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Lesson 6

We will review the coherence of our personal response drafts and work to improve the vividness of our narratives by considering the descriptions and supporting stories or details we have used and the language and syntax of our sentences. We will review models from some of the texts we have read and from the Claims Reference Guide, which lists vigorous, active verbs. Following a peer review, we will use constructive feedback to revise and improve our narratives.

Lesson Goals

  • Can I reflect on and adjust my Culminating Task draft when valid evidence warrants?

  • Can I revise my Culminating Task draft to improve clarity, development, organization, style, diction, and sentence fluency, both within and between sentences?

  • Can I compose my Culminating Tasks such as personal essays using genre characteristics and craft of informational texts?

Texts

There are no texts for this Lesson.

Materials

Tools

Reference Guides

Question Sets

Editable Google Docs

Activity 1: Read – Discuss

We will review our narratives for the coherence and balance of their elements and scenes.

With your writing partner, review your draft for its overall coherence and the connections among its ideas, elements, metaphors, characters, and scenes. Consider the following review questions:

  1. How well have you made connections and transitions among scenes, events, and character interactions to communicate a main idea about what it means to live a life well-lived?

  2. Is the story well-paced? Is it strongly and evenly developed in all four of its storyline phases (exposition, complication, climax, resolution)?

You might use the task questions to help you review your narrative:

  1. What have you discovered about living a life well-lived from the stories, metaphors, and potential compasses you have encountered in this unit?

  2. How might you express your discoveries through personal writing?

Note places in the draft where you might need to improve its coherence, connections, or transitions.

Activity 2: Discuss

We will work to improve the vividness of our narratives by considering the imagery and details we have used and the language and syntax of our sentences.

As a class, review models from texts you have read in the unit that represent vigorously presented actions, evocative use of imagery, and vivid language. Think about how you might emulate these models in your own story.

Discuss the Claims Reference Guide and the section that addresses language, specifically vigorous, active verbs and vivid, evocative descriptive language. Use this resource to consider how you might improve and invigorate the language you have used in your narrative.

Reread your story draft, identifying the verbs and modifiers you have used and considering how they might be made more vigorous or vivid.

Activity 3: Read – Discuss

We will review our partners’ draft narratives in writing pairs, focusing on language use.

Review your writing partner’s draft response to the unit’s questions, noting places that are strengths in terms of their vivid images and descriptions and their use of vigorous verbs, while also noting places that might be improved.

Provide your writing partner with the feedback.

Activity 4: Write

We will revise our responses, working to increase their vividness and improve their language and syntax.

Independently, work to revise your personal response or narrative and improve its vivid language based on the feedback from your writing partner

Make helpful revisions to the sentences in your work, paying attention to the images, metaphors, modifiers, and verbs you have used.

Activity 5: Write

For homework, we will continue revising our written responses.

For homework, continue to review your draft response to the unit’s questions, working to increase its vividness and vigor and paying attention to the images, metaphors, modifiers, and verbs you have used.