Page 5 - SpringBoard_Writing_Workshop_Grade7_Flipbook

Writing Workshop 1 (continued)
My Notes
I am 16 now and I still travel back and forth, but it’s mostly up to me to decide when. I’ve chosen to spend more time with my friends at the expense of visits with my mom. When I do go to L.A. it’s like my stepdad put it: I have a cameo role in their lives. I say my lines and I’m off. It’s painful.
What’s the toll of this arrangement? I’m always missing somebody. When I’m in northern California, I miss my mom and stepdad. But when I’m in L.A., I miss hanging out with my friends, my other set of parents and little brother and sister. After all
those back-and-forth flights, I’ve learned not to get too emotionally attached. I have to protect myself.
Many of my friends’ parents are divorced. The ones whose mom and dad live near each other get to see both their parents more. These kids can go to school plays and dances on the weekend, and see their friends when they want. But others have custody arrangements like mine. One friend whose dad moved to New Hampshire sees him at Christmas and for one month during the summer. My girlfriend’s dad lives in Alaska. They know what I know: it’s not fair.
No child should be subjected to the hardship of long-distance joint custody. To prevent it, maybe there should be an addition to the marriage vows: Do you promise
to have and to hold, for richer and for poorer, in sickness and in health, as long as you both shall live? And if you ever have children and wind up divorced, do you promise to stay within the same geographical area as your kids? Actually, since people often break those vows, maybe it should be a law: If you have children, you must stay near them. Or how about some common sense? If you move away from your children, you have to do the traveling to see them.
In two years I go to college. I’ll be living away from both homes, which will present new problems, such as where I will spend holidays. Whatever happens, I’ll continue to build my relationships with both my parents, my siblings and my friends.
Before I have children of my own, I’ll use my experiences to help make good decisions about whom I choose to marry. However, if I do get a divorce, I will put my children’s needs first. I will stay near them no matter what happens.
After Reading
5. When you have finished reading, respond to the questions below in the space provided. Be prepared to discuss your answers with your classmates.
a. Purpose: What was the writer’s purpose for composing this text?
Was it to inform, to entertain, to persuade, to reflect, or to share an experience? Explain. Sample response: The purpose of this essay is to explain the effect of a divorce on a child when the child has to travel a great distance to have a relationship with both parents and families.
b. Audience: Who is the intended audience for this piece?
Sample response: The target audience seems to be other children of divorced parents and maybe the parents who do not consider the best interests of their children.
c. Position/Thesis: What central idea and/or message did the writer want to convey? Sample response: Parents should consider the best interests of their children when they divorce, especially regarding making children travel great distances to have relationships with their parents.
4 SpringBoard® Writing Workshop with Grammar Activities Grade 7
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