THE COLOR OF WATER

BY JAMES MCBRIDENOTES, GUIDED READING ACTIVITIES & RESOURCES

THE COLOR OF WATER: NOTES•UNDERSTANDING THE AUTHOR’S DELIBERATE CHOICES IN HOW HE HAS PRESENTED HIS AUTOBIOGRAPHY•HE TELLS HIS LIFE STORY IN JUXTAPOSITION (SIDE-BY-SIDE COMPARISON) TO HIS MOTHER’S

MEMOIR

•A COLLECTION OF SHORT, PERSONAL “VIGNETTES” HIGHLIGHTING IMPORTANT EXPERIENCES TO ILLUSTRATE A CRITICAL PERIOD IN THE AUTHOR’S LIFE;•PROVIDES HIGHLIGHTS OR SNAPSHOTS•CHARACTERIZED BY USE OF LITERARY DEVICES SUCH AS METAPHORS, HYPERBOLE

AUTOBIOGRAPHY•A HISTORICAL ACCOUNT OF THE AUTHOR’S LIFE AS TOLD BY HIM OR HER; •TENDS TO BE PRACTICAL DELIVERY OF VERIFIABLE FACTS•CHARACTERIZED BY LANGUAGE THAT IS MORE FORMAL AND LESS “ARTISTIC”

NARRATIVE•A SINGLE SCENE FROM THE AUTHOR’S LIFE WHICH CLEARLY ILLUSTRATES HIS OR HER CHARACTER;•CHARACTERIZED BY RICH, IMAGERY-LADEN, DESCRIPTIVE WRITING

PRE-READING CRJ• READ THE PROLOGUE; USE EVIDENCE FROM THE TEXT TO WRITE A CRJ ON

ONE (1) OF THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS RAISED BY THE INTRODUCTION:

• WHAT PREDICTIONS CAN YOU MAKE ABOUT THE CONTENT OF THIS TEXT?• WHAT INFERENCES CAN YOU DRAW ABOUT THE AUTHOR’S PURPOSE

FOR WRITING?• HOW WOULD YOU EVALUATE MCBRIDE’S RELATIONSHIP WITH HIS

MOTHER?

USE CLEAR EVIDENCE FROM THE TEXT OF THIS SHORT INTRODUCTION TO SUPPORT YOUR CLAIM