Before class on Wednesday, May 4, students will…

  • Read my Announcement.
  • Read three scenes from Suzan-Lori Parks’ play, Topdog/Underdog. (scenes are posted below).
    • They’re very short! Shouldn’t take more than 10-15 minutes total to read!
    • Be prepared to discuss the questions at the end of each scene.
  • Post two of your revised poetry by 11:59 PM on Wednesday, May 4. Title it Full Name, Poetry (Revised) and save it under Poetry.
    • Be sure to title the post correctly!
  • Journal Assignment 7: Reflect on your experience with poetry writing—good, bad, so-so, and why. Title it Full Name, Journal 7 and save it under Journals.
ENG1141-Topdog_Underdog-ScenesDownload

During and after class, we will…

  • We’ll have an open mic to share our poems! (This activity is optional, though definitely encouraged!)
  • Read (out loud) & discuss the Topdog/Underdog scenes (we’ll talk about those questions at the end of each scene).
  • Discuss how dialogue enhances character, rhythm, and pace to stories.
  • Start writing dialogues! First, we’ll find a text thread in our cell phones and rewrite them as dialogue:
  1. Get out your phone. Yes, a professor is telling you to do this.
  2. Go to your texts.
  3. Find a text thread where you’ve had an argument, a comedic back-and-forth, a lecture to or from a family member, even a boring “can you pick up X” conversation.
  4. Create a post titled Full Name, Journal 8. Save it under Dialogue AND Journals.
  5. Copy and paste the text thread in the post. Add “stage directions” like Parks does and revise the conversation to make it clear to the audience who, what, when, where, why, and how. Change names! Change details! Make a fictional story from truth! Have fun with this!
  • Next, we’ll go to Short Story 2 and add dialogue (or revise existing dialogue) to make the story even stronger.

We’ll also talk about what will be in place of a Final!

  • I’ll lead a discussion about what the Final Reflection entails and the Final Portfolio.

Deadlines…

  • Post Full Name, Journal 8 under Journals and Dialogue by class time on May 11.
  • Post revised Full Name, Short Story 2 (Revised with Dialogue) by class time on May 11.
    • Please remember to title this entry correctly!