1. Lit. Minds - Feb-June 2016
Objective:
By the end of this semester students will be able to:
1. Explore tone, emotion, drama and conflict through the vehicle of dialogue/monologue and relate
this to their personal lives and/or topical events
2. Understand, create and build upon the memoir genre so that they can integrate this with texts such
as ‘Blankets’, emblematic moments in their lives, documenting the life and work of pioneering
figures
3. Appreciate the medium of journalism as conduit to inform, opine, discuss and document
4. Gain awareness of global issues and how the written word can influence and inform
5. Develop their ‘authored voice’ - facilitating the sense that writing can also be a form of narrative
therapy or catharsis
6. Complete a portfolio of 3 creative writing pieces by the end of the semester
Description:
Students will meet once a week and explore different concepts and themes of the written form and
creative expression.
This semester will have a more directed focus working from dialogue to memoir and transitioning to
working with journalism skills. As in the previous semester,time and space will be created within each
session for students feelenabled to express,understand and resolve internal and external realities.
DATE THEME/
ACTIVITY
Curriculum/ Notes
Tuesday, Feb
2nd
Dialogue I - Timing and content of comedy
- How to make notes from observations, everyday life
and tribulations
- Looking at rules and assumptions, framing and
reframing
- Reflective
Tuesday, Feb
9th
Dialogue II - Physical/ Political Comedy
- Developing a comic personality/voice
- What happened, what’s your experience and how do
you want to play with or manipulate the material?
Tuesday, Feb
16th
Dialogue and
Monologue III
- Experimenting with presentation of comedy
- Exploring the ‘edges’ of comedy and tragedy and

2. where they might intersect
Ultimate objective: 5 min stand-up routine (solo or in pairs)
Tuesday, Feb
23rd
Memoirs I ‘What will I be?’
Students to explore different types of memoirs:
- Participants will explore who they might become by
discussing their past experiences as a child or young
adult.
- Use personal writing to develop self-awareness
- Incorporate own experiences in writing attempts
- Use examples from graphic novel Blankets
Tuesday,
March 1st
Memoirs II Sibling Rivalry:
- Participants will use the Boondocks and Blankets
comicstrip as an example to explore themes of
sibling and family dynamics:
(1) having older brothers or sisters
(2) having younger brothers or sisters
(3) being the only child
(4) being the oldest
(5) being the youngest
- Participants to share memories triggered by the
Boondocks in bigger group
- Participants could then write about their ‘secret’
feelings concerning family members
Tuesday,
April 5
Memoirs III Parents:
- Participants will use Blankets and Fun House to
explore themes
- Think-pair-share: How can you show someone (best
friend, parent, relative, etc.) that you care about
them? Students will be encouraged to write their
thoughts, then share their ideas with a partner. This
will be followed by a whole class discussion
Tuesday,
April 12
Memoirs IV -
A Treasured Object:
- Create or further strengthen personal narrative
- Participants will bring in a photo or object related to their memoirs to then w
Tuesday,
April 19th
Memoirs V Emblematic Moments:
- Speak and write from personal experience
- Students will record their memoirs discussing a

3. moment in their lives in which they overcame and
challenge. Students can choose the creative writing
they want to do it in, i.e. could be via a poem or
lyrics
Tuesday,
May 3rd
Journalism I News Leads:
- The 5 W’s and H
- Qualities of a good news story
- Active verbs
- Write and revise good leads, role play use of news
elements to plan front page of newspaper.
Worksheet: improve poor leads based on tips for good leads
Tuesday,
May 10th
Journalism II The structure of a news story:
- The inverted pyramid and structure of a straight
news story
- Compare lead writing to other types of writing
Students select own topics or work from pre-prepared
outlines to work to deadlines
Tuesday,
May 17th
Journalism III Descriptive writing:
- Explore the 5 senses as springboard to good
descriptive writing
- Differentiating between literal and figurative
language
Worksheet: creating figures of speech and literal sentences
Tuesday,
May 24th
Journalism IV Interview skills:
- Demonstrate good interview skills and etiquette
- Role play interviews in group
- Talk show clip
Crib for interviews developed
Tuesday, May
31st
Journalism V Guest speaker from Governor Cuomo’s office
Tuesday, June
7
Movie and
Review
Introduction to movie critiquing skills:
- Watch series of short films (fiction and non fiction)
- Evaluate in terms of content, editing, production,
narrative content
Discussion group to elicit above skills.

4. Wednesday,
June 8
End of Year Party End of year BIG party in room 206
Thursday, June
9
Journalism VI Trip to New York Times/Celebration Dinner Afterwards(end of
the year celebration)