PERSONAL ANECDOTES
STORYTELLING ACTIVITY GOULD/ENG4U 60 marks In this activity, we will be studying ANECDOTES. The following work will be posted on a page of your web site dedicated to anecdotes. “Anecdote” is not a familiar word to most students, but it is a form of communication that most of us use all the time, nearly every day. Whenever you tell someone a story about ″something that happened to you″, you are telling an anecdote! an·ec·dote /ˈanəkˌdōt/ noun noun: anecdote; plural noun: anecdotes 1. a short amusing or interesting story about a real incident or person.”he told anecdotes about his job” PART 1: ANALYZE TWO PERSONAL ANECDOTES (10 marks) For this part, you will watch five videos (assigned by your teacher) in which people share personal anecdotes. Three of these storytellers are “professionals”, while two are just average people. Choose two of these videos to ANALYZE AND ASSESS using the following organizational structure: [unique_solution]Analyze and assess the CONTENT (the story itself, what the anecdote is “about”, its meaning and purpose) —content strengths —content weaknesses analyze and assess the STYLE: (how the speaker organizes ideas and delivers the story, including voice expression and body language) —style strengths —style weaknesses NOW, CHOOSE TWO CATEGORIES BELOW, AND USE THOSE CATEGORY TO FOCUS YOUR NEXT TWO ACTIVITIES. Whichever categories you choose, your “found” anecdotes and your own personal anecdotes must fit that category (some anecdotes might fit more than one category, which is fine). ANECDOTE CATEGORIES: —funny/silly/comedic event —inspiring/life-changing/significant learning experience —bad experience or cautionary tale PERSONAL ANECDOTES: STORYTELLING ACTIVITY PART 2: TWO FOUND ANECDOTES (10 marks) GOULD/ENG4U 60 marks FIND AND PRESENT TWO PERSONAL ANECDOTES THAT YOU FIND ONLINE You will choose one anecdote (either written text, or video, or audio) that fits EACH of your two chosen categories. Try to find examples that you think are really good. Post the videos or text or audio files on your web site, and write a few sentences to explain why you selected each one. PART 3: WRITING TWO OF MY OWN ANECDOTES (40 marks) PRODUCE YOUR OWN PERSONAL ANECDOTES You will write your own anecdotes, one in each category. Your anecdotes must tell the short stories of two events that happened to you. You will plan these anecdotes, conference with your teacher about your ideas, produce the anecdotes in written form, and then for ONE of them only, record yourself using your voice to tell the story, or present it to the class and/or your teacher. On your web site, identify TWO STORY/ANECDOTE WRITING STRATEGIES that you will try to implement in your own writing, and TWO STORYTELLING PRESENTATION STRATEGIES that you will try to implement. You may copy and paste these strategies from the internet, but be sure to link to the source of any information that you borrow. USE A VARIETY OF RESOURCES LIKE THE ONES BELOW TO GET TIPS ON STORYTELLING TECHNIQUES AND CHOOSE WHICH STRATEGIES YOU WILL FOCUS ON Many resources are available to help you write a great anecdote and present it effectively: https://chroniclevitae.com/news/1019-the-personal-touch-using-anecdotes-to-hook-a-reader https://nathanbweller.com/5-simple-tips-telling-better-anecdotal-stories/ ANECDOTE EXAMPLES: Zig Ziglar: Attitude is Everything https://youtu.be/Pm9kgILeWh4 Maya Angelou talking about her mother and an abusive ex-boyfriend https://youtu.be/gH-kwGQxrek Ross C. tells about his frightening near-death experience https://youtu.be/_X_PtJwNu3Q Louis CK’s story about smoking marijuana https://youtu.be/U8FzGlgVGdo Angela’s story about a bad shopping experience https://youtu.be/K0e-he_dU58 How would you address the coronavirus situation if you were president?why? (Only one page)