1. Unit 1 Expository Writing
Responding to
a Short Story
NOTE: This presentation contains slides with fields for recording student responses. Any text you insert will remain in the fields until you delete it manually.
Launch the Lesson
To stimulate students’ thinking about a response to a short story, ask them what qualities are the most important to them in the fiction they read on their own. Are they primarily interested in plot? Do they read one or another type of genre fiction, such as science fiction or fantasy? Do they prefer stories with characters their own age?

2. Responding to a Short Story
What is a literary response?
In a literary response, a writer
tells how he or she reacted to a literary selection
explains his or her reaction using specific details and examples from the text
In this workshop, you will learn how to
write a response to a short story
that you have read.
In this unit, students read short stories about characters from places in the world that may seem similar to or very far from their own. Ask students how they responded to the characters, events, or places in the stories. What made them laugh, feel sympathy, or sit up and think?

3. Assignment: Write a response to a short story I have read.
Goal: Clearly present a personal opinion of or personal reaction to one aspect or element of a short story.
Tell students to read the outline of the assignment on page 120, which clearly states the goal and the strategy.
Strategy: Use evidence from the story to support and explain my opinion or reaction.

4. My response to literature should include the following:
an introduction that names the story and its author and includes a clear thesis, or statement of my response to the story
body paragraphs that support and explain my thesis
evidence from the story to support each main idea in my body paragraphs and my thesis
precise language appropriate to my audience and topic
a conclusion that sums up my response
The writing rubric is provided on page 120, a set of standards by which students can judge how well they completed the assignment. Students should refer to this rubric as they draft and revise their responses.

5. Responding to a Short Story
When you respond to a short story
explain your personal reaction to it—one way to do that is to say, “I liked the story” or “I didn’t like the story.”
focus on something specific about the story that affected you, such as the main character, the setting, or a surprise ending.
discuss whether you could see yourself or people you know in the story.

6. —WALTER DEAN MYERS, Bad Boy
Walter Dean Myers recounts how his teacher made him read a book when he misbehaved. Note his use of personal details and point of view.
Reading a book was not so much like entering a different world—it was like discovering a different language. It was a language clearer than the one I spoke, and clearer than the one I heard around me. What the books said was...interesting, but the idea that I could enter this world at any time I chose was even more attractive. The “me” who read the books...seemed more the real me than the “me” who played ball in the streets.
—WALTER DEAN MYERS, Bad Boy
A biography of Abd al-Rahman Ibrahima by Walter Dean Myers appears in Unit 3 on page 270.

7. ➊ PREWRITE Narrowing Your Topic
First, decide on a story to write about.
Which stories do you feel most strongly about?
Which stories changed your understanding of something or made you question what you thought you knew?
Which stories did you find especially enjoyable, surprising, or strange?
Whichever story you choose, be sure that it is one that inspired a strong reaction and one that will give you enough to discuss in your response.
Deciding on a Story
Model the process of determining which story to write about:
“I’ve read Ray Bradbury’s ‘All Summer in a Day’ many times. Each time, I find that Bradbury’s descriptions of Venus reflect the way the other children relate to Margot.”

8. ➊ PREWRITE Gathering Details
Once you choose a story to write about, gather details related to your response.
Consider how specific events, characters, and settings shaped your feelings about the story.
Then make a reactions chart
like the one on the next slide
to record your thoughts and
reactions to specific details
in the story.
Brainstorming
Point out to students that one way to gather ideas about a short story is to brainstorm. Have students write the name of the story they’ve selected. Then instruct them to write down as many ideas as they can in five minutes. Tell students to just write it all down without stopping to criticize or evaluate ideas. These ideas should address plot points, literary elements, or characters that provoked a response.

9. Reaction Chart
Use the chart to record the key parts of the story, as well as your reactions, predictions, and questions.
Details from Story
My Reactions
Refer students to example reaction chart for the story “Lob’s Girl” on page 121.

10. ➊ PREWRITE Deciding on Your Purpose
Now write a thesis statement or main idea statement that includes your response.
Remember, a personal response states your own reaction, so write in the first-person, using pronouns such as I, me, and my.
Use model thesis statements on the following slides to come up with ideas for your own thesis statement.
Self-Generated Questioning
Divide the class into small groups, and tell each group to create six response questions like the ones on the following slides about the stories in Unit 1. Instruct the groups to pass their questions to another group to answer. Invite each group to share its best answers. Model questions such as: “Which story ending did you enjoy most and why?”

11. ➊ PREWRITE
Model:
My Ideas:
I the story
because
I liked the story “The Goodness of Matt Kaizer” because Matt was such a believable character.

12. ➊ PREWRITE
Model:
My Ideas:
For me, the best part of
was because
For me, the best part of “The Circuit” was the ending because it showed the circuit, or circle, of the narrator’s life.

13. ➊ PREWRITE
Model:
My Ideas:
made me think
about
“The All-American Slurp” made me think about the funny things that can happen when people adjust to a new culture.

14. ➊ PREWRITE Deciding on Your Purpose
You can also create your own sentence model that includes the name of the story, how you felt about it, and why.
Thesis: “Lob’s Girl” is a great story because of all the surprises it contains, the way the surprises get bigger and better, and the fantastic surprise ending.
Testing the Thesis
Have students work in pairs to test the strength of their theses. After each student has presented a thesis, partners should ask for clarification if the thesis seems vague or lacks textual support.

15. ➊ PREWRITE Deciding on Your Purpose
Now that you have chosen a story and a thesis, ask yourself whether you can write a whole paper about it.
To test your thesis and get ready to draft, jot down ideas for at least two paragraphs that explain your main idea.
If you think you can support your thesis, move on to the drafting stage. If not, come up with a new thesis and try again.

16. ➋ DRAFT Organizing Ideas
Often, the best method of organization is story order. For most stories, story order is the same as chronological order, or time order.
To use story order
put your details in the same order in which they appear in the story.
discuss details at the beginning of the story first.
then move on to details that appear in the middle and at the end of the story.
The slide that follows shows an example of story order.

17. ➋ DRAFT Story Order Detail(s) from the Beginning
Lob finds Sandy—love at first sight
Detail(s) from the Middle
Lob walks from Liverpool to Cornwall twice
Detail(s) from the End
Lob finds the hospital
Lob brings Sandy out of her coma
Lob was buried at sea
The example above illustrates story order using details from the story “Lob’s Girl.” Refer students to page 122 in the textbook.

18. ➋ DRAFT Putting Your Thoughts on Paper
A response to literature is a type of expository writing.
Expository writing is writing that explains something.
Expository writing typically includes the following framework.
Introduction
Body
Conclusion

19. ➋ DRAFT As you draft your response, follow this organizational plan:
Part
Purpose
lead your reader smoothly into your topic
• state the title, author, and thesis
Introduction
• write a topic sentence for each body paragraph
• provide support from the story
Drafting an Introduction
Point out to students that the purpose of an introduction is to capture the reader’s attention and clearly establish the thesis of the essay. Urge them to think about the kinds of things that capture their attention when they’re reading and provide a “hook” to hold their interest. Some effective hooks include a quote, question, anecdote, fact, and description.
Body
• briefly sum up your main points
• add a final thought or insight
Conclusion

20. ➋ DRAFT Making Connections
Your goal in a personal response is to let your audience know how you reacted and to explain why you reacted that way.
Use specific details and examples in your body paragraphs to explain your reaction.

21. ➋ DRAFT Making Connections
Make sure each body paragraph has a main idea and supporting evidence from the story.
The main idea of each paragraph should support your thesis. State the main idea in a topic sentence, which is usually the first sentence of the paragraph.
Then explain the main idea in several supporting sentences. End each paragraph with a statement that links your ideas to your thesis.
Testing the Organization
Suggest that students test the effectiveness of their organizational pattern by explaining the plan of their essays aloud to a partner. Students could also read their drafts to a partner and ask them to briefly summarize the main idea(s) of their essays. Point out to students that both these methods are good tests to check if they have expressed their ideas clearly.

22. ➋ DRAFT Making Connections
In a personal response, remember that you need to explain and support your main ideas with evidence (details that come directly from the story).
Include exact quotations or paraphrased evidence from the story in your supporting sentences.
Study the examples of supporting
evidence on the following slide.

23. ➋ DRAFT
Which of these examples of supporting evidence is paraphrased and which is a direct quote?
Topic Sentence: The next two surprises are even more incredible.
1. Evidence: Liverpool is “at the other end of England from Cornwall.”
2. Evidence: Lob walks across the country to get back to the Pengellys.

24. ➋ DRAFT Correct Answers:
1. Evidence: Liverpool is “at the other end of England from Cornwall.”
Direct Evidence
2. Evidence: Lob walks across the country to get back to the Pengellys.
Paraphrased Evidence

25. ➌ REVISE Evaluating Your Draft Always reread your writing.
Add more explanation where it is needed and take out words or sentences that are off the topic.
Another good method for evaluating your draft is to give it to a peer reviewer.
Paragraph Unity
Point out to students that writing can often be improved when all the sentences within a paragraph work to support the main idea. Explain that supporting details and transitions both work to create paragraph unity.
Tell students that supporting details include examples, sensory details, facts, and quotations. Using supporting details that best support or explain your main idea can help your reader understand what you are trying to say.
A transition is a word or phrase used to connect ideas and to show relationships between them. Transitions can show time relationships, cause and effect, and order of importance.

26. ➌ REVISE Delivering a Peer Review Be focused. Be positive.
Concentrate on content, organization, and style.
Leave spelling and punctuation for the proofreading stage.
Be positive.
Respect the writer’s feelings and genuine writing efforts.
Be specific.
Give the writer concrete ideas on improving his or her work.
Evaluating a Draft
Discuss with students the tips on this slide and the following slide for delivering and receiving helpful criticism.

27. ➌ REVISE Receiving a Peer Review Be specific. Ask questions.
Tell the reviewer your concerns about the paper.
Ask questions.
Make sure you understand the reviewer’s comments.
Be selective.
Accept suggestions graciously, but don’t feel you have to use all—or any—of them.
Use the Revising Checklist on the next slide to help guide you through your review.

28. Do the main ideas of the body paragraphs support the thesis?
Does the introduction name the story and its author and include a clear thesis?
Do the main ideas of the body paragraphs support the thesis?
Are the main ideas supported with specific evidence from the story?
Refer students to the Revising Checklist on page 123 of the textbook.

29. ➌ REVISE Below is part of a literary response draft.
The notes to the right indicate the reasons for the changes in the draft.
See the complete draft on page 123 of your textbook.
Review the student draft on page 123 with students and discuss the comments in the margin.

30.  EDIT AND PROOFREAD Focus: Word Choice
When you write, use words that tell your readers exactly what you mean. Use precise language that is appropriate to your audience and topic.
Use specific nouns, verbs, and modifiers to make your points clearer and your writing more interesting.
Tell students to use specific nouns to give the reader a clear picture of who or what is involved in the sentence. They should replace vague, general verbs with more vivid verbs to describe the specific action in the sentence.
For more information, refer students to page 865 in the Language Arts Handbook Grammar & Style section 3.17, Using Colorful Language.
The biggest most remarkable surprises occur
at the ending.

31. David Almond is the author of many award-winning books, such as Skellig and Secret Heart. Almond acknowledges that writing can be hard, but he encourages all young people to look for the things they enjoy in their work, and to trust their instincts and imaginations:
Find something that you really like in everything you write, even if it’s just a sentence or two. Be brave enough to tell yourself that some of your writing is really good. Believe that you are becoming a good writer. Train yourself to find the good bits and to throw out or change the bad. Look around you, and allow yourself to be amazed by the world we live in.

32.  EDIT AND PROOFREAD Focus: Appositive Phrases
An appositive is a noun or pronoun that usually follows another noun or pronoun and identifies it, limits its meaning, or gives additional information.
In the following example, Mr. Dodsworth is the appositive. It identifies Lob’s owner.
For more information on appositive phrases, refer students to page 845 of the Language Arts Handbook Grammar & Style section 3.11, Appositive Phrases.
Lob’s owner, Mr. Dodsworth, takes him home
to Liverpool.

33.  EDIT AND PROOFREAD Focus: Appositive Phrases
An appositive phrase is the appositive and words that modify it.
Commas set off an appositive phrase from the rest of the sentence.
Can you identify the appositive phrase in the following sentence?
Lob, the amazing German shepherd, walks
across the country a second time!

34.  EDIT AND PROOFREAD Correct Answer:
Here, the amazing German shepherd is an appositive phrase. It identifies Lob.
Lob, the amazing German shepherd, walks
across the country a second time!

35.  EDIT AND PROOFREAD Proofreading
The next-to-last step in the writing process is to correct mistakes in spelling, punctuation, and capitalization.
Look for any misused words or errors in grammar too.
Use proofreader’s marks to show your corrections.
Edit and Proofread
Students may want to use proofreader’s marks when correcting their work. Refer them to page 873 of the Language Arts Handbook Writing Section 4.1, Proofreader’s Symbols.

36. Student Model
Review the final draft of the Student Model on page 125 of your textbook.
Pay attention to the notes that identify the different parts of the paper.
Use the Model
Direct students’ attention to the model on page 125. Point out the side notes that identify the major parts of the essay: the introduction, the body, and the conclusion. Some students might benefit from outlining the model to grasp the writer’s plan of organization and use of textual evidence.

37.  PUBLISH AND PRESENT Final Draft
Always make a clean copy of your work for presentation.
Handwritten papers should be neat and easy to read.
Word-processed papers should be double-spaced.
Choose a font style and size that
is easy to read. Many readers prefer
a twelve-point type size.
Publish and Present
Remind students to avoid anything that looks as if it belongs on a greeting card, in a computer program, or on a tablet from the Roman Empire. Before students begin their final version, they might benefit from reading page 874 of the Language Arts Handbook Writing Section 4.1, Writing Follow-up.