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Narrative and Identity

Book Resource: Tons of Advice and Anchor Charts	The Writing Strategies Book
Book Resource	Writing Pathways: Learning Progression and Performance Assessment
Website with Videos and Resources	Teacher’s College Reading and Writing Project
Article on Writing	To Teach Effective Writing, Model Effective Writing
Book: Writing Workshop	The Writing Workshop: Working Through the Hard Parts
Book: Notebooks	Inside the Writer’s and Reader’s Notebook
Book: Power of Written Word	Reading, Writing, and Rising Up
Author: Georgia Heard	Author Link
All the Books	Rethinking Schools

Understanding Before Teaching:

Disclaimer:

As you move into the unit, you will see that I did not list specific teaching points. This was purposeful. I know many of us have curriculum or we make teaching points based on thoughtful, purposeful observation. Personally, I used the Lucy Calkin’s units when creating these units and those were the teaching points I used OR I made my own based on my learner’s needs.

I tried to make the goals as simple as possible so that it can be used across grade levels. You may need to add more lessons or subtract based on your learners ages.

Please use, adapt, and create as you need to.

Mx. T

Part 1: Set Up for Being Successful Writers -Learners will grow as writers and learn the basics of narrative and choose a story that is them.
Part 2: Picking Powerful Stories. -Learners will answer the essential questions: What story shaped your identity? Build off of community discussions around identity to help them find the story for them.
Part 3: Snapshot Autobiographies -Learners will create a brochure about their identity and interview one person about a specific event in their lives.

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Part 1: Set Up for Being Successful Writers

Focus:	Goal	Resources	Mentor Text
1st Narrative Lesson 1	Support children’s identities as writers Remind them of strategies from past years Demonstrate strategy of thinking of first and/or last times, heart map, and/or Zoom into a moment	Watch Write Your Story, Change History Heart Map from Georgia Heard	Picture Book: The Best Story (Story)
1st Narrative Lesson 2	Support children’s identities as writers Learn to generate more ideas to write about We don’t tell what happen, we show it/engaging the reader		Picture Book: Make Way for the Ducklings (Simple Event)
1st Narrative Lesson 3	Focus on reading great stories to write great stories Support students in generating more ideas	Excerpt from story that your learners can relate to
1st Narrative Lesson 4	Focus on telling the story through the character’s eyes (the writer) Point of View discussion (if applicable) Example of less detail vs. more detail	Anchor Chart	Picture Book: Smoky Night (Riots in LA)
1st Narrative Lesson 5	Narrative Writing Checklist Introduction based on grade level Flash draft day (if applicable. Can be a share day if younger grades)	Checklist for Grades K-10	Picture Book: Little Red Writing
1st Narrative Lesson 6	Choose seed idea from idea banks created Encourage them as writers to write furiously		Picture Book: Ralph Tells A Story (Figuring out a Story)
1st Narrative Lesson 7	Continue from previous day. Work on building or choosing new seed ideas Encourage them as writers to write furiously

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Part 1: Set Up for Being Successful Writers

Focus:	Goal	Resources	Mentor Text
1st Narrative Lesson 8	*continue doing as many teaching points as needed for the writing portion Revise story based on ideas of what our stories are really about Focus on revising as writers Make story maps build on our stories and Zoom into the moment	Free Story Templates	Picture Book: The Junkyard Wonders (Being Different)
1st Narrative Lesson 9-10	*continue doing as many teaching points as needed for the revising and story mapping		Picture Book: The Plot Chickens
1st Narrative Lesson 11	Identify what parts we can make better in our story Dependent on grade level: extend, elaborate, or add		Picture Book: Boris Ate A Thesaurus (Vocabulary)
1st Narrative Lesson 12	Work on building out the small moment they have chosen Model how to STRETCH out the moment Encourage writers to use vocabulary like Boris!		Picture Book: Jamari Jumps (Courage)
1st Narrative Lesson 13	Focus on the endings and how we might end a narrative Model ways to end based on your grade level		Picture Book: Those Shoes (Bullying and Friendship)
1st Narrative Lesson 14	Final draft of story: Learners edit story and begin final draft	Use Checklist from previous lesson or hand out new ones.	Picture Book: Come On Rain (Simple Story)
1st Narrative Lesson 15	Celebration: Have a fun celebration where learners can share their stories!	Usually have some special drink and snack. Learners share as authors! Make it a big deal! They are authors!	What Do You Do with an Idea? (Celebratory Story)

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Part 2: Picking Powerful Stories. Essential Question: What story shaped your identity?

Focus:	Goal	Resources	Mentor Text
2nd Narrative Lesson 16	Ask the question: What is a story that shaped who you are today? Learners should have time to brainstorm new seed ideas or choose from old ones.	Watch Pixar Storytelling Chart naming identity Create a new chart listing things that shaped your identity as examples Refer back to Patricia Polacco’s books for connection to identity.	Picture Book: Owl Moon (Narrative)
2nd Narrative Lesson 17	Pick a mentor text or texts for learners to grow and learn from. Learners can make charts together or separately on what they notice about author’s story writing in picture books.	Here is a list of amazing books you can use from Pernille Ripp. Another List Short stories are fantastic to use, too!	Picture Book: The Other Side (Segregation)
2nd Narrative Lesson 18	To understand story structure based on grade level Beginning, middle, end or plot or cause/effect or problem/solution Focus on what your learners will need	Watch The Birds You can use this to discuss story structure at your grade level	Picture Book: Chicken Sunday (Narrative)
2nd Narrative Lesson 19	To make sure their characters have a voice To give their characters dialogue, meaning, or a role in the story (dependent on age group) Use text they are familiar with as example	I used Eleven by Sandra Cisneros Use anchor chart to plot character meaning or development	Picture Book: Separate is Not Always Equal (CA school segregation)
2nd Narrative Lesson 20	Give characters voice, personality, and interest by adding dialogue to the scenes. (Revise) Use a new mentor text to give examples		Picture Book: Fly Away Home (Homelessness)
2nd Narrative Lesson 21	Beginning and ending: Review and brainstorm ways to end our stories and begin our stories. Edit and revise	Use Checklist from previous lesson or hand out new ones.	Picture Book: Blackout (Narrative)

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Part 2: Picking Powerful Stories

Focus:	Goal	Resources	Mentor Text
2nd Narrative Lesson 22-24	*Based on where learners are at, begin final drafting or have guide learners in a couple more lessons to get to this point. You can also do peer editing	Peer Editing Checklist	Going Someplace Special (Segregation)
2nd Narrative Lesson 25	To make a creative, engaging title for the story Focus on creating a final product with pictures	Here is a list of amazing books you can use from Pernille Ripp. Another List Short stories are fantastic to use, too!	Picture Book: The Other Side (Segregation)
2nd Narrative Lesson 26	Celebration: Have a fun celebration where learners can share their stories!	You can invite parents to this if you’d like! Have special snacks or a fun event to show off the authors!	Smoky Night (Narrative)

Part 3: Snapshot Autobiographies

Focus:	Goal	Resources	Mentor Text
3rd Narrative Lesson 26	Discuss what an autobiography and biography are.. Brainstorm what we might put in our autobiographies	Have a variety of biographies and autobiographies out for learners to look at	Through My Eyes (Ruby Bridges Autobiography)
3rd Narrative Lesson 27	Draft autobiography. Apply all we have learned about narratives. Example from 2018	Link to Expectations and Interview Questions Have teacher example of snapshot biography ready Explain the steps for our autobiographies. You can include the interview or discard it	I am Jazz (Autobiography)

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