Focus Lesson Planning Sheet
Focus Lesson Bringing Forth the Story Arc – Grades 4-5
Topic
(Adapted from Calkins and Kesler, 2006)
Materials
Note: This lesson may take two days. On the second day, teachers
may wish to explicitly model (with his/her own writing) the process
of revising to refine/build a narrative story arc. See MidWorkshop Teaching Point (LC, Book 2, pp. 132-133) for more
information.
Peter’s Chair by Ezra Jack Keats and Shortcut by Donald Crews,
How Stories Tend to Go chart (see attached), story mountain for
Peter’s Chair sketched on chart paper (see attached)
Note: For this lesson, students must be familiar with Peter’s Chair
and Shortcut. If students are not familiar with these stories, the
teacher should choose other familiar stories with simple, narrative
structures.
Connection
Explicit
Instruction
Over the past few days you have been working hard to finish your
drafts. Some of you have even been coming to me saying, “I’m
done!” It’s a great feeling to finish writing a piece, isn’t it? But
writers have a saying: ‘When you’re done, you’ve just begun.’ That
means that when you finish your draft the important work is just
beginning because it is time to revise and make your writing even
better!
The word ‘revision’ comes from the word ‘vision.’ It literally means
to look again. Today I will teach you one way to revise, or look
again, at your writing. I want to teach you how to revise your draft
by bringing out the story structure that might be hiding underneath
your personal narrative.
By now you have probably realized that our writers’ workshop
follows the same general format. We gather for a focus lesson,
have time for independent writing, and end with a group share. You
can count on that pattern every day. Stories are like that too,
because there is a pattern for how stories usually go. Most stories
begin by introducing a character and usually the main character has
hopes or desires. Then the main character’s hopes or desires
usually leads to some type of problem or trouble. Finally, things
happen related to the problem and the story ends with a resolution.
[Show How Stories Tend to Go anchor chart.] This is called a story
arc.
Let me show you what I mean by a story arc as I see it in the book
Peter’s Chair. [Quickly, think aloud and retell the story. Emphasize
important parts related to the story arc: character, problem,
events related to the problem, resolution.]
Guided
Practice
Send Off [for
Independent
Practice]
Group Share
Here is an easy way to see the story structure in Peter’s Chair.
[Draw mountain-shaped arc on chart paper.] We’ll call this a story
mountain because of its shape. The main character, Peter, wants
his family to stay the way it is. [Put a dot at the base of the story
mountain and jot down this information. Continue to think aloud and
create the story mountain.]
Now listen as I retell the story of Shortcut. When I finish, I will
ask you to turn and talk to a partner about whether the story arc of
this book is the same as the story structure in Peter’s Chair.
Remember how stories tend to go. [Briefly retell Shortcut.]
Turn and talk to your partner. Would the story arc for Shortcut be
the same as the one for Peter’s Chair? Be sure to explain your
thinking to each other.
I want you to always remember that writers think about the way
stories usually go. As you look over your story today, keep in mind
that your personal narrative will be stronger if you bring out the
elements of the story that might be buried in it. Ask yourself, ‘Is
my story more like a timeline with one event leading to another?’ If
the answer is yes, you’ll want to think about what your story is
really about – the problem or trouble, and how to build up the heart
of the story so that your story looks more like a mountain. Look for
the key moments in your story and stretch them out to build that
story mountain just like Ezra Jack Keats and Donald Crews did.
Select students with stories that follow the story mountain form to
share. Encourage students to listen for and discuss the story arcs.
How Stories Tend to Go
 main character (wants, hopes, desires)
 problem (trouble) – probably an emotional response
 things happen related to the problem (problem gets bigger?
another problem?)
 a resolution
Story Mountain for Peter’s Chair
Peter’s parents
paint his
cradle.
Peter runs away
with his chair
before it gets
repainted!
Peter doesn’t fit
in the chair.
Peter doesn’t get
attention for his
building.
New baby
sister arrives.
Peter wants his
family to stay
the way it is.
Peter’s mom
invites him for
lunch.
Peter and his dad
paint the chair
pink together.