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Lesson 8

We will finish rewriting “The Lottery,” “The Far and the Near,” or “A Rose for Emily” from the first-person point of view of one of the characters. We will then present our rewritten narratives to a group of other students.

Lesson Goals

Writing

  • Organize Ideas: How well do I group and sequence narrative details, paragraphs, and sentences to produce a coherent and well-developed retelling of a classic story?
  • Develop Ideas: How well do I use a first-person point of view to retell and develop a classic story told originally in third person?
  • Use Language to Convey Meaning: How well do I use vivid, descriptive images and words to retell a classic story in the style of its original author?

Texts

There are no texts for this Lesson.

Materials

Tools

Editable Google Docs

Activity 1: Write

We will revise our original narrative for point of view and details.

Revision is the process of reseeing your work with fresh eyes. Revision is a challenge for all writers—the art of making writing better is hard work that can feel messy at times.

Reread your draft narrative, asking yourself the following questions:

  1. Does my story narrative retell the story in first person from the point of view of my selected character?

  2. Does my story reflect the style and structure of the original source material?

  3. Does my story include vivid details and sensory language to develop the characters and plot?

  4. Does my story convey a theme?

Use your reflections to make revisions to your story as needed.

Activity 2: Read – Write

We will edit and polish the rewrites of our stories and prepare them to submit to our teacher.

Review the Section 2 Diagnostic Checklist, paying particular attention to the bulleted expectations of the task. Note in particular the expectation to “maintain consistent verb tense.”

Review as a class the conventions associated with time frames in a narrative and the use of past and present verb tenses. Consider examples from stories you have read and how authors either maintain a consistent time frame and verb tense throughout a story or intentionally shift tenses for effect.

Read through your draft narrative, highlighting, underlining, or circling all of the verbs you have used in your sentences.

With a writing partner, review all of your verbs and determine if they are in past or present tense. If you have shifted tenses, be sure that you have intentionally done this for effect.

If not, correct the tense of any verbs that are in a different time frame so that your narrative is consistent throughout.

Identify other areas in which you might polish and improve your draft. Revise and polish your narrative rewrite of one of the stories so you are prepared to submit it to your teacher.

Activity 3: Present – Listen

We will present our story rewrites to a group of other students, trying to adopt the voice of the character from whose point of view we have retold the story.

Join a group of other students for a reading of the stories you have rewritten.

One at a time, identify the story you have rewritten and the specific part of it you have addressed. Talk about the character from whose point of view you have retold the story, and what you thought about as you tried to tell the story from their perspective. How do you think the story might be similar or different?

After introducing your work, read your story for the group, trying to adopt a reading voice that matches the character who is telling the story in your rewrite.

Share observations about what works well in your rewrites and what you have learned about the narrative point of view by doing this exercise.

Activity 4: Write

We will reflect on our progress and the knowledge and skills we have developed in preparation for the Culminating Task at the end of the unit.

Choose at least three of the questions below and respond to them in your Learning Log:

  1. How well did you take the necessary action to prepare for the task?

  2. What went well for you during the completion of this task?

  3. What did you struggle with during the completion of this task? How did you push through that struggle?

  4. How well did you actively focus your attention during this independent task?

  5. How well did you develop and use an effective and efficient process to maintain workflow during this task?

  6. What would you do differently during the next Section Diagnostic?

Review your Culminating Task Progress Tracker. Think about all you have learned and done during this section of the unit. Evaluate your skills and knowledge to determine how prepared you are for the Culminating Task.