Transcript Writing a Literacy Narrative

Writing a Literacy Narrative
The Norton Field Guide to Writing
Warm-up Exercise
Make a list of “10 things you know to be
true” about your literacy acquisition.
Compare your list with 3 other students.
http://www.ted.com/talks/sarah_kay_if_i_s
hould_have_a_daughter.html
4:00
What is a literacy narrative?
 A literacy narrative is a first-hand narrative about reading
or composing in any form or context.
 Literacy narratives can be about reading stories books,
cereal boxes, music, or video game cheats—anything at
all that you read.
 Literacy narratives can be about composing letters,
Facebook pages, song lyrics,’ zines, blogs, maps,
essays in school—anything at all that you compose.
 Literacy narratives can be sad or happy, poignant or
funny, informative or incidental.
 Literacy narratives often focus on powerful memories
about events, people, situations, places—times when
you tried and succeeded or tried and failed; someone
who gave you a chance or took one away; situations
when someone taught you how to do something or when
you taught someone else.
Adapted from http://blackcolumbus.osu.edu/theProject/whatisnarrative
Key features
Well-told story: Suspense need for
resolution.
Keep readers motivated to keep reading.
Vivid detail: create a mental picture of
what you are saying.
Dialogues help “hear” what is being said.
Significance, not moral.
Generating Ideas
Choose a topic: focus on a single event
that took place during a relatively brief
period of time (see p.28).
Consider the rhetorical situation: think
about the purpose of your writing, the
audience it is addressed to, the kind of
tone you want to give it and the design it
will have (include photos/pictures?)
Generating Ideas
 Literacy Timeline : list the most important
moments in your literacy development (date/time
+ event)
Example:
http://www.timetoast.com/timelines/mistysliteracy-timeline
Online tools:
 http://www.timetoast.com/
 http://www.dipity.com/
Let’s start drafting!
Begin writing
Today we shall focus on two elements that
MUST be present in your literacy
narrative:
Setting/Environment
Sponsors/people
Setting/Environment
What do you see? (materials???)
What do you hear?
What do you smell?
How and what do you feel?
What do you taste?
Sponsors/people
Describe each major sponsor in a paragraph
or so.
What does s/he look like?
How does s/he dress?
How does s/he speak?
What does s/he do?
Write a beginning
Jump right in
Describe the context
Describe the setting
Talk about the event
Write an ending
End where the story ends
Say something about the significance of
your narrative (not moral)
Refer back to the beginning
End on a surprising note