Bell RingersNarratives

NotesMs. Kirby

Monday, April 30, 2018

● Get out your character logs.● Highlight the 2 most important pieces of information about your character.

● If you had to create a symbol to represent your character, what would it be?● Cite the textual evidence that explains your answer.

Tuesday, May 1, 2018

What do you know about punctuating dialogue?

Take a minute to write as many punctuation rules for dialogue that you know.

Dialogue Rule #1RULE #1: A direct quotation begins with a capital letter.

● Jimmy shouted, “See you at the game!”● “Is it true?" asked Cindy.

Dialogue Rule #2 RULE #2: When a quotation is interrupted into two parts with words like “he asked”

or “the teacher demanded,” the second part begins with a lowercase letter.

● “What are some of the things,” Mrs. Baskin inquired, “that make school so much

fun?”

● “One thing I like,” replied Sarah, “is recess!”

Dialogue Rule #3RULE #3: When writing dialogue, all punctuation marks at the end of the quotation

go inside the quotation marks.

● “Let's visit the museum,” suggested Samantha.

● Jon replied, “Didn't we go there last weekend?”

● “But when we did,” Beth added, “we didn't see the Ancient Egyptian exhibit.”

Dialogue Rule #4 RULE #4: Do not put a period at the end of a quotation followed by things like she said, mom asked, he explained, etc. Use commas, question marks, and exclamation marks but not periods. Periods end sentences.

● “My Algebra class is driving me crazy!” Paul yelled.

● “That's my favorite class,” Becky replied.

Dialogue Rule #5RULE #5: Make a new paragraph (indent) when a different person begins to speak.

"Last night, I dreamt that I ate a giant marshmallow," Kevin said.

"Was that anything like the dream you had about eating your way through a

mountain of fruit cocktail?" asked Suzy.

"Scarier," Kevin explained. "This time I woke up and my pillow was gone."

OTHER REMINDERS:

-Always make it clear who is speaking in the dialogue.

-Try to avoid using the word “said” repeatedly.

Personal Narrative Elements

Personal narratives are based on real-life (true) personal experiences that have significant meaning for the writer. The experience may have resulted in the writer gaining insight or learning a lesson. The writer narrates or tells a story to describe the personal experience. Personal narratives are written in the first person (“I”) point of view.

Personal Narrative Elements1. Narrow, Clearly Defined Focus 6. Interesting Details

2. Character Descriptions 7. Logical Sequence

3. Dialogue 8. Strong Conclusion

4. Setting Description 9. Purposeful and Precise Word Choice

5. Strong Introduction 10. Varied Sentence Structure

1. Narrow, Clearly Defined Focus

● Personal narratives have a narrow, clearly defined focus. The writer focuses on a theme based on a significant event and why it is important or meaningful to the writer. This focus is sustained throughout the essay.

● The theme communicates to the reader a sense of the experience and its significance.● Visualize the events or the experience they will write about. Writers imagine themselves once

again in that experience and focus on their feelings, thoughts, and impressions.● Ask yourself why this experience is important to you….

This is important to me now because it . . .

I will always remember this experience because it . . .

This experience is worth writing about because it . . .

2. Character Descriptions

● Personal narratives describe the characters involved in the writer’s personal experience.

● The characters are developed through interesting details that describe each character’s appearance, actions, and words.

● The writer may visualize each character and then describe how the character looks, acts, and sounds.

3. Dialogue

● Incorporating some dialogue in a personal narrative makes the characters and the description of the personal experience come alive for the reader.

● Dialogue moves the narrative along and often reveals something about the characters.

● Dialogue should sound natural and not be overused.

4. Setting Description

● Personal narratives also describe the setting (where and when the event or experience happened).

● The setting can be vividly described by using sensory details to bring the experience to life.

● The writer determines which details of the setting are most important in conveying the personal experience and its significance or meaning. For example, what does the writer smell, see, hear, taste, or feel?

5. Strong Introduction

● Theme: In the introduction, the writer may tell what the essay is about. The author also may provide a clue as to how he or she feels about the experience.

● Hook: The introduction also includes a hook to get the reader interested and motivated to read more. Writers can use a variety of different ways to introduce their personal narratives and hook their readers, including foreshadowing, action, dialogue, character description, or setting description.

6.Interesting Details

● These details provide the reader with a clear understanding of why an experience is meaningful and help the reader to visualize the experience.

● Readers may vicariously experience the feelings of the characters (and the narrator) and even feel like they are there. As a result, readers connect with the writer’s personal experience and reactions to it.

● Show, don’t tell.

7. Logical Sequence● The organization is often similar to the plot line of a story. Like stories, personal

narratives typically include an introduction, a plot, characters, a setting, a climax, and a conclusion.

● Personal narratives often build to a climax or resolution of a problem (usually resulting in personal growth for the author).

● To ensure that readers have a clear understanding of why an experience was and is meaningful, the changes, insights, and/or lessons learned should be evident throughout the essay.

● The most common organization for personal narratives is chronological order.● However, writers should not just list events and then conclude the essay with a lesson

learned or an explanation of how the story related to the author’s life.

8. Strong Conclusion

● The conclusion should leave readers with a lasting impression of the personal experience and insight (new or deeper understanding of the experience).

● The conclusion should also give readers a sense of closure and completion.● Conclusions can include a strong action, feeling, or image that shows the

author’s personal growth and/or emphasizes the importance of the event.

9. Purposeful and Precise Word Choice

● The writer’s word choice in a personal narrative should be accurate, concise, clear, and concrete.

● Effective word choice enables the writer to re-create the personal experience in a way that conveys its importance or meaning.

● Writers often focus on word choice to improve their first drafts.● Inserting phrases and figurative language (e.g., similes, metaphors) that

describe, explain, or provide additional detail and connections

10. Varied Sentence Structure•Combine short sentences with prepositional phrases, appositive phrases, or participial phrases

•Combine short sentences by linking items of equal importance with a coordinating conjunction

•Combine short sentences that contain ideas of unequal importance with a subordinating conjunction

•Begin with an adverb

•Begin with a phrase (e.g., prepositional, participial, or infinitive)

•Begin with an introductory clause

•Break up long, rambling sentences (often run-on sentences) into two or three shorter sentences

EXIT SLIP: Rewrite the paragraph and punctuate it correctly.

I love to go to the movies Cameron said but there is nothing good showing at all I know Marcie replied it is crazy how many silly romantic comedies they churn out tell me about it Cameron exclaimed if I see one more stupid Kate Hudson/Matthew McConaughey puke-fest I will personally poke my eye out with an ice pick and perform my own lobotomy I think that may be a little bit outrageous Marcie pointed out but I can get behind the sentiment my big beef, though, is the atrocious horror movies lately what happened to scaring us rather than grossing us out would you rather go out to dinner tonight Cameron asked sounds like a plan Marcie agreed they left to go to the corner deli, walking arm in arm

Wednesday, May 2, 2018

How do differences in point of view affect the reader’s understanding of the story?

What point of view is a personal narrative written? How do you know?

Thursday, May 3, 2018

How does the theme of a text help develop a story, its setting. and its plot? Explain.

Friday 4, 2018

What are three types of figurative language that can be used in a personal narrative?

Give some examples of how and why these might be used.