1. Narrative Essay Flow Map INTRO – 3 to 5 sentences 1.Comment on prompt/theme. 2.Background on you/your experience with theme. 3.Thesis (When I was _____ I learned _____.) EXPOSITION SNAPSHOT Jump right in; describe the setting & initial action. ½ page CONCLUSION – 3 to 5 sentences 1.Comment on prompt/theme (no copy/paste!) 2.Restate thesis ( _____ taught me _____). 3.Comment on future you (Since that day…). SNAPSHOT 2 Build to climax. Use dialogue, FL, & imagery! ½ page FINAL SNAPSHOT The moment you changed or grew. ½ page SNAPSHOT 3 Build to climax. Use dialogue, FL, & imagery! ½ page

2. Narrative Essay Flow Map 1.Judging others seems to be a way of life in high school. No biggie. It is what it is. 2.Throughout my high school career, I was judged by others for everything, from the friends I joined for lunch to the look on my face as I walked down the hallway alone. I didn’t want to feel sorry for myself, though. So I decided that rumors, backstabbing, fair weather friends, and the drama of it all was just part of being a teenager and I became part of the problem. 3.Then, in October of my junior year, on a seemingly harmless Tuesday afternoon, Ricky Rodriguez took his own life and taught a whole high school how deadly “Just being a teenager” could be. Walking into the front of the school. Sight: eyes adjusting, looking for Jen and Amy Hear: sniffles and coughing (cold season? crying?) Smell: ??? Taste: Pop Tart I just ate; need water Physical: sick to stomach from Pop Tart Emotional: excited about homecoming performance Friday and date with Ryan Knowing: Best year of high school so far; can’t wait to tell Jen about phone call with Ryan last night Sight: Jen and Amy hugging, crying Hear: “I can’t believe it. I just saw him yesterday after school…” Smell: ??? Taste: ??? Physical: weight in stomach Emotional: frozen Knowing: realization that something is horribly wrong Dialogue: “What? What happened?” Jen and Amy grabbing me; won’t tell me what happened; getting impatient, angry “It’s Ricky.” 1.Being a teenager shouldn’t hurt, yet teens seem to accept that bullying is somehow supposed to come with the territory and so they take the hits, they join in on the judging, and they expect each other and themselves to remain unaffected. 2.Unfortunately, it took the death of a dear friend to teach me that no one can escape the pain of being judged and ridiculed and neglected, not even those of us who think we have. 3.As time passes, the pain of that October Tuesday has naturally waned, but I’m reminded of the significance of Ricky’s pained life and untimely death everyday that I see and hear students making what they think are harmless judgments of each other and I pray that they don’t have to lose a friend in order to learn the truth. Look over to Ricky’s locker; see flowers Time freezes; voices muffled; lockers squeaking/slamming Flashback to Ricky; people made fun of him for being different, quiet; we always told him not to take things so seriously; he didn’t want to join us yesterday; didn’t push him; didn’t feel like dealing with his drama; “Hi, Ricky! Bye, Ricky!” Giggling, “Cheer up, silly goose! I’ll see you tomorrow!” Noticed he looked a little different than usual; “should call him later”; had too much fun; didn’t call Jen’s cracking voice pulls me back to the present, “Missy found him this morning… dad’s gun… note…” Note: I can’t take it anymore... It’s different for me. I’m alone. Realization that I could have stopped this, yesterday, days past. Realization that he’s gone – physical feeling, tears on my cheeks, salty taste in my mouth, then bile/Pop Tart coming back up. Seeing a note on his locker as I run to the bathroom, blurry in my tears, “We love you, Ricky.” But we didn’t... really.