Friday, 11/9/2012

Reading for College

Day Ten

November 9, 2012

Happy Friday!

Minimalism Reflection; Wrap-Up Monday

Combined Discussion and Note-Taking of Key Ideas

1.     Minimalism describes movements in various forms of art and design, especially visual art and music, where the work is set out to expose the essence or identity of a subject through eliminating all non-essential forms, features or concepts.

2.     Minimalism is any design or style in which the simplest and fewest elements are used to create the maximum effect.

3.     “Popular Mechanics” was written in the 1970s.  (Research needed here)

a.     Why has the minimalist style might have developed in the 1970s and remained popular in contemporary times. 


b.    Why was writing that is short, simple, and straightforward (i.e., “minimal”) appealing particularly to readers in the 1970s.

4. The writing of Carver ushered in a new style called minimalism, a style that is regarded as very contemporary and is still popular today. 


5.     Important BIG PICTURE IDEA: 

a.     Literature develops from the writing that came before it. 

b.    What does this mean?

6.    Writers are also influenced by the styles of their literary predecessors. 


7.     “Less is more.”

8.    “Tell it like it is.”

9.    What is one similarity you see between “Cat in the Rain” (1925) and “Popular Mechanics” (1970s) related to the situation or to the theme?

10.  Hemingway’s Iceberg Theory

11.   Handout

12.  Typed one-page (doublespaced) response

a.     Sounds REFLECTIVE

                                      i.     You’re thinking

                                    ii.     you’re talking about your learning

b.    Kindness to Authors!

c.     Details to support your points (They Say, I Say)

                                      i.     “Popular Mechanics”

                                    ii.     “Cat in the Rain”

                                   iii.     “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place”

Research

1.     Periods of Literature (handout)

2.     Online research

a.     What’s happening in the fifties and sixties (before Carver writes “Popular Mechanics”?

b.    What’s happening from 1900-1920, prior to Hemingway’s writing “Cat in the Rain”?

                                      i.     Historically

                                    ii.     Culturally

                                   iii.     Politically

                                   iv.     Economically

                                    v.     Psychologically

Requirements

·      For each time period (2) your group needs ten important timeline items that you feel COULD HAVE IMPACTED a move towards a minimalistic style of writing.

·      Google presentation (saved in our class folder in google drive)

·      Viewing at 1:05!

Welcome to Creative Writing!

11/9/2012--Day Ten

When You Come In

1.      Sign in, please.

2.     Off the wooden table by the window grab the following

a.     your manila folder

b.     your trio cliché story

c.     the comment sheet

Sharing the Cliché Trio Stories

1.      Share aloud, and comment!  We’re going to do some ANALYSIS!  Woo-hoo!  (Look at the parts that make the whole)

Fiction and Memoir Comments

1.           Is the ending satisfying?

2.          How’s my word choice?  Vocabulary Variety?

3.          Do I have enough detail?

4.          What’s your favorite part?

5.          How’s my conflict?

6.         What setting detail did you like?

7.          Did I use precise adjectives?

8.         How is my title?

9.         Was the story suspenseful?

10.     Did I use vivid description—using the five senses?

11.       Did I avoid clichés?  Eh, not on this assignment!  J

2.     Turn in your comment sheets when we’re done sharing.

Writing Experiment #2--Earliest Memory (Finish it!)  J

1.      When you finish your paragraph, ask yourself these questions, and type a list at the bottom of your paragraph that answers them: 

a.     What colors can I add?

                                      i.     EXAMPLE OF HOW YOUR ANSWER SHOULD LOOK:  I could add the color lavender when I talk about my mom’s shirt.

b.     What textures did I feel?

c.     What sounds did I hear?

d.     What’s my overall feeling about this memory?

e.     Did I learn something from it?

f.      Do I like remembering it?

2.     After you type your six answers, go back to your paragraph(s), and add  details you need to, based on your answers.  Yes, we’re revising!

3.     When you have completed this, title this file “Your Last Name—Earliest Memory”. 

4.     Part II:            Turn Your Paragraph Into a Poem (Ten minutes) 

a.     Remember my paragraph?

b.     Now look at how I turned it into a poem.

c.     Print TWO-SIDED to the Media Center.  (Make sure you print from the printer icon, then get a PDF file to print from; otherwise, you will have junk at the bottom of your pages.

Here’s how I turned my earliest memory story into a poem.  What do you notice?

Rescue

Two babies

Up to their belly buttons

In the immense jet black tub

The girl steps out

Sees her brother, peachy-white

She sees the silver handle

Turns the knob

All the way

Towards the wall

Steam rises off the water

Drifting up to the white ceiling

Baby brother turning pink

Waving skinny little arms

Screaming

Mom runs in

His savior

Writing Lesson Review:  Using Precise (Exact/Specific) Words

1.      Adam and Maddie, to to your doors.

2.     Diction, diction, diction.

3.     One word CAN make a difference.

4.     How did DICTION affect your writing when you created your six-word memoirs yesterday?

5.     Sharing:  Read aloud your favorite three six-word memoirs.