Students begin Unit 3 comparing A Long Walk to Water to the audiobook version of the text, exploring how authors and readers develop tone, mood, and expression. Students draw on this exploration as they start the second half of the unit, planning and then writing a narrative children’s book about a Lost Boy or Girl of Sudan. Through mini lessons and independent planning work, students focus on developing characters, settings, plot points, and narrative techniques such as pacing, description, and dialogue. Once students complete a draft of their narrative, they convert it into an ebook and publish it by sharing it with others, especially elementary school children.

For homework, students continue to read chapters of A Long Walk to Water in preparation for reading and discussing them in class. When they are not reading the anchor text, they should continue their independent research reading for at least 20 minutes and responding to a prompt. Additionally, students should continue independent research reading over the weekends.

Links to 2 lessons and activities that build student skills in standard W.3.3.b: Write Narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, descriptive details, and clear event sequences.

This site is a personal site from Caro Clarke. The third installment in this series looks at the four major mistakes made by beginning authors. The main idea of this article is that the author needs to be able to combine dialogue with action and know when and eliminating useless information.

The lesson discusses the passive voice. This lesson is 2 of 2 in the series titled "Emphasis: Using the Passive Voice." [3:53]

The 11th grade learning experience consists of 7 mostly month-long units aligned to the Common Core State Standards, with available course material for teachers and students easily accessible online. Over the course of the year there is a steady progression in text complexity levels, sophistication of writing tasks, speaking and listening activities, and increased opportunities for independent and collaborative work. Rubrics and student models accompany many writing assignments.Throughout the 11th grade year, in addition to the Common Read texts that the whole class reads together, students each select an Independent Reading book and engage with peers in group Book Talks. Students move from learning the class rituals and routines and genre features of argument writing in Unit 11.1 to learning about narrative and informational genres in Unit 11.2: The American Short Story. Teacher resources provide additional materials to support each unit.

In this unit, students will explore great works of American literature and consider how writers reflect the time period in which they write. They will write two literary analysis papers and also work in groups to research and develop anthologies of excellent American stories.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Students read and analyze stories from several 19th-, 20th-, and 21st-century American authors. After researching a time period, they select stories from that period to create an anthology. The readings enhance their understanding of the short story, increase their exposure to well-known American authors, and allow them to examine the influence of social, cultural, and political context.
Students examine elements of short stories and have an opportunity for close reading of several American short stories. During these close readings, they examine the ways that short story writers attempt to explore the greater truths of the American experience through their literature.

GUIDING QUESTIONS

These questions are a guide to stimulate thinking, discussion, and writing on the themes and ideas in the unit. For complete and thoughtful answers and for meaningful discussions, students must use evidence based on careful reading of the texts.

If you were to write a short story about this decade, what issues might you focus on?
What defines a short story? Just length?
To what extent do these stories reflect the era or decade in which they were written?
To what extent are the themes they address universal?

CLASSROOM FILMS

History.com has short videos on the Vietnam War (“Vietnam” and “A Soldier's Story”).

In this lesson, students will explore dialogue and speech. They'll work with each other to understand the significance of the language and diction we use and consider how we are judged by the way we speak.

In this lesson, students will focus on the use of point of view in the short story. They will re-examine first-person narration in “The Tell-Tale Heart” and also consider third-person narration in Kate Chopin's “Regret.”

This site takes you through the process of writing dialogue in fiction, demonstrating when to omit, replace, or modify your original writing. Includes several examples and gives excellent advice for young writers. W.9-10.3b Narrative techn, W.11-12.3b Narratives

Biographical information about Anne Bradstreet's life. Includes details about her works and their publication history. Includes a brief bibliography and the text of eleven of her works.

Within the first 10 minutes of this 2008 Masterpiece adaptation of Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility, we learn much about the plot, characters, and meaning of the novel. After the death of Henry Dashwood, his widow and their three daughters-Elinor, Marianne, and Margaret-are forced to see their grand home, Norland Park, taken over by Henry's son by a former marriage, John, and his wife, Fanny. As family members share an elegant dinner, the dialogue helps to establish not only each character's distinct personality, but also the mood, tone, and trajectory of the story. [2:13] Teacher materials are included.

This article is filled with tips for beginners on how to write radio drama sketches or adapt stories into radio plays. You'll see examples of sketches as well as tips on writing well. W.9-10.3, 3a, 3b Narratives, W.11-12.3, 3a, 3b Narratives, W.11-12.3c Narrative Org, W.11-12.3e Narrative Conclusion

Unwrap the layers of meaning in the deceptively simple plot, characters, and dialogue of Wilder's "Our Town," a play about small-town America that continues to resonate today. This collection includes three videos and teaching materials.

A good site for teachers and writers looking to write for children, or teach children how to write dialogue. Includes tips and guidelines.