Narrative Essay

Narrative Essay

Definition

In a personal narrative, you re-create an incident that happened to you over a short period of time.  This incident could be an emotional experience, a silly or serious event, or a frightening encounter.  Narrative writing requires students to think clearly about the details of an event as if it was a plot.  A narrative:

· Presents a story with a distinct plot.  The plot includes an internal or external conflict.  It has a beginning, a middle, and an end.

· Has a setting of some sort

· Presented in a specific point of view, usually spoken in the voice of a narrator or character

           

Thesis Development

            As you present your narrative from a certain point of view, you must consider the significance of the event.  Was there a lesson to learn?  Did it change someone’s history?  Does it reveal something insightful about a person, place or circumstance?  These are the variables that will help you form a thesis.

Organization

            Narratives are generally told in chronological order; in other words, you explain the events considering the timeline in which they happened.  

Optional Narrative prompts:

· Write about a time when you faced a challenge and what the outcome was.  Be sure to narrate the series of events and include specific details.

· Write a story about when you taught someone something.  It can be anything that you know better than someone else.

· Think about an event in your life that taught you an important lesson. Write a narrative in which you tell what happened and how you learned a lesson.

· Write a narrative about a person or character who overcomes a difficult situation.  The character must be a person from history or from literature, movies or television.

Essay Guidelines

–  Due dates:  Pre-Write due January 23; Rough Draft due January 30; Final Draft due February 13

–  Essay length:  500 – 700 words (between 2 and 4 pages)

–  Rough drafts can be typed or hand-written, but must be double-spaced.

–  Final draft format:

–  Typed (if this is not possible, please let me know)

–  1 inch margins

–  Name and date on the upper right hand corner

–  Number the pages on the lower right hand corner

–  Title centered above the text of the essay, below your name and date

Grammar -- Week 1 Worksheet

Week 1 Grammar Worksheets

1.1 – Compound Sentences

Insert the comma in the proper place.

1.       I am going to bed and I am planning on reading this book.

2.       She did not eat the cookies nor did she eat the candy.

3.       Paul is going to the movie and John is going but Sally is not going.

4.       Did Mom go to the concert or did Dad go alone?

5.       Debbie was upset for she wanted to go on that trip but her mother was sick.

6.       Melissa was sick so she left the party early.

7.       It was midnight but it did not seem so late so we went out for dinner.

8.       Cathy caught the heel of one of her shoes in a crack on the sidewalk and the heel broke off.

9.       Susan thought the lemonade was good yet it was a bit too sweet.

10.   Michael threw a fit for he was upset with the dog that had eaten his shoes.

11.   Did Paul go to the movie with Michael or did Michael ask John to go?

12.   Cathy had forgotten to set her alarm so she was late for work.

1.2 – Complex Sentences

Either remove the unnecessary comma or add one where it is needed.

1.       She did not eat the cookies, nor did she chew the gum that Jane made for her.

2.       I am going to bed to read the book, that Elizabeth wrote.

3.       Paul is going to the movie, and may not come home until late.

4.       Did Mary go along, with her parents to the game?

Put the complete sentence in parentheses and underline the fragment.

5.       George could not find his son’s bat or his glove.

6.       Julia ate half of her sandwich and left the other half on the plate.

7.       I was tired of doing homework and went to bed early.

8.       Did the students bring their books or leave them at home.

1.3 – Compound/Complex Sentences

Insert commas where needed.

1.       She wanted to go to bed and read her new book but she didn’t realize that it had fallen behind the sofa.

2.       Jack is going to the movie about World War II so he may be home late because it a three hour long movie.

3.       Denise was upset that she could not go to London but she chose to save her money in order to pay for college.

4.       I told her not to eat the fresh bread but she didn’t pay attention because she was so hungry.

Put the complete sentence in parentheses and underline the fragment.  Add the necessary commas.

5.       Chris had tried to find his puppy but it had run around the house and hid under a bush.

6.       My father told me that he was proud that I had improved my  grades and I celebrated with pizza.

7.       Peter found a part-time job around the corner so it was easy for him to get to work.

8.       I am planning to take the children to the park so that we can have a picnic because their father has the day off.

9.       We took warm clothes with us on the trip because it was supposed to be cold but we didn’t take them out of the suitcase.

Grammar -- Commas (1.1 - 1.3)

WEEK 1

1.1 – Compound Sentences

Two or more sentences held together with coordinating conjunctions (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so) form a compound sentence.  A comma must be used before the conjunction.

1.2 – Complex Sentences

Complex sentences contain on complete sentence and at least one fragment of a sentence.  Do not separate these parts with a comma.

1.3 – Compound/Complex Sentences

A compound/complex sentence contains two or more complete thoughts joined with coordinating conjunctions along with at least one sentence fragment.  Compound sentences require commas before the conjunctions.

Spring Semester Syllabus

Writing 1 Spring Semester Syllabus

Week/Date	Literature	Assign. Due	Writing	Grammar
Week 1 (1/17)	Introduction to The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde			The Comma Worksheet
Week 2 (1/23)	Jekyll/Hyde:  Ch. 1 - 2	Answer 2 questions for Ch. 1 and 2 for Ch. 2.	Narrative Essay Pre-Write	The Comma Worksheet
Week 3 (1/30)	Jekyll/Hyde:  Ch. 3 – 4	Be prepared to discuss the study questions for Ch. 3 & 4.	Narrative Essay Rough Draft	The Comma Worksheet
Week 4 (2/6)	Jekyll/Hyde:  Ch. 5 – 6	Answer 2 questions for Ch. 5 and 2 for Ch. 6.		The Comma Worksheet
Week 5 (2/13)	Jekyll/Hyde:  Ch. 7 – 8	Be prepared to discuss the study questions for Ch. 7 & 8.	Narrative Essay Final Copy	The Comma Worksheet
Week 6 (2/20)	Jekyll/Hyde: Ch. 9 – 10	Answer 2 questions for Ch. 9 and 2 for Ch. 10.	Theme & Character Pre-Write	The Comma Worksheet
Feb. 27 – No CHAT
Week 7 (3/6)	Jekyll/Hyde: Ch. 11 – 12	Be prepared to discuss the study questions for Ch. 11 & 12.	Theme & Character Rough Draft	The Period Worksheet
Week 8 (3/13)	Jekyll/Hyde:  Final Exam	Take Home Exam Character & Themes worksheets		The Period Worksheet
Week 9 (3/20)	Short Stories: Gift of the Magi (p. 1);  After Twenty Years (p. 21); Makes the Whole World Kin (p. 85)	2 “Short Story Chart” Worksheets	Theme & Character Final Copy	The Period Worksheet
Mar. 27 – No CHAT
Week 10 (4/3)	Short Stories:  A The Furnished Room (p. 23)Retrieved Reformation (p. 49); The Pimenta Pancakes (p. 29)	2 “Evaluation of a Theme” worksheets	News Story Pre-Write	The Semicolon Worksheet
Week 11 (4/10)	Short Stories:  The Ransom of Red Chief (p. 71); Poetry:  Hughes (p. 51); Williams (p. 48); Frost (p. 44)	2 “Short Story Chart” Worksheets	News Story Rough Draft	The Colon Worksheet
Week 12 (4/17)	Poetry:  Wordsworth (p. 12); Browning (p. 19); Bronte (p. 24); Hopkins (p. 31)	3 “Poetry Analysis” worksheets		Quotation Marks Worksheet
Week 13 (4/24)	Poetry:  Shakespeare (p. 1); Donne (p. 2); Jonson (p. 3); Quarles (p. 4); Carew (p.5); Milton (p. 5);	3 “Poetry Analysis” worksheets	News Story Final Copy	Misc. Punctuation Marks Worksheet
Week 14 (5/1)	Poetry:  T.S. Eliot (Handout) Poetry Presentations		Re-Write	worksheet
Week 15 (5/8)	Poetry Presentations

Thoughts about Grades

Dear CHAT Writing 1 Students & Parents,

I've just finished calculating the grades for this first semester, and you should find them in your inbox.  As tutors, these are suggested grades for you as homeschooling families to consider.

For those who are new to my classes, let me share my thoughts on grades.  As I homeschooled, I didn't give my children grades.  I felt that grades were far too subjective.  I taught my own children for mastery.  We didn't proceed with a topic until they were ready no matter how long that took. 

Letter grades are a funny thing.  For some students, it becomes the only motivation for doing well.  For some, it becomes a measure of their worth as a person or as an academic learner.  I personally don't like these "side effects" of the grading system.  On the other hand, grades can be a valid reward for working hard, being diligent, and understanding the materials.

When teaching students to be good writers, I give a lot of consideration for growth and improvement. Each student has a starting place; over time I look for him or her to learn the mechanics of grammar, good writing techniques, and analytical thinking skills.

For this class, I gave points for attendance, participation, short assignments and longer essays.  We did a few grammar exercises and a “quiz.”  I tend to be an "easy grader" and like to see my students encouraged to do their best.

Each student (and parents) has received an e-mail with percentages and suggested grades for this semester.   As I mentioned in the e-mail, the writing portion of the class is of primary importance.  I’ve seen each student improve with each paper.  Good Work!

Blessings,

Tammy Prichard

Writing 1 Class Notes -- December 12

Greetings!

We closed out our Fall semester in great fashion.  I had made brownies, and other students brought in treats.  Our class yesterday was an effort to have a party while finishing up our writing class for the semester.

Our Quick Write was a group effort. Dividing the class into 3 groups, they were each given a list of Christmas Jokes without their punchlines.  They were to either guess what the real answer was or come up with a better one.  Most of the answers were puns or mutations of Christmas related words. Do you know the answer to these?

        1.   What did Adam say on the day before Christmas?

        2.   Who is never hungry at Christmas?

        3.  How do you know when there is a snowman in your bed? 

Some of the jokes were clever, and some were real "groaners."

Following our activity with the Christmas jokes, students handed in their final drafts of their History Essays.  They also handed in any out-standing/ missing assignments.  After I finish grading these papers, I'll send out grades along with my thoughts about points and grades.

We finished our study of A Christmas Carol with a "Final Exam" which was more fun than hard work.  I handed to each student the name of a character in the book.  They then needed to interact with another student who was a different.  For example, Tiny Tim might have to talk with the Ghost of Christmas Past.  Or Charles Dickens might narrate directions to any of the other characters.  The students did a great job at being creative and thinking quickly "on their feet."  The second half of this "exam" dealt with some of the vocabulary words.  Dividing the class into two teams, they were each given a word from one of the Staves that they had to act out in order for the other team to guess.  The words were not simple ones:  solitary, covetous, decanter, withering.  Again, they did very well.

To end the class, we watched two scenes from my favorite version of A Christmas Carol, the Muppets version.

I've enjoyed this semester with this group of students.  They are a fun crew and are growing as writers. I'm looking forward to our Spring semester.

Have a blessed holiday season!

Mrs. Prichard

PS.  The punch lines to the jokes above:

        1.  "It's Christmas, Eve."

        2.  The turkey -- it's stuffed.

        3.  It's all wet.

This week's blog

Christmas Jokes (with punchlines!)

Christmas Jokes

Below is the list of jokes from our Quick Write.  Enjoy!

What did Adam say on the day before Christmas?
It's Christmas, Eve!

Who is never hungry at Christmas?
The turkey - he's always stuffed!

How do you know when there is a snowman in your bed?
You wake up wet!

What would a reindeer do if it lost its tail?
She’d go to a “re-tail” shop for a new one!

Q: Why was Santa's little helper depressed?
A: Because he had low elf esteem.

Q: What do snowmen eat for breakfast?
A: Snowflakes.

Last year's Christmas pudding was so awful I threw it in the ocean.
That's probably why the ocean's full of currants!

What's the first thing elves learn in school?
The "elf"-abet!

What do the elves call it when Father Christmas claps his hands at the end of a play?
Santapplause!

What do you call people who are scared of Santa Claus?
Claustrophobic!

What do you call Santa when he has no money?
Saint "Nickel"-less!

What do you call someone who doesn't believe in Father Christmas?
A rebel without a Claus!

What do you get if you cross Santa with a flying saucer?
A UF ho, ho, ho

What do you get if you cross Santa with a gardener?
Someone who likes to hoe, hoe, hoe!

And what goes oh! oh! oh?
Father Christmas walking backwards.

What nationality is Santa Claus?
North Polish!

What's red & white and red & white and red & white?
Santa rolling down a hill!

Where does Santa stay when he's on holidays?
At a Ho-ho-tel

What do snowmen eat for lunch?
Icebergers !

How do snowmen travel around?
By iceicle!

How do snowmen greet each other?
Ice to meet you!

What do you call a snowman in the summer?
A puddle

What's a snowman's favorite Mexican food?
Brrrrrr-itos!

Q: What do you get if you cross Father Christmas with a detective?
A: Santa Clues!

Sherlock's favorite Christmas song:
"I'll be Holmes for Christmas"

How do sheep in Mexico say Merry Christmas?
Fleece Navidad!

What is green, covered with tinsel and goes "ribbet ribbet"?
A mistle-"toad"!

What did the grape say to the peanut butter?
"'Tis the season to be jelly!"

Why did the gingerbread man go to the doctor?
Because he was feeling crummy!

What kind of money do they use at the North Pole?
Cold cash!

What kind of music do elves like best?
"Wrap" music!

Who sings "Blue Christmas" and makes toy guitars?
Elfis!