Nicole Willekes
English 310- 02
November 30, 2012
Comprehensive Unit Plan
Genre: Short stories
Grade level: 12th grade
Examples of short stories:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
“20/20” by Linda Brewer
“The Jewelry” by Guy de Maupassant
“The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allan Poe
“Recitatif” by Toni Morrison
“A Wall of Fire Rising” by Edwidge Danticat
“A & P” by John Updike
Backwards Design: Preliminary Plan
Stage 1- Desired Results
Established Goals:
-
-
Students will be able to produce a short story, “making conscious choices regarding
language, form, and style.” Standard 1.5
Students will thoughtfully analyze and study mentor texts and example literature.
Standard 2.1
Students will be able to use writing strategies to create “meaning beyond the literal level
(e.g., drawing inferences; confirming and correcting; making comparisons, connections,
and generalizations; and drawing conclusions).” Standard 2.2
Students will “understand and use the English language effectively” in composing their
own short stories. Standard 4.1
Based on MI HSCE, English Language Arts.
-
Students will be able to “write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or
events using effective technique, well-chosen details, and well-structured event
sequences.
a. Engage and orient the reader by setting out a problem, situation, or
observation and its significance, establishing one or multiple point(s)
of view, and introducing a narrator and/or characters; create a smooth
-
progression of experiences or events.
b. Use narrative techniques, such as dialogue, pacing, description, reflection,
and multiple plot lines, to develop experiences, events, and/or characters.”
W.12.3a/3b
Students will be able to “develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising,
editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on addressing what is most
significant for a specific purpose and audience.” W.12.5
Based on CCSS, English Language Arts
Essential Questions:
-
How does one create narrative prose?
How are the elements of a narrative (characters, setting, etc…) deepened and made
realistic to a reader?
What can novice writers learn about the process of drafting short stories from a mentor
short story?
Understanding:
Students will understand that…
-
The plot in narrative writing must be sequenced and shaped in a way that engages an
audience and shapes their story.
Narration and point of view must be given substantial consideration when writing with
style, tone, and voice.
Characters need to be well-developed and realistic.
Setting can set the situation, mood, and even character, as well as set the stage for
foreshadowing, symbolism and other literary devices.
Symbolism can turn narrative prose into a metaphorical treasure hunt by deepening the
story into multiple, rich layers for the reader’s interpretation.
Knowledge:
Students will know…
-
The elements of a good narrative are plot, narration and point of view, characters, setting,
and symbolism.
The process one puts into composing a narrative consists of extensive planning, revising,
editing, and rewriting.
Ability:
Students will be able to…
-
Compose narratives using the elements learned throughout the unit.
Make these elements believable and realistic.
Proofread, revise, and edit multiple drafts of a narrative.
Read mentor texts analytically, annotate, and apply observed concepts.
Stage 2- Assessment Evidence
Performance Tasks:
-
Write, proofread, revise, and edit a short story
Read and annotate mentor texts
Respond to peer work
Other evidence:
-
Journal entries
Class discussion
Group discussion (Literature circles)
Stage 3- Learning Plan
Learning Activities: WHERETO
W: This design will help students know WHERE the unit is going by giving them
preliminary activities, such as reading short stories out loud and for homework. They will
know WHAT is expected by examining mentor texts closely, studying the literary
devices and techniques that established writers used to write short stories. The teacher
will know WHERE the students are coming from by asking for reflective writing in their
journals after various class periods.
H: This design will HOOK all students and HOLD their interest by exploring previously
published short stories with engaging plots, characters, settings, and themes. They will be
asked to replicate literary devices and compose, drawing them into the unit and holding
their interest with the principle of choice as the great motivator: students will able to
choose any topic they wish for their own short story.
E: This design will EQUIP all students with a knowledge of commonly used and
effective literary devices and strategies through the guided instruction of the teacher
(annotating mentor texts as a class, learning through writing, and watching the teacher
write). The students will EXPERIENCE the key ideas and EXPLORE the issues in their
journal writing and in their own short story, which will be the culminating experience in
this unit.
R: This design will provide opportunities to RETHINK and REVISE their
understandings and work through several peer-reviews, one-on-one conferences with the
teacher, and individual revising and editing processes.
E: This design will allow students to EVALUATE their work and its implications by
sharing it with a small group and discovering the effect that it has on an audience. They
will be given chances to self-evaluate by being asked to put themselves into someone
else’s shoes (ex. “Pretend you are mother with three children, pretend you are a 13-year
old, etc…Read your story. React through the mind of another.)
T: This design will be TAILORED (personalized) to the different needs, interests, and
abilities of all learners by offering a wide and diverse range of mentor texts that the
students can connect too. The students will be allowed to choose their topic and theme for
their final short story, allowing students to choose topics that they are comfortable in and
know about. It also allows higher-achieving learners to challenge themselves by choosing
more difficult topics or weaving new and unfamiliar literary strategies into their writing.
O: This design will be ORGANIZED to maximize initial and sustained engagement as
well as effective learning by alternating the activities to accommodate high school
attention spans. Reading and writing will be varied, as well as activities within a “reading
day”. Mentor texts chosen will be interesting, unique, and offer many opportunities for
analysis on a literal and metaphorical level.
Month-Long Calendar of My Unit:
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
MON
TUES
WED
THURS
FRI
Writing
Lesson Plan 1:
Intro to short
stories.
Study “20/20”Writing: What do
we notice?
Reading
“The
Jewelry” by
Guy de
Maupassant
Writing
Study examples
of genre: “The
Jewelry”.
Writing: Plot
READING??
Lesson Plan
2:
“The Cask of
Amontillado”
by Edgar
Allen Poe
Writing
How to
incorporate
plot and
other
elements
we noticed
into our
writing.
Journal
writing.
Writing
How to
create
colorful,
round
characters.
Journal
writing.
Writing
Lesson plan 3:
Demonstrating the
writing process
Literature
circles. Free
write.
Reading
Writing
“Recitatif” by Lesson plan 4:
Toni Morrison Demonstrating
the writing
Literature
process
circles. Free
write
Writing
Lesson plan 5:
Hands-on activity
(understanding and
skill)
Reading
“A & P” by
John Updike
Writing
Lesson plan 6:
Specific mechanics
lesson for editing
purposes
Writing
One-on-one
conferences
w/ teacher.
Writing
One-on-one
conferences w/
teacher.
At the same time…
At the same time…
Group work
checking
symbolism
and characters
Group work
checking
symbolism and
characters.
Hw:Final Draft
Writing
Draft short
stories
Literature
circles. Free
write
Literature
circles. Free
write.
Reading
“A Wall of
Fire Rising”
by Edwidge
Danticat
Literature
circles. Free
write
Writing
Draft short
stories
Finish draft
as homework
Presenting:
Read short
story to class
(Peer review
for two other
classmates)
Writing
Share short
stories
within
small
groups.
Check for
plot and
narration
Presenting:
Read short
story to
class
(Peer
review for
two other
classmates)
Lesson Plan 1: Introduction to Short Stories
Week 1, Monday
Materials:
Journals, pens, copy of Linda Brewer’s 20/20 for all students, Copy of 20/20 for
teacher’s overhead projector, whiteboard, markers.
Connection (0-2 minutes):
“Good morning class! We just finished learning about the genre of poetry a
couple of days ago and today we are beginning a journey into a new genre: narrative
writing. We will focus on short stories in this unit and towards the end of this unit we will
work on composing our own short stories!”
Active Engagement (2-20 minutes):
“We are going to begin with an immersion into the genre. I want you all to read
carefully and notice elements of this short story as you go. Go ahead and get your
journals off the shelf for this activity.”
Students will know what their journals are; they will have had them for the whole
year in this class. Journals always stay in the classroom.
“I am going to hand out a short story entitled ‘20/20.’ Some of you may have read
this story before. It is a very short piece, but it is loaded with meaning. Read it through
once without stopping, and then go back and read it slowly a second time. On your
second time around, I want you to write down things that you notice about this short
story. For example, tell me something about the characters in this short story. What do
you notice about these characters? Don’t forget to put the date at the top right-hand
corner of your new journal entry.”
Teacher will pass out printed copies of Linda Brewer’s short story, “20/20.”
(Handout #1: included at end of unit plan) Students will read as teacher circulates,
reading over shoulders, keeping students on track.
“Alright class, what did you think of the story?”
Teacher will call on a few students.
“What did you notice?”
Teacher will allow students to share some of the things that they noticed and
wrote in their journals. Teacher will put overhead copy of ‘20/20’ up so that all students
can see the teacher copy. Teacher will guide and discuss the items that students share
while marking the observations on the overhead copy, in order to model annotation of a
mentor text for students. If students do not cover all the points, the teacher will bring
them up before moving on to the lecture. Following are examples of points that, ideally,
students will bring up, and teacher will discuss if they do not:
“The plot of “20/20” is very unique. It begins right in the middle of an action,
going on a road trip. We see a turning point in the story, which also happens to be Bill’s
only piece of dialogue, when he takes over driving. He sees something here that he did
not know before. The story ends in the middle of an action, just like the beginning: “Bill
decided to let it ride” (Brewer, 21). Who is telling this story? It appears to be someone
who is not actually in the story. The narrator refers to the characters in third person and
uses the past tense. We also notice some casual language; it almost seems as if Bill is
talking. Bill seems to be the main character. The characters are from interesting places:
rural Ohio and the East Coast. We notice that Bill seems to be the focal character and the
way he judges Ruthie makes him feel superior. He is proud of his ability to argue, while
Ruthie is observant. The story is also dependent on setting because the sights that Ruthie
sees are humorous because of the unlikely locations: ‘a white buffalo bear Fargo’
(Brewer, 21). There are many points that we can observe about this short story, however,
these are all specifics things that we observed about just this one particular story. So let’s
talk about short stories in a broader setting than just this one and see if we can put names
to some of the concepts we just discussed. What makes up a short story? What are the
elements of a good short story?
Teaching Point (20-30 minutes):
Teacher will give an introduction of short story unit with a mini-lecture which
provides a brief overview of the components of a short story. Teacher will write main
points on the whiteboard to help the students take notes.
“First off, we are going to talk briefly about what a short story is. As we progress
through the unit, we will be looking at a variety of short stories that show us all the
elements of a good narration. So what makes up a short story? What components go into
a good, or well-written short story? There are five main parts of a short story that we are
going to focus on.
First, we are going to learn about plot and how to recognize this throughout short
stories. Plot itself consists of 5 main parts: Exposition, rising action, climax, falling
action, and resolution. The exposition sets the stage for the story. This can be anywhere
from one sentence long to multiple paragraphs. It tells us the ‘where’ and ‘when’ and
introduces us to our characters. What is the situation? What is the information that we
need to make sense of this story? That is what we will learn in as much detail as the
author allows through the exposition.
The rising action is the ‘building action.’ The story is building up to something
big. Maybe the tension is mounting or emotion is growing. Conflict is being introduced in
the characters lives. Often we refer to the ‘inciting incident,’ just a fancy term for
conflict which has been introduced.
The climax is the ‘big moment’ of a story. It is ‘the moment of greatest emotional
intensity’ (Booth & Mays, 64). The plot’s outcome and the character’s fate are decided at
the climax.
Next we have the falling action. The falling action begins to bring the story to a
close and moves the plot towards the final resolution. The tension built up at the climax
begins to diffuse.
Finally, the story ends with the conclusion. The conflict is solved (not always to
the satisfaction of the readers) and there is a certain aspect of closure. Often, the
conclusion disappoints the characters as well as the readers.
So that was a summary of the 5 main parts of a plot. Are there any question
regarding this? Ok, great.
Secondly, we will focus on narration and point of view. Who is telling the story?
Do they know everything? Can they see inside the character’s heads or are they just
another character? Point of view is a great place to start. If the story is told from an “I”
character, we are getting a first person narrator. A third person narrator gives us the
point of view from the outside; all the characters can be referred to in third person (he,
she, they, etc…). When speaking of third-person narration, we have a few different types.
An omniscient narrator can see inside the characters’ heads and read thoughts and
perceptions of these characters. This narrator can also be called an unlimited narrator,
and despite its abilities, will often choose to focus on a few characters. A limited narrator
cannot read thoughts. These types of narrators usually only have access to one point of
view, and may even be a character in the story. We can also encounter an objective
narrator, which does not give us insight into any one characters’ head, but rather states
things as they are and leaves it to the reader to figure out the rest. Once in awhile, we also
encounter the unreliable narrator. For example, the story might be told in first-person
because the narrator is a character in the story, but as a human, he or she might stretch the
truth, or even lie.
Character is my personal favorite element of short stories. Like all the elements
that we will study in this unit, characters are extremely important to the life and breathe
of every short story. There are so many ways that you can tell about your characters
without explicitly stating their characteristics and it is fun to make these inferences as we
read a text as well! When we have a character that acts in a manner that is predictable and
stereotypical we refer to that as a flat character. The opposite of this would be a round
character. A round character is much more complex and has more unpredictable, varied
responses than does a flat character. However, we need to remember that sometimes, a
flat character can be just as good and memorable as a round character. For example, if we
give them one or two individual traits, and for the most part they are a ‘stock’ character,
this may stick in the reader’s mind longer than a very complex character (Booth & Mays,
124). Has anyone here ever read Oliver Twist? By Charles Dickens? That is a great
example of flat, yet memorable characters. I recommend that book to all of you. Another
way we can classify characters is by whether or not they are dynamic or static. A
dynamic character is one that changes through the course of the story. A static character
will remain the same; uninfluenced by the events or experiences that the story presents.
Our fourth main element for this unit is symbolism. Incorporating symbolism into
a story can enhance the depth and the meaning of the story. As readers, we are constantly
searching for symbols and interpreting them. As writers, we need to be thinking ahead
and planning if we want to have rich symbolism throughout our work. A symbol is an
object or concept that, below the surface, has another meaning; it signifies something
else. But each and every one of you is already an expert on symbolism since we already
studied symbolism in our poetry unit! I know that you guys already know this stuff!
The last element that we are going to study in this unit is setting. Setting provides
the time and place of the story. Setting answers the questions of where and when the
story takes place. Setting may seem insignificant to a story, but ‘in good fiction, setting
always functions as an integral part of the whole’ (Booth & Mays, 159).”
Teaching Point (30-32 minutes):
“Alright, so now we have done a formal overview of the elements in short stories.
I would like you to go back now and read over what you have written about 20/20. Start
on the next clean page of your journal and re-write your observations using the terms and
ideas that we just talked about with short stories. Put your notes right alongside your
journals and don’t be afraid to refer to them frequently! If you still have time after you
have re-written your observations using the terms we just discussed, look back through
your notes and see if there is anything that you neglected to discuss about 20/20. Can you
pinpoint the climax in this story? What type of narrator do we have? Is Bill a dynamic or
a static character? Write about everything that you can discover in this story!”
Active Engagement (32-57 minutes):
Students will work in their journals for about 20-25 minutes, re-writing and
writing about 20/20. Teacher will walk around and read over students’ shoulders,
offering advice or help.
Closing (57-60 minutes):
“Alright let’s pack it up for the day. You all did great work today with 20/20 and
I look forward to working on more short stories with you! I enjoyed seeing the
enthusiasm in your writing and in our discussion today! Read through The Jewelry once
for homework; we will be working on that story tomorrow.”
Formative Assessment:
Teacher will go over the students’ journals to make sure they understand the
concepts introduced in the day’s lecture.
????????IS THIS A READING OR WRITING DAY??????
Lesson Plan 2: Discussing and reacting to: “The Cask of Amontillado”
Week 1: Thursday
Materials:
Students will have their anthologies, video projector for teacher’s copy, pens for
annotating, whiteboard, markers, and student journals.
Connection (0-2 minutes):
“Good morning class! I hope you all enjoyed reading “The Cask of Amontillado”
for homework last night. I know this story can be a little dark, but it is well-written and
entertaining to read. Plus, it has a lot of great writing strategies for us to notice and apply
to our own writing.”
Active Engagement (2-20 minutes):
“Alright, let’s go ahead and get into our literature circles for the day! You all
know which circle you are in already for today so let’s start some useful discussion here.”
Literature circles will have been established at the beginning of the week for
students so they know what to do here. Each literature circle is made up of 5 different
students. Groups are changed around every Monday. Students are to take notes as they
read during homework and come to class prepared to discuss the reading in their small
group and as a class. When students are in their groups, teacher will give further
instructions.
“Today, after you all discuss your own notes that you took, I want you to take a
special look at the narrator. Who is the narrator? What type of narrator is speaking in
‘The Cask of Amontillado’?”
As students confer in their small group, teacher will walk around the room and
check in with each group. If students are having trouble staying on task or finding ideas
for discussion, teacher will offer hints and/or provoking questions.
Teaching Point/ Whole class discussion (20-40 minutes):
“As I circulated the room, I noticed that you all brought up great points in your
small groups. Let’s bring it back together as a whole class now and share some of these
ideas! First of all, I would like to cover our main point of discussion for the day. What
type of narrator do we have in ‘The Cask of Amontillado’?”
This designed to be a discussion with meaningful interaction between students
and teacher. Teacher will take notes on and annotate a copy of the short story on the
video projector to model annotation for students. Following are examples of points that,
ideally, students will bring up, and teacher will discuss if they do not:
“So let’s start out with a look at the narrator of this story. As we can see already
in the very first sentence, this is a first-person narrator. His name is Montresor and he is a
character in the story, the main character to be precise. Is he a reliable narrator? Why or
why not? He is an unreliable narrator. As you discovered, he ends up walling Fortunato
into a hole in his basement and leaving him there. But why does he do that? The narrator
gives us his rationale right away in the exposition: “The thousand injuries of Fortunato I
had borne as best I could, but when he ventured upon insult I vowed revenge” (Poe, 107).
So naturally, we say to ourselves, ‘oh, Fortunato is a terrible person and he has done
awful deeds!’ But we must not be quick to jump to wrong conclusions just because that is
what our narrator is telling us. We don’t actually even know what Fortunato has ever
done to Montresor. Perhaps he has murdered his puppies, but we don’t know that.
Fortunato’s ‘injuries’ to Montresor could simply be glances the Montresor is
misinterpreting. We, as readers, are hesitant to give him the benefit of the doubt when we
discover that he lures another human being down to his basement and buries him alive.
A sneaky little hook that Montresor uses in this piece is to address the reader
directly: “You, who know so well the nature of my soul, will not suppose, however, that I
gave utterance to a threat” (Poe, 107). What is the narrator doing here with the use of
‘you?’ He is attempting to build a rapport with the reader by addressing him or her
directly. This pronoun is directed right at the reader, engaging them in the story and
bringing them to his side. Montresor confides in the reader, begging them to side with
him and see the story from his point of view.
What else can we learn about the narrator from this story? We see that he is great
at deceiving people because Fortunato had no idea that he was going to be walled up
down in the vaults. Montresor managed to keeps his grievances and woes to himself, up
until he kills Fortunato. We can see that when he says ‘it must be understood that neither
by word nor deed had I given Fortunato cause to doubt my good will. I continued, as was
my wont, to smile in his face, and he did not perceive that my smile now was at the
thought of his immolation’ (Poe, 108). If Montresor is so good at deceiving Fortunato,
what stops him from deceiving us as the readers? This is just further proof to us, as
readers, that Montresor is unreliable and deceptive.
Through this story, we also get a sense that Montresor is bitter. As the men
descend into the basement, he alludes to once having been rich when addressing
Fortunato: ‘you are rich, respected, admired, beloved; you are happy, as once I was’ (Poe,
109). He mentions here that Fortunato has all these traits and riches that he once had.
Once can imagine Montresor saying this in his head with great bitterness and jealousy,
while on the outside, he is all smiles and friendship with Fortunato. The text also tells us
that Fortunato has servants and we can see the depth and size of the basement cavern that
the two men enter because of how long it takes them to reach the pre-appointed place of
the murder. Fortunato even remarks that ‘these vaults…are extensive’ (Poe, 11). This
lifestyle by no means denotes poverty to us. If this is Montresor’s life while he is no
longer ‘rich’, like Fortunato, what does this tell us about Fortunato’s current state of
possessions, money, etc…?
Through these textual inferences that Poe gives us, we can conclude that
Fortunato was indeed a man of great fortune. Montresor also tells us that Fortunato was
‘a man to be respected and even feared’ (Poe, 108). Was this because of his riches and
therefore his power? The narrator leaves us to infer conclusions about these indirectlystated ideas with the implications which are planted throughout the text.”
Teacher will ensure that the text has been annotated and discussed for this
information about the narrator. If there is still discussion time left over after a thorough
discussion about the narrator, teacher will ask students to bring up other items that they
noticed and took notes on during their reading of the text. Students can also discuss ideas
that came up within their small-group discussions at the beginning of class.
Active Engagement (40-58 minutes):
“Alright let’s switch gears now. Go ahead and pull out your journals and we are
going to do some journaling on ‘The Cask of Amontillado.’ React, as a writer, to the
discussion we just had. Go ahead and use your notes. Why does Poe use Montresor as the
narrator in this story? How is making Montresor the narrator more effective to this story
than a different type of narrator, such as an omniscient one? What devices and ways of
writing do you see in this story that you may use in your own short story? Think about
these questions and react to this short story as the great writers that you all are!”
Students will write for about 20 minutes in their journals. Teacher will circulate
the classroom to help students that are struggling or have questions.
Closing (58-60 minutes):
“Ok, we are going to pack it up for the day. We had a great discussion today on
this short story and I look forward to reading your journal responses to see what you all,
as writers, took away from Edgar Allan Poe’s writing. I am gearing you guys towards
writing your own short stories so I want you to always be focusing on reading as a writer,
not just a reader! Great work today.”
Formative Assessment:
Teacher will look over students’ journals to make sure that they are reading and
responding as writers, and thinking ahead to how they could incorporate ideas that they
are seeing in mentor texts to their own writing. If students are struggling to make the leap
from reading as readers to reading as writers, teacher will ask to see them one-on-one
after class to make sure they stay kept up with the rest of the class.
Lesson Plan 3: Demonstrating the Writing Process
Week 2: Monday
Materials:
Students’ journals, pens, overhead video projector
Connection (0-2 minutes):
“Good morning class! Last weekend we finished class working on how to
incorporate