On Writing...with Freshmen...

So my freshmen are finishing Romeo and Juliet right now. Before this year, I hadn't taught the play since, well, let's just say it's been a long time. This has been a totally different unit for me. I went in with solid goals for the end (not necessarily assessment goals, but goals, nonetheless). It's my version of beginning with the end in mind. I look at my seniors and see how deficient they are. Then, I look for lessons that might close that deficit with my freshmen. Analysis is a problem with my seniors. Writing stamina is a problem with my seniors. Let me rephrase that; writing is a problem with my seniors.

As we near the end of our Romeo and Juliet unit, I want my students to write an essay that incorporates their new knowledge about star-crossed lovers and gives me an opportunity to teach solid technique. So I'm slowly developing a plan in my mind. A week of rough drafts.

Here's my thinking. We often give students a list of essays to choose from, have them pick a topic, and start writing. I've seen some students get frustrated with their choice and discard it halfway through. What I can do instead of overwhelming them with choices is offer them a different type of choice. We can spend a week working our way through different topics in prewriting and rough draft writing. I have a list of topics in my mind that we can work our way through:

• Compare and contrast what you desire in a mate with what you parents desire in a mate for you. (Brainstorming already done on both.)
• Who killed Romeo and Juliet?
• A character analysis

And that's all I've got.

But each would require brainstorming, prewriting, webbing, and mini-lessons. And at the end of the week, they would have a series of rough drafts to work on. They can choose which one they finalize.

That's my idea. I'm dragging my feet about really putting my lesson together, though. The Olympics are on. And begging me to watch.