Literature – Rip Van Winkle by Washington Irving Grade: 6-8 Proficiency Level: Level 5 – advanced proficient Objective: TSW read and interpret the short story Rip Van Winkle TSW identify different elements of fiction within short story WIDA: 1, 2 NJCCCS: 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4 Key Vocabulary: obsequious, malleable, assiduity, incessant, emit, melancholy, impunity, torpor (see vocabulary sheet) Procedure: The students will read the short story Rip Van Winkle with the teacher. The teacher will have the students stop periodically during the story to ask comprehension questions as well as see if the students can identify different elements of fiction that have been presented in the story. The teacher and students will discuss the point of view of the story and what it contributes to the overall “feel” of the story. Discussion will also include the setting and the characters and how all of the elements of fiction come into play during the story. The story and the different elements of fiction will be discussed during and after the reading of the story. Some of the discussion questions are written below. The students will be prompted to take notes during the discussion, because any question discussed could be fair game for a quiz/test. After the discussion, the students will be given a written homework assignment, and following the reading of another short story (along with discussion, interpretation, annalyzation), the students will be given a test on the different elements of fiction, vocabulary, etc. For the test, the students will also be given another short story to read, and then they will have to identify the key elements of fiction within the story and explain their importance to the story. Discussion Questions: What do we come to know about the characters, and how does the narrator shape our view and feelings towards those characters? How does the tone and style influence our feelings of the characters? Give examples. Do you like Rip Van Winkle? Why/why not? During the story, Irving includes some foreshadowing as to what is going to happen to Rip when he is on the mountain. What are the clues in the story that give us an idea that something is going to happen to Rip on the mountain? How does Rip feel when he is in the town after he wakes up? What words/phrases does Irving use to help portray how Rip feels? Do the current residents of the town believe Rip’s story? What clues in the story tell you that? Does Rip go on to live out the rest of his life productively? How does Irving let us know this? What clues does he provide in the story for us to figure this out? If this story were written in a different point of view, how might that change the characters or events of the story? Give some creative examples. Are there any lessons that this story teaches us? If so, what are the lessons? Writing Activity: As a written homework assignment, the students will be asked to write the answer to the discussion question (that will not be discussed during class): If this story were written in a different point of view, how might that change the characters and event of the story? Give some creative examples. The students will be told that it needs to contain at least 3 paragraphs, and it must also include examples using the key elements of fiction that have been discussed. Assessment: The students will have a written homework assignment that will receive an effort grade. The assignment will be a discussion question in which a thought out answer will incorporate several of the different elements of fiction that have been discussed before and during the story. During the reading and discussing of the second short story, the students will be given a quiz on the different elements of fiction (almost like a vocabulary quiz), but the students will also have to explain or give examples of how these influence the story. After reading and discussing a second short story, the students will be given a test on the elements of fiction. The second part of the test will involve the students reading another short story on their own. They will then need to identify the key elements of fiction that have been discussed during our lessons as well as explain their importance to the particular story. Vocabulary Obsequious 1. Obedient; dutiful. Malleable 1. capable of being extended or shaped by hammering or by pressure from rollers. 2. adaptable or tractable: the malleable mind of a child. Assiduity – 1. constant or close application or effort; diligence; industry Incessant – 1. Continuing without interruption; ceaseless; unending Emit 1. to send forth (liquid, light, heat, sound, particles, etc.); discharge. 2. to give forth or release (a sound) Melancholy 1. a gloomy state of mind, esp. when habitual or prolonged; depression. 2. sober thoughtfulness; pensiveness. Impunity 1. exemption from punishment. 2. immunity from detrimental effects, as of an action Torpor 1. dormancy, as of a hibernating animal 2. a state of suspended physical powers and activities.
