What does he mean when he says, “The frame represents a way of ordering or controlling a writer’s narrative”?


• How do flashback figure into framing and storytelling?


14. Explain who the following people are and how they are connected: (Do this one carefully, many people get this question wrong.)
• Richie Becker –

• Dave and Winkle Funk –

• Pvt. Rebecca Treat –

• Dr. Bartley Griffith

Creating Your Own Review Podcast

Creating Your Podcast- –Planning Stage

Now it is time for you to create a review. You may work in pairs or in a triad, though I think 3 people will make the assignment more difficult to complete. The other person/people working with you must have experience with the items that you are doing the review on:
• Review a group of songs from a band/artist;
• Review a genre of music/art/film (such as punk rock, pop rock…)
• A list and review of the top ____ songs/films of 2009;
• A list and review of the songs/films that represent your generation;
• A list and review of ten songs you should listen to before you die,
• A list and review of ten movies everyone should see;
• A review of the history of a band and how it has changed over the years;
• A review of a film maker/actor and how their films have changed throughout their career;
• A review of the best food to have at a party;
• A review of local restuarants.

• And so on – you get the idea. If you have an idea that is not on the list, see me for approval before you begin.

How many songs/ movies/ artists/ performers/ models/ makes do I need in my review?
You need to have three items per person in your group. Pairs will have six items and triads will have 9 items.

Important Things to Consider When Choosing Your Topic:
• Is your topic broad enough that you will have enough items to review?
• Is your topic appropriate for school?
• Can you find enough visuals to go with your audio? (You will need at least one per item.)
• If you select a topic that might have images that are blocked at school, will you be able to find time and internet access outside of school to get the images you will need? (For example, if you want to do a history and review of Metallica you would have to get many of the images outside of school.)
• Do you know enough about your topic to be able to talk about and review/critique it?

What Needs to Be Present in Your Review:

Here’s where your work on the deconstruction of a review graphic comes into play. You did that assignment in order to raise your awareness of how a professional review is constructed. Refer back to the graphic and the outline you made. Use it as a guide, but also feel free to deviate from it.

 A title slide that introduces your topic and includes your name(s);
 At least one image per item;
 Audio, usually music;
 Your spoken commentary –
 Introduce yourself/yourselves;
 Personal story connections;
 Personal Response and/or connection to review item or time period;
 Personal analysis;
 Clear transitions;
 Criteria for selection and/or inclusion;
 Introduction to genre / style / musical movement/classification, etc…
 Elements of style comments
 Background on band / song/film/actor/model, etc.
 History of band / song/ film/actor/model, etc.
 Transitional comments to the next segment
 Excerpt of song/ film still/ image of item, etc…
 Concluding comments
 A works cited page that documents all of your sources for research, images, reference, etc.

And so on - let me know if you need more information.

Creating a Review- Planning & Scripting
To do this assignment you can either:
1. Choose to plan and write out your entire script. The advantage of this option is that you might feel less nervous about recording your voice since you already know what you are going to say. The down side is that it may take you a while.

2. Choose to create a basic plan of what you will say. The advantage of this one is that you do not feel tied to a script. However, it can result in a lower quality podcast since there will most likely be a lot of pauses, “Uhms,” “ya’knows,” and so on. You can fix this by recording in Audacity.com. This is a free audio recording site that you can use to clean up your sound.

How to do this:
 I suggest that you figure out your content then look for images. As you find the right images add them to your VoiceThread. Be sure to put the works cited information on the last slide!

 You can create your show in PowerPoint and upload it, or create it directly in VoiceThread.com

 Practice with your script, and your partner, if you have one.

 Be sure to save your VoiceThread before you add the audio. That way if you screw up the audio you can start from that point, instead of starting over.

 Be sure to put "welshonreview" in the tag line so that I can find it.

 Title it something like yourfirstnamelastinitialreview (all lower case, all one word. Mine would be tammywreview).

 Be sure to check the "Browse" button in the publishing options box.

 Once your happy you can turn it in.

Deconstructing Music Reviews

Deconstructing Music Reviews

The goal with this assignment is for you to become very aware of what elements are present in a quality music review. Later you will have an opportunity to create a music review of your own based on what you find.

Process Overview:
1. You will select a music review that features at least two commentators from the NPR All Songs Considered Podcast Archives. I suggest either "Break Up Songs" or "Holiday Music";2. You will listen to at least 30 minutes of music review(s).
3. You will create a graphic flowchart that reveals the components of that/those review(s)
4. You will view the flowcharts others create
5. You may create your own music review in a multimedia format.

Step One – Listen to a Music Review Podcast

There are a number of wonderful music review podcasts offered by National Public Radio (NPR). You can download and listen to these from either the NPR.org website or the Itunes website. I also uploaded a few into the student shared folder. Go to either site and select a few podcasts to listen to.

Listening to them on NPR.org.
1. Go to npr.org.
2. From the program list select “All Songs Considered.”3. From this site you can select one of the programs offered by scrolling down the webpage. You can see more by selecting “Past Stories by Date.”
4. Select a podcast by clicking on the title. That will bring up a new screen. Click on Listen Now. This will bring up another box where you can listen to the podcast.
5. I would like you to listen to at least two podcasts for at least 15 minutes each or 30 minutes of one podcast. Remeber that you need a podcast that has two or more commentators.

(Break Up Song Podcast Direct Link Here)

OR You Can…

Listen to them on Itunes:
1. This will bring up another box where you can listen to the podcast.
2. I would like you to listen to at least two podcasts for at least 15 minutes each (for a total of 30 minutes minimum of listening to the podcasts)or 30 minutes of one podcast. Remeber that you need a podcast that has two or more commentators.

Step Two- Deconstruct a Review and Make a Graphic of the Elements of a Review

Go to Microsoft Word and make sure your drawing tools are available. If you do not see them on the bottom of your screen you may need to load them. You do this by selecting “View” from the tool bar at the top. Then select “toolbar” from the drop down menu. From there check “drawing.” This will make them available. From here you can get the shapes you need by clicking on “autoshapes” at the bottom of the screen. This will give you a flyout menu. You will pick “basic shapes” and then the shape you need.

Once you have figured out how to use the program, you will listen to very small bits of the podcast(s) and make a graphic that represents what kinds of things you are hearing. There are four general types of things you will hear in a podcast review:
 Speaker’s personal comments;
 Comments about the genre and/or elements of style;
 Comments dealing specifically with the band/band members/band history/music;
 Transitions between songs/albums/topics.

Make a graphic representation of the elements of the musical review.
Code the elements by using consistent shapes and shades of colors.

Personal Comments are done in squares and rectangles: (done in shades of green)Personal story connection
* Speaker introduction
* Personal Response and/or connection to self or time period
* Personal analysis

Musical / Genre Comments are in rounded rectangles and squares in shades of yellow:Criteria for selection and/or inclusion
* Introduction to genre / style / musical movement
* Elements of style comments

Music Related Comments are in circles
And ovals with shades of pink:* Background on band / song
* History of band / song
* Transitional comments to song
* Excerpt of song

Here’s what needs to be on your “Deconstructing a Review Podcast” document:
 Your name
 The title of the assignment
 The title(s) of the podcast(s) you listened to and made a graphic of.
 Be sure to use the shapes and colors as dictated in the assignment sheet.
 Instead of generic comments in the shapes, write a very brief indication of what the speaker said or what audio was used. This includes things like song titles, band member names, summary of comments, etc.
 Take particular note of how the speaker indicates that what they are saying is their personal opinion.
 Take special note of how the speaker transitions from one segment of the review to another.
 A print out of the graphic. (You will need to create the graphic in such a way that it will print out on one sheet of paper and still be legible. That is why I began wrapping around my boxes in the screen shoot above.)
 I made my sample in Webspiration, a program that is no longer available. You can make a document that looks the same in Microsoft Word using the auotshapes available with the drawing tool.

Tips for Creating Your Graphic of the Review Podcast:

• Listen to the podcast that you are graphic at least one time without interrupting it.
• Open Microsoft Word. Make sure your drawing tools are available and get started.
• Open a second browser and listen to a very small bit of the podcast.
• Go to the Word screen and make the first few boxes. You will see a crosshair symbol on the screen.
• To create a box simply select a shape from the autoshape menu on the bottom of the screen. This will produce a shape. Resize it by dragging from the handles on the corners of the shape.
• Color the fill color by clicking on the symbol that looks like a bucket with a colored line below it. This is located on the bottom of your tool bar. Clicking on this will pull up a color menu. Select an appropriate color. It will be filled in with the same color that your shape is filled in with. Click on this to bring up a color palette. Select the color you like and check to see that your shape fill color is the same. You can get more choices by selecting “More Fill Choices” from that menu.
• To pick the font/type color look for the shape in the bottom toolbar that looks like rainbow in a box. Clicking on this will produce a set of colors to choose from.
• You will need to use the arrows that shows the flow of the comments. You can produce these by clicking on the diamond shapes found at the center points of the shapes. Clicking on the diamond shape and dragging will bring out the arrow.
• To print it go to document and select page set up. Next, select fit to page and okay. Then select print from the document menu.

The Writer's Craft Genre Study - Reviews & Critiques

We've started a genre study where we look at lots of reviews and critiques as a lens to view the craft of doing persuasive writing.

Part 1 - Deconstructing Reviews- Looking at Word Choice and Elements* We completed the following exercise two times. First, we read through "Whip It" from Spin Magazine. Next, the students had a variety of reviews to pick from and complete the chart on their own. The reviews and critiques were for albums and video games.

Persuasive Writing: Deconstructing Product

One of the main goals of this assignment is to make you metacognitively aware of the elements of product reviews so that you will be armed with the knowledge to decipher fact from opinion and bias. You will be using this knowledge to create your own review of a product.

(We completed the following chart. The one I used in class has boxes that don't translate to this blog.)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Feature Detail Example from Review Analysis/ Commentary
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Attention
Getter

* Introduction
of Speaker/Narrator/
Writer

* Background
Information

* Speaker’s
Personal
Commentary/
Opinion


* Comments
Dealing with the
Genre/
Elements of Style/
Product Specifics


* Comments
Dealing with the
Genre/
Elements of Style/
Product Specifics

* Comments/
Critique
About the item specifically
(as opposed to generalized comments)

* Conclusion/
Wrap-Up

* Notes on Style:

* Intended Audience:

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Next, we tried to see what kind of patterns emerged from this genre of writing. The students had eight mentor reviews and critiques to pick from and do the following:

Deconstructing Reviews: Finding the Form

The goal with this assignment is for you to become very aware of what elements are present in a review. Later you will have an opportunity to create a review of your own based on what you find.

Process Overview:
1. You will select a review;
2. You will read through the review once just to read it and see what is says.
3. Next, you will reread the review so that you can notice the writer’s craft and the form that the review takes.
4. You will create a graphic flowchart that reveals the components of that review.
5. You will view the flowcharts others create.
6. You’ll write your own review on a product of your choice.

There are four general types of things you will find in a review:
* Speaker’s personal comments;
* Comments about the genre and/or elements of style;
* Comments dealing specifically with the product, including specific details/stat.s/facts, etc.;
* Transitions between concepts.

Make a graphic representation of the elements of the review.
Code the elements by using consistent shapes and shades of colors. Within each shape you should quote the text so that the wording can be shared and considered when we look at the emerging patterns.

Personal Comments are done in squares and rectangles: (done in shades of green)
Personal story connection
Speaker introduction
Personal Response and/or connection to self or time period
Personal analysis

Category / Genre comments are in rounded rectangles and squares in shades of yellow:
Criteria for selection and/or inclusion
Introduction to genre / style / classification
Elements of style comments

Product Related Comments are in circles
And ovals with shades of pink:
Background
History of
Stat.s & Facts
Transitional between concepts

___________________________________________________________________________________
Part 2: Distilling What We Have Noticed

Having read and examined at least six reviews, we are now armed with some knowledge of what is included in a review or critique. In order to make that information useful we need to organize it.

We began by making a list of all of the qualities that a reader notices when reading a review or critique. From there we did an "Always, Sometimes, Never" chart of those elements. Each pair of students had to contribute at least three items to the lists which were then put in their respective categories. Each class then created a rubric of the most essential elements. These rubrics will help guide the student's writing and be used to grade their written reviews/critiques.

Here are the results:

Period 5:

Ideas and Content =
* Must have tested/expereinced the product
- Write about the time you used it
* Include details about it

Structure =
* Include Title
* Must have paragraphs

Style =
* Personal Opinion
* Include the positive and the negative
- Persasion/ Bias

Conventions =
* Use Simple and complex sentences
* Remeber to use commas



Period 6:

Ideas and Content=
* Opinion
- Include positive and negative
- Must have personal experience with the topic
- Bias
* Description
- Include facts
- Use very specific details
- Include some background information

Structure =
- Use Paragraphs
Introduction
Body
Conclusion
- Transitions

Style =
* Highlight specifics
* Use a rating system

Conventions =
* Use a combination of simple and complex sentences
* Be thoughtful about punctuation, especially comma use.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Part 3: Writing Your Own Review

Now that the students have each read at least six reviews and/or critiques, it is time to give it a try and write their own. I suggested that the students pick some product, place or activity that they have a strong (positive or negative) response to. The end product should look like a review/critique out of a magazine.

New Biography VoiceThreads - check them out!

Wow, I had not realized that it had been so long since I updated this blog. That happened because we were so busy with our Biography/Autobiography unit. The kids would love to have people check out their final project - VoiceThreads about the person they researched. You can enjoy them by going to Voicethread.com and browsing "welshon".