Word of the Day Its vs It’s ITS-of or belonging to it “The baby will scream as soon as its mother walks out of the room.” IT'S-contraction for “it is” “It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood.”

Practice 1. As strawberry ice cream dribbled down the cone and over his hand, Jerry complained, “__________ so hot out here that my tongue can’t keep up!” 2. The frozen cappuccino sat forgotten on the table. __________ sweating cup formed a ring on the polished wood. 3. The cockroaches and ants are very happy since __________ been over a week since Tommy has washed dishes or taken out the trash. 4. __________ obvious that Professor Grayson hates us. She wouldn’t keep assigning 150 pages of reading for every class if she liked us! 5. Just as Jackie was completing the last question on the essay test, her pen ran out of ink; __________ ball point dug into the paper but left no words. 6. When the realtor unlocked the door of the old house, Beverly and Bill gasped in disappointment, for __________ floor undulated with warped wood. 7. Francisco decided against a golden retriever puppy as __________ thick coat of long fur would be a vacuuming nightmare. 8. “__________ all over,” announced the lone race official as Veronica crossed the finish line five hours after the winning runner. 9. We assume that our neighbor’s orange tomcat is off on a feline adventure. __________ been a week since we’ve found paw prints on the hoods of our cars. 10. Malinda spooned yogurt into her mouth, savoring __________ cool, creamy blueberry flavor. 11. “Be careful when you close that notebook,” warned Michael. “__________ rings will snap right through your finger!” 12. “__________ time you found a summer job,” Mom declared as she pushed Sonny’s feet from the coffee table and turned off the television. 13. __________ not too late for Ricardo to pass his chemistry class. He just needs to give his attention to Dr. Wilson instead of flirting with Josephine, his pretty lab partner. 14. “__________ been seven years since I’ve seen you!” squealed Sophia when she spied Jerome thumping cantaloupes in the produce section. 15. Clive held the comic book under a magnifying glass, studying __________ spine and corners. He looked for flaws that would help him negotiate a better price. 16. Kay hates to find grapes in her salad as __________ too difficult to stab them with a plastic fork. 17. Opening the door with __________ nose, the puppy entered the bathroom to steal another roll of toilet paper. 18. “__________ either buttered squid tentacles or braised frog legs for dinner,” Mom announced. 19. The octopus tested the cooler lid with a tentacle, planning __________ escape off the pier. 20. The old car struggled up the steep hill, __________ engine sputtering and choking with the effort.

The Personal Narrative

The Personal Narrative: A Personal Narrative is a form of writing in which the writer relates an event, incident, or experience in his or her own life. The events of a personal narrative are most often presented in chronological order (时期顺序), the order in which they actually occurred in time. The personal narrative incorporates vivid (生 动) descriptive details as well as the thoughts,  feelings, and reactions of the writer.

Structure: A beginning that grabs the reader's interest; sometimes gives background information and a hint about the meaning or importance of the event. A middle that tells about important events, describes people and places, and tells the writer's thoughts and feelings. An ending in which the writer explains the outcome and shows the meaning of the experience (what they learned from it). 

What Should You Write About? Write about something you remember well. Write about something that has meaning or importance to you. Write about something you do not care to have read by others.

Make It Dramatic!激动人心的 Allow yourself to share your life with others and vicariously (间接感受到地) experience the things that happen around you. Your job as a writer is to put the reader in the midst (在…之际) of the action letting him or her live through an experience. A good story creates a dramatic effect, makes us laugh, gives us pleasurable fright, and/or gets us on the “edge of our seats.” A story has done its job if we can say, "Yes, that captures what living with my father feels like," or "Yes, that’s what being cut from the basketball team felt like.”

Show Not Tell Don’t tell the reader what he or she is supposed to think or feel. Let the reader see, hear, smell, feel, and taste the experience directly, and let the sensory experiences lead him or her to your intended thought or feeling.

The Five Senses 5种感觉官能 视 See 听 Hear 嗅 Smell 味 Taste 触 Touch Use these to make your writing seem alive! Make it feel real!

Examples of “Show Not Tell” The pizza was delicious. Steam rising up off the melted cheese made my mouth water. The first bite, my teeth sinking into the cheese through the tomato sauce and into the moist crust, made me chew and swallow rapidly. Even the cheese and tomato sauce, sticking to my fingertips, begged to be licked. He is angry. Sitting at his desk, his jaw tightened. His eyes flashed heat waves at me. The words erupted from his mouth, "I want to talk to you after class." The final hiss in his voice warned me about his feelings. The morning was beautiful. Behind the mountains, the sun peaked brightly, ready to start a new day. The blue sky remained silent yet showed signs of sadness. The wind whispered through the trees as the cheerful sun rose. The birds sang gently by my window as if they wanted to wake me up. The coffee was enjoyable. She cradled the mug in both hands and leaned her head over it in the rising steam. Pursing her lips, she blew softly over the clouded surface and let her eyelids drop. Her shoulders rose slightly as she breathed in, and she hummed with her head low. I lifted the tiny porcelain pitcher and poured a brief rotating arch of white into the black depths of my own cup. She opened her eyes, and we looked at each other across the table without speaking.

Let People Talk! Have fun dialogue (对白 ) Work to create dialogue that allows the characters’ personalities and voices to come through

Did you…? focus on one experience? show the purpose clearly in that the importance of the event is clear to the reader ? Express your thoughts and feelings throughout? write in first person “I”? have many relevant sensory details (things for the reader to see, hear, feel, smell, taste)? have dialogue in order for the reader to feel like they are there? have why it is important and/or how it affected you ?

What is it again? A personal narrative is a story about something that has happened to YOU. It can't be about someone you know. A personal narrative has to be at least 5 paragraphs long. It is usually about something good that has happened to the you. However, it can be about anything that has happened to you.

The girl is in love. The girl sits eagerly by the door, tapping her foot impatiently as she looks down at her watch. Her boyfriend is already ten minutes late. She starts biting her lip out of anticipation to see him because she knows in her heart that he is the one for her!

Practice “Show Not Tell” The boy is excited. Practice “Show Not Tell”

HW Write a personal narrative (1-2 pages) Write two blog entries (per week)