Welcome back! Good to see you all, all fine (I hope) and filled with the eagerness to get on that makes school a place where people feel hopeful and excited, that life is happening and that we all belong . . . because in that peculiar, challenging process of doing whatever it is life is whispering we do, feeling connected and in place makes all the difference. Remember the lyrics I feel the earth move under my feet, I feel the sky tumbling down, I feel my heart start to trembling, whenever you're around . . . I know, I know, that's an old love song by Carole King but our emotions color our experience and so whether we are or were in love, thrilled or terrified, the places we remember and imagine from out of the past, see right before us, or view from the perspective of one looking into the future, the real and imagined landscapes of our journeys, these are our subject today. What was it like to be there? What did we see? hear? touch? smell? taste? Were we in a mansion, on a mountain, walking a boulevard or navigating city streets? Was our neighborhood a place where kids played in the street and dogs barked excitedly, where sometimes the flood waters rose to knee height and frogs and snakes made wild companions? Did folks sit on the porch, or did they live behind privacy gates and drive fancy cars? Can you describe your home of homes? And how does it compare to other homes, other places? What makes it distinct precisely? What gives it character? What kinds of life, what kinds of people and things and what jobs does one find there? and what would a map reveal?
Writing Assignment (#3): Writing about place means bringing to a reader's mind the particular aspects that define the essence of your subject place or setting. We stand on whatever ground, sit on whatever chair, stroll whatever paths or sidewalks, swim the river or climb that tree, eat those berries, smell those blossoms, marvel at the moon, swelter in the heat and the dust of late summer, or shiver in the icy blasts that make street corners formidable. In 350 words, conjure a precise and compelling portrait of a place you know well. Underline your thesis idea if it is stated, or type it out at the bottom of the page if it is implicit (clearly suggested but nowhere actually stated).
Title the essay. Double space the lines and tab indent for each paragraph.
Class exercise: we'll read the handouts on paragraph types, and then write some practice examples.
Grammar Work: Verb conjugations, tense forms and usage.
