INVENTED “I” NOTES:
Directions:
Once you have identified a picture for this exercise and someone in it
whose voice you will take on, identify at least 10 specific concrete nouns in the picture itself. Then, create responses to the questions below
as you believe the person in your picture would respond. Please be specific; remember -- events
are made up of sounds, smells, tastes, textures, and visual images. These responses can be used to create your
poems or monologue. (If you draw a blank
on any one question, move on and come back to it later.) You should answer at least ¾ of the questions.
10
specific concrete nouns in the picture: Name/Date
of photo: _____________________________
white socks cuffed sleeves brick steps
lipstick smile plaid skirt pompadours
6 teenagers cuffed jeans serious brows
Mission HS--Spanish
baroque architecture baroque
doorway
1. What is your name? How did you get your name?
Mary. Sounds plain, but there’s a story. My parents named me after the 1930’s silent
film star Mary Pickford. The story goes that I came about the night they saw
her first sound film “Coquette.” Mary won the best actress Oscar for the movie
in 1929. And I was born that June.
2. What
do you do in life? Elaborate on what you
do and why you do it.
I am a senior at
3. What is your most treasured possession?
Describe & tell something about it.
4. What is your earliest memory? How has that experience affected your life?
5. What do you consider your most
distinctive physical characteristic?
Compare it to something.
6. Identify something you want, but are
afraid to ask for.
7. What is your biggest weakness or
vulnerability?
8. What is one thing you would change
about your life to date?
9. What's
boiling just beneath the surface?
It’s Friday. It’s April. I want to
go out tonight. But my father!!! Curfew. Should I lie? John called me a hep
kitten after Biology and I nearly melted into a dreamy puddle.
10. Recount
a dream you remember having.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Based on
your historical time period:
Name three critical historical events that have
impacted your life –in
a small or large way. Describe each and/
explain why.
11. I have lived
through the Second World War. My social studies teacher keeps saying this is
the new atomic age. After what happened in
12. My father, a war
veteran, has had trouble finding work since the war ended. As a result, he has
taken a lot of his stress out on me!
13.
Name three historical
facts about you which have been researched.
14. I go to
15. I am in the
groove. With my kicks (shoes) and threads (clothes. Do you like my tailored
suit jacket. I like to get ginned up (dressed up) and have a ball (have a good
time).
16.
___________________________________________________________________________________________
In the
event portrayed in the picture: [Be as specific as
possible with these answers!]
17. Where
are you? [e.g., landscape, country,
building, etc.]
On the steps outside of
18. Who
else is a part of this moment?
Well, it’s my favorite boys. I’ve
known these guys since I was 10. Now, three of them are starters for the
basketball team.
19. What
is happening?
We are posing for a yearbook
picture.
20. When is it happening? [e.g., day,
time of day, year, season, etc.]
It’s
Friday. School is out.
21. Why are you being photographed?
Like I said we are gammin (showing
off) for the yearbook.
___________________________________________________________________________________________
Complete the following
statements:
(You might use one of
these lines to begin your poem.)
22. I have
lost....
23. I want....my
father to trust me. And I want him to quit being so hard on himself. He doesn’t
like that my mother has been the breadwinner. She’s a cable car driver. I want
to work like my mother even though my grandmother criticizes her. She says a
woman shouldn’t wear pants like Rosie the Riveter. I want… I want..I don’t know
what I want. I know what I don’t want.
My girlfriends’ want marriage or talk about wanting it. Isn’t graduation
supposed to be the railway to the future? I am not ready to hold still and set
up my husband’s home.
24. I have forgotten....
25. No one knows....
26. My story is
like a…
27. Silence is
like a …
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Exploded Images: Make a list of three images that come
to mind when you think back on your life. Then, explode each image into
figurative language (image/simile/metaphor/personification/hyperbole etc.)
28. His slick
pompadour
like a wave crashing on
never a low tide
29.
30.