Project Pitch: EDUC 463 Spring, 2017 Meg strauss Project Pitch: EDUC 463 Spring, 2017

Motivation My passions: For my yearlong plan, I will incorporate two of my main passions into my unit planning: current events and creative writing. It wasn’t until recently that I started to realize how little I knew and cared about current events. It also wasn’t until recently that I started to realize the importance of knowing and caring about current events. I want to show my students the significance of knowing and understanding the world in which they live in, while also allowing them to explore their creativity through short story writing.

Timeline and resources Week five….Start looking for and researching a current event that interests you (the student) personally Week six…Topic proposal due Week eight….Short story draft due Week nine….Peer edits due Week eleven….Final draft of short story due Resources: News websites (Newsela, CNN, Washington Post, etc.) Examples of short stories Fellow students

Goals Teach students empathy through short story narration Example: A student writes a first-person narrative on the life of a young Syrian girl. 2 . Allow students to think/write beyond their comfort zones 3. Teach students about current events, as well as proper research and peer editing 4. Provide students with a creative outlet

Context School: Holyoke Jr./Sr. High School Location: Holyoke, Colorado Grade: 8th grade Class: 8th grade English