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