Turn to a partner… And discuss the following questions: What is “Eleven” about? How do you know? Use textual evidence  When finished, select a spokesperson to share your answer(s) out with the larger group.

Moving from Expression to Reflection Launching the WNB, Dodge

Expressive Writing The writer shares thoughts, ideas, feelings, and questions about his or her experiences. Usually written in first- person point of view, it exhibits the author’s voice. The author tells the reader how he or she feels.

Reflective Writing Though also personal, it moves the writer into an exploration of how a particular experience has shaped the writer. The goal is not to share final thoughts on a topic; on the contrary, it is a vehicle for exploring and discovering new thoughts. In reflective writing, the author often looks at the past as a means for looking at the future.

Is “Eleven” E or R? What did I learn from this experience? Reflective Writing Test Does Sandra Cisneros answer the following questions either explicitly or implicitly in her personal narrative? What did I learn from this experience? How did this experience change me? How do I behave/think differently now as a result of that experience?

Finding Significance in One, Life Event “The act of writing is an act of thought…We write to think- to be surprised by what appears on the page; to explore our world with language to discover meaning hat teaches us and may be worth sharing with others. We do not know what we want to say before we say it; we write to know what we want to say.” –Donald Murray “Writers record memories from their past with as much detail as possible to use for the basis of their writing. Writers write about stories that matter, but sometimes they don’t even know why a story is important until they write about it.” –Anonymous

Tomorrow… You will be writing about a life event with hopes of you discovering significance from that single moment in time. This is why you’ll need a photo  Following your Sacred Writing Time, you will be sharing your work with a small community of writers.

Importance of a Community of Writers “As I reach out to create the writing communities I need, I have one rule: I do not share my writing in process with anyone who does not make me want to write. When I get a response from the members of my writing community, I hurry back to my desk, excited by the problems, the possibilities, the strengths I have discovered. I have work to do, and I am eager to get at it.” –Donald Murray

Writing Groups Based on your answers on yesterday’s survey, I placed you into a writing group, which you’ll work with over the course of the trimester. Once I announce groups, I will hand back your surveys, and you will sit with your new community of writers.

Writing Groups While in groups today, please do the following: Share your survey answers Setup some group “norms” Norms are a group-held belief about how members should behave in a given context. Someone in the group should write the agreed norms down on a piece of paper and everyone in the group should sign it.