Four Corners

I know nothing!

I know just enough to be scared!

I know something!

I know it all!

Color It Up

Color It Up

Color It Up

Color It Up

Color It Up

Reviving the EssayGretchen Bernabei

“An essay is more focused and coherent if its unifying theme is one step away from the prompt”-Victoria Young, TEA

TAKS / STAAR TopicsSurprise

Tough Time

Photo

Reptile Moment

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Shopping List

Conversation

Pet Peeve

TAKS / STAAR Topics

Eleven-Minute

Essay

Pet Peeve When a person starts a sentence

with, “I hate it when…”, that person will finish the statement with his/her “pet peeve.”

A pet peeve is a minor annoyance specific to a person that may seem silly to others. But a small annoyance often can make a big difference in a person’s life.

Brainstorm and write for one minute to answer the question “what does this mean?”

Pet PeeveBrainstorm and write for three minutes answering the question “how do you know that’s true?”

Think of a book or a story that proves that. When you have a title in mind, write about the book/story supports the idea in the first paragraph.

Pet PeeveBrainstorm and write for three minutes about a movie that also proves the idea. Use the name of the movie as you write about it.

Pet Peeve

Brainstorm and write for three minutes about how the idea has been proven true in your life experiences.

Since you’ve already given two of your pet peeves, choose one of those to prove this point.

Pet PeeveBrainstorm and write for one minute about one question that remains after all that you’re written. Start with “I wonder” or “I think” or “Maybe, though” to get going.

Peer Edit

Revision

4—Personal Narrative & Expository

7—Personal Narrative with Extension & Expository

9—Literary & Expository

10—Expository & Persuasive

11—Persuasive & Analytical

Finding Your MessageFirst Step:

“The writer must chew on the prompt, to read and reread it, to digest it, to find the hard-won truth in it, or the paradox in it, or the human struggle within it.”

What do we already know how to do?

Life is really fragile.

The Insight Garden

An insight about life

Oneillustration

fromliterature

Oneillustration

froma movie

An illustration

from my life

I wonder

A Memory Text Structure

Where you were

MomentIt started

Next Moment

Final Moment

What youthought

A Completely Made-up Story

Momentinvolving

character(s)

Momentwhen aproblemarises

How the characterstry (unsuccessfully)to solve a problem

How the characters

solve it (or deal with it)

The Story of My Thinking

but this happened so now I thinkWhat I used to think

Comparing Notes(Mine and Others)

Some people

think

otherpeople think

Ithink

What could

change my thinking

and but

Tribute to the Person who Taught Me Something

What thelesson is

Flashbackto thelesson

Description of theperson

Lyrics or wordsyou can

Remember that person saying

(on any subject)

What I wish I could find out now from that

person

o Start with one sentence. o Teach your students different approaches

to expand that sentence.

o Glue these pages onto manila folders to open and stand up around the room.

o Let the students pick and choose which approach will work best for them.

Snapshot ChallengeLook at your sentence.

Imagine that you’re looking at a photograph (or snapshot) taken at that moment.

Use words to describe everything you can see in the snapshot.

Thoughtshot Challenge

Look at your sentence.

Imagine that people could hear everything you were thinking at that moment.

Write down everything that went through your head, and everything you though right then.

Senses ChallengeLook at your sentence.

Write details to show every one of the senses:

What did you see?

What did you hear?

What did you smell?

What did you feel?

What did you taste?

Dialogue ChallengeoLook at your sentence.

oImagine all of the conversation that went on at that moment.

oWrite down everything everyone said.

Ba-Da-Bing Challenge

1. Look at your sentence. 2. Write one ba-da-bing sentence for that moment, with these three parts: