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.
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(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
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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?
----
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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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