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Subject: Writing; Grade 8:

(50 minute class)


Unit: Poetry- Introduction to Short Stories
Designed by: Sam Willett
Section 1 Desired Results
Philosophy: Throughout my student teaching experience, students have engaged in numerous
methods in creating and appreciating written text, whether theyre composing their own poems or
realizing the significance of figurative language. All of this information can positively benefit how
they approach new topics and concepts, and theres nothing wrong with having fun while doing so.
If students are encouraged to be creative in a positive and entertaining environment, retention of
these new concepts will be much longer and push students to do more.

Essential Questions: What are the characteristics of a short story, and how are they used by a writer? How
do I write a well-developed concise short story with meaning? What are the characteristics of my genre?
How do the choices I make as a writer impact my reader?

Standard:
Engage and orient the reader by establishing a context and point of view and introducing a narrator and/or
characters; organize an event sequence that unfolds naturally and logically.
1. Knowledge and Understanding:
Identity essential characteristics of writing a short story
Understand how short story writers use specific tools and methods in their writing
2. Skills:
Think critically of the organization of a short story
Differentiate between writing a short and long-form story
3. Reasoning:
Interpret ideas or text to write about/critique an idea
4. Products:
Produce their own short story on the genre of their choice (final assessment)

Targets: Students should achieve target in a 50-minute period.
Students are to watch Mickey in Yodelberg and identify important characters and conflicts to
spark previous knowledge in learning about short stories.

Section 2 Learning Plan

Materials: SmartBoard, computer, Mickey Mouse in Yodelberg YouTube clip
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LmTor-zQXxw) Short Story Prezi presentation, notecards, writers
journals

Procedure:
Ice Breaker (5 minutes)- Entrance Slip- What were the most important aspects of your Young Authors
story?
- Students will record their answer to the question on notecard as an entrance slip.
- Teacher will ask to students to respond using the RoundRobin strategy, where every student will share
their thought briefly to the class.
- These characteristics are equally as important to creating your own short story but will be reinterpreted
with new challenges.
-
Mickey Mouse in Yodelberg (30 minutes)
- Class will view Mickey Mouse in Yodelberg and be instructed to identify the characters and major and
minor conflicts.
- After viewing, students will be prompted to discuss their findings with their group mates. They will record
their responses on a post-it poster and place on it on the whiteboard.
- While the class works, the teacher will facilitate and assist students with organizing characters and
conflicts on their posters.
- When students are finished, each group will share one observation from their poster. Other groups will be
prompted to share something different than what was previous said to cover all important elements of the
video with the class.
Introduction to Short Stories (10 Minutes)
- Now that we have highlight two important elements of a short story, lets learn how we can write our
own.
- Teacher will go over slides for What is a Short Story?, Theme, How Does My Selected Genre Affect My
Story Map?, and their options for writing their own short story.

Wrap-Up (3 Minutes)- Teacher will introduce class to the essential questions of the unit and ask them to
respond based on what they learned during class. This will serve as an assessment of the days lesson
as well as prepare students for researching genres for their own short story, which will start next class.

Homework (You Do): Write a completed ekphrastic poem (approximately a half page in length) for next
class.
- Students will start research genres for their own short stories twice a week. Their final short
story is due during the final week of school.


Section 4 Reflection: As you are learning how to lesson plan for this class, be sure to reflect on the
components to ensure that you have alignment.

Philosophy:
What is my philosophy regarding how students best learn?
Does my activity reflect the answer to this question?

Standard(s):
Does the target give students an opportunity to demonstrate proficiency of the standard?

Target(s):
Does the activity provide students with an opportunity to achieve the target?

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