“Living Like…” Your Choice! Writing your own creative narrative.

Directions:
Now that you have read and analyzed Dillard’s story “Living like Weasels,” it is your turn to
write your own. This story MUST be written in first-person. This story is meant to test your
knowledge and understanding of what close reading means, what vocabulary you learned. But
this is also supposed to be fun! So, get creative, be funny, and do your best!
Read the bullet points below to understand what I expect of you:
1. Pick an animal. You must pick an animal and describe its characteristics. This can
mean its appearance, the way it sounds, walks, eats, and acts. You can write about all
of this, but if you only choose one, YOU MUST describe APPEARANCE.
2. Pick an environment. This can be the environment you encounter (i.e. rainforest,
savanna) but it must make sense for your animal. Using the digital links on the
Weebly website, find out where your animal lives or what its habitat looks like. After
you pick an environment, get ready to describe it.
a. Remember: USE the FIVE senses—sight, smell, touch, sound, and taste. The
more you use the five senses when you describe the animal and
environment/habitat, the more powerful the imagery and story can be.
3. Use your VOCABULARY!
a. You MUST use at least 15 of the 30 Vocabulary words. I will list all the
vocabulary words, so you can check off the words you can use. You must
create your own sentences based on the vocabulary words we learned for the
short story. This may seem like its difficult, so if you need help, please ask me
and I’ll help you create some great sentences!
4. Questioning
a. Just like in Dillard’s short story, you need to ask a question. The rubric has
some examples of what good types of questions can be, but I’ll list some here
as well.
b. The questions do not have to be super complex, however, I do have a
requirement: You MUST ask a question AIMED at the readers or the animal
you have chosen to describe.
i. Proficient Examples:
1. I wondered if the noble ostrich felt gratitude that it lived in
peace.
2. Do you ever think the ostrich felt inexplicably unloved because
of the way it looked?
ii. Good Examples:
1. I wonder if lions stalk their prey because it is fun.
2. Do you ever want to touch the lion’s plush mane?
5. Use at least ONE figurative device!
a. This can be used in any way you want. For a full list of figurative devices or
language, check out the useful links page on the Weebly Website! Some
 examples to help you are: onomatopoeia (pop! Shzz! Slam!), metaphor (You
have a heart of stone) , simile (A cat is like smoke because it is hard to catch),
oxymorons (bittersweet), hyperbole (I am so hungry I could eat a horse), etc.
6. Revise
a. After you write your first draft, check for any spelling or grammatical errors.
You don’t want to lose points for this reason.
Here is the list of vocabulary words you can use:
i. Socketed vi. Enchantment
ii. Quarry vii. Pleadings
iii. Plodding viii. Gratitude
iv. Upholstered ix. Supposition
v. Seize x. Stalk
xi. Obedient
xii. Instincts
xiii. Charge
xiv. Biased
xv. Inexplicable
xvi. Yanked
xvii. Prolonged
xviii. Shreds
xix. Overgrown
xx. Limp
xxi. Muttering
xxii. Grate
xxiii. Tangled
xxiv. Aloft
xxv. Mute
xxvi. Nonchalant
xxvii. Plush
xxviii. Jetty
xxix. Supple
xxx. Liche