Essential Question: How do you generate ideas for your own piece of flash fiction?

Agenda:

1. Title today's Google Doc "Flash Fiction Outline." For 10 minutes, write a story about the following photo:

2. Watch the following short video about how to write flash fiction and come up with an idea for a story. 
Note: I want your flash fiction to be exactly 300 words once it's edited in its entirety. We will rough draft your piece on Thursday and I don't want you to go over 500 words in your rough draft, so just keep that in mind as you come up with ideas.

3. To generate ideas for your flash fiction, fill out this Flash Fiction Outlining Guide. To fill it out, copy/paste the guide into your Google Doc for today.

​Try to answer each question as completely as you can. Remember that any idea, whether real or imagined, and any genre works for this. Just keep the draft you will be working on next time under 500 words but still make it impactful and follow the five S's Katey Schultz mentions in the video above.

4. Exit Ticket: Journal Prompt: What would a perfect week ahead look like? What steps can you take now to make this (or at least part of it) happen?

Assignments:

• Writing Prompt
• Flash Fiction Outling Guide
• Exit Ticket Journal Prompt

Essential Question: How can analyzing flash fiction teach you to be more conscious of word choice and how to structure your own writing?

Agenda:
1. Writing Prompt. Pick one. Write for 10 minutes:

1. Think of the last movie you watched. Write out the scene where the main character is introduced as if it appeared in a novel.
2. Write about a place you have visited in as much detail as possible.

2. What can you tell about the following characters from what is said and not said in their opening lines? 

“When he was nearly thirteen, my brother Jem got his arm badly broken at the elbow.”
--To Kill a Mockingbird

“Billy Ray Cobb was the younger and smaller of the two rednecks.”
--A Time to Kill

3. Read the first paragraph of “Linoleum Roses” from House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros and answer the following questions:

• What does the first sentence tell us about Sally?
• What does the second sentence tell about the man she marries? What details allow you to make this judgement?
• What does the second sentence tell us about Sally?
• What does the third sentence tells us about Sally? What details allow you to make this judgement?
• What is different about the last sentence of the paragraph from the others? What impact does that have on you as a reader?

4. Tension:

1. How does the first sentence create tension with the rest of the sentences in the paragraph? Provide an example.
2. Pick three details from the second paragraph, list them, describe the character of the husband without naming or mentioning the details.
3. Describe what you are feeling at the end of second paragraph.

5. Paragraph 3:

• List the details in the third paragraph.
• What is the scene trying to communicate?
• How does it communicate it?

6. Write your own characters (get creative!).

Step 1: 
You will be writing about a person doing something.
Who is this person and what are they doing? 
(feel free to use humor :)
Write for 5 minutes. 

7. Step 2: 
Write down three adjectives (beautiful, strong, aggressive) that describe DIFFERENT qualities about your character.

8. Step 3: 
Without using any of these adjectives, write a half-page (150 words-ish) scene or passage that shows the character engaged in some type of action. 

9. Exit Ticket: Self Care Journal Prompt: ​What five things can you start doing today to take better care of yourself? Write about how you can incorporate these things into your daily routine and what difference you hope they will make.

Assignments:

• Writing Prompt
• Notes on “Linoleum Roses” (Paragraphs 1-3)
• Character details Steps 1-3
• Journal Prompt

Essential Question: What is flash fiction and what ideas do I have for my own flash fiction story?

Agenda:

1. Writing Prompt: For 10 minutes, write a story about the picture below:

Writing Prompt Rules (please follow these for each writing prompt I give you this quarter as we will continue doing these as openers to flex your creativity):

• Make up a story using the prompt
• Write for the entire 10 minutes
• Don't worry about perfection, but see what comes to mind when you see or think of the prompt or picture
• These are meant to get your creative ideas going since this quarter will be all about creative writing
• Any genre or point of view goes! Want to write this as poetry? A script? A journal entry? Science fiction? Fantasy? Really, anything goes! Don't worry about it, just write.

2. What is flash fiction? Watch the video below and write down a one-sentence definition of what flash fiction is in your own words and based what you learned from the video:

3. Read one of Brady Dennis' 300-Word Stories and reply to the following: 

• Write a one-sentence summary of what this story is about.
• What moment of action is used to introduce the character?
• What do you learn about the main character explicitly and implicitly? Be specific.
• What does the character want?
• What is preventing them from getting what they want?
• What is at stake in this story? 
• What is one significant detail that stood out to you?
• What made you connect with this character? 
• What question(s) do you have after reading?

4.  Show and Tell: 

• Write down two instances where the author of your story tells you something about the character or plot.
• Write down two instances where the author shows you something about the character or plot.

Which is stronger? Showing or telling? How? 
How does both showing and telling have a place in stories?

5. Brainstorm ideas for a flash fiction story you could write. It can be completely made up or about a person or event from your life. Again, any genre (realistic, speculative, mystery, horror, science fiction, fantasy, romance) or mix thereof goes

• Summarize your idea in 3-5 sentences.
• What is the purpose of your story? 
• What are you trying to tell your reader with it?

6. Exit Ticket Journal Prompt: If you could go back in time and give your younger self some words of advice, what would you tell yourself and why?

For your exit tickets for the next little while, I will give you journaling prompts. Please write about these for at least 5-10 minutes. A lot of them are geared towards reflection and self care, which is really important, especially during the stressful times we live in.

Assignments: 

• Writing Prompt
• Flash Fiction Definition
• Brady Dennis notes
• Flash fiction story idea
• Exit Ticket

Essential Question: How do you design a visually appealing and informative infographic?
​
Agenda:

1. Opener: Peer Feedback. Have a partner look at your infographic so far and have them grade your work and offer feedback based on your infographic criteria: 

• must contain at least three different data sources 
• content must be clearly organized and visually appealing
• all content needs to be informative (not opinionated) 
• data and design need to complement each other
• all data needs to be relevant to your topic
• sources need to be cited in a text box on the bottom of your graphic 

3. Finish working on your infographic - Once you are done, download your infographic as a .jpeg file and upload it to Canvas. 

4. To your infographic, add the following reflection as a COMMENT to the assignment

• How did you decide to show your topic in a visual and data-based way?
• How did you choose to organize your graphic and make it visually appealing? 
• How does your data and your design work together? 
• What do you think is your infographic's strongest point? 
• What would you do differently if you had to do a similar project again? Why? 

Assignments: 
Final Infographic and Reflection

1. Bell Work: Think-Pair-Share: With a partner, choose two elements from the infographic above and discuss how you are planning to apply them in your own infographic.

2. Using the same topic as your article, go to Canva, log in with your Google account, search for "infographic" and choose a template to design your own infographic. You will be asked to change everything about the template you have chosen to make it into a graphic whose colors, fonts, images and information suit your topic.
As your design your graphic, review the rubric below:

Criteria:

• must contain at least three different data sources
• content must be clearly organized and visually appealing
• all content needs to be informative (not opinionated)
• data and design need to complement each other
• all data needs to be relevant to your topic 
• sources need to be cited in a text box on the bottom of your graphic

3. Use the last 10 minutes to give peer feedback on the infographics of two others. Ask them to make notes in YOUR GoogleDoc on the following: 

• What is working well? 
• What is confusing? 
• What do you want to see more of? 

4. Exit Ticket: Progress Report (use the last 5 minutes of class to take notes on your progress of your infographic):

• What did you accomplish today? 
• What did you struggle with?
• What are your steps to complete this assignment? 

5. Take a screenshot of your infographic and insert it into your GoogleDoc

Assignments:

• Peer Feedback
• Progress Report
• Screenshot

Essential Question: How do we communicate information visually and how can you use this to create effective infographics?
​
Agenda: 
1. Watch the following video about infographics:

After watching, turn to your partner and discuss the following:

• What facts stood out to you? Why?
• Based on the video you just watched, what is your definition of "infographic"?

2.) Watch this animated infographic about "If the World Were 100 People"

After watching, go to the Video Infographics Padlet.

Appoint one Scribe for your group and together answer the following questions:

•  What information does this infographic give? 
• What does it NOT say? 
• What context or background knowledge do you need to fully understand this graphic?
• What are the pros and cons of using an infographic to present data like this?

3. Watch the first 12 minutes of David McCandless' TED Talk "The Beauty of Data Visualization." 
In your GoogleDoc, take notes on the following question: 

• What are important considerations when visualizing information? 

4. In your group, view your assigned infographic and analyze it based on the following questions: 

• What information does the graphic give you? 
• What does the infographic NOT say? 
• What about it captures your attention? 
• Is your graphic presenting absolute or relative data? 
• How could this infographic be improved? 

Group 1: World Octopus Day
Group 2: Obesity
Group 3: 60 Seconds
Group 4: Earth Day
Group 5: Pinterest
Group 6: Parks and Recreations
Group 7: The Arts
Group 8: The Peacock Mantis Shrimp
Group 9: Diabetes
Group 10: Fast Food 

​Share your findings with the rest of the class.

6. Exit Ticket: On the bottom of your GoogleDoc, write down what in your opinion is the most important thing to consider when creating an infographic. 

Assignments: 

• ​Infographics Pro/Con Padlet
• Notes on McCandless TED Talk 
• Group Infographic Analysis
• Exit Ticket

​​Essential Question: How can you use self-editing to improve your work and what steps do you need to take to finalize your draft?

Agenda:

1. Address all of your edits and feedback you have received.

2. Follow the instructions on the slides below:

Assignments:
Submit your final draft on Canvas