GRADE 8 1ST SIX WEEKS: SHORT STORY UNIT
Essential
Question(s)
Writing
TEKS
Suggested
Writing
Product(s)
Reading
TEKS
Key Terms/
Content
Knowledge
Vocabulary
2A,E
Grammar/
Conventions
19A, B, 20B
Formative
Assessments
Summative
Assessments
08/22-09/30 2011
 How do fiction writers keep readers interested?
 How do fiction writers keep you guessing?
Write an imaginative story that (15A):
 sustains reader interest with well-paced action and an engaging plot (15Ai-ii).
 contains a specific, believable setting created through sensory details (15Aiii).
 creates interesting characters and dialogue that develops the story (15Aiv).
 contains a range of literary strategies and devices that enhance the style and tone (15Av).
Write responses to literary texts that demonstrate the writing skills for multi-paragraph essays and provide sustained
evidence from the text using quotations when appropriate – Literary OERS (17C).
Suggested Writing Products:
Suggested Planning Objectives:
 Plot Chart / Story Board
 Plot the linear development of a short story.
 Character Map (split head)
 Determine the point of view and its effect on a short story mentor text.
 SOAPSTone
 Analyze author’s style in a short story mentor text.
 DIDLS
 Make inferences and support with textual evidence.
 SIFT
 Define the qualities of central characters in a short story mentor text.
 Literary OERs
 Determine the meaning of Latin and Greek roots.
 Assertion Paragraphs
 Use vocabulary in an imaginative short story.
 Levels of Questions
 Write well-constructed, correctly punctuated compound and complex
 Anticipation / Reaction Guide (TALA)
sentences.
 One-Pager (AVID)
 Write complex sentences using appositive phrases.
 Dialectical Journal
 Write a short answer response using text evidence to support your ideas.
 Quick Writes (story vocab/roots)
 Support verbal communication with text evidence.
 Kernel Essay / Flipbook (Bernabei)
 Write a one page imaginative short story that is well-paced, engaging, and
 Imaginative Short Story Draft
concise.
 Peer Edit Checklist
 Create a believable setting using sensory details in an imaginative short
 Imaginative Short Story Final Copy
story.
 Incorporate interesting characters and dialogue in a one page imaginative
short story.
 Incorporate literary strategies/devices to enhance style and tone in an
imaginative short story.
Students will:
Anchor/Mentor Texts
 Determine the meaning of grade-level academic English words in context based  The Tell-Tale Heart” (Holt)
on Latin and Greek roots (2A, 2B).
 “So Stupid” (pdf)
 Summarize plot and analyze how linear plot developments work to resolve or
not resolve conflicts (6A).
Suggested Texts
 Analyze effects of different points-of-view on stories (6C).
 “The Ransom of Red Chief” (Holt)
 Make complex inferences about text and use textual evidence to support
 “The Landlady” (pdf)
understanding (Fig. 19C, D).
 “The Wife Story” (pdf)
 Analyze how characters’ qualities in stories influence theme and conflict (6B).
 “The Tiger’s Heart” (pdf)
 “The Weird Herald” (pdf)
 Linear Plot Development (Conflict, Rising Action, Falling Action, Resolution, Denouement, Subplots)
 Short Story Elements (Theme, Irony, Suspense)
 Author’s Style (Diction, Tone, Mood)
 Point-of-View (Limited, Omniscient, Subjective, Objective)
 Literary Strategies (Plot, Setting, Character)
 Literary Devices
 Figurative Language
Words from Anchor and Suggested Texts
Word Roots
ANG, ASTRO, BOTAN, CENT, CHRONO, CYCL,
CON (CO, COL, COM), CORP, DI/DY/DU, EQUI
From 15 of the Most Common Grammatical Errors
Sentence Study
4.Sentence Fragments
Brushstrokes - Appositives
5. Run-on Sentences/Comma Splice/Fused Sentences
Special Sentence Structures from Anchor/Suggested Texts
Annotations, Storyboard or Plot Chart, Reading Comprehension Checks, Grammar Practice, Vocabulary Practice, Inner/Outer
Circle, Timed Writings, Brushstrokes Practice, Character Map, SOAPSTone, DIDLS, SIFT, Levels of Questions,
Anticipation / Reaction Guide (TALA), Mind Map, Dialectical Journal (Pre-AP Strategy), Quick Writes (short story vocab
and roots), Kernel Essay / Flipbook (Bernabei), Imaginative Short Story Draft, Peer Edit Checklist
One Page Short Story, Vocabulary Assessment, Literary OERs, Assertion Paragraph, One-Pager
Writing CBA #1 Window 9/26 – 10/07 (Short Story and Revising/Editing)