how do you push your writing further?

For this Senior English module, we will be playing with hybrid writing! This is an opportunity to take what you are familiar with and push it to a new dimension. In this case, we're using footnotes in creative narrative to play with tone, voice, and perspective.

Module summary:

• be exposed: read about hybrid writing
• practice: add footnotes to a free write
• create: write a This I Believe essay... then add footnotes
• reflect: revise essay and conference about experience

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essential questions

1. How do we adapt our communication skills to fulfill an intended purpose?
2. How does the revision process strengthen our writing?
3. How does creative writing translate to other areas of our lives?
4. Why does proofreading matter?

goals

1. Students will understand that we adapt our communication based on purpose or context through our word choice, voice, and sentence and paragraph structure.
2. Students will understand that revision strengthens writing by being critical, looking for holes in the story, and ensuring ideas are expressed clearly.
3. Students will understand that creative writing gives us the opportunity to develop key skills we use in every aspect of life - such as patience, trying new approaches to solve a problem, and revision - in fresh ways.
4. Students will understand that proofreading is an important step to help our work appear polished, which is integral to our audience taking us seriously.

activities

INTRODUCE

• Complete warm up: free write for seven minutes about what has led you to this exact moment (go in whatever direction you like - just keep typing for the full seven minutes!)
• Review syllabus and module expectations

EXPOSE

• Read "Embracing the Hybrid Form" article [a printed version] and annotate with marginalia
  • Marginalia: write in the margins with whatever comes to mind as you read. Don't just highlight or underline, write notes. 
    • what is the author saying? what does a particular passage mean?
    • what do you think of this topic? what is its relevance? does it have relevance?
    • what connections can you make to your own life?
    • are there words or concepts you have questions about? that you don't agree with? that you don't understand? 
    • etc.
• Read Christine's sample footnotes essay - in which she added commentary to an essay she wrote back in college (yes, she saves her stuff. yes, she's a nerd)
• Discuss purpose of footnotes
• Review how to create footnotes in Google Docs ("Insert" menu --> "Footnote")

PRACTICE

• Add footnotes to your opening free write, testing out different purposes are discussed (include at least five footnotes)

CREATE

• Write a This I Believe essay
  • Basically, this is a narrative essay (500-600 words) that reflects on one of your core beliefs
  • Review This I Believe module webpage for background and details - you don't need to do anything outlined in that module, just review it to get context.
  • Review This I Believe website to read sample essays
• Add footnotes (12-15 total) to your essay to create another layer of depth
• Self-evaluate footnotes essay with scoring guide

REFLECT

• Conference with Christine about footnotes essay draft
• Revise essay as needed
• Check in with Christine about your experience with hybrid writing

c-tachs

Writing

• Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience
• Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach

Language

• Demonstrate command of conventions of standard English grammar when speaking and writing
• Demonstrate command of standard capitalization and punctuation
• Spell correctly​

resources

Module syllabus
​DOK rubric - coming soon