"Defending Your Life" Exercise

This exercise was inspired by the film with Albert Brooks and Meryl Streep about a man who, before finding his place in heaven, must stand before a tribunal and watch episodes of his life played before them.  He must then defend his actions and explain himself.

This activity uses this same principle that there are significant moments in all of our lives, and some we may not be proud of. It demonstrates how writers use memories from their own lives for materials for their stories, essays, and novels by encouraging students to use their own lives as a basis for their essays.
	Setting up "Defending Your Life"

Give your students plenty of time to write and enough time to share their ideas with their groups.  This activity may be viewed as a preview for their topic-finding for the Literacy Essay.

Ask them all to think of a moment in their lives that they're not  too proud of.  If someone could look back at this moment (perhaps a time they cheated on a test or let down a friend who was counting on them), what might this person think about you or your actions?  This should help students to think about issues of audience and the need to explain things fully to a reader who has not lived their lives with them (something they sometimes forget).  Then ask them to explain why they did what they did.  This should emphasize the need for description, detail and development.  

When they have finished, ask them to consider what they think this moment might reveal about them.  Then have them share this with their group or a partner and have the group or partner decide what they feel the episode reveals about the writer.  Hopefully, these two purposes will match, and may give them an idea for an essay topic.