Navigating Discourse Genres:  Shows two small kids paddling a canoe

Parallel Texts in American Sign Language and English
on Canoeing in the Boundary Waters

with Eric Larson and Jenny Stenner
Interpretations by Anthony Verdeja


Procedural Texts

Procedural–Gives instructions as to the accomplishing of a task or achieving of an object

The texts on this page are procedural in that they are descriptions of how to go about the process of preparing to go on a canoe trip in the Boundary Waters.

Use the menu on the left to go the transcript or outline for these texts.

English – Procedural Text


The length of this text is 4:38.

Click below to open the English Transcript

English Transcript

English Transcript of Procedural Text

When I think about doing a trip in the Boundary Waters, and uh, consider doing a trip with individuals who have not paddled before, some of the things that I consider…You really want to break it down into steps, and I think it’s most important to first consider looking at the abilities of the people who are on the trip. If people have paddled canoes or kayaks before, and if they have outdoor living skills, or if they are really fresh and green to the whole experience.

But being that the Boundary Waters is a wilderness area, and it’s managed by the Federal forest service, there are checkpoints in place where, that all organized trips have to follow. So what you want to first consider is how long you intend to stay out, there are designated points of travel where you have an entry point that you have to get a permit for, and you have to outline your trip for the individuals at the Forest service making sure that they know where you are going and when you are coming out.

And one of the things I have found that is real helpful for that is to look at a guide book; there are many guide books to, to traveling in the boundary waters. They actually have trips broken down into difficulties, from rugged to intermediate to pleasure trips. And in those, they just give brief descriptions of how many, how long the portages are, and, uh, the numbers of campsites in different lakes, the types of fish you might find, the wildlife you might find in the different areas. So, I am a firm believer in sitting down and doing a little pre-trip planning, making sure that everybody’s expectations of what we are going to be doing, and where we are going to be traveling are meshing. Everybody’s comfortable with the extent of what our trip is going to entail.

And looking at that, some of the things you have to do, there are certain entry points in the Boundary Waters that are a lot more popular, and it’s all kind of guided by a quota system. On any given day, “x” number of entries are allowed in certain points. So, if you’re planning to go into a more, let’s say, an easier, an entry point that might not have as many portages, that might not be as difficult and might have more paddling and less portaging, uh, those entry points are a lot more popular. So, they fill up a lot quicker. And you’re going to want to make sure that you get right on the stick, even as early as April, February, March, April, early in the spring to do your planning for this. Because it’s a very popular thing to do and a popular place to visit.

Um, when you’re looking at these things, you also want to consider the type of equipment that is going to be necessary. It’s not necessary for everybody to bring their own pots and pans and stoves. You want to break down who’s got an operable stove, who’s got the right kind of cookware, who’s going to be doing the food, the menu preparation. And just really, really dial it in, so that everybody is feeling like they have things that they can contribute to the trip planning.

So, once you’ve got your entry point picked out; you’re comfortable with the amount of time you’re going to be spending; you start to work on your menu, you get your….If people have not paddled before, you might want to do a little pre-trip paddling together, maybe even go over some procedural things like, uh, if a canoe was to tip over, how you’d get back into the canoe. Uh, and another thing that a lot of people don’t realize, and they tell you this when you watch your information video getting your permit, that there are black bears. Your food needs to be hung up, and they’ll even go over a system by which you use a pulley system of hoisting the food up into the air each evening.

Um, so those are some things to consider when doing a trip, but the biggest thing about it is that you want to keep safety in mind, and it needs to be fun for everybody. Um, a trip like this can be fun, should be fun, with the right preparation going into it. And all that takes, uh, a little bit of time and forethought.

ASL – Procedural Text


The length of this text is 6:25.

Starter question:

A procedural text gives the steps towards doing something. What are the ways that each text uses to show moving from one step to another?

Click below to open the ASL Outline

ASL Outline

 Procedural – ASL outline

v I was asked a question about how to plan for going to the BWCA
v Two different methods
Ø If not experienced, best to go to an outfitter
Ø They have everything listed out that you might need
¨ Tents
· Sleeping Bags
· Shovel
Ø For going to the bathroom
¨ In BWCA, most have pit toilets
· Some places might not have toilet
¨ Best to include a shovel
¨ Other camping supplies
Ø Have food you will need
§ BWCA doesn’t allow glass
¨ Must carry everything in plastic
¨ Bottles or ziploc bags
Ø Outfitter has list of everything
§ Can select food from menus
¨ Get Canoes, paddles, lifejackets for your party
¨ Get things to fit depending on size of people
Ø Outfitter gets everything ready for you
§ You just wait for them to tell you they’re ready
Ø Sometimes they’ll even meet you at the lake and get everything ready for
you
Ø Can get 1st Class Service
· But it’s expensive
¨ My family doesn’t use an outfitter
§ We get prepared ourselves
Ø First time we went, it was awkward
§ Made list of things
Ø Have it in computer and ready for next trip
· Have updated the list
Ø Past summer’s trip, just printed out the list and checked off all the items
Ø Before that, I should tell you I have a Duluth Pack.
Ø Some people line it with an old plastic bag and re-use it every year
§ I buy a new plastic bag and use it for the summer.
· Throw it out at the end of summer
Ø Buy New one in the spring
¨ Tends to get holes over the summer’s use
Ø Pack different items in to the Duluth Pack
¨ Tent
· Sleeping Bag
· Not my clothes
Ø First put in Sleeping bag
Ø Then tent
Ø Then Shovel, tend to put in the big things in here.
· Have another Pack for clothes
¨ Not really a Duluth Pack
¨ Special backpack for canoeing
Ø Has drawstring and rubber coated
· Expensive, but a good investment
Ø Not sure if it is called a Duluth pack or not
¨ Pack all the family’s clothes in this one
§ On bringing clothes
Ø Can’t pack a lot of clothes
· Have to bring one pair of pants
¨ Advise against Blue jeans because they don’t dry quickly
Ø Best to bring wool or thin nylon pants
¨ Patagonia also has good pants
· Not sure what the material is called
¨ Warm, light, easy to pack, dries easily
¨ I bring one pair of shoes
¨ Or Hiking boots (which are a little Heavy) and Tevas
¨ So only two pairs
Ø But generally wear the Tevas
Ø Pack all of that into the waterproof Clothes pack
§ The Duluth pack has the camping things
¨ Tent
· Sleeping Bag
· Stove
Ø Not a large camping stove
· Small propane one
Ø Some people use the kind you have to pump
· I’m too lazy so have a propane one you just turn on
Ø Other item is food.
§ Some people buy dehydrated food
· Tasty, but expensive
Ø We don’t want to spend so much money on food
· I generally cook meals before the trip
¨ Like chili with meat
Ø Our family likes it with meat
¨ Then put the meal in a Zip-Loc bag
· This past christmas, my father gave us a machine for vacuum
sealing food
Ø Double wrap it and then freeze the food
· This way is a little heavy
¨ Pack the food from the freezer when ready to go
Ø For drinks, we use tang, not Orange Juice
· Tang needs to go in a Zip-loc bag
§ Have a list for what food to bring
· End up with three packs: for camping supplies, clothes, and food
Ø Also need a canoe
Ø We don’t own a canoe
§ Don’t’ go often enough to make it worth it
¨ Rent from outfitter
Ø Have different options for canoes
§ Aluminum
¨ Wood
¨ Kevlar
¨ Fiberglass
Ø Can pick out what suits you
· Some people don’t like Alumimum because it’s too heavy
Ø Wood can be nice because it’s home made
· We rent from the outfitter
¨ Lots of outfitters to choose from
Ø My family makes our own list
§ Clothes
§ Equipment
§ Food
Ø That’s how we plan.