Teaching English Language Arts : TheInvitation

HomePage :: Categories :: PageIndex :: RecentChanges :: RecentlyCommented :: Login/Register
Back to ShortStoryWorkshop

Short Stories: "Invitations" by Carol Shields

October 6, 2006
Created by: Leanne McCutcheon and Megan Ellis
leanneia<at>hotmail.com, mee143<at>hotmail.com

http://www.satravelco.com/swedish/images/wedding_invite.jpg∞

Grade Level: 9
Abstract
This lesson is designed as a summary for the short story unit. Students will use the theme of one short story to begin a review of the elements of short stories. Students will complete a tool kit that has been introduced earlier in the unit as a guide for short story revision and creation.

PRESCRIBED LEARNING OUTCOMES
Comprehend and Respond (Engagement and Personal Response)

Note: This lesson is meant to be the final lesson of the short story unit. Students have been told to read "Invitations" by Carol Shields for homework and to come to class prepared to discuss the story. Students will also be asked to write a brief reading response focusing on the theme of the story. Although the idea of the 'tool kit' will be introduced in this class, students will have been instructed to take notes on elements of the short stories discussed during the short story unit.

Mental Set (10 minutes)
The Road Not Taken∞
A copy of "The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost will be projected on the overhead when students arrive. Students will be asked to read the poem and then make notes about what similarities, if any, they see between the poem and the story they read for homework. Students will then be asked to share their thoughts with a partner and then with the rest of the class, which will then lead into a discussion of similar themes and the presence of twists and epiphanies in the two works.

Class Discussion (10 minutes)
The class will then be asked to discuss the themes of the other stories that have been studied in the unit, including the elements such as character, setting, etc that contribute to theme. Ask students if they see any connections between the different themes and the other stories or real life.

Group Work (20 minutes)
Students will be broken into small groups where they will be asked to brainstorm and make a "Tool Kit" of common elements and literary terms found in short stories (i.e. atmosphere, denouement, epiphany, foreshadowing, irony, narrator, pathos, point of view, plot, protragonist, antagonist, theme, symbol, conflict, climax, setting, static and round characters etc). As a group, students will make a poster of their tool kit and also make their own notes so that they will be able to reproduce the tool kit on their own.
Service Learning: Students will be able to use their tool kits as a review for the upcoming short story unit test as well as a reference guide in future years. They will also be able to give/sell their tool kits to students in other classes.

Tool Kit
Using the terms discussed throughout the short story unit students create a record of meanings and examples found in the stories we have covered. These 'tools' will enable them to reinforce what they have learned in class and help them create their own short stories. They should keep a written record of the terms and will be able to discuss them in groups and then will create posters incorporating all of the terms. The purpose of this group activity is that the students are given a chance to pool their thoughts, or brainstorm ideas they may have missed individually, rather than have the teacher tell them all the terms. From these posters, the students will create their tool kits independantly. The tool kits are personal resources for the students and can be represented in the form of their choice, for example as a web site, as a deck of cards, a recipe book, a dictonary, etc. Although the means of representation are up to the students, all tool kits must include a clear description of the terms and an example of the term from works discussed in class.

Presentations (15 minutes)
The groups will then be asked to present and defend their posters to the class. Students will be encouraged to take notes during the other presentations and add any new ideas to their own tool kits after class. After all the groups have presented their posters, the teacher will hand out a list of terms that students must incorporate into their individual toolkits (i.e. atmosphere, denouement, epiphany, foreshadowing, irony, narrator, pathos, point of view, plot, protragonist, antagonist, theme, symbol, conflict, climax, setting, static and round characters). The list should include all terms that have been discussed throughout the unit.

Conclusion (10 minutes)
The lesson will conclude with a class discussion of how the elements outlined in the tool kits appear in "The Invitation" and also how they appear or do not appear in the other stories discussed in the unit.
The remainder of the class will be spent going over any questions students might have and/or working on their assignment.

Assignment
Students will be asked to create their own tool kits incorporating all of the terms that have been discussed in class. Sudents must hand in their tool kit as well as the tool kit checklist that has been provided by the teacher. Tool Kits will be due one week later.
Tool Kit Checklist∞

Assessment
Materials
"Invitations" by Carol Shields
"The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost
poster paper and markers for tool kit
overhead projecter
knowledge from previous lessons

Extensions


CategoryShortStory
 Comments [Hide comments/form]
Congratulations on a great lesson!
The tool kit was a great idea that I would love to use myself. I agree with some comments in class that it could be a resource you allude to throughout the unit, having students think about it as they are going along but really tackling it in this particular lesson. I think if you did this they would easily grasp this idea without needing to be pounded over the head with it.
I also would suggest (it was sort of mentioned in class) giving the students the idea that their posters are really to promote or 'sell' thier tool kit. In this way I think students would almost be making catchy ads for their tool kits and I would be willing to bet that they would get much more passionate about them.
My only critique would be to really narrow down your expectations and assessment into something concrete so students know exactly what they have to do.
Gret lesson though, and I am looking forward to using it in my own class!
Michelle A
-- MichelleA (2006-10-06 13:10:17)
I also love the tool kit idea. To add to that idea... You could have the students create a collaborative "tool kit website." The website could include the best from their collective tool kits, examples from their own writing, and links to more resources on the Internet. This could be another great way to "go public," and it can get the students more involved with using technology (something that I'm obviously a big advocate of). That way, the students have an easy place to refer back to year-after-year for their tool kit information (whereas a paper-based reference could go missing), and others are given the opportunity to profit from the students' short story knowledge. Future classes could add to/improve the website, much like we do with the wiki. The posters the students make could be used to publicize the website around the school.

Often there are a few students in a class who are already making websites on their own, and this could be a great way to encourage peer-group learning.

Excellent lesson, Leanne and Megan - thank you for the inspiration!

Oralie Loong
-- OralieLoong (2006-10-06 14:39:22)
I think everyone agrees that the Tool Kit idea is a winner! Awesome idea! I would suggest foregoing the poster activity and just concentrate on making a really detailed toolkit that the students would want to keep. For example, instead of making one big poster, perhaps the students can have mini-posters/drawings/images to each toolkit entry. I think you should include a more concrete description of what form that toolkit should appear in. I like Oralie's idea that the toolkit be online, but a paper-based toolkit is perhaps more do-able (depending on the school's resources). I envision the tool-kit as a book, with the left page as an image and the right page as a literary term and its definition.

I see the value in getting the students to figure out the literary terms on their own from the short story, but to have a comprehensive toolkit, they need to have all the literary terms they would need to know for exams. Perhaps the instructor should provide students a list of these terms (after the short story activity)?

A rubric for the assessment portion would also be a helpful resource.

Once again, the toolkit is a wonderful idea! Thanks!
-- AnnMarie (2006-10-09 22:49:24)
Thanks for all your feedback, both in class and on the Wiki. We hope this will be a helpful "tool" for you.
-Megan and Leanne
-- MeGan (2006-10-11 13:08:58)
Page History :: 2006-11-08 12:31:52 XML :: Owner: LeanneM :: Search:
Valid XHTML 1.0 Transitional∞ :: Valid CSS∞ :: Powered by Wikka Wakka Wiki 1.1.6.3∞
Page was generated in 0.0513 seconds