September
4
ELA 20: Sept 4 “Back to Wolf Willow” and Reflective essays…
- We started today’s discussion with some brainstorming on the board of the things they think they’ll look forward to seeing or will likely remember most about Kenaston after they’ve been away for ten or fifteen years. I asked what memories or landmarks would likely stand out as being truly part of Kenaston for them. They listed all sorts of physical things in town (the rink, the house they grew up in, the Snowman) but also listed a few of the less noticeable things like the yellow lights in the rink.
- I challenged them to describe and list for me all the buildings on main street, wondering if it was possible that their surroundings had become so familiar to them that they’d no longer notice some of them. They seemed to quite easily list the buildings so they passed that test but I told them of a group of Grade eleven students of mine last year who tried and tried and tried to list the objects and things surrounding their school to name the one particular thing I was waiting for them to remember – the flowers along their sidewalk – but they couldn’t come up with it. It was something they walked by every day, even had to walk around because they were growing so far out from the building, but it had just blended into the background and didn’t stand out so much anymore. The author of the essay we read today realized for himself how he was guilty of this exact thing – not truly seeing accurately.
- Before reading, we listed the types of essays there are (descriptive, analytical, persuasive, expository, etc) and focused on the specifics of a Reflective essay. It it not simply “remembering the past” (that would just be narrative) and it’s not just listing what he saw of the past (descriptive). Instead, the author focused on parts of his past, analyzed them, compared them to his understanding of things as an adult and found significance from the process. These things are what make up a reflective essay; there’s something like a lesson to be found or knowledge to be gained from looking back and seeing with new eyes.
- While we read the essay, students were asked to mark or highlight the phrases that stood out to them distinguishing this as a reflective essay. As I read, to start, I noted passages they should underline or paused to indicate a phrase. They were to continue this as we read and they each took a turn reading. We stopped a few times to paraphrase what was happening so far or consider a specific passage, like what the “it” was he couldn’t find. (“I couldn’t find it.”)
- After reading, I asked them to each go through the essay again and find twenty instances where the author found a discrepancy between his memory and what he saw in the present. There are LOTS of examples of this so they should have few troubles doing it. We’ll discuss them tomorrow, along with questions to go with the essay.
They will have their first major assignment next week, which will be to write their own Reflective essay. I have copies of student work from last year that will help clarify the process.
I remember doing this assignment in class! Some of the things that I included were the grain elevators, the rink, the people and defiantly the school which was my biggest tie to this town. I think that it will be a very strange experience to look back when I am older and come back to my home town. I will actually be looking forward to it because I am sure I will appreciate Kenaston more when I am older looking back then I do now.