Lesson Three

Distribute Background Materials: Quote Writing Process Graphic.

This is a good chart and a good quote to discuss with students.

Talk with them about the thinking process and the writing process.

Form the students into two teams, a thinking team and a writing team.

Have one person or a pair of students assigned to each wedge of the circle.

The students should look up all of the words contained in their wedge in the dictionary (online or in print) and be prepared to completely explain their part of the process to the entire class. Allow about 10 minutes for this.

Take turns beginning with the synthesis part of the thinking process and ending with the evaluation part of the writing process and go through the chart, explaining the various parts of both processes.

Next, have students consider the circular nature of Boyer's statement.

Explain the brainstorm process. Give each person five minutes to organize his or her thoughts about the quotation on paper through a brainstorm.

Lead them to a discussion based on their brainstorm.

You can have an interesting discussion with the students on responsibility for formal expressions of opinion or feelings, by asking them the next few questions. First, give them a bit of time to write down their thoughts and then have a conversation with the large group. It might be a good idea to put these questions on a handout so students could have them in front of them instead of counting on their listening skills to hold out.

1. What do they really think about Boyer's statement? Why?

2. How can his thought be taken further and applied to other means of expression? Give examples.

3. What are some other means of expression, the other ways you could express how you feel about something? Do they belong in a hierarchy?

4. Would we be as responsible for those kinds of expressions and their effects as our writing? Think, for example, about musicians and the influence of their music (and its lyrics) on people.

5. Do we need to think about these other forms of expression more, then? Would this influence the expression itself? How? Is that right?

6. How can you decide which is the best way to express yourself about a particular topic or happening?

Do a jigsawing discussion exercise: