This I Believe Brainstorm #1

On a piece of paper, put on one side

"I BELIEVE" and put "DON"T BELIEVE" on the other side. Take 10 minutes to write about what I believe. We will use these for the

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This I Believe Brainstorm #2

Listen to a sample of writing for the spoken word. Note - how it is different than the standard five paragraph essay that you are used to writing?

On a separate piece of paper, write things that you believe framed around the following:

• Who?
  • Who do you believe in?
  • Who is your hero?
  • Who do you look up to when the going gets tough?
• What?
  • What do you believe to be true for you in your everyday life?
  • What is at the core of your being?
• When?
  • think of a time when something finally made sense to you..
  • when you realized that you were not alone... a time when you felt totally at ease and at peace with the world and you who are
• Where?
  • Think of a place where you feel most at ease
  • A place where you feel you are accepted for who you are
  • A place where you go to feel that way or a place you have created for yourself (could be reading books, writing, the soccer field)
• Why?
  • Why do you believe in the things that you believe in? Who influenced you? Was it a person, place or thing that influenced you?
  • It may be because someone taught you to believe it, or encouraged you to find your own way...
• How?
  • How did you come to believe what you do about how to live your life?
  • Was it from a group you attend?
  • Your family (parents/ brothers, sisters, etc.)?

Now., listen to another personal reflection about an event in history. Keep this in mind as you leave today to write your rough draft of your This I Believe Essay.

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This I Believe - #4 - Getting to the Main Idea

Today, you will read the rough draft of someone's essay. Your job is to summarize what they believe in 20 words or less. Remember, the less still needs to get their main point and tone and overall feeling across.

• Change papers with someone in class as directed by the instructor.
• Have a blank piece of paper on which to write your response.
• Ask them their name and find out three facts about them
• Review their rough draft
• Summarize the overall tone, feeling and emotions from the rough draft in 20 words or less.
• Listen to short lecturette about speaking in public (think "fat cat" as a prompt).
• Share what you have written.

We will then check online and you will be assigned a sample essay from the This I Believe website. You will go through the same procedure (except writing down three facts) and then summarize the assigned person's This I Believe essay in 20 words or less. You will be asked to present this to the class as well.

We will finish typing the essays in class.