Grade 6 Lesson 3 Item Page Lesson Plan Page 2 Student Activity Handout 1 Narrative Practice Page 5 Activity Photos Page 10
DETERMINING METHODS VISION-SETTING Marlins Think Tank: Sixth Grade Writing Lesson Plan #3 OBJECTIVE. What is your objective? Student will be able to: W.6.3. Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, descriptive details, and clear event sequences. Orient the reader by establishing a situation and introducing a narrator and/or characters; organize an event sequence that unfolds naturally. Use dialogue and description to develop experiences and events or show the responses of characters to situations. KEY POINTS. What knowledge and skills are embedded in the objective? 1. Usually narrative essay is based on the author s experience. That means that you can write about your own stories that were either in present or in past. Furthermore, the author can write about stories that were based on experience of other people. 2. If you want to write a narrative essay you need to use the conventions of storytelling. That means that you are should not forget about plot, climax, character, setting and, of course, ending. 3. Plot includes exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution. ASSESSMENT. Describe, briefly, what students will do to show you that they have mastered (or made progress toward) the objective. Students will create their own narrative, based on the Playball! painting that appears at Marlins Park. OPENING (10 min.) How will you communicate what is about to happen? How will you communicate how it will happen? How will you communicate its importance? How will you communicate connections to previous lessons? How will you engage students and capture their interest? Students will enter class and immediately respond to the following prompt on the board: What has your day been like so far? What have you done? Describe your day, beginning with when you woke up. Write at least five sentences. After students have been given five minutes to write, the teacher will begin: Okay, all, would anyone like to share? (Calls hands) Today we are going to talk about how to be successful writers. Does anyone here like to write? If you do, that s wonderful. If you don t, we will make you feel so good at writing that you will have to love it! INTRODUCTION OF NEW MATERIAL (10 min.) How will you explain/demonstrate all knowledge/skills required of the objective, so that students begin to actively internalize key points? Which potential misunderstandings do you anticipate? How will you proactively mitigate them? How will students interact with the material? Today we are going to focus on our ability to write beautiful stories. A narrative is a story from someone s life, usually the author s. Your answers in your notebook are a mini-narrative, all about your morning! A good narrative has several qualities of a story; most importantly, it has a strong plot. If you want to write a narrative essay you need to use the conventions of storytelling. That means that you are should not forget about plot, climax, character, setting and, of course, ending. Let s review the elements of plot: exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution. MATERIALS. Student notebooks Student notebooks Marlins Think Tank: Sixth Grade Narrative Practice Handouts
Take notes at this point: Exposition: the first part of a story that establishes the setting, characters, and background. Rising Action: the events of a story that happen after the conflict and before the climax. Climax: the point in a story where the reader knows how that story will end. This is usually the most exciting part of a story. Falling Action: the events of a story that happen after the climax and before the conclusion. Resolution: The ending of a story. Setting: The time, place, physical details, and circumstances in which a story occurs. Conflict: The essence of the story. Usually Man versus Man, Man versus Society, Man versus Self, and Man versus Nature. GUIDED PRACTICE (15 min.) How will students practice all knowledge/skills required of the objective, with your support, such that they continue to internalize the key points? How will you ensure that students have multiple opportunities to practice, with exercises scaffolded from easy to hard? Today we are going to write narratives based on a painting that in hanging in Marlins Park. First, we are going to review what makes a good narrative. On your Marlins Think Tank: Sixth Grade Narrative Practice handout, there is a list of qualities of a good narrative. Let s read them together as a class (call on hands). Watch me think about the elements of plot that will exist in my story, which will be based on Figures Mountains Sky Star & Bird, another piece of art in Marlins Park. The painting is on the PowerPoint. It was done by Joan Miró, who is a tremendously famous artist beginning in the 1930s. His art is considered to be some of the most important in the surrealist movement. I am going to do the same pre-work that you will have to complete before you jump into writing your narrative. While I do this, pay attention to the important elements of plot that I have to figure out before I begin writing. Student notebooks PowerPoint Marlins Think Tank: Sixth Grade Narrative Practice Handouts Topic of My Narrative & Conflict: A group of strangely shaped birds and other desert creatures are banished from society because they are different. They yearn to be welcomed by others. Settings: The dry, hot, unwelcoming desert, present day. Exposition: The bird is searching for water and food for his group of misfit friends. They are depressed and frustrated that they are living so poorly. Rising Action: The bird and his misfit friends begin talking around a campfire. They talk about how mean their families and friends were to them back home, and how the felt when they were banished from society. Climax: They decide to hire a lawyer who can advocate for them being welcomed back into society. Their lawyer is a misfit himself, who proved to the world how much value he could hold in society.
Falling Action: The misfits show up in the middle of Washington D.C. People laugh and stare at them on the street. They go to court, and passionately argue their case for the welcoming of all creatures in society. Resolution: The misfits are welcomed back in society. Those who scorned them in the past apologize for their cruelty. The misfits change the world for all other misfits who will come after them. Theme: Beauty and strength come from within. During the last five minutes of guided practice, we will view an interview with a current Miami Marlin, explaining his own interpretation of one of the art installations at Marlins Park. INDEPENDENT PRACTICE (15 min.) How will students independently practice the knowledge and skills required of the objective, such that they solidify their internalization of the key points prior to the lesson assessment? On your Marlins Think Tank: Sixth Grade Narrative Practice handouts, begin writing a story based on Playball! painting that you will see in the PowerPoint. Think about how the images might be characters in a story. Begin by developing the overarching plot characteristics like I did for Figures Mountains Sky Star & Bird. You will have fifteen minutes to complete this assignment. Lesson Assessment: Once students have had an opportunity to practice independently, how will they attempt to demonstrate mastery of the knowledge/skills required of the objective? The lesson assessment will be the product of the time utilized during independent practice. CLOSING (5 min.) How will students summarize and state the significance of what they learned? If we have time, at least three students will share their narratives. What we learned today will make our writing more thoughtful and expressive, and allow us to show others in the future special parts of our lives. You tackled it beautifully. Way to go! Miami Marlin Interview Clip Marlins Think Tank: Sixth Grade Narrative Practice Handouts PowerPoint
Narrative Writing Practice - Writing Your Own Narrative Write an account of a moment (or moments) in the life of one of the characters in Playball! You may focus on one specific experience or on a sequence of specific experiences, and you will have to create a story of his imaginary life. The purpose of this essay is to shape and interpret a particular incident or encounter so that readers may recognize some connection between the experiences of one of the characters in Playball! and their own. You want your reader to EMPATHIZE with you. Your approach may be either humorous or serious--or somewhere in between. Consider the guidelines and suggestions that follow. General information and rules of a good narrative essay. Usually narrative essay is based on the author s experience. That means that you can write about your own stories that were either in present or in past. Furthermore, the author can write about stories that were based on experience of other people. That s what you will be doing here. If you want to write a narrative essay you need to use the conventions of storytelling. That means that you should not forget about plot, climax, character, setting and of course, ending. Try to fill your story with some interesting facts and details that will embellish your narrative essay. Firstly, you need to choose interesting topic of your essay that will catch not only your attention but your audience. Besides, it should include many thrilling and curious facts. Moreover, you are recommended to write beginning, body and the end. If you will have the outline of the story it will make the essay more organized. Besides, you need to think about the images that you will use in your essay in order to impress the audience. Write a clear purpose of the story. Explain for the reader why you are telling this story. In the introduction of your narrative essay you are highly recommended to tell the reader what story will follow. Don t forget about the purpose. It is not a secret that your introduction should attract the attention of the reader. So, try to make it more interesting and thrilling. Don t forget to organize your story. You should chronologically explain the reader about all details. You may confuse your readers if choose a different organization method. ALSO try to use descriptive language. If you want to give a description of some event try to make it brighter that means to set the scene. Furthermore, you supposed to describe people, events and other things that will hook the reader. Don t forget about sounds, smells and appearances. Give a description of them using some descriptive language. Give the audience the sense of reality. Try not to describe events that are not relevant to your story. In order not to confuse the reader s attention. Finally, write the conclusion of your narrative essay that sum ups your story and leaves your reader with a parting word.
Topic/Purpose of My Narrative Essay & Conflict: Setting(s): Exposition: Rising Action: Climax: Falling Action: Resolution:
JOAN MIRO, Figures Mountains Sky Star & Bird Painted Ceramic The Estate of Joan Miro View at Promenade Level, Home Plate Entrance
KENNY SCHARF, Playball!, 2012 Mixed Media Kenny Scharf View at Promenade Level, Section 11-12