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Discuss your thoughts on today's descriptive narration activities (re: Student Paragraphs and Essay - Yearning for Love by Chantra Shastri, Writing Process Worksheet - The Drag by Mike Kavanagh, etc.)
Today's descriptive narration activities were helpful because it gave us practice in Critical Thinking. It strengthened our skills in comprehension and learn to fully understand the underlying messages in passages.
I wish I could say the same for me. It was actually difficult for me to understand the questions we were doing. I kept either writing down the wrong answers or blanking out in the middle of the question. I guess doing more of those questions would eventually help me understand the message.
Today's descriptive narration activities were kind of difficult for me to grasp. I felt like they were not different from a regular descriptive essay. Actually, maybe I did see that there was some kind of message given on each essay. Other than that, it was hard for me to fully understand the narrative that we went over. Maybe I should study up on it some more?
It was quite difficult for me to find the meaning of the passage at first too, but I soon understood it. With a bit more practice, I'm sure we can fully understand it.
I guess the difference is that descriptive might be written more formally and the descriptive narration is more like writing down an oral story as you hear it. I don't know about you but when I read these essays, I had a voice in my head selected for that author and read it in a tone that I could imagine them speaking to me in. Shastri's sounded like she venting to me about her arranged marriage, and Kavanagh's seemed like he wanted to tell me about the rush of his race.
Huh. I guess the saying: "Practice makes perfect" applies to me here. I'll keep trying my best to understand the lesson. Time to study up for the test!
Today's discussion on descriptive narrative essay really can make us feel the environment of what we are reading. Making us smell, touch, feel, and hear what we are reading. It can make reading much more interesting because it will make you be the character instead of reading about the character.
I agree. These essays are my favorite to read as well. It has a lot of good descriptions in the essay to make you imagine you're in the story as well. If written well it also keeps the reader's attention on the essay and not have it straying off because all there are in the essay is plain writing.
I like how you see things Kei. I agree that reading is far more interesting and appealing if you are reading as if you were the character instead of just reading about the character. By placing yourself inside the story you allow yourself to better understand what is going on and how the main character is feeling. The descriptive narrative essay has got to be one of my favorites so far.
I agree, I feel that the descriptive narration format of writing feels more personal and all the more exciting than you're average essay. It's a lot easier to understand the point a person who trying to get across when they're speaking in colloquial expression, but also, the details provided in descriptive narrative sound much better than the bland facts provided in biology essays.
Today's activities helped understand more about descriptive narration and using sight, sound, smell, and touch. Using these to help describe a situation to try making us relate to it.
Using our senses in our essays I think is the best way to describe your story. That's what helps the reader's visualize everything that's happening in your essay and allows them to enjoy the essay more as well.
It's like reading a story too! I enjoyed reading their descriptive narration about their topics. I can't say the same about the exercises right after, though. But I do believe that those questions should help us understand the stories a bit more than if we were to read the stories without having those critical thinking questions afterwards.
I was a bit confused on what was going on at first. If we were discussing about a descriptive essay or a narrative essay, but hey, it's both ! the descriptive part is using your senses I guess (smell, touch, sight, hearing) and the narrative part is how you could explain and relate to the topic and its descriptive ideas. in the descriptive/narrative essay you basically merge the two and come out with a descriptive/narrative essay. today's activity helped me understand what to look out for in a descriptive/narrative essay if I were to be asked what the writer is talking about. what part I the descriptive and what part is the narrative. I'm still a bit confused but I will get it eventually.
I agree that with a little time and practice we will all become efficient writers. I can see where things got confusing for you but I'm glad you stuck it though and started to understand things a little more.
At first, I was confused on what exactly were we trying to learn, too. I think you explained it in the best way possible. Now I feel confident in my skills to write a descriptive narration. I really enjoyed the second one we worked on analyzing in class so I feel that maybe I'll be able to follow in the footsteps of that author when writing a descriptive narrative.
I thought that today's lesson was pretty interesting. I liked that we were really involved in this discussion. I really liked that we went around the room and got to know each other a little more.
I also liked how we went around the room sharing what comforts each of us. It was a good opportunity to get to know each other and become closer. It was nice to see that we all had something in common.
I also enjoyed it when we went around the class and learned about what comforted each of us. It was a great way to get to know one another a little bit more. We had the chance to see what eases our mind. We were able to compare our answers and talk about something that wasn't necessarily completely related to English. I thought that our short discussion benefitted us greatly.
I think that was the best part of class! Learning about the class and creating discussion not only brought the class closer together in terms of bonding but also made us more comfortable with each other in terms of acquaintances. By that, I mean that I will feel more comfortable asking a classmate to peer-edit my paper because that person and I have something in common and I am less intimidated by them as a stranger. Also, our topic actually had to do with the paragraphs we were reading and discussing in class so I feel that our "comfort remedy" discussion was a great way to connect with our reading.
Like everyone, I really enjoyed how we got to know each other a little bit more. It really helped us bond a little better, and engage in the lesson at the same time.
I like today's lesson. The stories gave me a better understanding of a descriptive essay. I felt like I was in the actual scene. With more practice, I will get better.
Today's lesson was very helpful. It gave me a better understanding of descriptive narrative essays. I liked see the examples of essays because it felt like I experienced what they wrote.
The Yearning for Love passage was easy for me to understand. It was just like telling a story and adding in the senses. Reading descriptive narration passages give you a better feel of the story. The exercise right after helped me better interpret the what the passage was about.
I agree that a descriptive narration really puts you into the story. It's almost as if you are there experiencing everything that the main character is experiencing. You can really feel the internal struggle of the Indian women in The Yearning for Love. The exercise was really helpful in further understanding what the author was trying to say.
I liked the Yearning for Love passage, but I had to reread it a few times when trying to answer the questions on the exercise. The questions that we were given are ones that you would really have to comprehend what the writer is implying. I did understand it a lot more after the exercise though, and it helped me with the next passage to be more attentive to the details the writer's giving and what the message is in that passage.
I agree that descriptive narratives give you a better feel of the story. It puts you in the setting of the story so that you can understand everything that happens. For example, the essay on drag racing called on our senses so that we could feel the pressure and excitement that a race entails. With all the descriptions, we were able to be the driver in the story. We could sense everything and relate to what the author wanted us to know.
This passage wasn't as descriptive as the Drag by Mike Kavanagh, but it still had a strong focus that enabled us, the readers, to sympathize in the situation.
I really enjoyed today's lesson. Doing all the analytically stuff like asking why the Indian girl's mother was crying or what emotion the drag racer was trying to convey really interests me. I feel that going over essays and passages in this way helps me to understand the writing better. It really sharpens my critical thinking skills.
The first exercise we did in class was the hardest one for me today. It made us think about why the mom was crying even though the passage didn't necessarily say it directly. It is a good skill though to practice because it shows that we really have to understand what we are reading to see what the writer is implying in his/her essay.
I strongly agree with you. The questions at the end of each reading helped me to understand the purpose of the writing better. We had to dissect the essays in order to comprehend them. The questions required you to think about what you just read and apply the knowledge you gained from it to form an answer. It made us use our critical thinking skills today.
Although the questions is good for mental exercise, they really hurt my brain that day. I couldn't focus, so I ended up putting a totally off answer from everyone else. I remember I answered: "She was unhappy with her marriage." on the Yearning for Love question when it asked why the mother was crying, haha!
I thought today's descriptive narration activities were very helpful. It gave me ideas on how to write my essay for Test #2. I especially liked the essay on The Drag because it was very descriptive and at the same time telling a story as well. The writer used his senses when writing the essay and described the race from start to finish. I also thought it was really well written because it had me imagining I was in the story as well.
I also found the essay about the drag racing very intriguing. The writing put me in the situation that the author was in. The description that was provided helped me to understand everything that goes on when a person is about to begin a race. I could feel the pressure and excitement that a racer experiences every time he or she enters the car. The writing was very effective in telling a story while simultaneously adding heavy descriptions.
I agree. This is like story-telling reminds me of when I used to lay down and someone else would read me a story and i'm just trying to imagine it out while they add in all the details. When they get in deeper with details it's when we can best understand the story.
I thoroughly enjoyed the narration activities that we read over today. The essays covered different topics that were unique and interesting. The recall questions at the end of each reading really helped me to understand the whole purpose of the writings. I also liked how we went around the class and learned what comforted each of us. Overall, today's lesson was insightful and useful in aiding us with our future tests.
I think the reading activities we had were great. We learned to understand the passage thoroughly. Looking for the implied message of the author. It was a good practice for us reading comprehension that some information may not be written in the passage but can be found or understand as you read the passage
I find it beneficial for all of us to apply our understanding about the paragraph we read through the exercise at the end. It was a good practice that enabled our minds to fully grasp the concept of the Drag by Mike Kavanagh and Yearning for Love by Chantra Shastri, through their style of using a descriptive narrative essay.
On another note, the question about our comfort food that was brought up, was fun and interesting.
I enjoyed the short passage "Yearning for Love." I feel that it was too short to really dive into, figuratively but the author gave enough detail to make me sympathize, at the least. The topic that Shastri wrote about is not necessarily common to my peers on Guam, so it wasn't relatable. However, I feel that the writer did her best in explaining how deep of a situation it was in those small paragraphs. She didn't give much detail towards the situation, actually, but left it for interpretation with the hints about her mother crying which is a great technique to make your readers reflect.
Although I know relatively nothing about drag racing, I feel that the author of "The Drag" did an excellent job of describing the experience. Down to every sense, he says exactly what he smells, thinks, hears, feels both literally and metaphorically. I'd like to emulate his writing in my essay for the test. Even when I wasn't familiar with the scene at all, he did the best job of painting the image in my head.
I agree even if we're not familiar with the writting if they're able to describe it well like "The Drag" it sorta gives us that feel on what is going on.
I thought that the descriptive narratives given were very helpful and provided me with more insight on how to write a descriptive narrative, paired with the writing process worksheet I definitely felt more confident in my work! :)
Today's descriptive narration activities were helpful because it gave us practice in Critical Thinking. It strengthened our skills in comprehension and learn to fully understand the underlying messages in passages.
ReplyDeleteI agree the exercises we completed in class today was a good practice for me and helped me understand the passage more
DeleteYes, it gives us practice on critical thinking. Also, the passage was like an example which was really helpful to me.
DeleteThe exercises really did help me interpret the message the passage was giving.
DeleteThe questions presented in the exercise really requires us to read and understand the paragraph we read.
DeleteI wish I could say the same for me. It was actually difficult for me to understand the questions we were doing. I kept either writing down the wrong answers or blanking out in the middle of the question. I guess doing more of those questions would eventually help me understand the message.
DeleteToday's descriptive narration activities were kind of difficult for me to grasp. I felt like they were not different from a regular descriptive essay. Actually, maybe I did see that there was some kind of message given on each essay. Other than that, it was hard for me to fully understand the narrative that we went over. Maybe I should study up on it some more?
ReplyDeleteNow that you mention it, what is the difference? I thought they were just the same.
DeleteIt's quite easy to understand when you know more about it.
DeleteIt was quite difficult for me to find the meaning of the passage at first too, but I soon understood it. With a bit more practice, I'm sure we can fully understand it.
DeleteI guess the difference is that descriptive might be written more formally and the descriptive narration is more like writing down an oral story as you hear it. I don't know about you but when I read these essays, I had a voice in my head selected for that author and read it in a tone that I could imagine them speaking to me in. Shastri's sounded like she venting to me about her arranged marriage, and Kavanagh's seemed like he wanted to tell me about the rush of his race.
DeleteHuh. I guess the saying: "Practice makes perfect" applies to me here. I'll keep trying my best to understand the lesson. Time to study up for the test!
DeleteToday's discussion on descriptive narrative essay really can make us feel the environment of what we are reading. Making us smell, touch, feel, and hear what we are reading. It can make reading much more interesting because it will make you be the character instead of reading about the character.
ReplyDeleteI think it's much more interesting to read as well because you feel like you are in the story.
DeleteDescriptive stories are the ones I love to read because it does make you feel like you are actually there experiencing it.
DeleteI agree. These essays are my favorite to read as well. It has a lot of good descriptions in the essay to make you imagine you're in the story as well. If written well it also keeps the reader's attention on the essay and not have it straying off because all there are in the essay is plain writing.
DeleteI like how you see things Kei. I agree that reading is far more interesting and appealing if you are reading as if you were the character instead of just reading about the character. By placing yourself inside the story you allow yourself to better understand what is going on and how the main character is feeling. The descriptive narrative essay has got to be one of my favorites so far.
DeleteThe best kind of story-telling! :D
DeleteI agree, I feel that the descriptive narration format of writing feels more personal and all the more exciting than you're average essay. It's a lot easier to understand the point a person who trying to get across when they're speaking in colloquial expression, but also, the details provided in descriptive narrative sound much better than the bland facts provided in biology essays.
DeleteToday's activities helped understand more about descriptive narration and using sight, sound, smell, and touch. Using these to help describe a situation to try making us relate to it.
ReplyDeleteAlso, it makes us feel like we are there with them.
DeleteUsing our senses in our essays I think is the best way to describe your story. That's what helps the reader's visualize everything that's happening in your essay and allows them to enjoy the essay more as well.
DeleteIt's like reading a story too! I enjoyed reading their descriptive narration about their topics. I can't say the same about the exercises right after, though. But I do believe that those questions should help us understand the stories a bit more than if we were to read the stories without having those critical thinking questions afterwards.
DeleteI agree, it strengthened our skills in using the five senses to write effective essays.
DeleteI was a bit confused on what was going on at first. If we were discussing about a descriptive essay or a narrative essay, but hey, it's both ! the descriptive part is using your senses I guess (smell, touch, sight, hearing) and the narrative part is how you could explain and relate to the topic and its descriptive ideas. in the descriptive/narrative essay you basically merge the two and come out with a descriptive/narrative essay. today's activity helped me understand what to look out for in a descriptive/narrative essay if I were to be asked what the writer is talking about. what part I the descriptive and what part is the narrative. I'm still a bit confused but I will get it eventually.
ReplyDeleteIt is a merge of both and can be very interesting to read and write.
DeleteI agree that with a little time and practice we will all become efficient writers. I can see where things got confusing for you but I'm glad you stuck it though and started to understand things a little more.
DeleteAt first, I was confused on what exactly were we trying to learn, too. I think you explained it in the best way possible. Now I feel confident in my skills to write a descriptive narration. I really enjoyed the second one we worked on analyzing in class so I feel that maybe I'll be able to follow in the footsteps of that author when writing a descriptive narrative.
DeleteYes, but in time, we will get used to writing and understanding the fuse of narrative and descriptive essays.
DeleteI thought that today's lesson was pretty interesting. I liked that we were really involved in this discussion. I really liked that we went around the room and got to know each other a little more.
ReplyDeleteI know, I liked how we shared things. We should do more things like that.
DeleteIt was very interesting knowing that some of my colleagues had common interests as me.
DeleteI also liked how we went around the room sharing what comforts each of us. It was a good opportunity to get to know each other and become closer. It was nice to see that we all had something in common.
DeleteI also enjoyed it when we went around the class and learned about what comforted each of us. It was a great way to get to know one another a little bit more. We had the chance to see what eases our mind. We were able to compare our answers and talk about something that wasn't necessarily completely related to English. I thought that our short discussion benefitted us greatly.
DeleteSame here, the interaction we had allowed us to get to know each other a little more.
DeleteI think that was the best part of class! Learning about the class and creating discussion not only brought the class closer together in terms of bonding but also made us more comfortable with each other in terms of acquaintances. By that, I mean that I will feel more comfortable asking a classmate to peer-edit my paper because that person and I have something in common and I am less intimidated by them as a stranger. Also, our topic actually had to do with the paragraphs we were reading and discussing in class so I feel that our "comfort remedy" discussion was a great way to connect with our reading.
DeleteLike everyone, I really enjoyed how we got to know each other a little bit more. It really helped us bond a little better, and engage in the lesson at the same time.
DeleteI like today's lesson. The stories gave me a better understanding of a descriptive essay. I felt like I was in the actual scene. With more practice, I will get better.
ReplyDeleteI felt the same way an hope to get better at it too.
DeleteEveryone gets better with practice (:
DeleteToday's lesson was very helpful. It gave me a better understanding of descriptive narrative essays. I liked see the examples of essays because it felt like I experienced what they wrote.
ReplyDeleteThe Yearning for Love passage was easy for me to understand. It was just like telling a story and adding in the senses. Reading descriptive narration passages give you a better feel of the story. The exercise right after helped me better interpret the what the passage was about.
ReplyDeleteI agree that a descriptive narration really puts you into the story. It's almost as if you are there experiencing everything that the main character is experiencing. You can really feel the internal struggle of the Indian women in The Yearning for Love. The exercise was really helpful in further understanding what the author was trying to say.
DeleteI liked the Yearning for Love passage, but I had to reread it a few times when trying to answer the questions on the exercise. The questions that we were given are ones that you would really have to comprehend what the writer is implying. I did understand it a lot more after the exercise though, and it helped me with the next passage to be more attentive to the details the writer's giving and what the message is in that passage.
DeleteI agree that descriptive narratives give you a better feel of the story. It puts you in the setting of the story so that you can understand everything that happens. For example, the essay on drag racing called on our senses so that we could feel the pressure and excitement that a race entails. With all the descriptions, we were able to be the driver in the story. We could sense everything and relate to what the author wanted us to know.
DeleteThis passage wasn't as descriptive as the Drag by Mike Kavanagh, but it still had a strong focus that enabled us, the readers, to sympathize in the situation.
DeleteI really enjoyed today's lesson. Doing all the analytically stuff like asking why the Indian girl's mother was crying or what emotion the drag racer was trying to convey really interests me. I feel that going over essays and passages in this way helps me to understand the writing better. It really sharpens my critical thinking skills.
ReplyDeleteThe first exercise we did in class was the hardest one for me today. It made us think about why the mom was crying even though the passage didn't necessarily say it directly. It is a good skill though to practice because it shows that we really have to understand what we are reading to see what the writer is implying in his/her essay.
DeleteI strongly agree with you. The questions at the end of each reading helped me to understand the purpose of the writing better. We had to dissect the essays in order to comprehend them. The questions required you to think about what you just read and apply the knowledge you gained from it to form an answer. It made us use our critical thinking skills today.
DeleteAlthough the questions is good for mental exercise, they really hurt my brain that day. I couldn't focus, so I ended up putting a totally off answer from everyone else. I remember I answered: "She was unhappy with her marriage." on the Yearning for Love question when it asked why the mother was crying, haha!
DeleteI thought today's descriptive narration activities were very helpful. It gave me ideas on how to write my essay for Test #2. I especially liked the essay on The Drag because it was very descriptive and at the same time telling a story as well. The writer used his senses when writing the essay and described the race from start to finish. I also thought it was really well written because it had me imagining I was in the story as well.
ReplyDeleteI also found the essay about the drag racing very intriguing. The writing put me in the situation that the author was in. The description that was provided helped me to understand everything that goes on when a person is about to begin a race. I could feel the pressure and excitement that a racer experiences every time he or she enters the car. The writing was very effective in telling a story while simultaneously adding heavy descriptions.
DeleteI agree. This is like story-telling reminds me of when I used to lay down and someone else would read me a story and i'm just trying to imagine it out while they add in all the details. When they get in deeper with details it's when we can best understand the story.
DeleteI thoroughly enjoyed the narration activities that we read over today. The essays covered different topics that were unique and interesting. The recall questions at the end of each reading really helped me to understand the whole purpose of the writings. I also liked how we went around the class and learned what comforted each of us. Overall, today's lesson was insightful and useful in aiding us with our future tests.
ReplyDeleteI think the reading activities we had were great. We learned to understand the passage thoroughly. Looking for the implied message of the author. It was a good practice for us reading comprehension that some information may not be written in the passage but can be found or understand as you read the passage
ReplyDeleteI find it beneficial for all of us to apply our understanding about the paragraph we read through the exercise at the end. It was a good practice that enabled our minds to fully grasp the concept of the Drag by Mike Kavanagh and Yearning for Love by Chantra Shastri, through their style of using a descriptive narrative essay.
ReplyDeleteOn another note, the question about our comfort food that was brought up, was fun and interesting.
I enjoyed the short passage "Yearning for Love." I feel that it was too short to really dive into, figuratively but the author gave enough detail to make me sympathize, at the least. The topic that Shastri wrote about is not necessarily common to my peers on Guam, so it wasn't relatable. However, I feel that the writer did her best in explaining how deep of a situation it was in those small paragraphs. She didn't give much detail towards the situation, actually, but left it for interpretation with the hints about her mother crying which is a great technique to make your readers reflect.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I know relatively nothing about drag racing, I feel that the author of "The Drag" did an excellent job of describing the experience. Down to every sense, he says exactly what he smells, thinks, hears, feels both literally and metaphorically. I'd like to emulate his writing in my essay for the test. Even when I wasn't familiar with the scene at all, he did the best job of painting the image in my head.
I agree even if we're not familiar with the writting if they're able to describe it well like "The Drag" it sorta gives us that feel on what is going on.
DeleteI thought that the descriptive narratives given were very helpful and provided me with more insight on how to write a descriptive narrative, paired with the writing process worksheet I definitely felt more confident in my work! :)
ReplyDelete