Lesson Details

What's in a Name?

2014-2015

Principles of English 1, fall 2014

Date

Aug. 14, 2014

Additional Info
Learning Target: Students will write a personal narrative essay.

To get the school year officially going, we're going to start our first essay unit today! *insert cheers of joy here*

Pull out the acrostic poem that you created the other day. In groups of four (which I will put you in) take turns doing the following:
  1. Read your poem out loud to your group. Pause for a moment to let its glory settle in.
  2. Read your poem a second time out loud.
  3. During the second reading, those listening should pay close attention to the words being used to describe the speaker. 
  4. Discuss which words or images are the most powerful. What makes them so?
  5. Discuss which words or images could use some work. What is weak about them? Are they cliche? Are they vague? Are they redundant?
  6. The reader will use this feedback to inform the essay that he or she will write.
  7. Go to the next person and repeat the process. Do this until all group members have read their poem twice and had LOTS of great feedback from the group.


When you are finished, we will come back together as a class and start reading two mentor texts. The first, "My Name," from The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros, we will read critically (annotate) and analyze as a class. 
  • full silent read-through
  • teacher read-through out loud
  • what words or phrases or sentences caught your attention the most?
  • what is each paragraph doing?

If we have time, we will begin reading and analyzing the second mentor text, an essay written by Mark Liles, a professor at Auburn Univesity, from his Unwanted Companion to Respected Friend.