Poem drafts due! Fiction Prompt; Preparing a Speech

1. Type up your poem drafts you completed last class. Put these in your portfolio.

2. Complete Ms. Springer's creative writing prompt.

3. Begin your speech topic preparation (see below)

EQ: After our writing prompts & prep work, we are going to brainstorm topics for a speech, create a thesis for our speech, and begin writing our speech in the lab.

Watch this video about Picking a Public Speech Topic.

When you have finished, please brainstorm some topics for a speech. Refer to the chapter handout on Preparing a Speech.

• From your list, choose 3 of the best topics. For each of these three topics, list possible sources of information you could explore.
• Consider which topics would require you to do the most research? The least? 
• Estimate how many minutes you would need to adequately and creatively speak to an audience about the topics you chose. Our speech will be short this time (about 2-4 minutes--that's about 2 pages double spaced).
• Narrow your topic(s) until you have a specific THESIS. 
• Write a thesis for each of your 3 chosen speech topics. 
• Pair up with a partner and share your thesis topics with him/her. Offer feedback to your partner.
• Choose your best topic and thesis. 
• Determine your purpose. What are you trying to accomplish with this speech? Are you giving information, persuading us to think differently, or entertaining us?
• Persuasive speeches motivate people to change a behavior or ideology
• Informative speeches provide accurate and supported information to an audience
• Entertainment speeches seek to entertain an audience to make them feel, laugh, or cry
• Create an outline and plan what your topic sentences will cover in each paragraph.
• In your introduction, your THESIS is your first point.
• In your body, each topic sentence (the first sentence in the paragraph) should clearly state what your paragraph will cover. The rest of the paragraph are the details of that topic sentence.
• In your conclusion, consider the purpose of this speech: are you informing us, entertaining us, or persuading us? Explain WHY and HOW your thesis is important to us, as an audience.
• NOTE: See the handout sample of how to create an outline. You may also check here.
• Begin writing a short speech (about 1 full page to 2 pages in length--double spaced). 

REMEMBER: to include a HOOK! Your speech should have a beginning (introduction), middle (body), and end (conclusion).

HOMEWORK: None. 

Performance & Tone

After performing your scenes, let's play around with some poetry prompts and begin to prepare our coffeehouse reading selections.

Here's an example of a poem that has a specific TONE. Try to figure out what TONE the speaker/persona is using:

"Another Epitaph on an Army of Mercenaries" by Hugh MacDiarmid:

It is a God-damned lie to say that these
Saved, or knew, anything worth any man's pride.
They were professional murderers and they took
Their blood money and impious risks and died.
In spite of all their kind some elements of worth
With difficulty persist here and there on earth. 

Writing Prompt #1 (freewrite/brainstorm in your journal):

1. Choose a character from the index card(s) provided to you.
2. On the back of the card, write a 3x5 poem (a short poem from the perspective/voice of your character)
3. You poem should include a title. Remember to use imagery: metaphor/simile, allusion, alliteration, personification, or any other poetic device you prefer.
4. In the margin, indicate the TONE you are using.

Writing Prompt #2:

1. Using the tone on the paper provided to you, write a poem that uses or sustains this tone.
2. Title your poem (perhaps with your speaker's name or name the setting or theme)
3. Make sure you indicate what TONE you were using.

LAB: Type up your two poem prompts. Put these drafts in your portfolio.

Please create a poem using a specific TONE. Pick an emotional tone for your persona and have that character speak, using appropriate diction, to create the tone you selected.

HOMEWORK: None.

Improv Games

Please access Ms. Springer's blog at this link.

Look for the agenda there, as well as note your homework. 

Ms. Springer's Blog; Revision

Please check out Ms. Springer's Blog. She will be using this during her teaching here.

Ms. Springer's Blog!

Please use 3rd period to revise your:

1. Baseline Interview Story drafts
2. Your David Ives play scene draft
3. Your poem draft(s)

Make sure you change the DRAFT NUMBER for each new draft. From a 1st draft, change the draft # to 2, or 3 or etc. Keep track of draft #'s in your heading.

After 3rd period, please listen to Ms. Springer's instructions.

HOMEWORK: None.