Short Story Unit

Common Core Grade 9

Focus Standards

Common CoreRL.9-10.1: Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.

RL.9-10.5: Analyze how an author’s choices concerning how to structure a text, order events within it ( e.g. parallel plots), and manipulate time ( e.g. pacing flashbacks) create such effects as mystery, tension, or surprise.

W.9-10.2: Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas, concepts, and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, or-ganization, and analysis of content.

SL.9-10.1: Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, groups, socratic cir-cles, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 9 top-ics, texts, and issues, building on other’s ideas and express-ing their own clearly and persuasively.

L.9-10.1: Demonstrate command of the conventions of Stan-dard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.

L.9-10.5: Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances of meaning.

1

Essential Question:Why do we tell stories?

Objectives:

1. Identify and Explain plot structure (i.e. exposition, rising action, crisis/climax, fal-ling action, resolution,) in short stories.

2. Understand and explain  why plots in short stories usually focus on just one event.

3. Analyze how authors create setting in a short story.

4. Define the concept of theme and iden-tify the themes in the short stories.

5. Identify and explain characterization techniques in short stories

6. Identify and explain the use of figurative language in short stories.

7. Analyze how authors create tone in a short story.

8. Identify the point of view and analyze how point of view affects the reader’s inter-pretation of the story.

9. Write a coherent essay of literary analy-sis with a clear thesis statement, at least three pieces of  evidence from texts, and a strong introduction and conclusion.

10. Define and refine research ques-tions;cite sources accurately, distinguishing between paraphrasing and quoting.

LITERARY TEXTS from

Holt Literature book:

Foreshadowing   The Dangerous Game pgs. 4-26

Dialogue     Thank You Ma’am pgs. 87-93

Conflicts     Marigolds pgs. 119-129

Omniscient Narrator The Interlopers                    pgs. 151-156

Third-Person Limited  The Necklace                      pgs. 159-169

Unreliable Narrator The Cask of Amontillado  

pgs. 173-179

Situational Irony The Gift of the Magi  pgs. 286-294

Ambiguity The Lady or the Tiger? pgs. 297-308

Symbolism    The Scarlet Ibis   pgs. 343-354

Theme and Conflict  The Sniper  pgs. 211-217

Workplace Documents Citing Sources                       pgs. 955-963

2

3

INFORMATIVE/EXPLANATORY WRITINGR.L. 9-10.2Select a short story and write an essay that analyzes how a particular literary element plays a part in the essence and working of one of the chosen stories. State your thesis clearly and include at least three pieces of evidence to support it.

ART/CLASS DISCUSSIONS.L. 9-10.1, S.L. 9-10.2How do artists create narratives? Select two works of art to view as a class. Compare the two works, focusing the discussion on the relationship between character and setting, and on how the artists combined these to suggest a narrative.

ART AND INFORMATIVE/EXPLANATORY WRITINGR.L. 9-10.4, W. 9-10.2, S.L. 9-10.6Select a short story and an artwork and write an essay in which you discuss the use of symbolism in each. State your thesis clearly and support your thesis with at least three pieces of evidence.

SPEECHR.L. 9-10.2, S.L. 9-10.6Select a one minute passage form one of the short stories and recite it from memory. In-clude an introduction that states:•What the excerpt is from•Who wrote it•Which literary element it exemplifies and why

SOCRATIC CIRCLE AND WRITINGR.L. 9-10.2, R.L. 9-10.3, S.L. 9-10.3, S.L. 9-10.4, S.L. 9-10.6Is Montressor (from Poe’s “The Cask of Amontillado”) a reliable narrator? Cite at least three reasons to support your argument. The socratic question may also be used as an es-say topic.

4

RESEARCH AND INFORMATIVE/EXPLANATORY WRITINGR.L. 9-10.1, W. 9-10.2, W. 9-10.7, W. 9-10.8S&elect one of the authors from the short unit and conduct an author study. Begin by de-fining a research question and refine it as necessary. The research should include an auto-biographical or biographical text, another story by the same author, and/or a critical es-say that addresses a specific aspect of the author’s style. Include at least three references to the author’s work and to other sources. Cite sources carefully and distinguish clearly between paraphrasing and quoting.

GRAMMAR AND USAGEL.9-10.3Parts of SpeechVerbs: principal parts of verbs, especially irregular past and past participle; simple, per-fect, and progressive tenses; agreement of subject and verb, especially with collective nouns

Nouns: common, proper, concrete, abstract, countable, collective, compound, posses-sive, gerunds

Select a paragraph from a short story and identify all the verbs. Name the tense of each you find.Look at a photograph,painting, or magazine advertisement for at least three minutes. On piece of paper, draw two intersecting lines to make four squares ( one for each category:people,places, things, and ideas). In each square, list the nouns by category that you see in the image. Note whether they are abstract or concrete nouns.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCESAnalyzing Irony and Symbolism in a Short Story ( Louisiana Department of Education)http://www.doe.state.la.us/lde/uploads/5690.pdfLesson Plans for “The Scarlet Ibis” ( WebEnglishTeacher)http://www.webenglishteacher.com/hurst.html