Minilesson: My Achilles' Meal

​Mini-lesson:
My Achilles' Meal

By Aadrien Glover

Goals:
I can recognize elements of different genres, especially realistic fiction and memoirs.
I can write a focused, well-organized personal narrative.

Multiple Choice

_______ introduces the important CHARACTERS of the story. It may also introduce the setting.

• Sombody

• Wanted

• But

• So

• Then

Multiple Choice

SWBST

• Somebody. Wanted. But. So. Thanks.

• Somebody. Walked. But. So. Then.

• Somebody. Wanted. And. So. Then.

• Somebody. Wanted. But. So. Then.

Multiple Choice

Summarize the following passage:

Johnny ran through the neighborhood, desperately looking for a toy for his younger sister. He saw many shops that looked promising, but he had no idea what to get her. After several hours of searching, his older brother suggested that he look online for things sisters like. Within 10 minutes of browsing the web, Johnny found the right toy for his sister. Her birthday was going to be amazing.

• Johnny wanted to get a toy for his younger sister, but he didn't know what to get, so he looked online for help, then he found the perfect toy.

• Johnny wanted to run around the neighborhood, but he didn't find his sister, so he went online for help, then he found his sister.

• Johnny wanted to surf the web for 10 minutes, but his brother wanted a birthday party, so he looked for a toy for his sister, then he asked his brother for help.

• Johnny wanted to forget about his sister, but her birthday was coming up, so he asked his brother for advice, then he searched the web.

Multiple Choice

Hudson hurried out of the house so he wasn't late for work. He wore overalls and carried a toolbox with wrenches in it. He hopped in his truck and drove off. The sign on his truck said, “Pipe Masters.”
What can be inferred?

• Hudson is an auto mechanic.
• Hudson enjoys his job.
• Hudson works as a plumber.
• Hudson is a car salesman.

Multiple Choice

An inference is...

• text evidence + background knowledge (schema)

• making a wild guess

• summarising the text

• information you can find directly in the text

Multiple Choice

What is a memoir?

• A narrative based on an author's entire life from beginning to end.

• A narrative based on an author's certain experiences/events in their lives.

• A fictional based narrative.

• A narrative based on only facts and historical events.

Multiple Choice

Memoirs are always written in which point of view?

• first person 
• second person 
• third person
• This is a trick question.  Memoirs can be written in any point of view.

Common, Proper, & Possessive Nouns

A noun is a person, a place, a thing, or an idea.

Common Nouns: name non-specific people, places, things, or ideas.
They are only capitalized at the beginning of a sentence.
Examples: girl, car, school, peace
Proper Nouns: name specific people, places, things, or ideas.
They are capitalized.
Examples: Sally, Honda, BCMS, July
Possessive Nouns: show ownership.
Both common and proper nouns can be possessive.
Examples: mines, yours, ours, theirs

TIP:
Family titles like mother, father, and aunt are only treated as proper nouns and capitalized when they are used as part of the person's name, like Aunt Peacock.

Examples of Common, Proper, & Possessive Nouns

This chart shows sentences with examples of common, proper, and possessive nouns from "My Achilles' Meal."

Categorize

Options (9)

teeth

woman's

hands

girl

company

Tavoos's

girl's

Khaleh Tavoos

Aunt Peacock

Read the passage. Then, categorize the nouns from the passage.

The woman's name was Khaleh Tavoos. She was also known as Aunt Peacock. Tavoos's teeth were missing, and she had very wrinkled hands, but she was thrilled to have the young girl's company.

Common Noun

Proper Noun

Possessive Noun

Writing a Personal Narrative

A personal narrative is a true story about the writer's life. A memoir like "My Achilles' Meal" is an example of a personal narrative.

Multiple Choice

Personal narratives are:

• a retelling of an event or moment from the life of the writer

• an organized method of writing used to prepare for a debate

• used to persuade the reader to side with your opinion

• used to present information with relevant data and research