RCWP Writers NotebookSacred Writing Time7/1/13

Fragments and Two Word Sentences (Anderson 64-67) Writers should master the complete-sentence technique before getting fragments-happyBill Walsh, The Elephants of Style (64). Fragments may add rhythm, emphasis, and variety to writingwhen theyre intentionaland sometimes even when they are not (64). The ability to pare a sentence down to its essential core is the first tool students need in order to uncover the craft of all sentences (64).

Mentor Texts: Excerpts taken from The Color of Water, by James McBride A couple of weeks later the bus dropped me off and Mommy was not there. I panicked. Somewhere in the back of my mind was the memory of her warning me, Youre going to have to learn to walk home by yourself, but that memory blinked like a distant fog light in a stormy sea and it drowned in my panic. I was lost. My house was two blocks away, but it might as well have been ten miles because I had no idea where it was. I stood on the corner and bit back my tears. page 14

She refused to learn how to drive. Daddys old car sat out front for weeks, parked at the curb. Silent. Clean. Polished. Every day she rode her bike right past it, ignoring it. page 7

Excerpt taken from Night, by Elie Wiesel Meir, my little Meir! Dont you recognize meYoure killing your fatherI have breadfor you toofor you too He collapsed. But his fist was still clutching a small crust. He wanted to raise it to his mouth. But the others threw himself on him. The old man mumbled something, groaned, and died. Nobody cared. page 101

More mentor texts on page 65 of Mechanically Inclined. 1. Sticky Note: Write down a complete sentence. It could be about anything, any topicbut make sure it is complete! 2. Discussion: Reflect on your sentence: What did you do? How do we know your sentence is complete? Explain 3. Mentor Text: Read the excerpt from The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (pages 119-121). While reading, highlight or underline short sentences that stand out to you in the reading Perhaps they were damp. Perhaps the fire didnt burn long enough to fully reach the depth where they sat. Whatever the reason, they were huddled among the ashes, shaken. Survivors. Three books. Liesel spoke softly and she looked at the backs of the men. Come on, said one of them. Hurry up, will you, Im starving. They moved toward the truck. The threesome of books poked their noses out. Liesel moved in. The heat was still strong enough to warm her when she stood at the foot of the ash heap. When she reached her hand in, she was bitten, but on the second attempt, she made sure she was fast enough. She latched onto the closest of the books. It was hot, but it was also wet, burned only at the edges, but otherwise unhurt. It was blue. The cover felt like it was woven with hundreds of tightly drawn strings and clamped down. Red letters were pressed into those fibers. The only word Liesel had time to read was Shoulder. There wasnt enough time for the rest, and there was a problem. The smoke. Smoke lifted from the cover as she juggled it and hurried away. Her head was pulled down, and the sick beauty of nerves proved more ghastly with each stride. There were fourteen steps till the voice. It propped itself up behind her. Hey! That was when she nearly ran back and tossed the book onto the mound, but she was unable. The only movement at her disposal was the act of turning. There are some things here that didnt burn! It was one of the cleanup men. He was not facing the girl, but rather, the people standing by the town hall. Well, burn them again! came the reply. And watch them burn. I think theyre wet!

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, do I have to do everything myself? The sound of footsteps passed by. It was the mayor, wearing a black coat over his Nazi uniform. He didnt notice the girl who stood absolutely still only a short distance away.
***A REALIZATION *** A statue of the book thief stood in the courtyard Its very rare, dont you think, for a statue to appear before its subject has become famous.

She sank. The thrill of being ignored! The book felt cool enough now to slip inside her uniform. At first, it was nice and warm against her chest. As she began walking, though, it began to heat up again. By the time she made it back to Papa and Wolfgang Edel, the book was starting to burn her. It seemed to be igniting. Both men looked at her. She smiled. Immediately, when the smile shrank from her lips, she could feel something else. Or more to the point, someone else. There was no mistaking the watched feeling. It was all over her, and it was confirmed when she dared to face the shadows over at the town hall. To the side of the collection of silhouettes, another one stood, a few meters removed, and Liesel realized two things. ***A FEW SMALL PIECES*** OF RECOGNITION 1. The shadows identity and 2. The fact it had seen everything 4. Discussion: What did you highlight? Why? What does it do for you as a reader? How does it impact syntax? Discuss and take notes. 5. Freewrite: Consider the following writing prompt options A. Think about a time when you did something you werent suppose to, and you got caught, or someone saw you. B. Have you ever stolen something? Why? Describe that moment, your motivations, and how you felt. C. Describe a moment where you saw something that you felt was wrong. It was a situation or event that you knew was incorrect, despite other people joining along. D. Other?

6. Sharing: Pick your favorite two word sentence and highlight/box it. Share with the class and we will write them on our class collection.
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