Room 312 - (Enhanced) Introductory Paragraphs: Describing; The Mailbag; Fireside Book Chats
October 28th, 2008 — room312Today’s Podcast:
- Introduction Paragraph: Describing
- The Mailbag
- Fireside Book Chats
Describing
Describe the person, place or thing you are going to write about to get the reader’s interest
Example: In The Bourne Identity, Jason Bourne KO’s two Swiss police men, almost as an after thought. The Oracle tells Neo that he is not there to make the choice but to understand why he made it. Jason Bourne’s struggle to understand why he is able to do what he does mirrors Neo’s Quest in the second Matrix.
From the mailbag:
This comes from Linda at http://www.you-can-teach-writing.com
Do you go from the oral argument to a written argument? If so, do you discuss the differences between oral and written argument? Are you working with a class that includes a wide range of abilities, or a specialized group?
First, I am teaching career prep English, the lowest level at our high school, at the ninth and tenth grade level. So while they have had paragraph and writing experience, they are stilling struggling many time and are in the learning process of writing a five paragraph essay.
I always introduce the persuasive essay orally. I talk about how we try to convince parents to get money, friends to go see a certain movie, etc. I’ve used some fictive scenarios to set up some lessons. I’ve found the approach either was a huge success or a huge failure. What has been your experience?
Depends on the students I have. It has been a mixed bag. My more analytical students struggle with it. My creative student excel in it.
