Today’s goals Introduce strategies to improve our reflective writing Introduce peer review techniques Peer review the 1st draft of your reflective narrative essays

Class discussion- improving reflection What examples of reflective writing have you included in your essays? Find an example sentence that shows one of the stages of reflection? What makes a good reflection vs. a poor reflection?

Class discussion- improving reflection Improve your reflective comments by moving from “so what” to something specific and interesting, or from general comments to those that are specific and unique to your experience Keep the information focused on your personal perspective Tell readers YOUR story, that is unique to you, that is so specific that it could not apply to anyone else. Use specific examples, anecdotes, and names to improve your reflection

Revised reflection examples General: “Being in a car accident was a frightening experience” Revised: “Wrapping my car aroudnm a telephone pole taught me what is most important in life: my family” General: “My boyfriend is a great guy” Revised: “My boyfriend has shown me that compromise is the key to a successful relationship” General: “It is hard to go to work and school” Revised: “Working my way though college has helped me improve my time management skills” General: “My trip to the beach was a lot of fun” Revised: “My trip to Huntington Beach helped me appreciate the beauty and fragility of nature” Note: Adapted from Ideas & Aims p. 189

Class discussion- revising reflection Look at the example reflective statement below. Based on your own experiences, write a few revised versions and be prepared to share those with the class. “Music is important to me”

Group activity- revising reflection In groups of 2-5 students Revise the following reflective statements by making them more specific, detailed, and interesting. Be creative and use your own experiences if possible It is fun to gan out in my backyard Losing a loved one can be hard Helping others makes me feel good Everybody needs friends Holidays are great family times Attending college is challenging Peer pressure is bad I like going to the movies Being sick or injured is no fun (Special) Find and improve an example reflective sentence from one of your groupmates essay drafts. Write the original and revised version here. Note: Adapted from Ideas and Aims p. 190

Intro to peer review What does peer review mean to you? Have you done peer review activities before? What type of revisions should we focus on for peer reviews? What do we get out of doing peer reviews?

Intro to Peer Review Watch: -“Otis College: Peer Writing Review Process” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24apK7i32xg&feature=youtu.be

Group Activity: WTR 1st draft analysis Group up with one other student NOT in your unit 1 group Exchange your essay drafts, read through your peers’ draft, and answer the following questions: What media is being focused on in the essay? What setting is first being described in the essay? How many senses are used to describe the setting? What is the dominant impression of the setting? What major characters other than the writer are introduced? How would you describe their personality in your own words? Has the writer begun to discuss their feelings and reactions as part of reflection (stage 2)? How does the writer feel about the experiences in the story thus far? When finished, return these answers to your peer and discuss them.

Homework: WTR– 2nd Draft 750+ words Should use concrete language and figurative language to describe at least two characters and settings Should work through the first two stages of reflection MLA format Printed and brought to class