General Outcome: Students will listen, speak, read, write, view and represent to comprehend literature and other texts in oral, print, visual and multimedia forms, and respond personally, critically and creatively. (From Alberta, Canada Program of Study)

Specific Learner Outcomes:

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• Understand and interpret content
• explain how plot, character and setting contribute to the development of theme, when studying a narrative

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• Relate elements, devices and techniques to created effects
• f: recognize the use of elements of effective oral, visual and multimedia presentations [such as movement, gesture, use of space, shape and colour]; and describe their effects

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• Discern and analyze context
• c. use strategies to gain background knowledge about history and society when studying a particular text [for example, use references, including the personal experiences and understandings of teachers and elders, to help develop background knowledge of the historical period of a particular text]

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• Connect self, text, culture and milieu
• b. respond personally and analytically to ideas developed in literature and other texts

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• Develop and present a variety of print and nonprint texts
• a. take ownership of text creation, by selecting or crafting a topic, concept or idea that is personally meaningful and engaging
2. c. establish a focus for text creation, and communicate scope by framing an effective controlling idea or describing a strong unifying effect

Familiar/simple concepts:

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Plot, setting, character, theme, narrative, background knowledge, text, culture, effects, background knowledge, history, society, text creation, topic, concept idea, engaging, focus, scope,

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New/complex concepts:

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Space, shape, color, design, unifying effective, framing, scope

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Power, control, status, class (Taken from text’s themes).

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[see strategies on p. 71 – 75, elementary; p.52-56, secondary; aim for around three activities spaced out over the course of a few lessons for adequate meaning making; then move to activities that promote memory or automaticity (e.g. math facts; site words)]

Guiding Question: How do creators use the elements present within their given medium to convey meaning?

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Conceptual Questions:

• What impact does background knowledge of history and society have on our ability to study texts?
• How do power, class, status, and control influence personal relationships?
• How does a narrative’s plot, setting, and characters influence its theme?
• How does space, color, and shape influence meaning in a visual design?
• What is the role of personal experience when analyzing texts?
• How does taking personal ownership of an idea make it more meaningful?
• What effect do framing and description have when establishing a focus for text creation?

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[use question stems on p. 29, elementary; page 25, secondary to develop questions that help students to see the “why” behind the learning outcomes]

Summative Assessment: General Outcome + Conceptual Knowledge + Procedural Knowledge

[more to follow on this – if we want students to move beyond recall, we must ask students to transfer their understanding and skills to a novel situation; see p. 118-125, elementary; 102-116, secondary for more ideas]

Engaging, novel scenario:

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Students will write a short story that grants insight into the relationship between power, control, class, and status and design a cover. They will then complete a reflection where they explain how they leveraged their knowledge of literary elements to craft their text’s theme. Finally, they will complete a reflection where they explain how they leveraged their understanding of visual design concepts to create a cover that extends the theme presented in their short story.

How students will take-action in the world:

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Students will publish their stories on our class blog and share their writing with their friends, family, neighbors, and the world.

Lessons 1 – 3

Lessons 4 – 5

Lessons 6 – 7

Lessons 8 – 9

Concepts: background knowledge, history, society, analysis

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Conceptual questions: What impact does background knowledge of history and society have on text analysis?

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Learning experiences:

• Students complete an Individual Journaling activity (pg. 48) where they explore the conceptual question
• Teacher facilitates a

think-pair-share then class discussion about the question

Concepts: power, class, status, control

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Conceptual question: How do power, class, status, and control influence personal relationships?

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Learning experiences:

• Students sort images of examples and non-examples of familiar concepts
• Students share initial thinking on conceptual question
• Students explore a context and record thoughts and feelings

Concepts: plot, setting characters, theme

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Conceptual questions: How does a narrative’s plot, setting, and characters influence its theme?

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Learning experiences:

• Students complete a “Take a Stand, Then Divide and Slide” to determine which literary element they feel plays the biggest role in shaping theme.
• Students share answers and discuss
• Students explore a text where they must determine how the author used the literary elements to create theme
• Students continue to explore the Lesson 4-5’s conceptual question through the text’s theme.

Concepts:space, color, shape, visual design

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Conceptual question: How does space, color, and shape influence meaning in a visual design?

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Learning experiences:

• Initial responses to conceptual question
• Concept attainment of new concepts p.72
• Introduce a visual design (painting, cartoon, picture, etc) for students to interpret based on the creator’s use of the visual concepts
• Use see-think-wonder p. 71 to introduce role of concepts

Formative Assessments

• Response to individual journal
• Class discussion

Formative Assessments

• SEEI activity to review concepts p.74, elem; p. 55, secondary
• Generate-sort-connect-elaborate activity p. 81, elem
• Conceptual relationship statement based on the initial text shared on exit ticket

Formative Assessments

• Conceptual relationship statement (plot, setting, characters, theme) based on new short story.
• Revised conceptual relationship statement (power, control, class, status) based on story’s theme.

Formative Assessments

• Marzano’s six step vocab model for new concepts and to review concepts (e.g. play charades, Pictionary) p.73, elem.
• Students See/Think/Wonder reflection based on visual design

Lessons 10 – 12

Lessons 13 – 14

Lessons 15 – 16

Summative Task

Concepts: Background knowledge, history, society, analysis, power, class, status, control, plot, setting characters, theme, space, color, shape, visual design

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Conceptual questions:

• What impact does background knowledge of history and society have on text analysis?
• How do power, class, status, and control influence personal relationships?
• How does a narrative’s plot, setting, and characters influence its theme?
• How does space, color, and shape influence meaning in a visual design?

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Learning experiences:

• Students explore a text (or text set) that has both a narrative and visual component (consider resources like CommonLIt or graphic novels that provide both text and images).

Concepts: Ownership, meaningful, idea, power, class, status, control

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Conceptual question:

• How does taking personal ownership of an idea make it more meaningful?
• How do power, class, status, and control influence personal relationships?

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Learning experiences:

• Students complete an individual journal.
• Teacher shares their answer
• Teacher shares a model example (interview, anecode, etc.)
• Teacher facilitates a discussion of their answers
• Students form a “theme statement” about their answer to the question “How do power, class, status, and control affect personal relationships.”

Concepts: All

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Conceptual question:

• What effect do framing and description have when establishing a focus for text creation?

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Learning experiences:

• Students complete an individual journal.
• Teacher shares their answer
• Teacher shares a model example (interview, anecdote, etc.)
• Teacher facilitates a discussion of their answers
• Students write a description of which literary elements and design elements they will focus on when designing their short story and cover.

Success criteria:

• I can write a conceptual relationship statement about how power, control, class, and status affect personal relationships
• I can write a conceptual relationship statement about how plot, setting, and characters affect theme.
• I can write a conceptual relationship statement about how color, space, and shapes impact visual design’s meaning
• I can write a short story and design a cover that demonstrates deep understanding and personal ownership of these conceptual relationships.

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(in addition to procedural tasks outlined in the curricular outcomes, students reflect on their conceptual understanding to build schema)

Formative Assessments

• Transfer to new or unfamiliar context p. 82 – 84, elem; p. 62-65, secondary
• Use self-assessment checklist p. 132, elem; p. 114, secondary

Formative Assessments

• Individual journal entry
• Students turn in proposed theme statement on index card as an exit ticket

Formative Assessments

• Individual journal entry
• Students turn in proposed theme statement on index card as an exit ticket

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