"ve worked hard at putting together a nice set of readings to help ground you in Creative Non-Fiction and the variety of what is found within. Now I'd like you to spend some time perusing some of the places online where you can find more Creative Non-Fiction stories.
I've provided you with links that will provide you with lots of stories to choose from. Have a look at them, pick a story, read it and respond to it. At the end of this post you will find that I have included a generic response form that I would like you to complete.
I look forward to seeing what wonderful stories you will find and why you picked them.
Susan Orlean's article archive
The Santa Fe Writer's Project Archives (I suggest you look at the literary awards program stories)
2009 SFWP Literary Awards Program Stories
2007 SFWP Literary Awards Program Stories
Next, print your story. (Please note: If the story you choose is short, please pick a second one to go with it and do the activity twice.)
Now, please do the following:
Read the story and -
* Highlight the parts the you find interesting;
* Annotate in the margins -
- What questions do you have (for the author, about the topic, etc.)
- Have a conversation with the writer
* Make connections between you and what you read. What does this make you think about? How might you have reacted? Have you ever had something similar happen to you? And so on...
* What is your reaction?
Finally, complete "Creative Non-Fiction Article Review and Analysis" (below)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Worksheet
Title: Author:
Type: (circle one or two that seem to fit )
personal essay (any subject)
memoir (memories of a life)
literary journalism (using fictional elements to tell a news story)
narrative history (retelling an event in history)
travel journalism
nature/science essay
Reason for Choice: Why did you pick this essay?
Real life: What real life event is this essay about?
Create a summary of what the text is about. (What is going on? What is the story this writer tells?)
Sense of place/setting: What does the setting look like?
Feel like? Where is it? When is it?
Point of view: Who is telling the story?
Why did the author choose him/her?
What can he/she see or know that others might not or don't know?
Voice: Choose three of the following adjectives to describe the narrative voice in your essay
serious | casual/informal | instructive | sincere |sarcastic | cocky | reflective | young | old | indignant | optimistic | pessimistic | honest | _________________________________ your own adjective
Explain why you chose those adjectives using reasoning and quote specific examples from the text:
*
*
*
Character: Who is the dominant character or person in this essay?
What do you know about him/her? Appearance? Personality?
What is it that he/she wants/needs/cares about, etc.?
Language
What is the tone (emotional quality) of this essay? Use an emotion word for your answer.
How effectively does the author use any of the following:
Dialogue
figurative language (metaphor, simile, personification, hyperbole, etc.)
imagery. Choose one of these and give an example and say something about how it helps you understand the story.
Purpose/Theme/Impression: What does this essay reveal about life? Is it about human relationships? Is it about
right and wrong? Is it about what is important? Be specific.
Style/ Quality:
In terms of the author's style and the major theme(s), what do you think are particularly significant passages (generally, 20 to 50 words each)?
What specific qualities of the text warrant its characterization as a work of literary nonfiction?
What are the distinguishing characteristics of the work?
What sort of reader does the writer seem to be targeting--and what sort of reader might gain the most enjoyment out of the work?
What is your overall evaluation of the reading
Do you think I should consider the piece you read as one of our required readings? Explain your answer with specific and clear reasoning. (Please be sure to note if there are any mature theme, curse words, etc. in the piece.)
This worksheet has been an adaptation of the works of:
© 2008, Dawn Hogue ▪ Permission granted for classroom use only. Reprinting without permission not permitted.
-----------
Here are some that some people found interesting:
"The Unwedding" Elizabeth Chase
"Dogs in Guatamala" by Patricia King
"Where Luck Lies" by Mary Larkin
"Animal Action" by Susan Orlean
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Monday, April 19, 2010
Considering "Beyond the Black Box", "American Male, Age 10" , "American Food" - A British Perspective
I was pretty happy when I found these two pieces. We start off with Susan Orlean's "American Male Age 10" in which she offers us a thought provoking description of a 10 year old boy who lives in New Jersey. We'll round it off with a British broadcast about food in America.
These both take a close and descriptive look at everyday things we encounter. Our discussion and work with these pieces will be around the kinds of things each of these write choose to focus on, why they might have picked those items, and not others. We'll look at what kind of response that triggers in you and how their choice of adjectives evokes a reaction in the reader/listener.
We began reading it together in class and had some great discussion about what thoughts it brought up for some of the people in class.
Here's the story:"American Male Age Ten" by Susan Orlean
Here's what I would like you to do with it:
1. Read the story all the way through.
2. Go back and look at the topics presented in each paragraph. Pick out 10 categories of things about Colin that are described in the story. Make a chart that lists these categories (items such as what he looks like, what he expects adult life will be like, what he loves, etc.) down the left hand side of the paper. Put a column next to that and fill in the information for Colin. Then add another column and fill in the information about yourself. Try to answer it as much as you can from you at ten year old perspective. It should look something like this:
Category/Topic................Colin, 10.....................You
What he looks like............4"8' 75 pounds,
..............................handsome dark,
..............................smiley eyes,
..............................always wears a baseball cap
3. Now, take a closer look at Ms. Orlean's writing style. Make a list of at least 8 things that you notice.
4. Look at the section where she begins to write a dialogue between Colin and herself. She intersperses dialogue with descriptive paragraphs. Why do you think she writes this way? What is your response to it? What do you think is her intended impact on the reader?
5. Think about a scenario of some ordinary event that you remember of some similar time period in your life. Write about it using a style similar to Mrs. Orlean's style.
6. Why do you think Ms. Orlean writes out a conversation about the things he likes? What kinds of things are there on that list? What would have been on your list?
7. Towards the end of the writing she goes into great detail describing Colin's thinking about money. What might be the purpose of this focus? Why do you think this was described in such detail, while other things were merely mentioned?
8. Do you think Colin is an average American male at age 10? If so, why? If not, why?
9. If Ms. Orlean had written about you, what kinds of details concerning your life do you think she would find interesting and write about?
10. What are the strengths of this story?
11. Do you recommend that I keep this story in my collection for next year's class? Why or why not? Please make your thinking clear to me so that I can take it into consideration next year - Thanks!
12. Turn this in, making sure to include your name and "American Male Age 10" at the top of the paper.
---------
I'd like to now turn your ear to an intersting broadcast put out by the BBC. It is a popular culture piece by Simon Schama.
Here's the link. You'll need about 11-12 minutes to listen to it.
Simon Schama on American Food from the BBC.(11 minutes, including the BBC ad at the beginning.)
Simon Schama on American FoodListen:Listen now (10 minutes)
Synopsis
Simon Schama reflects on the quality of American food and eating habits and welcomes what he sees as the growing popularity of ethnic dishes and local farm produce. Excellent fresh food and good cooking has always existed, he says, in hidden pockets of the countryside but now he sees it being bought and enjoyed by more city dwellers, too.
Here's our activity with this piece:
1. Before we begin listening to this podcast, I'd like you to write about how you see American food. Give a brief response to the following types of American food:
Airport food
Fast Food
Food from Small/Family Owned Restuarants
Ethnic Food (Mexican, Chinese, Russian, Hmong, Vietnamese, etc.)
2. Mr. Schama states that Americans are not "so much in search of food, as fuel." What do you think this means?
3. He goes on to describe Americans as focused on the "speed of eating [and so much] brutal chewing... Most American eating seemed swift and silent...befitted a bodily function" instead of the social occasion as it is for the British. What is your reaction to such a description?
4. Schama shifts from such unpleasantries to describe pies in mouthwatering detail many pies. Why do you think he waxes poetically about the pie and the people who eat it?
5. Mr. Schama goes back and forth between negative descriptions of "waterly Cesar Salad with cardboard croutons..." and "places where you'll find that Real McCoy". Do you think this kind of contrast is due to a personal bias on the part of Mr. Schama, or is it an accurate description of the foods or is it an unfair comparision between fast food and finer dinning? Could it be a combination of all of those factors? Write out your thougths on this contrast and transition.
6. About 7 minutes into the recording Mr. Schama describes his experience of getting some barbequed chicken from a local "hole in the wall" restuarant. He goes on to describe the experience and the reaction of others. Try your hand and describing some meal that you have enjoyed.
7. Next up is a description of ethnic food. You can tell by what he shares with us that he is not in Colorado, but back East. What do you think he would descripe if he were here? What kinds of ethnic food would he find here?
8. What do you think he means by "agribusiness"? (9.10+)
9. If Mr. Schama were to come and spend some time with you, asking you to show him American food in Colorado, where would you take him (assuming you did not have to worry about the cost of the adventure or the time to travel to the places you desired)? Pick at least five places you would take them? Explain why you picked each of the places and what each one represents.
10. What did you think about this podcast? Should I keep it for next year?
(If you liked this kind of podcast you can find a bigger variety of them by looking up "Society & Culture: Personal Journals" on Itunes.com. You might find "This College Life" to be interesting, too)
If you are accessing this from a computer at school you can listen to it using Windows Media Player. You find it on the "S:" drive in the Student Shared folder>teacher folder>Language Arts> Welshon PoV_ with Simon Schama 16th
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Next up is a unusual piece that is really quite interesting. It is "Beyond the Black Box" from Stiff: The Curious Life of the Human Cadaver by Mary Roach. I don't have an electronic entry for this piece. You'll have to come to class to read it.
We've looked at it from a reader's point of view. Now I want you to shift your perspective and look at it from a critical angle. Here's what I'd like you to do:
Put yourself in the teacher's shoes and develop a learning activity to go with this reading. Please create about 10-12 questions and/or activities that are designed to help the reader comprehend the text better. You'll need items that address:
* Comprehension of key points in the text;
* A consideration of the craft of writing;
* Items that are designed to help the reader clarify confusing or complex parts of the text.
These both take a close and descriptive look at everyday things we encounter. Our discussion and work with these pieces will be around the kinds of things each of these write choose to focus on, why they might have picked those items, and not others. We'll look at what kind of response that triggers in you and how their choice of adjectives evokes a reaction in the reader/listener.
We began reading it together in class and had some great discussion about what thoughts it brought up for some of the people in class.
Here's the story:"American Male Age Ten" by Susan Orlean
Here's what I would like you to do with it:
1. Read the story all the way through.
2. Go back and look at the topics presented in each paragraph. Pick out 10 categories of things about Colin that are described in the story. Make a chart that lists these categories (items such as what he looks like, what he expects adult life will be like, what he loves, etc.) down the left hand side of the paper. Put a column next to that and fill in the information for Colin. Then add another column and fill in the information about yourself. Try to answer it as much as you can from you at ten year old perspective. It should look something like this:
Category/Topic................Colin, 10.....................You
What he looks like............4"8' 75 pounds,
..............................handsome dark,
..............................smiley eyes,
..............................always wears a baseball cap
3. Now, take a closer look at Ms. Orlean's writing style. Make a list of at least 8 things that you notice.
4. Look at the section where she begins to write a dialogue between Colin and herself. She intersperses dialogue with descriptive paragraphs. Why do you think she writes this way? What is your response to it? What do you think is her intended impact on the reader?
5. Think about a scenario of some ordinary event that you remember of some similar time period in your life. Write about it using a style similar to Mrs. Orlean's style.
6. Why do you think Ms. Orlean writes out a conversation about the things he likes? What kinds of things are there on that list? What would have been on your list?
7. Towards the end of the writing she goes into great detail describing Colin's thinking about money. What might be the purpose of this focus? Why do you think this was described in such detail, while other things were merely mentioned?
8. Do you think Colin is an average American male at age 10? If so, why? If not, why?
9. If Ms. Orlean had written about you, what kinds of details concerning your life do you think she would find interesting and write about?
10. What are the strengths of this story?
11. Do you recommend that I keep this story in my collection for next year's class? Why or why not? Please make your thinking clear to me so that I can take it into consideration next year - Thanks!
12. Turn this in, making sure to include your name and "American Male Age 10" at the top of the paper.
---------
I'd like to now turn your ear to an intersting broadcast put out by the BBC. It is a popular culture piece by Simon Schama.
Here's the link. You'll need about 11-12 minutes to listen to it.
Simon Schama on American Food from the BBC.(11 minutes, including the BBC ad at the beginning.)
Simon Schama on American FoodListen:Listen now (10 minutes)
Synopsis
Simon Schama reflects on the quality of American food and eating habits and welcomes what he sees as the growing popularity of ethnic dishes and local farm produce. Excellent fresh food and good cooking has always existed, he says, in hidden pockets of the countryside but now he sees it being bought and enjoyed by more city dwellers, too.
Here's our activity with this piece:
1. Before we begin listening to this podcast, I'd like you to write about how you see American food. Give a brief response to the following types of American food:
Airport food
Fast Food
Food from Small/Family Owned Restuarants
Ethnic Food (Mexican, Chinese, Russian, Hmong, Vietnamese, etc.)
2. Mr. Schama states that Americans are not "so much in search of food, as fuel." What do you think this means?
3. He goes on to describe Americans as focused on the "speed of eating [and so much] brutal chewing... Most American eating seemed swift and silent...befitted a bodily function" instead of the social occasion as it is for the British. What is your reaction to such a description?
4. Schama shifts from such unpleasantries to describe pies in mouthwatering detail many pies. Why do you think he waxes poetically about the pie and the people who eat it?
5. Mr. Schama goes back and forth between negative descriptions of "waterly Cesar Salad with cardboard croutons..." and "places where you'll find that Real McCoy". Do you think this kind of contrast is due to a personal bias on the part of Mr. Schama, or is it an accurate description of the foods or is it an unfair comparision between fast food and finer dinning? Could it be a combination of all of those factors? Write out your thougths on this contrast and transition.
6. About 7 minutes into the recording Mr. Schama describes his experience of getting some barbequed chicken from a local "hole in the wall" restuarant. He goes on to describe the experience and the reaction of others. Try your hand and describing some meal that you have enjoyed.
7. Next up is a description of ethnic food. You can tell by what he shares with us that he is not in Colorado, but back East. What do you think he would descripe if he were here? What kinds of ethnic food would he find here?
8. What do you think he means by "agribusiness"? (9.10+)
9. If Mr. Schama were to come and spend some time with you, asking you to show him American food in Colorado, where would you take him (assuming you did not have to worry about the cost of the adventure or the time to travel to the places you desired)? Pick at least five places you would take them? Explain why you picked each of the places and what each one represents.
10. What did you think about this podcast? Should I keep it for next year?
(If you liked this kind of podcast you can find a bigger variety of them by looking up "Society & Culture: Personal Journals" on Itunes.com. You might find "This College Life" to be interesting, too)
If you are accessing this from a computer at school you can listen to it using Windows Media Player. You find it on the "S:" drive in the Student Shared folder>teacher folder>Language Arts> Welshon PoV_ with Simon Schama 16th
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Next up is a unusual piece that is really quite interesting. It is "Beyond the Black Box" from Stiff: The Curious Life of the Human Cadaver by Mary Roach. I don't have an electronic entry for this piece. You'll have to come to class to read it.
We've looked at it from a reader's point of view. Now I want you to shift your perspective and look at it from a critical angle. Here's what I'd like you to do:
Put yourself in the teacher's shoes and develop a learning activity to go with this reading. Please create about 10-12 questions and/or activities that are designed to help the reader comprehend the text better. You'll need items that address:
* Comprehension of key points in the text;
* A consideration of the craft of writing;
* Items that are designed to help the reader clarify confusing or complex parts of the text.
Monday, April 12, 2010
Creative NonFiction - Taking a Closer Look, Step 1
Today we began to delve into the readings I have picked out for this unit.
All students read, "Badlands: Portrait of a Competitive Eater" by John O'Connor.
a href="http://justataste.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/badlands.png">
Next, each student read either:
"The Suicide/Murder? of Joseph Kupchik" by James Renner
or
"The Truth about Cops and Dogs" (a shorter version of the story is here.
<
(photo by Eugene Richards)
We'll be thinking about the craft of the writing and what made these pieces stand out.
I'd also like to compare the "Badlands" essay to "Major League Eating: Eric "Badlands" Booker" by By Kelly Ann Senyei
We'll use the lenses of:
Personal Narrative (how are the writer's thoughts and personal response interwoven into the story? What impact does that have on how you read and respond to the text?)
Observation (what's noted and what's ignored - Why?)
Interpretation (how much room is there for you to make up your own mind? What is the writer's purpose, intent and intended audience?)
The Quality of the Craft of Writing
----
Here's the activity we did:
Creative Non-Fiction: A Close Look at the Craft of Writing
A Consideration of:
"Badlands: Portrait of a Competitive Eater" by John O'Connor.
"The Suicide/Murder? of Joseph Kupchik" by James Renner
"The Truth about Cops and Dogs"by Rebecca Skloot
---
Before we start:
Please write your name under the title of the story you read.
Get out 3 pieces of paper and something to write with.
Form a group of 3 -5 people who read the same story.
We will be discussing "Badlands" in small groups first, then sharing with the rest of the class. This will serve as a model of our process.
After we have gone through the model with a story we have all read, we will repeat a similar model with other groups.
---
We'll use the lenses of:
Personal Narrative
* How are the writer's thoughts and personal response interwoven into the story?
* What impact does that have on how you read and respond to the text?
Observation
* What's noted - Why?
* What's ignored - Why?
* As a reader,
Do you find anything missing?
Is there too much?
* As a writer,
What might you have done differently?
What would you have done the same?
Interpretation
* How much room is there for you to make up your own mind?
* What is the writer's purpose, intent and intended audience?
The Quality of the Craft of Writing
----
The following questions are in relation to "Badlands" with the group results being shared and posted
What caught your attention when you read the story? (Each group - please make a list of at least 10 things)
What did you notice about the writer's craft?
(Each group - please make a list of at least 10 things)
---
Personal Narrative
* How are the writer's thoughts and personal response interwoven into the story?
* What impact does that have on how you read and respond to the text?
---
* As a writer,
What might you have done differently?
What would you have done the same?
---
Interpretation
* How much room is there for you to make up your own mind?
* What is the writer's purpose, intent and intended audience?
----
----
Now we broke up into groups based on whether the student read "The Truth about Cops and Dogs" or "The Suicide/Murder of Joseph Kupchick and repeated the activity above.
The following questions are in relation to "Badlands"
What caught your attention when you read the story? (Each group - please make a list of at least 10 things)
What did you notice about the writer's craft?
(Each group - please make a list of at least 10 things)
---
Personal Narrative
* How are the writer's thoughts and personal response interwoven into the story?
* What impact does that have on how you read and respond to the text?
---
* As a writer,
What might you have done differently?
What would you have done the same?
---
Interpretation
* How much room is there for you to make up your own mind?
* What is the writer's purpose, intent and intended audience?
----
All students read, "Badlands: Portrait of a Competitive Eater" by John O'Connor.
a href="http://justataste.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/badlands.png">
Next, each student read either:
"The Suicide/Murder? of Joseph Kupchik" by James Renner
or
"The Truth about Cops and Dogs" (a shorter version of the story is here.
<
(photo by Eugene Richards)
We'll be thinking about the craft of the writing and what made these pieces stand out.
I'd also like to compare the "Badlands" essay to "Major League Eating: Eric "Badlands" Booker" by By Kelly Ann Senyei
We'll use the lenses of:
Personal Narrative (how are the writer's thoughts and personal response interwoven into the story? What impact does that have on how you read and respond to the text?)
Observation (what's noted and what's ignored - Why?)
Interpretation (how much room is there for you to make up your own mind? What is the writer's purpose, intent and intended audience?)
The Quality of the Craft of Writing
----
Here's the activity we did:
Creative Non-Fiction: A Close Look at the Craft of Writing
A Consideration of:
"Badlands: Portrait of a Competitive Eater" by John O'Connor.
"The Suicide/Murder? of Joseph Kupchik" by James Renner
"The Truth about Cops and Dogs"by Rebecca Skloot
---
Before we start:
Please write your name under the title of the story you read.
Get out 3 pieces of paper and something to write with.
Form a group of 3 -5 people who read the same story.
We will be discussing "Badlands" in small groups first, then sharing with the rest of the class. This will serve as a model of our process.
After we have gone through the model with a story we have all read, we will repeat a similar model with other groups.
---
We'll use the lenses of:
Personal Narrative
* How are the writer's thoughts and personal response interwoven into the story?
* What impact does that have on how you read and respond to the text?
Observation
* What's noted - Why?
* What's ignored - Why?
* As a reader,
Do you find anything missing?
Is there too much?
* As a writer,
What might you have done differently?
What would you have done the same?
Interpretation
* How much room is there for you to make up your own mind?
* What is the writer's purpose, intent and intended audience?
The Quality of the Craft of Writing
----
The following questions are in relation to "Badlands" with the group results being shared and posted
What caught your attention when you read the story? (Each group - please make a list of at least 10 things)
What did you notice about the writer's craft?
(Each group - please make a list of at least 10 things)
---
Personal Narrative
* How are the writer's thoughts and personal response interwoven into the story?
* What impact does that have on how you read and respond to the text?
---
* As a writer,
What might you have done differently?
What would you have done the same?
---
Interpretation
* How much room is there for you to make up your own mind?
* What is the writer's purpose, intent and intended audience?
----
----
Now we broke up into groups based on whether the student read "The Truth about Cops and Dogs" or "The Suicide/Murder of Joseph Kupchick and repeated the activity above.
The following questions are in relation to "Badlands"
What caught your attention when you read the story? (Each group - please make a list of at least 10 things)
What did you notice about the writer's craft?
(Each group - please make a list of at least 10 things)
---
Personal Narrative
* How are the writer's thoughts and personal response interwoven into the story?
* What impact does that have on how you read and respond to the text?
---
* As a writer,
What might you have done differently?
What would you have done the same?
---
Interpretation
* How much room is there for you to make up your own mind?
* What is the writer's purpose, intent and intended audience?
----
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