UNIT 3:
BUILDING WORLDS
Lesson 1: Real Places
& Our Five Senses
Who remembers the different parts of a story that we discussed in Unit 1?
The main parts of a story are: characters, setting and storyline (also known as plot).
In the previous unit we learned how to create a character and in this unit we’re going to learn how to create a setting.
But first, we’re going to practice by describing the real places we know.
Turn to “Where I’m From -> Who I Am” in your Creator Notebooks.
Write your answers, then share out with a partner.
The real places we know play a role in shaping who we are.
For example, if you grew up somewhere very cold you might have different hobbies and prefer different foods than if you grew up somewhere very hot.
Does anyone want to share their “Where I’m From” pages aloud with the rest of the class?
Remember: you can get a house point!
What are some of your favorite places in the real world?
Call them out!
What are some of your favorite places in the real world?
Call them out!
Let’s choose a place that we all know…
QB Tip: Some examples of places we might all know…
the beach, an amusement park, a playground
Now, close your eyes and imagine you’re in the place you picked…
● What kinds of things do you see when you’re in this place? List them.
● What are some sounds you might hear?
● What are some smells in this place?
● What are some textures or sensations you might feel?
● Are there any tastes you associate with this place?
We can use our five senses – sight, sound, smell, taste, touch -
to describe real or imaginary places.
Today they’re going to describe a place in Quest using sensory details.
Turn to “Setting Basics” in your Creator Notebooks.
Use what you see AND your imaginations to describe the setting in your teams.
Share out your team’s “Setting Basics” answers.
There are no wrong answers when we’re using our imaginations!
Reflection & Connection
Learning about others’ backgrounds and favorite places can help us know and understand them better.
Have you ever visited a place (a city, state or country) that was very different from where you live? What was different about it?
How do you think your life might be different if you lived there?
Have you ever lived anywhere other than where you live now? If you have, how was your life different in the other place?
Lesson 2: Story Settings
Who can tell us what a setting is?
A setting is the place and time – or where and when – a story takes place.
Today we’re going to visit a new setting in Quest and use what we’ve learned about the five senses to describe the setting together.
Let’s recap…
● What is this place? Is it indoors or outdoors?
● Is it in a town or in nature?
● What sights/visual details were described?
● What sounds were described?
● What smells were described?
● What emotion does this setting make you feel? (Happy? Scared? Sad? Excited? Calm?)
QB Tip: If you don’t know the answers, watch the video a second time!
Sensory details (sights, sounds, smells, tastes, textures) that describe a story’s setting can help give a particular emotion or feeling to the story.
A spooky setting, for example, will make a story scary.
Think about some of the settings you’ve visited so far in Quest. List them!
What feelings do those settings give you?
In Quest (and in the real world) there are six biomes: forest, grassland, freshwater, marine, desert, and tundra.
Biomes are different areas that have their own specific climate, plants and animals.
When you create the setting for your Side Quest, you will create a setting that exists within one of these six biomes.
In your teams, pick your top three choices of the following:
(You don’t need to know anything about your biome yet!)
forest, grassland, freshwater, marine,
desert, tundra
It’s time to do some research on your biome to discover what kind of plants, animals, landscape and climate are typical there.
Record your findings on the “Biome Information Sheet” in your Notebooks.
This information will be valuable when you create the setting for your Side Quest!
Once you’ve finished your research and looked at some pictures of your biome, share your findings with the rest of the class!
Reflection & Connection
If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go and why?
Are there any places you’ve visited that you would like to go back to? Are there any places you wouldn’t like to go back to?
When we travel or learn about faraway places, we can broaden our perspectives and experience new sights, sounds, smells, and tastes. Having lots of different experiences makes us better Creators!
Lesson 3: Setting & Mood
What are some things you learned about your biomes?
Would you choose to live in your team’s biome? Why or why not?
What adjectives would you use to describe your biome? (For example: cozy, inviting, colorful, dry, wet, cold, sunny, colorless, flat, rocky, etc.)
In real life there are places we like being – for example, the beach or an amusement park – and places we don’t want to be – such as a dentist’s office or a haunted house.
We like or dislike places based on the emotions we feel when we’re there. We can call this the mood of the place. Stories have moods, too.
Who here has watched or read something scary? How about something funny? Something mysterious?
The mood of a story is thee feeling that the story gives you. Another way to describe mood is atmosphere.
When you walk into a place, it has an atmosphere that makes you feel a certain way.
When you walk into a candy store how do you feel? When you walk into a haunted house, how do you feel?
What kind of story feels like walking into a haunted house?
Let’s brainstorm a few ideas for settings that pair well with the following story moods to practice! What kind of settings would you expect to find in a story with each of these moods?
QB Tip: Think about some movies and stories you know with these moods. What settings did they have?
Sensory details - sights, sounds, smells, tastes and textures - help to set the mood of a story.
Let’s identify the mood and sensory details of another setting in Quest!
Work in your teams to answer these questions:
Reflection & Connection
Can you think of a real place that always makes you feel happy just by being there?
Are there any real places that you associate with a negative emotion?
What is your favorite setting in Quest?
Are there any settings that scare you?
Lesson 4: Creating an Original Setting
Let’s do a quick recap…
Today you’ll be using everything you’ve learned about settings and biomes to create your own original settings within your team’s assigned biome.
You will give your setting a mood and use sensory details to describe it.
When you create your settings you will also label some points of interest.
Points of interest are interesting details that could inspire story events.
Points of interest can be natural resources such as a lake or a cliff, or manmade objects or places, such as a treehouse, a locked chest or a trap door.
Before you create your settings, let’s have a quick refresher on what makes a good story setting…
What are some elements that make a good setting?
It’s time for each one of you to draw and describe a unique setting that exists within your team’s assigned biome.
You will choose one of the settings you create today to be the setting for your Side Quest.
Turn to “Creating a Setting” in your Creator Notebooks.
Who wants some drawing tips to help you create your setting?
Reflection & Connection
Research studies show that creative writing and drawing can increase self-esteem (confidence).
Why do you think that might be?
Do you enjoy creating?
What do you think people mean when they say that creating (through drawing or writing) gives you power?
Do you think you have gotten more creative since beginning your Quest Creators journey?
Lesson 5: Team Challenges – Setting Detectives + Detailed Descriptions
Today is a double-challenge day!
The first challenge will require us to use our critical thinking skills to determine the setting described in different situations.
The second challenge will require us to use our communication skills to describe something to our teammates using sensory details.
Use your detective skills to determine the setting in each of these descriptions!
Ready?
Setting Description 1:
Fourteen children are buckled in tight, excited to be on the way to the Aquarium. Their teacher sits in the front seat. All the seats are squeaky and shiny with little cracks in them. Outside, the rain pours down, but inside it’s warm and dry and the air is filled with the smell of packed lunches.
Setting Description 2:
When Jonathan woke up, he opened the curtains and saw that it was sunny outside. The smell of bacon wafted up from downstairs and he could hear his mother calling him for breakfast. He yawned and stretched.
Setting Description 3:
Elise ran toward the salty water. The sounds of children laughing and screaming of gulls squawking overhead filled the air. “Don’t forget sunscreen!” her dad called.
Setting Description 4:
Angel followed the spicy and comforting scent of pozole (stew). The room looked exactly as it always did: a stovetop filled with pots and pans almost overflowing with flavorsome stews and sauces cooking, a table set for five people, and the back door swinging open to let the smoke and spices seep out into the night air.
Who guessed them all correctly?
Are you ready for another challenge?!
Each team leader must describe their object in as much detail as possible so that their teammates can guess their item.
Remember: you cannot say what the object is or describe what it is used for, or say anything about it other than what you can perceive with your senses.
Wow! Great work today, teams!
Reflection & Connection
Knowing how to listen is just as important for good communication as knowing how to speak, write or draw.
Have you ever felt as if someone wasn’t listening to you? How did that feel?
Has anyone ever told you that you weren’t listening? Do you think they were right?
Lesson 6: Reflection/Journaling & Quest Connections – Places & Goals
Let’s recap…
● What do we mean when we talk about the “setting” of a story?
● How do we describe story settings and real places – what do we use?
● What are the five senses?
● What is your favorite place in the world? Describe it using all five senses.
● What settings have we seen in Quest so far? Can you describe them?
It’s time for some journaling!
Here’s today’s prompt:
How does your environment change the way you act? For example, do you behave differently when you’re at home with your family compared to at school? Is there a place where you feel most like yourself? Describe it.
It’s easier to accomplish things or make improvements when we know what we want to achieve or where we want to go. We can set goals to help us accomplish tasks in our lives and also in Quest. Today each team is going to set some goals for the rest of Quest.
Turn to “Our Team’s Goals” in your Notebooks.
Here are some examples of goals…
We will have fun.
We will have a good reputation.
We will share food tokens with other teams.
We will play fairly.
We will collaborate/work together.
We will use our creativity.
We will listen to each other.
We will make good decisions.
We will try our best.
Reflection & Connection
When we set goals together we are more likely to succeed together!
Have you ever set a goal before?
Did you achieve it?
Did you learn something from the process?
Has anyone set a goal that they’re still working toward achieving?