Narrative Unit

The following information is from our narrative unit.  Students have been learning what a narrative is and the skills needed to write a personal narrative.  Highlighted items are the items we have already completed in class as of today 8/30/11. Students should all be able to demonstrate or explain what they have learned so far and how it is helping them write their personal narrative.

The timeline for completing this unit is a bit flexible due to some of the other business items that are dealt with at the beginning of the year. The tentative completion/due date for the summative assessment is September 8th, 2011.

As always, if you have any questions, please contact me.

Unit Plan: Narratives [pre-writing, organization and sequence*, revising for voice, commas, ideas]

Unit Assessments:

Pre-test: District Writing Prompt 1: District Writing Prompt #1

Think about the last time you attended a special event such as a concert, a fair, or a sports event. Describe what it was like to be there and include sights, sounds and smells that will make the reader feel he or she is there with you.

Unit Goals: Objective(s): The student will

GLE: W1A: Follow a writing process to

a. use appropriate prewriting strategies as needed

b. generate a draft

c. reread, revise for ideas and content, organization and word choice (refer to W2B, W2C, W2D)

d. edit for conventions (refer to W2E)

*e. share writing

a.) Students will write to a post-card, write a story developed from character traits, create a heart map, a nametag and a collage in order to generate ideas for writing a narrative. (done as getting to know you activities, homework and quick writes)

b.) Students will organize their story into a graphic organizer and then write a draft following this organization.
c.) Students will evaluate their own and a peer’s writing to improve in the areas of organization, ideas and voice in their writing.

d.) Students will evaluate their own and a peer’s writing to improve the use of commas in their writing.

W2B: Compose text with

a. strong, controlling idea

b. relevant, specific details

Students will evaluate three student generated paragraphs using the scoring guide and determine which one is the most focused and what sentences or ideas don’t belong.

W3A: Compose a variety of texts,

a. using narrative features

W2C: Compose text with

a. an effective beginning, middle, and end

b. a logical order

Students will generate a graphic organizer that a younger child could use to organize their writing into a narrative structure.

Students will sort a disassembled narrative into a logical order, explaining why they think it has an effective beginning, middle and end.

Students will select one of their three pre-writes to develop further and organize their own narrative within the graphic organizer.

W2D: Compose text using

a. precise and vivid language to show voice

Students will revise a draft to add precise and vivid language to show voice.

W2E: In written text

b. use commas and quotation marks in dialogue, and semi-colon in compound sentences

Students will edit a draft to ensure correct comma usage.

Summative: Post-test: Write and publish a narrative to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, relevant descriptive details, and well-structured event sequences.

with 80% accuracy at the minimum.

Scoring Rubric:

Mastered:

Ideas

The writer tells about ONE interesting and unforgettable experience. The details make the story truly memorable and focused.

Voice

The voice in the narrative perfectly captures the special time or experience. The writer’s voice can be heard, creating interest in the story.

Commas

The narrative is error free or has a few minor errors in comma use.

Organization and sequencing

 The way the narrative is put together makes it enjoyable to read. Well organized with a clear beginning, middle and ending, transitions are used well.

Proficient:

Ideas

The writer mostly focuses on ONE interesting experience. More details are needed to make the narrative memorable and focused.

Voice

The writer’s voice could be stronger. A voice can sometimes be heard, the writer needs to show more feelings.

Commas

The narrative has some errors that may distract or confuse the reader.

Organization and sequencing

The narrative is well organized, with a few sequences that need to be corrected. Most of the transitions are helpful but more transitions need to be used.

Developing:

Ideas

The writer needs to focus on one experience. There are not enough details or the details are unrelated to the main event.

Voice

The writer has rarely expressed a personal connection to the story.

Commas

Many errors make the narrative truly confusing and hard to read.

Organization and sequencing

The beginning, middle and ending all run together. The order is unclear.

Beginning:

Ideas

The writer needs to tell about an experience and use details.

Voice

The voice cannot be heard.

Commas

The writer has not yet considered using commas.

Organization and sequencing

The narrative needs to be organized.