January 28 - February 1, 2008

Monday:
Journal #3
Introduce me to your writerly self. Who are you as a writer? Who (teachers, authors, friends, etc.) or what has influenced your writing? After revisiting your portfolio, do a quickwrite (about 5 mins.) about what you found. Who were you as a writer? How has your writing changed?

Tuesday:
Journal # 4
What kind of writer to you want to be? What sort of writing do you see yourself doing next year? In 5 years? In 10 years?

Begin creating your writer's autobiography. Download the assignment handout here.

Wednesday:
Journal # 5
“How vain it is to sit down to write if you have not stood up to live.” - Henry David Thoreau

Pre-writing strategy mini-lesson. Discuss cubing, looping, and RAFT.

Thursday:
Journal # 6
“Autobiography is only to be trusted when it reveals something disgraceful. A man who gives a good account of himself is probably lying, since any life when viewed from the inside is simply a series of defeats” – George Orwell

Discuss pressure comps and strategies for improvement, such as: skimming the prompt for key verbs, planning before you write, and saving the last five minutes to proofread. Hand back pressure comp #1.

Read around of prewriting for our writer's autobiographies.

Begin working on first draft of your writer's autobiography. (Due Monday, Feb 4)

Writer's Autobiography Pre-writing Due

Friday:
Creed #2: Make a list of 5-10 specific events, experiences, or activities that have affected the growth of your character; positively or negatively. Some possibilites:
- A turning point in life
- Illness or loss you've dealt with
- Things you enjoy learning - inside or outside of school
- The kinds of books you read
- Your imagination
- Athletics
- Music
- Spiritual Experiences

Choose the 3-5 of these that had the most impact on you, and write a a reflective paragraph on each.

Examples of autobiographical pieces from An Ear to the Ground

In-class workshop time

1st draft of Writer's Autobiography due Monday, February 4th