Lesson 2

Lesson Goals

Texts

Materials

Question Sets

• How Do We Determine the Right Thing to Do?: Section 4 Question Set

Editable Google Docs

• How Do We Determine the Right Thing to Do?: Section 4 Question Set

Activity 1: Read – Write

We will review the characteristics of a reflective narrative and pre-write our reflective narratives.

Read the explanation below of a reflective narrative:

A reflective narrative is a type of writing that explains some kind of personal growth. In it, writers detail who they are to the reader. A reflective narrative is focused on a short event or series of events in the writer’s life. Most importantly, it shares how the writer has grown as a result of an experience.

In a reflective narrative, the writer determines and employs a concise organizational structure.

Writers do not merely answer a series of questions; they use them to inspire their thinking and organize their ideas. The questions provided should not be answered numerically but should be woven into the writer’s narrative.

As a writer, a reflective narrative is a place for you to share your experiences with your audience. Take a minute to brainstorm a list of important experiences you have had while working on your pathway presentation. These experiences can be things that were important for you individually or important for your group as a whole.

Now, free-write for three minutes on the following prompt:

1. How will your research experience from your pathway group inform the reading, writing, collaborating, and presenting skills you will practice later this year?

Additionally, identify several areas in which you noticed personal growth in your mastery of the aforementioned skills.

Activity 2: Read – Write

We will begin part 2 of the Culminating Task by prewriting our reflective narratives.

Review the requirements for the reflective narrative prompt.

Select one of the options below to organize your responses:

• Make a T-chart with the question number on the left-hand side and quickly jot-down answers on the right side.

• Free-write about the process you and your group took to create your pathway presentation.

• Organize your thoughts by answering questions such as the following:

  • What did I do?

  • What did I learn about myself during that experience?

• Analyze your individual reading, writing, speaking, communicating, and collaborating skills by asking yourself questions such as the following:

  • What was it like to read the texts?

  • Where did I feel confident?

  • Where did I struggle?

  • What would I like to be able to do?

• Utilize another process to generate thoughts for your reflective narrative.

Next, organize your thoughts. What is the best way for you to structure your reflective narrative? What information will you include and what will you omit?

Finally, answer these questions about the purpose and audience of your narrative:

1. What is my purpose in writing a reflective narrative?

2. Who is the audience for my reflective narrative?

3. What is the best way for me to communicate with that audience?

4. What should be the tone of my reflective narrative?

Activity 3: Write

We will begin drafting our reflective narratives in class and finish our drafts at home.

Draft your narrative. Don’t worry too much about perfection now—just get your thoughts on paper.

Drafts should be messy. You might find that you forgot an idea and need to write it in the margin or that your thoughts come more quickly than you can write them down.

Begin your draft in class and finish it for homework.