Blog 11

Finally! A book I can use! Not that theory isn’t useful, but it only takes me so far. I can only see so many evenly weighted sides of an issue before I lose interest. I’m tired of “Theory A is good for reasons i, ii, iii, and iv, but it has problems 1, 2, and 3. Theory B, on the other hand solves problems 2 and 3 and is good for v, vi, and vii, but introduces problems 4 and 5 without solving problem 1. And then theory C . . .” Unjournaling I can utilize. It has concrete prompts that serve an actual purpose instead of putting forward X number of open-ended theories. It is something with immediate, practical use.

I made up my mind a few semesters ago to have my students spend the first few minutes of every class writing in a journal. Nothing fancy, just something to give them daily practice. Like it says in the introduction, though, some people might not want to share information because of trust, privacy, or confidence issues (though as I look at it from my current perspective, I don’t see why the sharing of journal entries can’t be on a voluntary basis). That is something I can completely understand. There are some things in my life that I don’t want anyone else to know about, and I think most of us (and I’d be surprised if it wasn’t all of us) have been in a situation where we’ve been asked to share information that we’d rather keep to ourselves. As far as journals go, these prompts keep that on-the-spot feeling to a minimum.

DiPrince and Thurston begin the second paragraph of the introduction with, “Writing does not have to be a psychological journey.” So much of the writing I did in high school was introspective and personal. I didn’t usually mind this approach, but I would have appreciated the kinds of prompts in this book on occasion too. Sometimes it’s fine for writing to be psychological, but it doesn’t always have to be quite so personal. These prompts are fun, mentally stimulating, and they encourage creativity. I also appreciate that it’s good for a broad ability and age range of students. Like the writers mention, I could certainly envision these prompts loosening up hesitant writers while challenging the creativity of experienced writers.

Prompts:

1. Write a paragraph about a girl named Dot, but use no letters with dots (i, j).

Dot turned three years old today! Happy b-day, Dot! She had a huge cake of blue and green, her two most loved colors. Just as the crowd sang to her, a breeze blew by that scattered all around the yard the throwaway plates that were to be used for the cake. The startled guests ran about to collect the plates, but, by chance, the cake was knocked from the table onto Dot’s lap. Dot was unfazed. She beamed as she brought handfuls of the fallen desert to her small mouth.

148. Write a sentence (or more than one sentence) about celebrating a holiday. Use exactly 100 letters—no more, no less.

Thanksgiving is coming soon but it still seems far away. I’m unsure if we will be having family over to share the meal with us.

101. Unbeknownst to most people, the chicken had a lot of reasons for crossing the road. What were at least five of them?

1. The chicken crossed the road because the grass is always greener on the other side.

2. The chicken crossed the road because it was playing "Truth or Dare"

3. The chicken crossed the road because it was feeling adventurous.

4. The chicken crossed the road because its friends called it "chicken!" when it refused to cross the road on a previous occasion.

5. The chicken crossed the road because it was jealous of the turtle in The Grapes of Wrath for having an entire chapter dedicated to it for accomplishing the same feat.