Today's was the last in-class draft day, though students are welcome to attend the Writing Lab - and/or tutorials - before Friday's block.
Students should have a complete draft ready for Friday's block - they will be able to get the most benefit from peer editing by doing so.
ANYONE WHO MISSES CLASS ON FRIDAY SHOULD TOUCH BASE WITH ME, AND COME TO TUTORIAL ON TUESDAY MORNING - They may also need to work through Tuesday lunch, if tutorial time turns out to have been too short.
In the interest of having students write the best draft they can, we're adding an extra day to the process. Students had a full block of drafting today, and will have another on Wednesday - this will be followed by peer editing on Friday.
Students are welcome to come work during tutorials, and/or in the writing lab on Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday at lunch.
Students continued drafting today, and will have ONE MORE CLASS BLOCK to do so on Tuesday, at which point they will move to peer editing work.
Students are encouraged to attend the Handsworth writing lab for 1-to-1 writing support, and some extra writing time. Their drafts will be there waiting for them.
WE ARE DRAFTING!
Students should be well into their draft work at this point. There will only be two more drafting blocks before the peer edit/final draft shift.
Extra time available includes:
Students were reminded about using *** to indicated shifts in time, that the "lead style" of their narrative is just for the starting point, and is not the only style theyll write in, and that I am obliged to report on any information indicating illegal activities, or that a person may be of harm to themselves or others.
The Handsworth Writing Lab is operating in room 2002 on Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday at lunch. Students are welcome to head to that space to get further feedback/encouragement as they work through their drafts - they are also encouraged to come to tutorials, unless already well into their draft work.
By next class, it is expected that everyone will have come in to tutorial, or connected in another space, in order that they be able to dive into draft work.
Today was a bit of "hurry up and wait" for a few folks. The process of making sure everyone has a clear story to work with can be a long one.
That said, many students arrived without having done the work they needed to over the weekend, and without having attended tutorial this morning. That made the work slower.
If you are not ready to write, please come to tutorial ASAP.
After a class with a TOC, students needed a bit more clarification as to how to plan their narrative work.
We talked about structure - focusing on a single event - and being clear about what the conflict in the story is, so that the climax is clear too...
Students continued their outline work, and have taken outlines home to work on them. All folks are welcome to any tutorial (keeping in mind that it is good to get ahead of the rush during writing times) to work through the planning.
Students spent time in small groups sharing some of the stories they came across during their personal interviews. They thought about the following:
o Were their any stories that could be written into longer pieces?
o If there weren’t, could any longer narrative come out of the “Where I Am From” poem from before the novel work?
o If students cannot think of a narrative from the poem, nor the interview, ask their groups to help them come up with a story related to the question “Where are you from?”
o Discuss narrative possibilities within the group – work out which might be most interesting/enjoyable/engaging to write about.
After group discussions, students set about filling in a Narrative Essay Outline - this is the first step in planning their work (which will involve a full draft, peer edit, and good copy - over weeks).
No homework.
We watched a short Reel - Mos Def - and talked about the "sanity of heartbreak"
Students went over the questions from last class in groups, then discussed as a class.
Students received a handout of descriptive words and “Do’s and Don’ts” for narrative writing.
Students received a sheet on narrative lead styles, and we voted on which were most effective.
Students should be working on their interview assignment over the weekend - due on Teams before the second class next week.
Anyone who missed today’s class should attend Monday’s tutorial.
We wrapped up our conversation on Brother - specifically, we talked about the techniques used by Chariandy in his narrative work that make it engaging to the reader.
Students were introduced to Elamin Abdelmahmoud, and listened to an excerpt of his memoir Son of Elsewhere.
While listening, students were asked to keep track of various "writerly moves" made by the author (on a handout) and had the remainder of the class to answer the questions of the reverse of the page. Note: students are not expected to do the writing practice at the bottom of the sheet, but are welcome to try it out at home in preparation for our upcoming work.
The interview assignment, due next week, is already on Teams - students should get started on this work if they feel they will be pushed for time over the weekend.
Students also got a look at the "Welcome Home" Tim Horton's ad referenced by Abdelmahmoud in the chapter.
If you missed today's class, you need to come to tutorial to pick up materials.
We read through two key scenes - III. v. and IIII. i. and then continued viewing the film. Our last block will be a viewing/celebration part...
