Overview
Unit DescriptionIn this Grade 9 Academic (and International Baccalaureate) English Unit, we will use our skills with reading strategies our knowledge of literary devices, and our academic conversation skills to work in detail with the Short Story form.
We will analyze one short story together: The Incident at Owl Street Bridge by American writer, Ambrose Bierce. This is brief, teacher-led overview of the short story form. See Short Story Basics. Then students will divide into groups of three (max), and each group will select a short story to work with from this list (one group per story). Students will do an in-depth short story analysis project using this story and will create a reading website. See Project 1 - Website. Students will then form groups of four (with different people than the previous assignment) to analyse a second short story to prepare as the subject of their Panel Discussion. See Project 2 - Panel Discussion. Students will then write an essay on the story of their choice from the list. It is recommended that they write their essays on one of the two stories they have studied in detail. See Project 3 - Essay. Short Story List ·
Evaluation: Short Story Website: IB Criteria A, B, C Panel Discussion: IB Criteria A, B, C Essay: IB Criteria A, B, C How to use this ResourceThe "Productivity Pack" resource provides a complete unit plan, with all required handouts, rubrics and tracking sheets to implement the unit. This unit makes extensive use of Information and Communication Technology. Although the unit is large and ambitious, it also provides set up instructions and basic information about the technology resources that students may use. Click on the links to the left to access the materials for the introductory lesson and each of the projects. You can download the student handouts by clicking on them. All are in MS Word so they can be edited as you require to adapt to your classroom.
NOTE: To make this unit shorter, you may wish to skip project 2. In my classroom, we have made a specific effort to study and practice the art of academic conversation; this project is the key evaluation for the academic conversation unit (which is integrated throughout) Setting up the technologyTo set up the technology for this unit, you have some choices:
You can set up "education" accounts and issue or track student log ins and passwords. Although this is work, there are some important benefits:
I personally recommend that you do both: give students access to safe education accounts where available, AND let them choose their own solutions if they think they have a better one. I usually require them to get my approval for "off list" technology choices. For complete information about getting started with the technology used in this unit, click Technology Set Up. The Problem of CopyrightAll the stories selected were selected based on three criteria:
While many of the stories are in public domain, some are surely not (for example, Mistry's "Ghost of Firozsha Baag"). Nevertheless, I was able to find and download these stories for free from many, easily-found sources on the web. For social annotation, a web version of the story is needed. I'm quite torn on the issue of copyright in these circumstances. I don't believe it is against any law to read and comment on a text that appears on a webpage on the internet. On the other hand, it feels a little incorrect to do so when I know the text shouldn't be there. I have made a sincere effort to source stories from legal sites! |
BenefitsThis unit plan integrates and synthesizes SKILLS as well as content.
ICT is used to increase student engagement ICT is used pedagogically, rather than as the point of the projects. It supports student learning rather than being the object of student learning. Unit Plan
UNIT OVERVIEW FOR STUDENTS
Resources
What about Homework?All of the applications can be used from any computer with the exception of iMovie since it is not a web application.
LEARNING OBJECTIVESThe following overall and specific Ontario objectives will be covered.
Reading and Literature Studies 1. Reading for Meaning 1.3 Demonstrating Understanding of Content 1.4 Making Inferences 1.5 Extending Understanding of Texts 1.6 Analyzing Texts 2. Understanding Form and Style 2.2 Text Features 2.3 Elements of Style 4. Reflecting on Skills and Strategies 4.1 Metacognition Writing 1. Developing and Organizing Content 1.2 Generating and Developing Ideas 1.4 Organizing Ideas 2. Using Knowledge of Form and Style 2.1 Form 2.2 Voice 2.3 Diction 2.4 Sentence Craft and Fluency 3. Applying Knowledge of Conventions 3.1 Spelling 3.2 Vocabulary 3.3 Punctuation 3.4 Grammar 3.5 Proofreading 3.6 Publishing 3.7 Producing Finished Works 4. Reflecting on Skills and Strategies 4.1 Metacognition Media Studies 1. Understanding Media Texts 1.3 Evaluating Texts 2. Understanding Media Forms, Conventions, and Techniques 2.1 Form 2.2 Conventions and Techniques 3. Creating Media Texts 3.1 Purpose and Audience 3.2 Form 3.3 Conventions and Techniques 3.4 Producing Media Texts 4. Reflecting on Skills and Strategies 4.1 Metacognition |