Short Story #2 (Nonfiction)

For your next short story project you will read some nonfiction. Nonfiction can take many forms: magazine stories, newspaper articles, memoirs, and essays are all examples. You will read at least two different examples for this project.

The first thing you will need to do is to pick a memior or a personal narrative of an event. The gold and green textbooks have several good examples.

Some Suggestions:

It Can't Be Helped from Farewell to Manzanar by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston and James Houston -- page 355 in green anthology;
R.M.S. Titanic by Hanson W. Baldwin -- page 390 in green anthology
A Presentation of Whales by Barry Lopez -- page 432 in green anthology
When I Lay My Burden Down from I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou -- page 357 in gold anthology
Haven't I Made a Difference! by James Harriot -- page 407 in gold anthology

If you plan to choose a different memoir or personal narrative, please show me what you plan to use before you begin. Please remember that stories that are very short often make your task harder in the long run.

When you are finished reading, post the following to your blog:

1. Write a 2-3 paragraph summary/response to what you have read. Please be sure to consentrate more on your feelings about the story rather than simply summarizing what happened.

2. Explain what you think the author's purpose was for wrinting this story. What do you think he or she wanted readers to come away from this story thinking? Your answer should be between 2 and 3 paragraphs, and the best responses will include some direct evidence from the story.

3. Why do you think it is important to read about moments in other people's lives? Why are these stories so popular? Are there instances in your life that would be helpful to other people to read about?

When you are through, you should use the "save as draft button" since you will need to add more to your post later.

NEXT:

Read either "China and the World Facing Major Polution Crisis",
"Poker, A Harmless Activity for Teens . . . Wanna Bet?" , or
"World Desparately Preparing for Possible Flu Pandemic".

These may take a minnute or two to load.

When you are finished reading, add the following to the post you started earlier.

1. Write a 2-3 paragraph response to the article you chose. What information stuck out to you the most?

2. Two Quotes/Two Questions – Please pick out two quotes that for some reason you find to be important. Then go back through the article and come up with two questions that you have about what you read.

3. What is the main idea of the article you just read?

4. List at least three details the author of the article used to support the main idea you identified in #3

When you are finished, publish all your responses to your blog, and then leave a comment to this post telling me to check your work.