Aim: How can active reading be applied to interpret writers' choices that create a narrative voice?
Do Now: WHOLE CLASS DISCUSSION
What does it mean to you when you hear the phrase: "to come of age"?
Our class had a short discussion for this Do Now. The responses from each student varied, but shared the same general idea. We concluded that “to come of age” meant a transition from adolescence to adulthood. To add on, different religions and cultures might have something that marks this transition. For example, in Judaism, bar mitzvah and bat mitzvah ceremonies are held when a boy or girl turns 13. In addition, many American teens celebrate a Sweet Sixteen on their 16th birthday. There is also a similar hispanic celebration called a Quinceañera, which celebrates a girl’s 15th birthday.
My peers had more specifically stated -
(Oscar) When you reach the age of 18, you become an adult. It is the milestone you reach when you become an adult.
(Lapyan) To come of age means to mature into a more responsible person.
(Isabella) To come of age means growing up to a point where you're more responsible, respected more, and when people start looking up to you.
(Sahil) When a person “comes of age,” they mature and develop into an older, more refined person.
The Double-Entry Journal
A double-entry journal is a note-taking strategy for actively reading a text. In your journal, you can connect your own experiences to those of the characters, share your opinions about what is happening, trace the development of the characters, and comment on the writer’s choices that create the voice of the narrator.
After reviewing how to take notes using the Double-Entry Journal strategy, our class watched a video on NARRATIVE VOICE to gain a better understanding of the three types of narrative voice.
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHl7mDZzfDw&ab_channel=mistersato411
Main points gathered from the video -
The writer creates the narrative voice.
The narrator can be a character in the story, or tell the story as an observer.
When the narrator is a character in the story, they speak directly to the reader in first person. In first person, we get the thoughts and feelings of the narrator.
The writer can choose to make the narrator tell the story from a distance as an observer, using third person. Sometimes in third person, the narrator focuses on the thoughts and feelings of only 1 character, which can help us understand the character more closely.
Narrative voice can be determined through pronouns used in the text.
QUESTION
What narrative voice is the following text written in?
He waited and tried to maintain his calm. “I will stay calm,” he told himself.
They pushed and shoved in the line: elbows and bags; everyone too close.
We determined the narrative voice used in this text was from a third person perspective. The narrator uses the third person pronoun “he” to refer to the central character, and quotations to show the character’s inner voice speaking.
After learning about narrative voice, we practiced the double-entry journaling strategy while actively reading an excerpt from Speak, by Laurie Halse Anderson. In this scene, the narrator, Melinda, is dealing with a new experience: the first day of high school.
Students took turns spirit reading. As we read along, we were tasked to highlight quotes in the text that made us think, while paying particular attention to diction, imagery, and syntax.
REVIEW
Diction - What word choices does the speaker make? Formal or informal?
Imagery - What words and phrases include sensory details to create images?
Syntax - Are the sentences short, long, simple, complex?
THINK / PAIR / SHARE GROUP WORK
Choose four of your highlighted quotes, making sure you choose a variety of types, and record and react to them in your graphic organizer.
Then exchange, and write responses to each other’s comments, explaining your own reaction to the trigger text or how you feel about your partner’s response.
Did you see things the same way or differently? Why?
My graphic organizer is shown below, my partner was Carmen.
When we returned from our breakout rooms, we had a brief class discussion on what we noticed about our responses in comparison to our peers. We noticed that some of us had the same quotes, or similar responses and feelings towards the same quotes.
However, the type of response each person gave may have differed. Some responses were more personal, focusing more on connections and opinions, while others focused more on diction, imagery, and syntax.
INDIVIDUAL ACTIVITY
Anderson was 38 years old when Speak was published, yet she captures a teen girl’s voice through her diction, syntax, and imagery. To explore how, choose three quotes you think sound particularly authentic to a teen's voice and respond to the following:
Does Melinda’s sarcastic interior monologue seem authentic? Why or why not?
What inferences can students draw based on her voice? From her voicelessness?
“There is no way of telling what the acceptable fashion will be.”
“And it gives me time to scan the cafeteria for a friendly face or an inconspicuous corner.”
“Shut your trap, button your lip, can it. All that crap you hear on TV about communication and expressing feelings is a lie. Nobody really wants to hear what you have to say.”
Melinda’s sarcastic interior monologue does seem authentic. Many high school teens are focused on fitting in and Anderson captures that desire to “fit in” perfectly. Through her thoughts we learn that Melinda wants to fit into the “acceptable fashion,” and she also tries to find a place to sit at lunch so she doesn’t stand out. In addition, like many teens, Melinda doesn’t like expressing her feelings, and would rather bottle all her emotions up. She tells herself to “Shut your trap, button your lip, can it.” when she is confronted by Mr. Neck. Melinda’s internal monologue also reveals her opinion towards expressing her feelings, “All that crap you hear on TV about communication and expressing feelings is a lie. Nobody really wants to hear what you have to say.” From Melinda’s voicelessness, we can infer that she is a quiet student, and that she tries to fit in so she doesn’t stand out. Melinda chooses to keep quiet, even in a situation where it would have benefitted her if she spoke up. She doesn’t stand up for herself, causing Mr. Neck to misunderstand the situation. Melinda chooses to stay quiet, as it would be easier to give up, than even attempting to correct the misunderstanding.
Reflection
What did I learn?
Why did I learn it?
How will I use what I learned?
From this lesson I learned a new strategy for note-taking while actively reading; the Double-Entry Journal strategy. This is a useful method to jot down your reactions and ideas when actively reading and engaging in a story. If I ever need a quick and efficient way to get my thoughts down on paper, I will be sure to use this strategy in the future.
This lesson’s topic was narrative voice and the choices a writer makes in their story to create a narrative voice. Narrative voice is an essential element in writing that affects other literary elements such as mood and tone. The three types of narrative voice was mostly a review for me, since I had touched on the topic in the past. However, I learned that the narrator’s voice in a story can help us characterize the central character. In Speak, Anderson uses a variety of techniques to capture a teen girl’s voice through the character, Melinda. While following along and reading the excerpt from Speak, it had not occurred to me that Melinda’s voice had been created when Anderson was 38 year old. Upon further investigation, I started to understand how Anderson was able to capture the voice of a teenage girl so seamlessly. Through choices in diction, syntax, and imagery, writers can capture the speech, actions, and thoughts of a character. One element Anderson focused on to create the voice of Melinda was diction, or word choice. Anderson’s choice of informal slang words reflect that of an actual teenager’s speech. In a story, the choices of the writer creates a narrative voice. By recognizing the specific choices the writer makes, we can better characterize and understand future characters through a narrative voice.
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