Checking for Prior Knowledge
Teaching the short story in seventh grade, I have found that students enter the classroom with a wide range of prior knowledge of literature and the short story. For this reason, I always begin this unit by asking students to respond for five to ten minutes in their journals to a writing prompt which asks them to recall everything they can remember about the short story. (All students in my English class are required to have with them a personal journal used for prompt responses and free writing) This always elicits a wide variety of responses ranging from, “I don’t know anything,” to students who are quite well versed in many of the terms listed below. This student feedback is how I establish my starting point for the unit. For example, if all the students in a class recall the “beginning, middle, end” description of the parts of a story, but no more, I know all the students will need careful guidance in being introduced to and understanding the more expanded descriptions including “exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution.” On the other hand, if some of the class is already familiar with some of those words, those students should be identified and employed as teaching aids to the class.
Very often children who already understand a concept have a more productive time explaining those concepts to their peers in a more intimate setting. This is a legitimate form of cooperative learning. If you have students in the class who can teach others what you want them to master, let them help, in many cases they will also benefit. They will benefit by practicing and reinforcing their knowledge on the subject, and questions they are presented with from their “student peer” will help them identify gaps in their understanding which they might not have perceived previously.
Initial Lesson
Once prior knowledge is established, begin with a short short story which can be read and discussed within the remaining class time. I plan to use the vignettes “Hairs” and “My Name” from Sandra Cisneros’ book The House on Mango Street. These two very short stories contain strong character descriptions in the first person. At this point I focus on just a couple terms and concepts. It is important to only offer students one or two potentially confusing ideas in each lesson. For example, if the majority of a class does not recall what the differences are between first and third person point of view, they must have a solid understanding of those terms before they are expected to learn and comprehend the differences between “omniscient” and “limited points of view.” However, if the instructor and the majority of the class is already confident of their comprehension of those first and third person distinctions, then terms like “omniscient” and “limited point of view” can be introduced to the students immediately. “Hairs” also has several examples of metaphor and simile which could be introduced if a class is ready to jump right in. “My Name” also raises the issue of the significance of names of both fictional characters and people. This is a theme I return to frequently in my class: what does a character or a person’s name suggest about that individual, if anything?
Introducing Basic Terms
A good set of terms to begin the first lesson with are character, narrator, setting, and point of view. Students usually have some familiarity with these terms, but it is necessary that they become confident in using these words before moving on to plot. For this part of the unit I plan to use some more selections from The House on Mango Street. This book is composed of a series of what are short and loosely connected vignettes from the perspective of a Mexican-American girl. These vignettes are easy to read through and offer examples of everyday events as literary material for example riding a bike in the city. I also anticipate using Gwedolyn Brooks’s “spring landscape: detail” from her book Maud Martha to illustrate description of setting. If students cannot explain the differences between the narrator, main character, and secondary characters, it will make later discussion of theme, conflict, and characterization much more confusing for students and teacher alike. As stated above, if a higher grade level class already has a greater knowledge of these terms, then more specific terms relating to point of view can be introduced earlier. Generally, I hold terms like “omniscient” and “limited point of view” until later in the unit when students feel confident with their understanding several less imposing words. These selections by Cisneros and Brooks will also serve as models for student writing at the end of the unit.
Narrators and Gender
To address the specific focus of this unit, women writers, I will use a brief text which can be read in ten minutes. Select a text that does not overtly suggest the narrator is a woman. Furthermore, the story should have a dominant narrator/character whose gender may be male or female. I suggest Grace Paley’s “Mother.” The purpose in this is to begin addressing potential assumptions and stereotypes which students may hold regarding the writing of women. After reading the story in class, check for understanding in respect to who the narrator is, which point of view is being used, and who the characters are. Once this discussion is finalized, ask students to respond to the question/prompt “Was this story written by a man or a woman, and what makes you come to that conclusion?” Allow students to write for five to ten minutes in their personal journals. Student responses should offer a good indication of what students may consider as typical male or female writing. One of the goals of this unit is to dispel those assumptions. For that reason, it is important to begin this discussion on what women write about from the first lesson. This way, students will be more likely to focus their attention on the similarities and differences between the stories by different women that they will read over the course of several weeks. Regardless of which texts are selected for use in class, questions about student expectations from women writers should be brought up regularly.
Role Models
Another theme of my unit will be the introduction of positive role models in the literature we read in class. As I mentioned earlier, it is important for young readers to see examples of superior women’s writing. All of the stories I will read with class obviously can be considered examples of great writing by women authors. I expect that this alone will inspire some of the young writers I have in my classes to recognize that they too, regardless of their ethnic or social/economic background, have the capacity to be authors themselves. This might seem like a high expectation. However, if only one student finishes the year with an urge and a firm belief in herself as a potential writer, I could ask for little else. My hope is that each year several young writers will leave my classroom with confidence in their ability to communicate both in the written and the spoken word. Regardless of the style of writing students choose to practice, whether it be fictional or non-fictional, prose or poetry, if students leave the course with a invigorated belief in their own abilities to succeed, then the time spent in the English class was productive and beneficial to their growth and development as individuals.
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In addition to presenting my class with strong role models who are writers, I also intend to present them with characters who are models of independence and who are in control of their own destinies. I plan to use two stories by Charolotte Perkins Gilman to specifically address this topic during the unit. One of the stories is “Deserted.” This story describes a woman who does all the stereotypical “housework” for her family and also takes care of her husband’s financial concerns. Because of her husband’s personal debts, she ultimately leaves him, taking their children and all their assets, informing him that if he mends his ways she will gladly inform him where she is with the children and welcome him back. The final line of the story, “It made a new man of him” suggests that her choice of actions where successful.
The other Gilman story I intend on using is “Five Girls.” This tale concerns five educated women who decide to always stay together and not allow love relationships to separate them. By the story’s end, it becomes apparent that they have fallen in love over time and become wives and mothers; however, they have stood by their convictions and required their husbands to move into the house they all occupy together where additions are made on the house to accommodate the growing families. The importance of both these stories is they show female characters who are successful working professionals who refuse to compromise their original convictions for the desires or conveniences of their husbands.
Homework and Independent Study
After the first lessons, students should be sent home with another brief short story to read independently. This will be a student responsibility three to five nights per week, depending on class needs and abilities. While answering comprehension questions they should also be required to identify all the components the class has covered thus far. For example, they should identify the point of view as completely as their knowledge allows. This means it is not necessary for all students in one class to do identical work. Although the majority of the class may be asked only to identify the narrator, characters, and first or third person point of view, more advanced students should be pushed to label a protagonist and antagonist in the story. From the first day they can be expected to identify “first” or “third person” narrative, or, if the class is more advanced, the limit or omniscience of the narrator’s point of view. These expectations should be consistent though out the course of the unit.
As new terms are added to the students’ vocabularies, they need to be expected to use all the terms they have learned collectively. Once students have mastered the differences between points of view, character types, and setting descriptions, they need to be held accountable for that information later in the unit when the focus has gone beyond plot and is looking at themes, symbols, and motifs. An effective way to explain it to students is as a matter of detailed explanation. If they want to discuss theme or characterization, and they will be required to, they need to speak in terms of narration, point of view, and conflict. All these terms are interrelated. They build upon one another. Thorough knowledge of the simpler terms helps students to talk about more complex terms with confidence and authority. In other words, once they have mastered the more basic terms like character and setting, they need to keep using those words as part of their new vocabulary when discussing stories.
Teaching Plot
When students are comfortable with identifying and discussing components including characters, point of view, and setting, then the stages of plot can be introduced. Depending on the skills and dynamics of particular classes, it may take from one to several lessons for students to master those terms and use them confidently in writing and discussion. If they are not comfortable with those terms of reference, they will be at a significant disadvantage when the class moves on to learn about plot. The most difficult obstacle in selecting good contemporary short stories for plot discussion is finding those that have clear examples of the five stages of plot common to traditional short stories.
It is very easy to find traditional short stories in anthologies that go through all the five stages of a plot. The problem lies in the fact that the vast majority of these stories are what students and teachers alike frequently deem boring stories. We continue to use them as a matter of convenience to ourselves; they are there ready to use, and they are easy to teach due to the following reasons: 1) They all have clear exposition sections where the reader is introduced to the setting and the characters. 2) The conflict is clearly stated introducing rising action and building suspense. 3) The climatic event is usually an obvious physical event such as the defeat of a villain by the hero. 4) Falling action is brief and involves replacing or rebuilding what was disrupted during the conflict. 5) Resolution is evident from the common fairy tale type of ending wherein it is suggested that protagonist and her supporting characters will live happily ever after. The shortcoming of these stories lies in the fact that they have been used for decades and are understandably tired examples of literature that our students are also tired of.
There are many factors that influence many contemporary writers to depart from the traditional plot organization. Regardless of their motives, many fine examples can still be found that include all five steps. In many contemporary stories resolution is either not complete or at times absent from the conclusion. While traditional short stories leave us with our questions and concerns regarding the characters answered, many contemporary stories leave us with lingering questions and concerns about the characters’ fate. The latter type of story can also be taught in this unit, but it is best to save examples of these “incomplete” short stories for the end of the unit. Otherwise, great confusion will arise when discussing the resolution of a story that to the students may not be able to identify as an “end.” Most of these five stages can, however, be found in a large array of contemporary short stories. A few stories I plan on using in my class that have a solid resolution are Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery”, Toni Cade Bambara’s “Raymond’s Run,” Gwendolyn Brooks’ “death of Grandmother” and “Maud Martha spares the mouse” from Maud Martha, and Hisaye Yamamoto’s “Seventeen Syllables.” Although all these stories have good examples of resolution, they also leave the reader with a couple questions. I am doing this purposefully. By discussing these stories resolutions early in the unit, students will be asked what might happen next if the author where to write a continuation the story. I have learned that this approach makes it easier for young readers to then read stories later in the unit that leave the reader with nothing but questions. Reading stories with little resolution early in a unit on short stories leads to confusion and frustration among many students who are accustomed to “happy endings.”
Discussing Plot
When covering plot, I use graphic tools to help students visualize the stages of plot. Diagrams like Freytag’s Pyramid or sequence charts are very helpful in aiding students to see how the independent parts of a short story work together. Freytag’s Pyramid is a very common graphic organizer used when diagramming plot. Freytag’s was originally designed to discuss the stages of a play, but it is frequently seen in middle and high school texts in this format(Cudden 359).
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(rising action)
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(falling action)
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(exposition)
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(resolution)
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Initially with teacher aid but ultimately independently, the task of the student is to place the events of a given story along the diagram according to which part of the plot those specific events illustrate. There is always some disagreement among individuals regarding when rising action begins or when falling action turns to resolution. This is to be expected. There is no need for all involved to come to unanimous consensus on these nuances, at least, not in seventh grade. These occasions can lead to great class discussions on how different individuals view the same material differently. What is important is that students are not perceiving setting descriptions or character descriptions as action, climax, or resolution.
Exposition is when the reader is introduced to the setting and characters. With stories that begin immediately with action, confusion may arise. “What happened to exposition? This author started with rising action! You said yesterday that stories begin with exposition!” Situations and responses such as these are good signs. It shows that the students are reading carefully and learning the basic framework of a plot. Occasions like this can also be used as a teachable moments. I reiterate with my classes throughout the year that writers in the last century have challenged what the “acceptable” approaches to composition are. Many writers have chosen for one reason or another to “break the rules” and offer readers a new view of things. Then, inevitably, the next question arises, “Then why do we have to learn to diagram a plot if writers don’t pay attention to the rules?” My cliché response to this is, “You cannot break the rules until you know what the rules are.” I use early and late Williams Carlos Williams poems to illustrate this in my poetry unit. Many people assume he always used lower case letters, but he did not. For his own reasons he found working within the boundaries of the “rules” limiting or insufficient, and he made a deliberate decision to change his style. I explain the same is true of short story authors; some have chosen to break the rules, but they knew the rules they were breaking. In the case of the author who begins with action, the reader has to understand that the exposition of setting and character is interwoven with the rising action.
I have found in past short story units that diagramming with Freytag’s Pyramid can be challenging for some students. It is often necessary to go through diagramming several plots before students feel confident doing the work independently. Another method is to use sequencing charts. Theses are very much like story-boards. Students are given charts that have six to nine empty boxes with arrows from one to the next showing the direction of the story. The first boxes are filled in with details from the exposition of the story. The next few boxes contain the introduction of conflict and the rising action. The climax should be described in one box. The following boxes show the falling action, and the last box should describe the resolution. I have found it is most effective to leave the boxes unlabeled, have the students put the events of the story into the boxes they feel are essential to the story, then go back over the chart and label each box or boxes according to which part of the plot it/they illustrate. This seems to work well with visual learners. I also allow students to draw the events of the story in the boxes if they prefer that to writing. All students work with both Freytag’s Pyramid and sequence charts. This ensures that the learning styles of all students are addressed. When I test students on plot, I then offer them the option of using the method they feel most comfortable with. What they are assessed on is their ability to identify the five parts of plot in a story accurately.
Cooperative Learning
During this unit I will also take advantage of cooperative learning strategies. I have knowledgeable students coach those who are struggling with identifying parts of the plots and any other terms or concepts the class may be working on. This is very similar to a tutoring process. Within the lessons on plot, for example, more key terms need to be introduced, and students need to learn to use them with the same confidence they use setting and character. I have observed that when students help or are helped by their peers, their confidence builds more rapidly for all parties involved. When we work on lists of terms in the unit, I use larger groups. In groups of four to five, students are given short lists of words, usually the same number as there are students in the group. Each student is expected to master one or two terms. It is then that individual’s responsibility to teach their term(s) to the members of their group. Once this stage is complete, there are a couple options. Each student can then be asked to explain their term(s) to the whole class, or the members of the groups can be jig-sawed into new groups. The numbers do not always work out for this, but then I fill in any gaps with myself. Once students are jig-sawed into new groups without any of their original partners, it is each student’s responsibility to teach their new group all the terms they learned with their last group. Normally, I warn the students that they will be quizzed at the end of class to motivate on task behavior.
Along with the stages of the plot they will need to understand: internal conflict, external conflict, specific types of conflict for example, human v. nature, suspense, and characterization.
Once students are confident with discussing plot and the related terms, it is time to begin introducing more specific literary terms which they need to learn and use. Less traditional short stories can be incorporated into the lessons at this point, if it is apparent that the students are prepared to discuss the differences. If they are still struggling with identifying the exposition, climax, or resolution of stories, they are not ready and will only be further confused by moving on at this point. The choice of terms to introduce to students at this stage in the unit is contingent upon the teacher’s goals and the ability of the students. Terms I expect my seventh grade class to learn include: theme, symbol, tragic, comic, satire, parody, allegory, foreshadowing, prose, fiction, and mood. If particular students master the expectations easily, then those students should be challenged to learn and use terms such as: sub-plot, metaphor, simile, motif, leitmotif, and flashback.