Narrative Workbook by Glenda Inverarity

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Writing a Personal Narrative We all have stories to tell. There is no mystery to writing the personal narrative essay. There is no right or wrong topic for a narrative. You have the right to say what you want about your personal experiences. You can write about anything – Uncle Tom’s birthday, the cheap table you got at a garage sale, being stuck in a lift, the happiest day of your life, why you came to Australia or how much you miss your family. Therefore there are endless opportunities to write an essay about your personal, point-of-view of what happened. Once the writing begins and the events are recorded and recounted it becomes clear that you are sharing what you learned from the experience. After you have written your draft essay, rewriting and good editing are important. Then your personal narrative essay becomes a beautiful story.

Look for the following grammar in the stories 

Stages of the text o Orientation, complication, evaluation and resolution

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Writing in paragraphs

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Linking paragraphs

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Describing people, places and things

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Link ideas using conjunctions and reference

Group Activity - Speaking Think about lemons and discuss the following questions and write some notes. What are lemons used for? ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. What songs have been written about lemons? ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. What recipes use lemons? …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… When was the last time you used a lemon? …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… What did you do with it? …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… Have you ever seen a lemon tree? …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… Where was it, what did it look like? …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… Have you got a lemon tree? ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. Would you like to have a lemon tree? ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. What would you do with your lemons? ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Lemon Tree

by Peter, Paul & Mary

When I was just a lad of ten, my father said to me, "Come here and take a lesson from the lovely lemon tree." "Don't put your faith in love, my boy," my father said to me, "I fear you'll find that love is like the lovely lemon tree." Chorus: Lemon tree, very pretty, and the lemon flower is sweet, But the fruit of the lemon is impossible to eat. Lemon tree, very pretty, and the lemon flower is sweet, But the fruit of the lemon is impossible to eat. One day beneath the lemon tree, my love and I did lie, A girl so sweet that when she smiled, the stars rose in the sky. We passed that summer lost in love, beneath the lemon tree, The music of her laughter hid my father's words from me. Chorus One day she left without a word, she took away the sun. And in the dark she left behind, I knew what she had done. She left me for another, it's a common tale but true, A sadder man, but wiser now, I sing these words to you. Chorus 4 ÂŠ 2011 Glenda Inverarity, www.issuu.com/gdiwriter

Group Work (Teacher to provide a lemon to each group) Describe your group's lemon What does your lemon smell like? ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… What does your lemon feel like? ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. What does your lemon look like? ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. How old is your lemon? ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… Does it have any distinguishing features? (What makes it different to the other lemons?) ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. Brainstorm for creative ideas Where was your lemon born? ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… Does it have a family? ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. Does it want to be eaten? ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. What other things could your lemon do with its life? ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… What experiences might it have had before arriving in the classroom? ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… How did it get to the classroom? ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 5 © 2011 Glenda Inverarity, www.issuu.com/gdiwriter

How does it feel about being in the classroom? ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… Give your lemon back to your teacher!

Read a narrative about a lemon tree My husband is not very good at choosing presents so when I told him that I wanted a surprise he was very worried about what to give me. He started asking for clues but I just told him that I wanted something that I could have forever. That ruled out chocolates and fresh flowers. Every day for a week before my birthday he went out shopping but every day he came home empty-handed. Each day he asked for more clues so I told him it should be something practical that I could use each day so I could remember that he gave me a thoughtful present. I think that clue made it even harder for him to choose something. Another day I said it should be put somewhere that I could see it every day. He just scratched his head. Eventually my birthday dawned and I expectantly looked around for a present. There was not one on the end of my bed. There was not one on the table, or in the kitchen. I began to think that I was not going to get a present. My husband was nowhere to be seen. I made a cup of tea and started to read the paper. Suddenly I was interrupted by my husband calling me outside. When I reached the back door, I could see a tree that had been planted in the middle of the back lawn. It had a big red bow around it, and my husband said “Happy birthday!”. He had found a present that would last forever, was where I could see it every day, and I would be able to have lemon in my tea every day. Lucky me!

Who gave me the tree? …………………………………………………………………………………………… Why? ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. What does “ruled out chocolate and flowers” mean? …………………………………………………. What is a clue? …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… What does “empty-handed” mean? ……………………………………………………………………………….. What does “scratched his head” mean? ………………………………………………………………………… 6 © 2011 Glenda Inverarity, www.issuu.com/gdiwriter

What type of tree did he give me? …………………………………………………………………………………… What will I do with the lemons? ……………………………………………………………………………………….. Now go back to your teacher and find your lemon. How do you know it is yours? ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… Write a group story about the life of your lemon

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When you have drafted your story, trade papers with another group and get feedback. To peer-edit, the group who reads your work will fill in the following sentence starters: I noticed ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….… I don’t understand …………………………………………………………………………………………………………. I would like to know more about …………………………………………………………………………………….. 7 © 2011 Glenda Inverarity, www.issuu.com/gdiwriter

I think ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… Make some changes then give it to your teacher who will read the story. Pair work – discussion & note taking Choose a partner who does not come from your country. Each student needs one photograph that they brought to class. While you talk about your photo, ask your partner to take notes into your workbook. Who is in this photograph? .................................................................................................................... When was this photograph taken? ..................................................................................................................... Where was it taken? ..................................................................................................................... Why was it taken? ..................................................................................................................... Who took the photograph? ..................................................................................................................... Who else was there at the time of this photo, but is not in the picture? ..................................................................................................................... What was happening when this photograph was taken? What is the larger story or memory behind this picture? ..................................................................................................................... 8 © 2011 Glenda Inverarity, www.issuu.com/gdiwriter

What sounds, smells, or tastes are associated with the photograph or the memory attached to this image? ..................................................................................................................... What emotions are visible in this image? How can you tell? ....................................................................................................................... Why is this image important to you? ....................................................................................................................... How does this image make you feel? ....................................................................................................................... Where is this photograph usually kept? (Is it in a frame in the living room above the fireplace, shoved in a box under your motherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s bed, in your dadâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s wallet, etc.?) .......................................................................................................................

9 ÂŠ 2011 Glenda Inverarity, www.issuu.com/gdiwriter

Read a Memory Story

My father and grandmother in her front yard

My grandmother with some grandchildren

(Which one is Glenda?)

My Grandmother's Town By Glenda Inverarity

The road and the railway line snake across the wide flat plain, criss-crossing too often. I still feel anxious about crossing those danger traps, checking for trains that once ran with frequency; life lines for these mid-north towns. Mail and newspapers were delivered daily to the towns and sidings along this track. Today’s trip to Owen was one of pure nostalgia. The wide flat plains were brown and dusty in summer yet green and lush in winter were edged by low-lying rolling hills cutting the horizon just a little too short, were a picturesque sight for my city tired eyes. I began remembering games we used to play as we drove this road so often when I was a child. Just out of Hamley Bridge where the road was flat and straight, and us children were becoming restless and quarrelsome, Dad would give us a watch with a second hand. Just as the speedometer of the car turned over a new mile, and, with him travelling at 60 miles per hour, we timed sixty seconds. We would squeal with delight to find that the speedo was running too slow. With that, he reached under the dashboard, and appeared to fiddle with something, then, declaring the speedo fixed, he would tell us to try again. Next time, it would be running too fast! As the novelty of this game wore off, the final leg of the journey called for a very simple game called “Oi”. It was a family tradition. Very simply, the first person to spot the wheat silo of Owen was to call out “Oi”. As I approached the town today, I found myself scanning the horizon for the wheat silos to appear, just beyond one of those gently rolling hills, and as it rose into sight, I knew my journey was nearing its end. I cross the last familiar level crossing, and turn left down the main street, eager to spot familiar landmarks, driving straight past them until I reach my Grandmother’s old house, and park out the front. I had to check twice that I had the right house it looked so different. 10 © 2011 Glenda Inverarity, www.issuu.com/gdiwriter

I had hoped it would look the same, a majestic old limestone house with the central front door, a bedroom on either side it, and a hallway straight down the middle. The wide porch stretched across the front and wrapped itself along the sides of the house, sheltering the rooms behind the front bedrooms. My hopes turned to dismay when I saw the house had been painted a pea-soup-green, hiding all the beautiful limestone bricks. This house looked completely wrong. This was not my Grandmother’s house at all. I didn’t even take a photograph! The old post office has been turned into a senior citizen’s centre. I remember how the train - the bluebird used to come into the station at about 7.00 o’clock every evening, bringing the mail. The postmaster would collect it at the station and bring it to the post office for sorting. On those hot balmy evenings, farmers from miles around would drive their cars, trucks and jeeps into town, and park around the post office waiting for the “sorted” light to be turned on. Then the doors would open up, and the mail was distributed. For us city slickers this out of hours service was an extraordinary festivity, made even more exciting on the odd occasion when the train was later than usual. I well remember that community spirit. Men and women clustered into groups talking and laughing with seldom seen neighbours, but all well known to each other. This is not the post office where I went on those hot summer nights to collect my Grandmother’s mail. This is just an old run down building. I don’t bother to take a photograph. The old church – it is still in one piece, but it’s very derelict - now appears to be the home of a motor mechanic who, when I later peeped over the fence discovered, is using the Sunday school hall as a repair shop. I wanted to scream and shout; ‘You can’t do that!’ But he can. And he is. Rusting old car bodies line the yard which was once the province of children, dressed in their Sunday best picking the flowers which, tended with loving care by volunteer townsfolk, once grew with plentiful colour in this dry, mid-north town, like an oasis in a desert. I put my camera away. This is not the church where I sung hymns as a child, this is a greasy mechanic’s workshop. The drapery building was still in good condition, but it ceased to be a drapery many years ago. There are curtains in the window, and I can see a plant inside. I stand in the middle of the street to take a photograph. You can stand in the middle of the street here. There is no traffic in this sleepy town. I’m glad that someone lives here. I’m glad that this building is still loved, and I remember playing so many years ago with the girl who lived here. We played hide and seek among the tables piled high with rolls of fabric, and in the back of the shop where the rolls, carefully wrapped in brown paper, were piled high - all the way to the ceiling. I wonder what became of her. I can’t remember her name. There used to be two delicatessens in the town. One, The Hennerson’s was off limits to us. They were people who didn’t attend church. There were three churches in this town then, and the Hennersons didn’t attend any of them. I always thought that to walk through the door into that shop would be the same as entering into hell and brimstone. Their shop closed many years ago, when the old man died. I guessed he died because he was a heathen - I had never known death before, and it seemed logical to me that if you didn’t go to church you must surely have to die, after all, Christians have eternal life. I had planned to take a photograph of that little shop which had often beckoned me - just as I imagined the devil might have but, just as I had always walked straight past it as a child, so I also do today. The other delicatessen - the one we were allowed to go to - was still operating, but closed. Saturday hours, according to the sign on the door, were 6.30 am until 11.30 am, and it was now noon. I can’t help wondering why, in such a sleepy town, they would open so early. Perhaps the town still wakes at dawn, as was always the country way. 11 © 2011 Glenda Inverarity, www.issuu.com/gdiwriter

I remember how my Grandmother always rose especially early on hot summer Mondays to light the copper, and wash the clothes before the sun was up. I remember hearing her creeping around the house as early as 4.00 am to do her work before the heat of the day. The tin shed laundry in the backyard was strictly off limits on those days, as the smouldering copper kept the shed steaming hot all day long. Grandma claimed we would faint from heat exhaustion if we went in there. I don’t photograph the ugly delicatessen building, nor do I photograph the hotel. Certainly, the hotel was not a building we ever entered, nor was it of any sentiment to me. I do remember the smell of hops on hot summer nights when we walked along the main street. My wowser Grandmother was always careful to cross the road before we reached the hotel. She told us it was a house of sin, and I feared the smell of those hops, always associating the odour with houses of ill repute. But that was then, and now is now, and today I’m hopeful of a counter meal, and a glass of ice cold beer. ‘You don’t look like a local’ the barman broke the silence as I walked into the front bar of the hotel. ‘No, I’m not a local.’ I replied, and ordered a beer and a toasted sandwich. I used to feel a strong affinity to the community of this town. During the summer holidays we were locals and our grandmother was a respected pillar of the community. My nostalgic trip was nearing its end, and my heart was sinking. Grandmother’s house painted a murky pea-soup-green. The post office, now a run-down senior citizen’s centre. The drapery without any cloth, and the deli closed before lunch to hungry visitors. And now the pub - never part of my sentiments: the staunch enemy of Grandmother’s church, is the only place I can find human companionship, and a bite to eat. Sitting comfortably in that house of ill repute sipping beer, I can’t help wondering where my history as a summer time local was buried.

What town did Glenda go to? ............................................................................. How does she describe the plains? ...................................................................... What two games did her family play on the way? .................................................. What word does she use to say she was shocked when she saw the house? ............... What does she mean by pea-soup-green? .......................................................... Does she like the post office now? ....................................................................... What did she find in the Sunday school hall? ........................................................ What does drapery mean? (use a dictionary) ....................................................... What buildings did she look at in the town? .......................................................... ....................................................................................................................... 12 © 2011 Glenda Inverarity, www.issuu.com/gdiwriter

How many photographs did she take? .................................................................. What is a delicatessen? ...................................................................................... How many churches were in the town? ................................................................. Did her grandmother take her to the pub? ............................................................ Draft a short memory story that relates to your photograph. Include details about places, people, situations, and times in their lives. You should also explain why the memories are important.

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When you have drafted your story, trade papers with another student and get feedback. To peer-edit, the student who reads your work will fill in the following sentence starters: I noticed ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….… I don’t understand …………………………………………………………………………………………………………. I would like to know more about …………………………………………………………………………………….. I think …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Homework – Write a second draft

When you have finished, trade papers with a different student and get feedback. I noticed ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….… I don’t understand …………………………………………………………………………………………………………. I would like to know more about …………………………………………………………………………………….. I think …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Now you are going to learn to write about your life! You are going to write the first thing you think of about yourself. Use full sentences. You might skip some if you don’t have any ideas. You can also be creative! (It doesn’t have to be true) I am .................................................................................................................................................. I have .................................................................................................................................................. I felt happy .................................................................................................................................................. I kicked .................................................................................................................................................. I cooked .................................................................................................................................................. I bought .................................................................................................................................................. I went .................................................................................................................................................. I came .................................................................................................................................................. I enjoyed .................................................................................................................................................. I screamed .................................................................................................................................................. I cried .................................................................................................................................................. I laughed .................................................................................................................................................. I saw .................................................................................................................................................. I tried .................................................................................................................................................. 15 © 2011 Glenda Inverarity, www.issuu.com/gdiwriter

I was tired .................................................................................................................................................. I smiled .................................................................................................................................................. I thought .................................................................................................................................................. I drove .................................................................................................................................................. I forgot .................................................................................................................................................. I arrived .................................................................................................................................................. I had a good time ....................................................................................................................................

Now go back and read what you have written. Tick 6 sentences you like the best.

Class Activity Form two circles, one inside and one outside. Face a partner. Introduce yourself to the partner then read a sentence to each other. When you are finished, each circle will move to the next person. Introduce yourself then read a sentence to each other. Repeat this until you return to your original partner. Pair Activity Find a partner who does not speak your language and read your favourite sentences to that person. Change partners and tell them one thing you learned about your first partner. Individual Activity Write 2 of your favourite sentences (each on the first line). 1. ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ...................................................................................................................

2. ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... 16 ÂŠ 2011 Glenda Inverarity, www.issuu.com/gdiwriter

Now add some more information to each of your two sentences on the extra lines. Find a new partner When you have drafted your story, trade papers with another student and get feedback. To peer-edit, the student who reads your work will fill in the following sentence starters: I noticed ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….… I don’t understand …………………………………………………………………………………………………………. I would like to know more about …………………………………………………………………………………….. I think ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… Make any changes that you think will help your story. Read your own work aloud to your partner. Class Presentation - Read one of your stories out loud to the class.

Now Draft your narrative story

........................................................................................................................... ........................................................................................................................... ........................................................................................................................... ........................................................................................................................... ........................................................................................................................... When you have finished, trade papers with a student and get feedback. I noticed ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….… I don’t understand …………………………………………………………………………………………………………. I would like to know more about …………………………………………………………………………………….. I think …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Do you remember? Re-writing and editing are REALLY important! Structure that is important Orientation Complication Evaluation Resolution (Outcome)

Grammar that is important Conjunctions

Prepositions

Appropriate Paragraphs

Description of people, places and things

Check your draft

19 ÂŠ 2011 Glenda Inverarity, www.issuu.com/gdiwriter