Content Objective: I can write flash fiction about real or imagined characters and events. 
Language Objective: I will outline and rough draft my own 300-word flash fiction piece.
Agenda:

1. Complete the Flash Fiction Outline Organizer to outline your story.
2. Write your rough draft of your flash fiction piece. Pay close attention to the following:

• Use both explicit and implicit characterization
• Use unique, non-cliche significant details
• Make sure your story focuses on a moment of action
• Make sure your story has a beginning, middle, and end
• While your final draft should be 300 words exactly (no more, no less), don’t worry about your overall word count in this first draft. Just tell the story.

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3. Spend the last ten minutes of class sharing your story with a partner. Discuss what is working well and what you are stuck with--they might help get you un-stuck.

​ Assignments:

• Submit your outline organizer and the rough draft of your flash fiction piece in one document on CANVAS

​Content Objective: I can write flash fiction about real or imagined events. 
Language Objective: I will analyze what is said and what is not said in flash fiction and use sensory detail to communicate details about my character. 

Agenda:
Please follow all steps carefully. Take notes in your GoogleDoc as you go. Name your Doc “Saying without Saying 4/14”

1. Writing Prompt. Pick one. Write for 5 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 by 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. 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 wordsish) scene or passage that shows the character engaged in some type of action. 

9. Step 4:

• Exchange exercises and read them over.
• Based on this depiction of the character, guess which three qualities your partner wished to convey. Point out the specific lines that created the impression by highlighting and naming the qualities in a comment in the margin.

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Assignments:

• Writing Prompt
• Notes on “Linoleum Roses” (Paragraphs 1-3)
• Character details Steps 1-4

Content Objective: I can write narratives about real and imagined events. 
Language Objective: I will analyze example flash fiction and outline my own. 

Agenda: 
1. Read your Quarter 4 book for 15 minutes. 

2. Writing Prompt: Write an adventure story about paint drying. The most vivid details win. Bonus points for explosions.
​Write for 10 minutes. 

3. Your next project will be a flash fiction story. Watch this quick introduction on what flash fiction is.

4. What is flash fiction? 
Write a one-sentence definition of what your understanding of flash fiction is. 

5. Read one of Brady Dennis' 300-Word Stories and reply to the following: 
Read your group’s story and take notes to present the following to the rest of the class: 

• 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?

6.  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 your story?

7. Brainstorm ideas for your flash fiction story. Summarize your idea in 3-5 sentences.

8. Exit Ticket: 

• What is the purpose of your story? 
• What are you trying to tell your reader with it?

Assignments: 

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

Content Objective: I can integrate multimedia to write about real or imagined events. 
Language Objective: I will turn my "Favorite Mistake" essay into a spoken word poem. 

Agenda: 

1. What is Spoken Word Poetry? 

Watch Sarah Kay's TED Talk and take notes on what you learn about Spoken Word Poetry.

• Come up with your own definition of what spoken word poetry is.
  
• What do you need to consider when writing Spoken Word Poetry?

2. Now, turn your "Favorite Mistake" essay into a Spoken Word Poem. 

Your poem should be about the same mistake and what you learned from it, but it needs to be a poem, so consider this as you re-write the events from your essay into a poem. Be sure that your language is as vivid as possible. 

Poem Requirements: 

• Talk about the same mistake you have made, but cut down the word count to roughly 250 words.
  
• You may keep some lines from your original essay, but only if they work within your poem.
  
• Your poem does not need to rhyme, but it can if you want to. The only rule is that there are no rules to Spoken Word Poetry.
  
• Be sure that your poem expresses the key idea behind your mistake and what you learned from it.

3. Reflection: 

• How did your essay and your poem differ from each other?
  
• How did you decide what elements from your essay to keep in your poem?
  
• Which one was harder to write, your essay or your poem? Why?

Assignments: 

• Notes on Sarah Kay's TED Talk
• Your definition of Spoken Word Poetry and thoughts on how to to write it
• Your "Favorite Mistake" Spoken Word Poem
• Reflection

Content Objective: I can integrate multimedia to write about real or imagined experiences or events. 
Language Objective: I will edit sensory and significant details my "Favorite Mistake" essay and make sure I show instead of tell in my narrative.

Agenda: 
1. Read your Quarter 4 book for 15 minutes. 

2. Pick a boring or bland sentence from your book. Write it down. Then, rewrite this sentence and add sensory details to make this sentence more vivid and interesting. Avoid cliches. 

3. Writing Prompt: Write an adventure story about paint drying. Use vivid details to make it as interesting as possible. 

4. Make sure your rough draft is finished, then peer-review your essay with a partner. Leave comments on the following:

1. • Spelling and Grammar
   • What is working well?
   • What is confusing?
   • What would you?

5. Address and fix the feedback you  got on your essay. 

6. Revise your draft and pay attention to the following:

• Make sure to either start with reflection or a moment of action. 
• Are you showing, rather than telling your reader what happened? 
• Heighten the three key details you highlighted in your rough draft. Make sure they are emphasized in your essay and you show that they are important. 
• Do you in equal parts express what happened and reflect on what you learned from it/what this says about you as a person? 
• Is your closing effective? End with something that sums up what this mistake meant to you or an outlook to the future/whether you would do it again or not. 

Check spelling, capitalization, and grammar. 

7. Reflection (add to the bottom of your draft): 

• What are the strengths of your essay? What did you struggle with or think could improve? 
• What was the hardest part of this essay to write? Why? 
• Did anything about this essay or the way you wrote it surprise you? 

Assignments: 

• Submit your final draft (worth 30 points)

Content Objective: I can integrate multimedia to write about real or imagined experiences or events. 
Language Objective: I will write a narrative essay about a mistake I have made and reflect on how it shaped me into who I am today. 

Agenda: 
1. Bell Work: Read your Quarter 4 book for 15 minutes. 

2. Reading Journal: Look back at the opening of your book: 

• What is the moment of action with which your main character is introduced? 
• What is their most distinguishing physical feature? 
• List three details that you learn about this character explicitly and three that you learn implicitly.

3. Writing Prompt: Piano Tree. Write for 10 minutes.

4. Reflection: How are you the sum of your influences? How are you not? 
Write for 5 minutes. 

5. Think of a mistake you made in your life that you have learned from. What was it? What did you learn? 

6. Copy into your document and cold read Jessane Collins' A Mistake That Should Last a Lifetime.

7. Spend 10 minutes talking to the text. Comment and highlight to create at least two of the following:

• comments
• connections
• questions

Be prepared to share your annotations in your group and with the rest of the class. 

8. Write a rough draft of the mistake you learned from. Aim for 200-300 words for your rough draft. 

Assignments:

• Reading Journal
• Writing Prompt
  
• Reflection on Influences 
• Mistake brainstorming question
• "A Mistake That Should Last a Lifetime" annotations
• Mistake rough draft

Content Objective: I can use multimedia to write narratives about real or imagined events.
Language Objective: I will identify explicit and implicit characterization in my own writing and write my own character introduction as well as examine my influences. 

Agenda: 
1. Read your Quarter 4 Book for 15 minutes. 

​2. Writing Prompt: Write for 10 minutes.

3. Finish your "The Voice Imitator" rewrite.

• Start with a moment of conflict or tension?
• Introduce your character with a moment of action that is unique to them?
• Include one significant detail of appearance
• What happens if the character fails? What’s at stake?
• Why should we care?

4. Highlight explicit elements in green and implicit elements of your writing in yellow. 

5. If you were a character in your own story...

• What would you do that is unique to you?
• What is one defining detail of your appearance that you would mention?
• What do you want the most?
• What prevents you from achieving that?
• What happens if you fail at what you want to accomplish?

6. Write your "character" introduction. Write for 10 minutes.

7. Who influenced you in your life? Make a list of 10 people or events. Highlight who influenced you the most. 

8. Write about the person who influenced you the most as if they were a character. 

• What did they do that is unique to them?
• What is one defining detail of their appearance?
• What motivated them?
• What did they have to overcome?
• How did they influence you?
• What would have happened if they had not been in your life?
  

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9. How are you the sum of your influences? How are you different from your influences?

Assignments: 

• Writing prompt 
  
• "The Voice Imitator" rewrite
• Your character intro
• List of influences
• Person who influenced you introduction
• Reflection: How are you/are you not the sum of your influences?

Content Objective: I can use multimedia to write narratives about real or imagined events.
Language Objective: I will analyze effective character introductions and rewrite a short piece of fiction to highlight characterization. 

Agenda: 
1. Read your chosen Quarter 4 book for 10 minutes. 

2. Writing  Prompt: Write a story based on the following image. Write for 10 minutes.

3. What is your favorite fictional character? How are they first introduced? What about this introduction makes them especially memorable? 

• What's the difference between implicit and explicit characterization?

4. Watch/Read along with the following character introductions. Open a new GoogleDoc, title it "Character Introductions".  Take notes about what these introductions tell us about these characters. 

1.  Sherlock Holmes (BBC adaptation) 
2. Nick (Sarah Rees Brennan - THE DEMON'S LEXICON) 
3. A (David Levithan - EVERY DAY) 
4. Alexia Tarabotti (Gail Carriger - SOULLESS)

5. Let's create a list of Dos and Don'ts for great character introductions: Write your thoughts on how to write a great character introductions on the Padlet that corresponds with your class: 

• Character Intro Dos and Don'ts 2A
• Character Intro Dos and Don'ts 2B
• Character Intro Dos and Don'ts 4B

6. List of character introduction basics:

• introduce a character doing something that is unique to them
• one interesting detail of appearance
• one element of conflict or tension
• What are the stakes? What happens if this character fails?
• Why should we care?

What are these elements in "The Voice Imitator"?

7. Rewrite "The Voice Imitator" starting with the most interesting detail of the story. Make up anything that you don't know and focus on characterization in your rewrite. 

8. Share your rewrite with two partners: How are your characters and your approaches to these characters different? 

Assignments: 

• Writing Prompt
• implicit vs. explicit characterization
  
• Character intro analysis
• Dos and Don'ts
• "The Voice Imitator" rewrite