1. Brittany FreemanChelsea JohnsenAshley Turner Dr. Robert Petrone ENGL 451N April 27, 2009 Building a Community Through the Elements of Fiction and the Short Story
2. How we got started… “Why do people even read short stories?” “What can we gain from short stories that we don’t from other texts?” “Why should our students read short stories?” From there… “What relevance do short stories have to our students?” What goals can we set for our students based on the answers to these questions?
3. Stage 1—Setting our Goals Understandings Students will be able to read and analyze short stories while paying attention to the literary elements in the story. Develop a sense of community within the class through short story. Skills Students will be able to write their own short story through their understanding about the elements of fiction. Students will be able to design responses to short stories, focusing on sharing details about the story with others. Knowledge 5. Students will be able to critically think about and become the expert on a series of short stories.
4. Short Stories used in this Unit “The Necklace” by Guy de Maupassant “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien “The Greasy Lake” by T. C. Boyle “WWJD” by Will Weaver “Drum Kiss” by Susan Power “Visit” by Walter Dean Myers “Guns for Geeks” by Chris Crutcher “Geeks Bearing Gifts” by Ron Koertge
5. Stage 2—Creating Assessments Short Story Fair: For this assessment students must find three short stories that were not discussed in class, and create a project around a central theme that connects each of the stories. Students may choose any stories they wish, but they must be able to present each short story they pick in an organized presentation centered on the element of fiction. Open Mic Reading: This assessment will be a time for students to share the short stories they have written for this unit. Students must review the writing prompt exercises on the elements of fiction learned in class, and be able to compose their own short story that includes all the elements of fiction studied.
Chelsea: Mention rough start at the beginning. So many short stories, any of them can talk bout elements of fiction. How do you begin? Talk about how we got started. The questions we had to ask ourselves when beginning the unit. From there, we wanted to set goals that fit our expectations of the unit.
Ashley:
Chelsea: Give a little explanation of each story.
Ashley: Short Story Fair. Brittany: Open Mic Reading
Brittany: For element of design we used our goals and assessments to design lesson plans that articulated our goals. (Intro to popcorn writing activity) High schoolers: all class activity
