Introduction to Memoir

Listening, Reading & Viewing

Language Features-Shows an increasing understanding of how language features are used for effect within and across texts.

Indicators-identifies oral, written, and visual features used and recognises and describes their effects

Speaking, Reading & Presenting

Purposes and audiences-Shows an increasing understanding of how to shape texts for different purposes and audiences.

Indicators-constructs texts that show an awareness of purpose and audience through deliberate choice of content, language, and text form

This Town

The town was usual enough; it had

A creek, a bridge, a beach, a sky

Over it, and even a small tin church

I never went to. My brother, my cousins and I

Did what boys do - dozed in the hot

Schoolroom, made bows and arrows, dodged the mad

Boatbuilder, crept like rabbits through the black

Under-runners with a weak torch,

Burnt dry rushes, wrestled or swam

Doing nothing important

James K Baxter

WALT-Add Energy to our Writing.
SC-Identify the structure and devices so that we can borrow the framework

PLANNING

This town by James K Baxter

Cloze Reading;
After the reading, complete a 3 Level Guide (please make a copy straight away and put it in your reading folder)

After we have read the poem and completed the 3 Level Guide we then need to identify how James K Baxter has used certain the structures and devices...in pinch them!

Questions to think about:

Any unfamiliar words?
What do you notice about the punctuation? How is it used for effect?
What is the writer trying to do?
What time of the year is it? How do you know?
What are the nouns? What about verbs? What do you notice about them?
Where are we? How do you know?
What does the town have?

From the above questions, we should begin to be able to co-construct a poem, inspired by This Town.

Select a place that is significant. Share with someone else.
Complete a spider map/brainstorm, with your name in the centre, with ideas radiating out from it.
Write: The _______ was usual enough...
Pick 5 nouns related to the place.
Pick 5 strong verbs (what are STRONG  verbs anyway?)
Include Did what boys/girls do- in between the nouns and actions
Conclude with Doing nothing important.

EXAMPLES

Jordyn's My Backyard

Piano Rock By Gavin Bishop

PUNKuation Workshop

Mentor text-Life: an exploded diagram by Mal Peet

How to use a semi-colon

HIDE & SEEK

AO: IDEAS.Select, develop, and communicate ideas on a range of topics
INDICATORS: adds or changes details and comments to support ideas, showing thoughtful selection in the process. Communicates ideas clearly drawing on a range of sources

Worst hider ever?

The big idea with this piece of writing was that we could use any old experience and turn it into an exciting piece to write about. In this case, playing a game of hide and seek.

The first job here was to read James Norcliff's short story Coming ready or Not! And Vernon Scannell's poem Hide and Seek. Using an easy organiser, we could then pull our own bare bones of the story/poem from the text and use it to make our own connections in readiness for writing. See link here for what I mean

Hmmmm...I wonder where he could be?

Since I love both of these and they link beautifully, we may as well complete a reading task on them as well. Below in the 'useful links' is a copy of the 3 level guide that we used to find the literal & inferential ideas within the text, as well as applying our own connections.There's also a blank one. Take a copy.

Specific Focus 1: Creating Impact

How has Veron Scannell achieved 'Impact'. Click here for the link from Gail Loane's Book. Can we find any of these in James Norcliff's piece? For this task, your WALT is going to be to achieve impact. Your success criteria will be to use any of the ideas detailed in the list...so choose one and use it! You may find that you use other accidentally. Can we write a SOLO rubric for those that want it assessed?

Specific Focus 2: Crafting

I really want you to show evidence of being able to craft. This will mean having your piece finished and parking it. Then you need to share it with someone. Mr. Wood? A writing buddy? You need to ask yourself...

1. has your piece captured your experience in the way you intended? 
2. if not, what changes could you make?
3. what verbs could be replaced that have strong connotations?

Exemplars

Joseph's Hide and Seek (Audio)
Joseph's Hide and Seek (Text) 

Useful Links

The PLAN
Connections organiser

Hide & Seek by Vernon Scannell
Coming ready or not! by James Norcliff
Blank 3 Level Guide (for cloze)
Our example of the 3 Level Guide (for cloze)

AAAWWUBBIS!

WALT: write simple, compound and complex sentences

What are the differences between the types of sentences?padlet

Created with Padlet

https://youtu.be/nNrvAmM3M2I

3 poems by Roger McGough

Roger McGough has written some amazing poems. Some terrifying, clever or just funny. Here are 3 of my favourite:

The Lesson
A Brown Paper Carrier Bag
Didgeridoo

As a class we decided to create our versions of A Brown Paper Carrier Bag, Focusing on the FORM and the device of SLOW MOTION.  Then we created our mini memoirs I Remember when...

When we re-read the poem we noticed:

STRUCTURE

• the poem has a FRAME that makes it happen in slow motion. It is repeated but extended on. (In the time...In the time it takes...)
• 3 STANZAS of 4 lines between the repeated phrase
• The body of the poem shows us things happening in slow motion

• Alliterationhttp://examples.yourdictionary.com/alliteration-examples.html
• Personification

Is it or isn't it? Simple Sentences

TUESDAY 3rd MAY

WALT identify what make an independent clause (simple sentence)

When you write a sentence, how do you know you've ACTUALLY written one? (a correct grammatical sentence I mean?)

Created with Padlet

Heres a copy of examples: What do you notice?

My hair wakes up stupid
     -Tony Johnson, Any Small Goodness (2003)

My sweat smells of peanut butter
     -Wendy Mass, Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life (2006)

IS IT OR ISNT IT?

He paced.

And mosquitos.

Stacy gasped.

Eric stirred.

And gnats.

Another corpse.

Jeff shrugged.

Amy turned.

To look.

Jeff nodded.

Jeff sighed

    

 -Scott Smith, The Ruins (2006)

Hardly a Gripping TOPIC!!!

STRUCTURE-Organise texts, using a range of appropriate structures
INDICATORS-Organises and sequences ideas and information for a particular effect

Depending on how we 'skin the cat', we could easily turn the most mundane, everyday activity into a wonderful piece of writing. 

In the first piece of writing below, the writer has written deliciously sensory prose, which describes the removing of the skin from a avocado.It makes the reader believe that it is possibly the most desirable fruit imaginable. 

What are the features the writer has used for effect? Make these our success criteria?

  

Here is an example of a Year 8s attempt. (both of these were taken from Pg 58 from Gail Loane's book Something to Say

From both of these pieces of writing you could easily create a 'zero draft' (key words). Wouldn't they look an awful lot like an instruction?

Here's one some 'old students' in Room 14 did a couple of years back.

I especially LOVE the sentence that starts But oh...the agony arrives...3 great pieces of alliteration in the one sentence.  

What do you notice about the language of these examples?

NOW WRITE! Write a simple instruction (Zero Draft it-See link in red above). Include a technical word (or two) and then make it sounds scary, aggressive, gruesome...

Useful Links 

Vocab Rubric (e-asTTle)

SOLO Rubric

Flash Fiction or Vignette

AO: LANGUAGE FEATURES-Use a range of language features appropriately, showing an increasing understanding of their effects.
INDICATORS-uses a range of oral, written, and visual features to create meaning and effect and to sustain interest

Vignette (pronounced vin yet) is a brief description, account or episode. Flash fiction is fiction with as little as 300 words and up to say 1000 and may have a protagonist, conflict, obstacles and complication (a short, short story in other words)

We are going to record a moment in our own lives as an 'Vignette' or 'Flash Fiction'. We have already recorded 'a memory' and tried to show a short moment in time, bringing it alive for our reader. This time we are going to tap into our experiences, find importance in them and then bring them alive using specific detail (showing not telling again!)

Click here for the 'Bare Bones' of a story.

Now read Beans by Patrica Grace

What has the author done to make it an effective piece of writing?

1. How has she made it sound like a child talking?
2. How does she make it seem as if she is talking to you directly? (a sense of audience)
3. Which part stays with you? Why?
4. Do you get a picture of the character and the scene?
5. What do we know about the boy?
6. What tells us how he is feeling?
7. What senses does the writer include?

Compare the "I play hard" from the 'bare bones' to the paragraph about 'playing hard'. Why is it more effective? Which part do you think you could rewrite and make your own?

When did you 'play hard'?

What would your listing sentence look like?

Visualise? Zero Draft?

Examples

Here are our examples of a 'zero draft' or 'bare bones', brainstorm.

Marz's
Jayni-Rose's
Josh's

Cullen's
Kaedyn's

How will we know that we have been successful? What will our success criteria be?

Useful Links

S.O.L.O Rubric

Structure and Language

Blog Links 

Marz's Vingette-'2nd Game'