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last.updated 3.13.06

Abstracts: Group 2

Terry

I will be introducing my ninth grade class to the literary element of characterization as it applies to writing and reading short stories. The students will have first read a short story that exemplifies direct and indirect characterization titled Uncle Marcos by Isabel Allende. The purpose of this lesson is to give the students an opportunity to do a short writing assignment that addresses a single literary element in preparation for an end of the unit writing assignment that will incorporate all the literary elements. I will utilize the following procedure for each literary element. The students will read a short story that embodies the literary element and I will present a mini-lesson that discusses in detail the meaning of the literary element and how the students may incorporate it into their writing. The students will then do a short writing assignment that illustrates that element.

The goal of the unit is to introduce a number of reading, writing, vocabulary, and grammar activities that are centered on the genre of the short story. Using nine diverse stories, I will also introduce the literary elements and forms of the short story. As a final culminating unit assignment, the students will create a three-page short story that will include all the literary elements that they have been studying for the past four weeks. The purpose of the smaller assignments is to enable the students to develop the individual mastery and skills needed to utilize effectively the literary elements they have studied. The students learning will be scaffolded by the smaller writing tasks, which will facilitate the successful completion of the more demanding writing assignment at the end of the unit.