First Draft Conferencing: A Look At "The Bones"

Today is an official first draft conferencing day, a look at "the bones," or the basic content and ideas of your paper. We'll talk about constructive criticism, undue harsh criticism, and empty praise. Obviously, we don't want to be guilty of either of the last two because I'm sure we all agree that they are not at all helpful.





As we share first drafts with our writing teams, we should be getting feedback about our writing...questions that pop up in the reader's mind, connections the reader makes with the content of your writing, and any emotional responses the reader feels as he or she hears each piece. Yes, I said hears. Authors will quietly read their writing to their small writing teams as they, in turn, listen and take notes in response. We'll practice on me first, and then I'll set you loose.





Last night's reading revealed so much about culture and language. Did you notice the confusion Scout felt when Cal seemed to be able to slip into proper, standard English and then to her cultural dialect? Do people still judge others by the dialect they use? This reminded me of the movie Crash when several characters were discriminated against based on their voices alone. How about Lula? Why was she so hateful to Scout and Jem when Cal brought them to church?





Just as Katie blogged about several days ago, you are now reading about a true Southern belle when you read about Aunt Alexandra. She seems overly occupied with heredity and "gentle breeding," and as Scout says, she has "river-boat, boarding-school manners." Her appearance in the household sure sounds like an intrusion to Scout. Do you wonder why she has come?





Lastly, poor Dill has run away and come to hide under Scout's bed. The talk they have at the end of the chapter is endearing, and I think it reveals so much about the innocence of children. Dill's imaginary world is sweet, and it's nice that he shares it with Scout.