Family Cultural
Expressions
ASSIGNMENT
Write a 5-page essay telling other students about one or more of the following
elements of your family’s culture: stories and storytelling, celebrations (e.g.
religious, ethnic, seasonal, and national holidays), ceremonies (weddings,
funerals, and other rites of passage), needlework and other crafts, traditional
music, traditional games and toys, foodways, home and yard decorations, and
visiting customs (guests, hosts).
READING NOTES
First read, carefully, everything you have written in your "Kid-to-Kid" notebook
about your family’s cultural expressions--also check your loose-leaf pages in
folder. Write key words in the left margin that summarize the content of each
section, paragraph, or entry. Place a star * by your favorite passages [or put the
sections you might want to use for the essays in brackets like these].
OUTLINE OR WEB
In your "Kid-to-Kid" notebook, make a detailed web (or an outline). For the big
categories, use words such as stories, celebrations, ceremonies, crafts, music,
games, foodways, decorations, and visiting. Use an entire page for the web.
FIRST DRAFT
In your Presentation notebook, write the first draft of your essay. You must write
neatly enough so that others can read what you have written. You must write
with paragraphs--begin a new paragraph every time you move to a new
“category.”
Introduction--in the first 1 or 2 paragraphs, introduce your family, and tell
which expressions you will be writing about.
Exposition--in the main part of your essay, describe your family’s expressive
culture--organize by clusters of paragraphs and give many examples.
Conclusion--in the final 1 or 2 paragraphs, pull your ideas together and
summarize what is most important about your family’s cultural expressions.
You might include questions for further inquiry.
PEER EDITING
After you have finished writing, find another student or two who will edit what you
have written. They will look closely for:
ideas and content (focused, detailed examples),
organization (clusters of paragraphs, introduction, transitions, conclusion),
voice (appropriate for purpose and audience, reveals author’s experience),
word choice (clear, specific, lively, and natural words),
sentence fluency (variety of lengths and structures, complete sentences), and
conventions (capitalization, spelling, grammar, punctuation, handwriting).
FINAL DRAFT
On loose-leaf paper, take what you learned from peer editing to rewrite your first
draft into a final draft using your best ideas, organization, words, mechanics, and
handwriting. Write a title for your essay on the top line--and your name. Hand in
with peer editing form.