2.1 - Preview SB 2.1

Previewing Unit 2 Essential Questions How are people influenced by changes in their world? How does a writer effectively craft a story? Pair share

Learning Focus: Imagining Stories Part of the pleasure of learning anything is trying to do it on your own. People can tell you how much fun it is to play basketball or to snowboard, but unless you try doing it yourself, you’ll never know. The same is true of writing. You have seen that narration, or telling a story, is different from exposition, which is explaining information or describing. You have learned some important elements of what makes a good narrative. Now it is time to apply your new knowledge to actually writing a short story.

Learning Focus (continued) You have probably read many short stories. In some of the stories you have read, you may have noticed that writers also explain or describe at the same time they narrate a story. So it is okay to think of writing as a combining of many different kinds of writing. A short story is based on two important elements: character and plot. You want to create a character your audience will like, and you want to create a plot structure around an interesting and important conflict. But of course there is more to it than that.

Learning Focus (continued) In writing a story you have to be a bit of a dramatist because you want to write good dialogue and describe the time and place so vividly that your readers can see, hear, and smell and put themselves in the setting you describe.

Learning Focus Reading and studying short stories can help you transform your own imaginative thinking into the form of a short story. Working from writing models will also help your imagination to create a story. During this unit you will read short stories and learn what makes a short story interesting and enjoyable. You will practice describing settings, creating dialogue, and building a plot around a conflict - culminating in writing your own original short story. Independent reading: You may want to read Greek myths or books that contain a collection of myths.

1st Embedded Assessment Your assignment is to develop one of the Story Starters you wrote in this unit into a brief short story. Your story should include the elements of a short story such as character, conflict, and setting. It must include at least one dialogue, or conversation, between two characters. Your story should also relate to the theme of change.

Discuss (table groups) Embedded Assessment What knowledge must you have (what do you need to know)? What skills must you have (what will you need to do to complete the Embedded Assessment successfully)? Share in a small group Discuss (table groups)