STOP – Notice and Note: Close Reading of Fictional Short Stories
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October 2016 PS3 Unit Number Two By: Ashley Malcomson
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Unit Overview Topic: Close Reading of Short Stories Grade: ELA Grade 9 Timeline: 20 lessons (approx. 4 weeks). Central Emphasis: In this unit students will be exposed to well researched close reading strategies to help them recognize key information in the fictional literature they encounter. Students will not only learn to recognize these signposts, but will also be expected to include them in an original piece of writing at the end of the unit.
Daily Instruction: While learning the signposts, lessons will be focussed on accurately creating a personal “Notice and Note Handbook.” Once each signpost has been recorded in personal handbooks students will read a short story that uses the signpost and be asked to identify it in their Reading Logs. There will be many class discussions, with a mix of group and individual work throughout the unit.
Texts: This unit requires the students to read and analyze several short stories including, “Thank You Ma’am,” “Charles,” “The Medicine Bag,” “Eleven,” and “On the Sidewalk Bleeding.” Technology: Projection equipment, whiteboard, computers, internet, PowerPoints
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Activities/Assignments:
Personal Notice and Note Handbooks: As students are introduced to each new signpost they will record it’s definition, text clues, anchor questions, a visual representation, and example in book they will be able to keep. These books will act as reference guides throughout the unit and hopefully throughout the rest of their academic studies. Notice and Note Reading Log: Students will apply their understanding of the signposts by identifying them in various short stories and then recording their findings in a Reading Log. The reading log will require students to name the signpost and its anchor question before reflecting/answering the anchor question. Journal Entries: Every other week, students will be asked to respond to at least one prompt designed to help them assess and reflect on personal learning and/or preferences. Journals will be submitted for completion marks and will account for 5% of the overall unit mark. Monster Mashup: This is a fun activity that gives visual learners an opportunity to showcase their skills. After reading the short story “Charles” students will work in groups to decide on animals that display similar behaviour/traits and then combine five animals into one monster. Students will draw their monsters and then write a paragraph to explain each of their choices. Comprehension Questions: Because this unit is focussed on enhancing reading comprehension students will periodically be expected to complete comprehension questions, though not all of them will actually be taken for marks. Vocabulary Assignment: Part of increasing reading comprehension is understanding the vocabulary in the texts you are reading. As such, this assignment will give students an opportunity to scan a relatively new text to find difficult words, record the sentence the word is in, and then document their understanding of the word based on its context. Following these steps students will be expected to look up the definition of each word on dictionary.com to determine how well they understand each word. Notice and Note Test: Students will be given a test to summatively assess their understanding of the signposts. The test will require students to fill in missing information in a chart including the signpost name, definition, or anchor question. They will then be asked to read a short story and complete a reading log for each signpost they identify. Dialogue Activity: The unit will include a minilesson on proper dialogue punctuation and formatting to address weaknesses identified in the students’ earlier work. Following the minilesson students will be asked to correct an excerpt of dialogue and then check it against the story it was pulled from. Lastly, they will be asked to write and present a brief dialogue to the class. Short Story Creation: The final summative assessment in this unit will require students to write original stories that include a minimum of two signposts in a meaningful way. Their stories must also have a recognizable theme.
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Connections to the English Language Arts Strands Speaking: Students will present their dialogue assignment to the class and participate in class/group discussions. Listening: The beginning of this unit will include direct instruction which will require
attentive listening. Students will also need to listen to each other during discussions, and group work. Reading: Students will read several age appropriate short stories. Writing: Writing will take place in some form or another nearly every day. Students will record information in handbooks, complete reading logs, write journal entries, explain their monsters and ultimately create their own short story. Viewing: Students will view dialogue presentations and will analyze a cartoon related to the short story “On the Sidewalk Bleeding.” Representing: Students will have an opportunity to visually represent each of the signposts in their personal handbooks and will also get to create their own monsters.
Unit Learning Outcomes The students will… 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Learn to recognize the six Notice and Note signposts in fictional short stories Write an original short story that uses at least two of the signposts Punctuate and format dialogue correctly Work together to meet common goals Recognize and express themes
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General & Specific Learning Outcomes 1.1.3 Express Preferences: a) Explain preferences for texts and genres by particular writers, artists, story tellers, and filmmakers 2.1.1 Use Prior Knowledge b) Use previous reading experiences and prior knowledge as a basis of reflecting on and interpreting ideas encountered in texts 2.2.1 Experience Various Texts b) Identify and discuss how timeless themes are developed in a variety of oral, print, and other texts c) Consider historical context when developing own points of view or interpretations of oral, print, and other media texts e) Express the themes of oral, print, and other media texts in different forms of genres 2.2.2 Construct Meaning from Texts a) Analyze how the choices and motives of characters portrayed in oral, print, and other media texts provide insight into those of self and others b) Identify and discuss theme and point of view in oral, print, and other media texts 2.3.1 Understand Forms and Genres a) Explain the relationship between purposes and characteristics of various forms and genres of oral, print, and other media texts 2.4.3 Structure Texts a) Create oral, print, and other media texts that interrelate plot, setting, and character, and reveal the significance of the action 4.1.1 Appraise Own and Others’ Work 4.1.2 Revise and Edit c) revise to combine narration, description and exposition effectively 4.3.4 Demonstrate Attentive Listening and Viewing 5.1.2 Relate Texts to Culture a) Analyze how oral, print, and other media texts reflect traditions, beliefs, and technologies of different cultures, communities or periods in history 5.2.1 Cooperate with Others 5.2.2 Work in Groups b) Share responsibility for the completion of team projects by establishing clear purpose and procedures for solving problems, monitoring progress, and making modifications to meet stated objectives 5.2.3 Evaluate Group Process a) Establish and use criteria to evaluate group process and personal contributions; set goals and make plans for improvement
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Essential Unit Questions 1. How do good readers identify important information in a text? 2. How do good readers show that they understand a text? 3. How do you identify and express the significance of symbolism? 4. How do you identify and express a theme?
Assessment Plan Evaluation: Students will be assessed in a variety of ways throughout the unit.
Pre-Assessment: Reading Questionnaire and Dialogue Questionnaire. Formative Assessment: exit slips, Q&A, comprehension questions, peer editing Summative Assessment: Journal entries, handbooks, reading logs, monster mashup, unit test, comprehension questions, original short story
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