ENGLISH II OCTOBER 13, 2011

1. ENGLISH IIOCTOBER 13, 2011 Warm-up: Ancient Indian culture has passed down strict values for what is expected of women (extreme purity) that not all of its people agree with– especially modern women. Similarly, you may feel as if you, as a member of a certain group, have been pressured to live up to expectations/values that were difficult for you. 1) What is at least one cultural expectations or cultural value that you, as a member or a particular group, have been asked to live up to that has been difficult for you? (i.e.: as a female, as a male, as a racial minority, as a member or a religious community, as a family member, as a team member, as a student, as an employee, etc., have you ever been asked to meet an expectation that was difficult for you to live up to?) 2) In a few sentences, describe a time when you were expected to live up to an expectation or a value that you did not want to or were not able to live up to.

2. REMINDERS • Turn in pg. 143, 2-6 plus group discussion question. • Tomorrow: Bring your textbooks to class (I have not gotten my books(s) back, so you will need to bring yours… if you don’t have it, you’ll lose participation points). • If you need help or just a quiet place to work, come in today after school for tutoring (until 4:00) • Non-English portfolio assignments are due by October 20th. • Don’t forget– this Saturday (October 15th) at Crossword Christian Church there will be a Scholarship Workshop; go to it!

3. STANDARDS Writing Applications 2.1: Write biographies, autobiographies, short stories or narratives a. Relate a clear, coherent incident, event, or situation by using well-chosen details. b. Reveal the significance of, or the writer’s attitude about, the subject. c. Employ narrative and descriptive strategies (e.g., relevant dialogue, specific action, physical description, background description, comparison or contrast of characters).

4. AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL INCIDENT ESSAY! For your next portfolio assignment, you’ll write about stressful CULTURAL VALUES/EXPECTATIONS! Let’s look at the prompt for your autobiographical incident essay… Although the situation may have been ongoing, I want you to focus on one event (i.e. a few minutes/hours) that you feel represents the beginning/height of the cultural stress. Describe the story with as much DETAIL as possible.

5. AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL INCIDENT ESSAY! Here is the format for the autobiographical incident essay. Each part should be very descriptive and should be at least 8 sentences. • First Paragraph-- Exposition: Catch your reader’s attention in some way (a quote, a question, a bold statement, etc.) Explain how this hook relates to your life (without giving away too much about what the situation is that you will describe). Then, give necessary background information:

6. AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL INCIDENT ESSAY! • First Paragraph– (continued…) • What important things should the reader know before reading your story? • Describe the cultural group that you belong to and the expectations/values that are held for members in this cultural group. Why is it difficult to be a _____________? • Give any background information that is important before hearing about the difficult expectation/value that you were asked to live up to (important details about the people, the event, the place, etc.)

7. AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL INCIDENT ESSAY! • Second Paragraph—Rising Action: What was happening right before the incident occurred? • Describe the following with good diction, detail and imagery: • Where were you? (describe the setting in DETAIL and with IMAGERY) • Who was there? (describe IN DETAIL what the characters were doing) • Describe in detail and imagery what you remember seeing, smelling, hearing, feeling and/or tasting right before this event.

8. AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL INCIDENT ESSAY! • Second Paragraph—(continued…) • What other things/objects were around you that are notable (describe in detail)? • What thoughts/emotions did you have right before the difficulty arose? • What dialogue (conversations) are important to quote? • Is there any other information that is important to help the reader picture the minutes right before the height of the difficult situation?

9. AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL INCIDENT ESSAY! • Third paragraph—Climax: Describe the main event. • Using diction, detail and imagery, describe exactly what happened and how • Take us through the event, step by step (describe each step in DETAIL). • Describe in detail what other people were doing (facial expressions, tone of voice, actions, statements, etc.). • “Quote” (as best you can) short conversations or statements made by others. • Explain the thoughts and feelings that you had during that time

10. AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL INCIDENT ESSAY! • Fourth paragraph—Falling Action: What happened right after the incident? • What did you and other people do after the event (describe in detail)? • “Quote” what you or others said after the event. • Describe in detail and imagery what you remember seeing, smelling, hearing, feeling and tasting right after this event. • How did you feel that night or the next day?

11. AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL INCIDENT ESSAY! • Fifth paragraph-- Resolution: What did you learn from this event? • Did the difficult expectation remain? If so, how did you learn to deal with it? • Explain how you feel about this value/expectation/group today? Looking back: • Did it make you stronger? • Was it the best/funniest/worst day of your life? • Are you still anxious about your failure to live up to the expectation? Why?

12. AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL INCIDENT ESSAY! • Fifth paragraph-- Resolution: (continued…) • What is the biggest lesson that you learned from this? (NOTE: try to stay positive…) • Did you learn something about the cultural or group values/expectations? • Did you learn something about yourself?

13. AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL INCIDENT ESSAY! • Note: Any of the above-mentioned paragraphs might need to be broken into two paragraphs. Just try to keep your story within 2-4 pages (double-spaced) • Note: the smaller bullet points aren’t the exact sentences that need to be included; answer all these questions, but in your own creative way that makes the story flow well! • Must be typed and in MLA format.

14. AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL INCIDENT ESSAY! • This assignment will go in to your portfolio and will make up a large part of your first semester grade, so work hard on it! Make sure that you get personal, but not so personal that you forget about your audience. • Due: Monday, October 24, 2011.

15. GRADING Here’s what your autobiographical incident essay will be graded: Organization (do you have an exposition, rising action, climax, falling action and resolution that flow logically?) Tone (do you focus on creating one or two main tones throughout your essay with diction, detail and imagery?) Development (do you have enough detail so the readers can imagine exactly who, what, where, when and how everything in the story played out?)

16. GRADING Here’s what your autobiographical incident essay will be graded: 4. Prompt (do you focus on one specific event that occurred over a short period of time, such as a few minutes or hours? Does it have to do with a cultural group value/expectation and was it difficult for you?) 5. Writing (do you use good vocabulary, have complete sentences that are not run-ons, a clear sense of audience, and obvious editing?)

17. ANY QUESTIONS???

18. SAMPLE AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL INCIDENT ESSAY • Not only am I asking you to complete an autobiographical essay, but I have completed one too! • As a class, we will read my sample cultural value autobiographical essay • You may use the sample to help you understand: • What should go in each paragraph • How much detail and imagery that I’d like to see in your essay.