Unit Title:Creative Writing: Sharing the Human Experience Through the Short Story and Poetry
By: Dan Darvell

Prefatory Statement
Class Specifications
Significant Assumptions
Desired Outcomes
Possible Whole-Class Activities
Possible Small-Group Activities
Possible Individual Activities
Ongoing Activities
Student Resources
Unit Launch/Anticipatory Set/Set Induction
Organization of the Unit
Detailed Plans for 3 Days of the Unit
Assessment Task: Short story, fiction
Assessment Task: Poetry

Prefatory Statement: In this unit students will explore the short story and poetry. While it is
important for students to be proficient writers for academic and technical purposes, it is equally
important that they can express themselves through more creative forms of writing, such as story and
poetry. It is these forms of creative thought expression that we as humans can experience the
richness of our condition and share with each other our dreams and hopes. I believe strongly that
without teaching students how to use creative mediums such as the ones I have talked about, we are
limiting the enjoyment and fulfillment students will have in their lives.

In this unit students will explore poetry, the short story, and the elements of the short story: plot,
characterization, setting, and theme. Students will also work on proficiencies in the High school level
content area of Literature and Arts Creation and Performance. This unit will cover all of the high
standards within the Literature Arts Creation and Performance content area. In designing this unit I
have tried to create lessons and a structure that will be engaging for both the students and the
instructor.

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Class Specification: This unit is designed for students in grade 10-12 who have been previously
exposed to short stories and the aspects of short stories. This unit could be adapted to the secondary
level if expectations for work produced were increased. This unit is designed for a class size of 25. A
larger or smaller class size will affect the time required for peer conferences, teacher conferences,
and the time required for student performances of their writing.

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Significant Assumptions:

Students are satisfactory writers and have a basic understanding of English grammar-including
syntax and good usage.
Students will enjoy writing the activities within this unit.
Students can learn through creative process.
Students do not necessarily have experience with peer conferencing in regards to writing.
Students have experience with small-group and whole-class discussions.
Students benefit in their writing through peer conferencing.

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Desired Outcomes: Students shall demonstrate understanding of the elements, techniques, and
processes of creative writing and how works of creative writing are structured; and, in creative writing,
the student shall create or perform, or both, an original creative writing presentation including a single
complex work or multiple works that:

a.demonstrates elements and skills of creative writing;
b.demonstrates artistic decisions to communicate intent;
c.demonstrates a sense of an artistic whole;
d.demonstrates a consideration of audience; and
e.uses multiple sources for critique and feedback.

In addition, by the end of the unit students will also have:

a.gained experience with typing,
b.and gained experience with word processing.

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Possible Whole-Class Activities:

Imagination discussion
Class conference with teacher on a piece created by the teacher
Performance of stories
Performance of poems

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Possible Small-Group Activities:

Lemon writing exercise
Peer conferencing

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Possible Individual Activities:

Daily journal writing at the beginning of each class period
In-class writing time for students to work on their stories

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Ongoing Activities: During this unit each student will write two short stories. The students will also
keep a writing journal. The journal will serve as a place for students to generate ideas for their story
and for students to practice elements of the short story that are covered in class.

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Student Resources:

Journal
Computer and printer (Students will need access to these during school, and before and after
school. It is best if students have access to these at home as well.)
Glue
Newspaper (1 or 2 per student)
A copy of The House of Usher

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Unit Launch/Anticipatory Set/Set Induction: Imagination Lesson, see day 1 and accompanying
lesson plan.

Note: Except for a few special assignments I have not listed specific homework assignments, it is
expected that students will be working on writing, revising, and incorporating elements of writing into
their stories outside of class. If this does not work for your class you should assign specific writing
assignments for homework.

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Organization of the Unit:

Week 1

Day 1: Imagination lesson-This lesson is designed to be a unit launch to
get students writing and to begin thinking about the creative process.
Adapted from a lesson created by Gail B. Finlay
http://ericir.syr.edu/Virtual/Lessons/Lang_arts/Writing_comp/WCP0010.html
accessed 11-26-2000

Day 2: Lemon Lesson-This lesson focuses on the element of description
and its use in the short story.
Adapted from a lesson created by Jody K. Vilschick
http://ericir.syr.edu/Virtual/Lessons/Lang_arts/Writing_comp/WCP0021.html
accessed 11-26-2000

Day 3: Plot & Setting Lesson, Writing time: students should focus on plot
and setting in their stories.

Day 4: Ransom Note Poetry lesson-This lesson is designed to get
students to start using language deliberately to convey meaning that
enhances the story, talk about language usage

Day 5: Performance of ransom note poems, writing time-students should
focus on the way they are using language in their stories. Students should
receive constructive feedback on their poems; this can be either oral or
written. Homework: read The House of Usher, provided by teacher, and
write a one-page response to how the author uses imagery and
description in the story.

Week 2

Day 1: Discuss the imagery and description used in The House of Usher
with the class. Writing time: focusing on the use of imagery and
description in their stories.

Day 2: Computer lab day

Day 3:

Draft 1 due
Discussion on peer conferencing
Peer conference day

Day 4:

Teacher conferences
Peer conferences
Writing time

Day 5:

Teacher conferences
Independent reading of short story provided by teacher

Week 3

Day 1:

Writing time
Mini-lesson on setting

Day 2: Computer lab day

Day 3:

Final Draft of short story #1 due
Discussion of character in the short story

Day 4:

Character development mini-lesson
Character sketch lesson

Day 5: Dialog lesson with partner

Week 4

Day 1:

Writing time
Mini-lesson on point of view

Day 2: Computer lab day

Day 3:

Draft due
Peer conferencing
Writing time

Day 4:

Teacher conferencing
Peer conferencing
Writing time

Day 5:

Teacher conferencing
Writing time
Mini-lesson on theme

Week 5

Day 1:

Teacher conferencing
Writing time

Day 2: Computer lab day

Day 3:

Final draft of short story #2 due
Performance of writing

Day 4: Performance of writing

Day 5: Performance of writing

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Detailed Plans for 3 Days of the Unit:

Imagination Lesson

Objectives/Standard: This lesson is designed to be a launch for the
creative writing unit. It will begin working on elements and skills of creative
writing. By the end of this lesson students will:

a.learn some of the elements of a story: plot, characterization, and
setting;
b.and will have written a rough draft of a short story.

Rational: Students need to be able to address elements of the short
story in order to write a short story. This lesson will get them to begin
addressing these elements in a manner that gives them choice over the
content and nature of these elements.

Materials:

Student writing journals
Overhead or Infocus projector to display questions

Method:

(10 min) Stir up the students' imaginations with the following
discussion questions:

Ask students what is imagination?
Ask students if their imaginations are like anyone
else's?
Ask students who some people are who use
imagination?

Tell students that they will be dreaming and imagining and
creating word pictures of things that might never have
existed or happened.

(10 min) Present the students with "What Would Happen
If..." scenarios. For example, "What would happen if…." The
instructor can choose which examples to use. Students
should write about at least three "what if…" questions.

vegetables could talk;
your brother turned into your sister;
water in the oceans evaporated;
all clocks stopped;
people decided to no longer work for minimum wage;
everyone looked alike;
and all trees began growing money.

(5 min) Have the students brainstorm their ideas in phrase
form and write their ideas in their notebooks.

(25 min) Have the students take on of their ideas and
develop it into a story. What is the conflict? Who are the
characters? Where and when does the story take place?

Homework: a draft of an original short story is due by the next class
period that has addressed the elements of plot, characterization, and
setting.

Assessment: I know students will have met the objectives/standards if the
drafts they have produced contain elements of plot, characterization, and
setting.

Lemon Lesson

Objectives/Standard: This lesson serves as an introduction to a study of
sensory detail, imagination, and gives students practice applying both to
their writing.

Rationale: This lesson will introduce students to some of the artistic
decisions that writers make to communicate intent.

Materials:

Blank Transparencies
5-6 Lemons (or one for each group)
Brown paper grocery bag

Method:

Day One

The teacher begins the class by a five-minute free write on:
What would you write about if you were writing your
autobiography." Afterward, the students will share what
they've written.

The teacher will ask the students to get into groups of four
or five students and will hand out a lemon to each group.

The teacher will ask students to individually answer the
following questions:

What are lemons used for?
What songs or stories you can think of that have
been written about lemons or used lemons in the
title?
How would you describe your group's lemon, without
using "yellow" or "sour."
What does your lemon smell like?
What does your lemon feel like?
If you were a lemon, where would you have been
born?
If you were a lemon, what experiences might you
have had before arriving in this classroom?
If you were a lemon, how might those experiences
shaped how you see yourself?
If you were a lemon, how did your experiences shape
your characteristics, or vice versa?

Next, the teacher will ask the students to share some of
their answers with each other in groups and discuss
possible answers the students could have written down. The
teacher will also ask students to draw lines in their answers
in a way that makes sense to them (clustering fact,
sensory, and imaginative answers). Then the teacher will
ask the students to identify what was just clustered.

The teacher will ask students working in their groups to
name their lemon and continue to get to know their lemons,
carefully noting the lemon's characteristics and determining
what makes it different from other lemons they have seen.
Then the teacher will ask students to put their lemons in a
big brown bag. After the lemons have been collected, the
teacher will ask each group to send up a representative to
identify and retrieve its lemon. They will be able to so
identify!

Then the teacher will ask the students to explain how they
knew the lemons belonged to their group. The goal here is
to elicit the concept that although each lemon is similar to
other lemons, each has markings and characteristics that
make it an individual; despite these differences, they are all
equally lemons. The teacher will discuss with the class the
following questions: How are your brothers and sisters like
you, but different as well? How are people in your school
like you, but different as well? How are people in your town
like you, but different as well? How are people in the United
States like you, but different as well? How are people in
other countries like you, but different as well?

Day Two

As students come in, the teacher will ask the students to
write two sentences describing their group's lemon from
memory.

The students will reconvene in their groups and review their
notes from the day before. The teacher will ask the students
to retrieve their lemons and work together (in groups) to
write a biography for their lemon (in which the lemon is the
main character) and then prepare to share or act out the
story with the class. The story should address plot,
characterization, setting, and theme.

The groups will share or act out an event or events from their
lemons' biography.

The instructor should discuss with the students how a
biography is a history of an individual and that each
character in a story has a biography which can explain
motivation and other aspects of that characters behavior and
thoughts.

Homework: Students should develop a 1-2 page biography of the main
character in their story to be turned in the next class period.

Assessment: The teacher will assess student learning by gauging their
active participation in group activities and by the creativity of the lemon
autobiographies. The teacher will assess overall class interest and
understanding by its participation in the class discussions.

Ransom Note Poetry

Lesson Objectives/Standards: This lesson is designed to address the
use of figurative language and word choice and the standard of artistic
decisions to communicate intent.

Rationale: This lesson will help students to understand the how they can
creatively use language and words in their short stories.

Materials:

Construction paper, various colors
A large stack of newspapers
Scissors
Glue sticks

Methods: Each student gets a piece of construction paper, a newspaper
section (or more), a pair of scissors, and a glue stick.

Students are instructed to scan the newspaper's headlines, searching for
interesting or powerful words. These words need not be related in any
way, but must appeal to the student. After a given amount of time of
searching and clipping (about 15 minutes), students should clean their
area and organize their words, laying them flat in front of them.

Now the fun begins! Students use the words they clipped to create a
ransom note poem by gluing them on their construction paper. The poem
should make use of the words the students selected and should have one
or more encompassing themes.

As the class period is ending stop the students and discuss with them
what they though of the exercise. Specifically, how they incorporated the
words they selected into a cohesive thought.

Homework: finish three poems and be prepared to present one poem in
class the next class period. After the poems are read in class the next
day students should take the feedback they received on the poem they
read and revise it and turn it in with the next draft of the story they are
working on.

Assessment: I will know students have made deliberate artistic decisions
when they present their poems. I will also be able to evaluate poems when
they are turned in.

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Assessment Task: Short story, fiction

Learning Area: Arts and Literature
Education Level: High School
Content: Literary and Arts Creation and Performance - Creative
Standard: Writing

In creative writing, a student shall demonstrate understanding of the elements, techniques, and
processes of creative writing and how works of creative writing are structured; and, in creative writing,
the student shall create or perform, or both, an original creative writing presentation including a single
complex work or multiple works that:

a.demonstrates elements and skills of creative writing;
b.demonstrates artistic decisions to communicate intent;
c.demonstrates a sense of an artistic whole;
d.demonstrates a consideration of audience; and
e.uses multiple sources for critique and feedback.

Large Process Concepts

Products/Evidence of Learning

Short story #1
Short story #2

Task Summary:

Generate ideas for a story in the imagination lesson. This lesson should help in developing an
idea for a story but time may be needed outside of class in order to find a topic/subject.
Begin writing a draft paying special attention to plot and setting. Meaning the draft should have
a beginning, middle, and an end, and progress is a recognizable sequence (not necessarily
entirely chronological however). The story should also be set in a definite environment in which
the action of the story takes place, including elements of time and location.
Continue writing/revising draft incorporating vivid description and imagery.
Hand in completed draft that has been proofread and is nearly free of spelling and mechanical
errors.
Conference with peer. Select two students to read the story and comment on the following
aspects
Plot: What is the conflict/problem in the story? How did the problem develop? How is it
resolved? What can be improved?
Setting: Where does the story take place? How does the setting affect the story?
Description/Imagery: What are the strengths of the description in the story? Where is
there more or less description needed?
Spelling
Grammar
Conference with teacher on draft. The teacher will comment on the same aspects as the peers
and will offer suggestions and encouragement on the strengths and weaknesses of the story.
Consider the suggestions from all conferences and revise the story to accommodate the
feedback received.
Turn in final draft that is free of mechanical errors. The final draft should be no less than two
double-spaced pages in length. All drafts and comments should be attached behind the final
draft.
Choose one of the two stories produced during this unit to read aloud to the class.

Feedback Checklist:

Y=yes
N=no evidence shown

Student
Teacher
a. Elements and skills of creative writing
__________
Plot: Story has a beginning, middle, and an end, and progress is a
recognizable sequence (not necessarily entirely chronological however).
__________
__________
Characterization: Story contains at least three methods of
characterization as discussed in class.
__________
__________
Setting: Story has a definite environment in which the action of the story
takes place, including elements of time and location.
__________
__________
Theme: Story addresses some universal concern or idea.
__________
b. Artistic decisions to communicate intent
__________
Punctuation: uses elements of punctuation purposefully to direct
cadence and meaning in the story.
__________
__________
Figurative Language: intentionally uses language and word choice to
convey meaning that enhances the story.
__________
__________
Conferences with teacher on intent. Student has a definite purpose for
writing the story and communicates this to instructor.
__________
c. A Sense of and Artistic Whole
__________
Student makes choices in the story to achieve an artistic effect.
Example: Sequence of events is arranged to build suspense. Students
can articulate reasons for their choices in student-teacher conferencing.
__________
d. Consideration of Audience
__________
Student identifies an authentic audience.
__________
Student makes choices reflecting the audience chosen for his/her story.
Examples: Appropriate language, subjects, length, and purpose.
__________
Student follows through on intended audience.
__________
e. Multiple sources for critique and feedback
__________
Student receives feedback from audience.
__________
Mechanics
__________
Story is submitted in near final form for peer editing.
__________
__________
Student accepts editing advise from instructor/peers and revises.
__________
__________
Final draft is free of mechanical errors.
__________
__________
Drafts are in on time and complete
__________
__________
Overall evaluation (average)
__________

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Assessment Task: Poetry

Learning Area: Arts and Literature
Education Level: High School
Content: Literary and Arts Creation and Performance - Creative
Standard: Writing

In creative writing, a student shall demonstrate understanding of the elements, techniques, and
processes of creative writing and how works of creative writing are structured; and, in creative writing,
the student shall create or perform, or both, an original creative writing presentation including a single
complex work or multiple works that:

a.demonstrates elements and skills of creative writing;
b.demonstrates artistic decisions to communicate intent;
c.demonstrates a sense of an artistic whole;
d.demonstrates a consideration of audience; and
e.uses multiple sources for critique and feedback.

Large Process Concepts

Products/Evidence of Learning

Three Ransom poems

Task Summary:

Generate ideas for a the poems by clipping words out of the newspaper. The Ransom Poetry
lesson should help in developing ideas for the poems but time may be needed outside of class
in order to find a topic/subject.
Assemble some of the words taken from the newspapers to create poems. Pay attention to
word choice in order to convey an intentional meaning.
Turn in final drafts of the poems. The poems should convey a complete thought or message.
Read one of the three poems created to the class.
Consider feedback received from the students and teacher and revise the poem read in class.
This poem should be turned in with the next story draft.

Feedback Checklist:

Y=yes
N=no evidence shown

Student
Teacher
b. Artistic decisions to communicate intent
__________
Student has chosen words that convey an intentional meaning.
__________
__________
The poem is structured in a way that displays an intentional cadence.
__________
c. A Sense of and Artistic Whole
__________
The poem conveys a complete thought or message.
__________
d. Consideration of Audience
__________
Student identifies an authentic audience.
__________
Student makes choices reflecting the audience chosen for his/her poem.
Examples: Appropriate language, subjects, length, and purpose.
__________
Student follows through on intended audience.
__________
e. Multiple sources for critique and feedback
__________
Student receives feedback from audience.
__________
__________
Student uses feedback from students and teacher and incorporates that
feedback into the final draft or the poem.
__________
Mechanics
__________
Student accepts editing advise from instructor/peers and revises.
__________
__________
Final draft is free of mechanical errors.
__________
__________
Drafts are in on time and complete.
__________
__________
Overall evaluation (average)
__________

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