Aurora Pioneers Memorial College

(Formerly: Cebuano Barracks Institute)

Bonifacio St., Poblacion, Aurora, Zamboanga del Sur
Tel. # (062) 945-0256 / Email: apmc2k7@yahoo.com
Name:_______________________ Yr.&Sc.______________ Subject: Creative Non-Fiction
Teacher: Arnel G. Boholst/Dahlia S. Zamora Contact No.09555585599/09355695917 Email: arnelgaye117@gmail.com/
dynazora@gmail.com

Lesson 2 Differentiating the Types of Creative

Nonfiction
Learning Competency:
Compare and contrast the different forms and types of creative nonfictional text. (HUMSS_CNF11/12-Iia-16)
Deliver an artistic presentation on one of the types of creative nonfiction text. (HUMSS_CNF11/12-Iib-c-17)
WHAT‟S NEW
ACTIVITY 1: PREVIEWING
Scan the text below and answer the following questions:

1. How did the narrator feel when he had to part ways with elementary school classmate?
2. What did the narrator decide to do right after graduating from college?

ACTIVITY 2: DO YOU KNOW ME?

Read the statements below. Using context clues, give the meaning of the underlined words. These sentences
can be found in the reading selection below. You can scan the text, for you to be guided.
1. I do not know much about the music and movies that my high school classmates are fond of, but I do not
want to be out of place, so I painstakingly tried to learn them.
2. My mother had a serious ailment, and since we relied only a small store for our expenses, her conditioned
threatened to drain our financial resources further.
3. In college, I would go to my school in Intramuros with just a few pesos; inevitably, I sometimes rode the
jeepney or the bus without paying the fate.
4. Because we were short on finances, finishing school, as expected, was an uphill battle.

ACTIVITY 3: READING IS FUN

The reading selection below focuses on the struggles that the narrator had experienced while growing up and
attending school. Find out what are these struggles and how, in the end, he was able to pull through.
Still Worth Living: How I Survived Life‟s Uncertainties
Atilla Roma

Because I came from working –class background, I was haunted by the spectre of financial insecurity while
growing up. The modest means of livelihood that my parents had was a small store that sold fish and
vegetables, but we had days when the sales were not good. They were able to continue the business for a few
years, which supported the schooling of the children and satisfied most of our basic needs.
My siblings and I attended the same public grade school which was about one and one and a half 10avourite10
away. From 1984 to 1990, I went to Bayanan Elementary School. Fortunately, through those years, I did not
find it hard to socialize with classmates with whom I shared the same working- class background. It was,
therefore, quite painful to part ways with them when I graduated from elementary.
Many of my elementary classmates and friends went to a public high school just a jeepney ride away from
home. I had also thought that I would attend the same school, so my parents’ decisions to send me in a private
high school, just a stone’s throw our house, came to me as a big surprise. In high school, the experience of
being in a bigger institution and in the company of new classmates, many of whom had relatively comfortable
lives, made me feel uneasy, and
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insecure, and alienated. My lower class upbringing easily came into conflict with middle- class culture of my
high school classmates. Not wanting to feel out of place, I painstakingly tried familiarize myself with the
movies, music, reading materials (mostly foreign and comic books), and fashion that my high school
classmates knew. The feelings of insecurity became more intense whenever I went to my classmates’ well
carpeted and well- furnished houses.
Money was also constant concern, I was given a partial scholarship at the beginning after my father had
personally requested the school administration. But I was not able to keep my grades high and eventually lost
the scholarship. From then on, my schooling became an uphill battle. What made matters worse was learning
that my mother had a serious lung ailment which drained our financial resources further. Before long, our
small store went bankrupt and closed down. I feared that, considering my mother’s condition and the state
our finances, I would not be able continue my schooling.
Fortunately, I was able to earn my high school diploma in 1994 despite having so many absences. Our financial
concerns continued, however, and I felt the need to find immediate employment rather than attend college.
But my parents discouraged me from quitting school, and instead encouraged me to look for a public
university where the fees were relatively low. Although I enrolled in a university, I still continued to struggle
with financial limitations, writing promissory letters in many instances to take major exams and claim my
grades on time. I also asked college teachers to allow me to photocopy books a few pages at a time instead of
buying them. That I had to take two jeepney rides to reach school made my situation more complicated.
Inevitably, I sometimes, rode the jeep or the bus without paying the fare. At times, I would take a two –
kilometre route on foot. I also engaged in odd jobs to help support my schooling and that of my younger
siblings (although they themselves were working students). For a fee, I would do the school projects of
children in our neighbourhood or type the papers of college classmates.
When I graduated from college in 1999, I was determined to find a job right away in order to address my
family’s financial concerns. Because I never really wanted to teach, contented that I had survived four years of
college, I applied in at least four government offices as an ordinary clerk. But when all four applicants got
rejected, despite the relatively good score in the civil service examination I had taken a few months before, I
was left with no other choice but to try my luck in teaching.
Since then, the career I have chosen – far from being my first love – has not only been rewarding financially. It
has also restored my sense of self- worth.
ACTIVITY 4: THINK ABOUT IT
1. Why did the narrator say that it was painful to part ways with his elementary school classmates?

2. How different was his high school experience from the one he had in elementary school?

3. What challenges did the narrator face in high school and college?

4. Can you think of a similar situation where you can say that despite of everything I can still manage life’s
uncertainties? How?

WHAT IS It?
CHART FOR COMPARISON
 BASIS FOR BIOGRAPHY AUTOBIOGRAPHY
COMPARISON
Biography refers to a life’s
Autobiography refers to
story that is written by
Meaning your own life story that is
someone.
written by you yourself.

Can be written with or without

the person’s authorization. As
Authorization long as you know about his/ her No need to ask permission
life and your story is authentic. from yourself.
Written in Third person point of view First person point of view
Purpose To inform the readers about To express, inspire or
someone else’s life. entertain others.
Outlook Based on the researches by It is full of emotional
the author. thoughts.
LITERARY JOURNALISM
LITERARY JOURNALISM is a type of creative nonfiction that is closely related to magazine and newspaper writing. It is
journalism but it deviates from the traditional journalism because it has touch of literature. It is journalism with a twist.
Before a writer can compose an essay about politics, human trafficking, poverty, unemployment or drugs, the writer
needs factual information to write. These facts must be verified first and reliable.
PLEASE REMEMBER!
Before writing a literary journalism you need to consider the following:
 Select a topic of your interest
 Conduct a research about your topic
 Write a dramatic story that will catch the reader’s attention.
 Include a lead, facts/content, and dramatic ending.
BUT WAIT THERE IS MORE: IT SHOULD HAVE THE FOLLWING DETAILS
 Scene must takes place at a particular time.
 Place a scene happens in a specific place
 Details a scene always include important details. These details are the sensory
details which help the reader picture out the event.
 Action it includes the information about the event.
 Dialogue it includes conversation, however, this may not always the case
but it is also considered one of the most important aspect of journalism.