Greenlee Naughton
I will need to write throughout my trip, taking notes on dialogue/conversations, and the various settings so that I can recreate these experiences in words. I plan to take “rough notes” as things are happening, and then I will transcribe these rough notes, adding additional details and context. I will also take many pictures of the events, people, animals, settings, etc., that I am describing so that I can show my students how important specific word choice is in recreating something that others have not experienced.
Writing is the major focus of my English grade 10 curriculum, as well as my Freshman (College) Composition courses. As a follow up to their summer assignment of reading A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson, I'd like to have them complete a travelogue entry for their personal blogs that they keep throughout their year in my classroom. I will use my trip to Madagascar as a model to show my students the elements that make up a successful travelogue entry.
I will research the characteristics of excellent travel writing and condense these into tips that I can use for both my 10th graders and college freshmen. I will also continue to look for excellent travelogues of various lengths so that my students can annotate and analyze them as their first step in understanding what a travelogue is.
