Download: Sarah Dohrmann “This I Belive” LP
Genre(s) taught: argumentative writing, poetry, & personal essay writing
Grade(s) taught: 9th & 10th
Lesson Objective:
Each student will write a scene from their life that will later serve as the “supporting evidence” of something they believe in; then they’ll write one sentence that simply states the belief that their scene exemplifies.
Common Core State Standards: (Refer to the Anchor Standards for Writing at www.corestandards.org/ELA-Literacy/CCRA/W)
All standards listed below are ELA standards for the 9th & 10th grade:
- Text Types and Purpose :
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.3
Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, well-chosen details, and well-structured event sequences. - CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.3.A
Engage and orient the reader by setting out a problem, situation, or observation, establishing one or multiple point(s) of view, and introducing a narrator and/or characters; create a smooth progression of experiences or events.
Sarah Dohrmann is a Brooklyn-based writer of literary nonfiction whose work has appeared in Harper’s Magazine, Tin House Magazine, The Iowa Review, and New York, among others. She began teaching in the schools with T&W in 2001 and currently teaches at New York University; she also independently leads a personal nonfiction writing workshop called Diving Into the Wreck. After earning her MSW in June 2023, Sarah serves as a clinical social worker in the Domestic Violence Aftercare Program at University Settlement in New York City's Lower East Side.
