MYP unit planner
Unit Title
In search of a good story…Art or life?
Teacher(s)
Erica Allemang-Reinke, Nicole Seiler, Dawn Schlipp, Kerry L. Thomas
Subject and grade level
Literary Studies (Language A), grade 9
Time frame and duration
4 weeks
INQUIRY: Establishing the purpose of the unit
Key concept
Related concept(s)
Global context
Creativity
stories, form, style, perspective
An inquiry into our creativity and forms of expression
Students will explore the ways in which we discover and express
ideas, feelings, nature, culture, beliefs and values; the ways in which
we reflect on, extend and enjoy our creativity; our appreciation of
the aesthetic.
Statement of inquiry
(combining a key concept, one or more related concepts, and a global context for the unit into a meaningful statement that students can
understand; expresses the relationship between concepts and context; represents a transferable idea supported by factual content)
While stories, like arguments, have parts, they can be told in different forms with different styles from different
perspectives/voices.
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Factual
knowledge/fact-based, contentdriven, skills-related, supported by
evidence, can be used to explore
terminology in the statement of
inquiry, frequently topical,
encourage recall and
comprehension
Conceptual
enable exploration of big ideas that connect facts and
topics; highlight opportunities to compare and contrast;
explore contradictions; lead to deeper disciplinary and
interdisciplinary understanding; promote transfer to
familiar or less familiar situations, issues, ideas, and
contexts; encourage analysis and application
Debatable
enable the use of facts and concepts to
debate a position, promote discussion,
explore significant ideas and issues from
multiple perspectives, can be contested,
have tension, may be deliberately
provocative, encourage synthesis and
evaluation
What are the elements of a story?
How do characteristics of a literary
movement shape a story?
What makes a good story?
 How does an author create a good story?
 How does an author use a story to make a point?
 How do details and style in a story help reach the
reader?
 How does voice and perspective play a role in what a
story communicates?
Does art reflect life, or does life reflect art?
Summative Assessment
Objectives
Outline of summative
assessment task(s)
including assessment
criteria
Relationship between
summative assessment
task(s), and statement of
inquiry
Content – Productive
1. produce texts that demonstrate insight, imagination and sensitivity while
exploring and reflecting critically on new perspectives and ideas arising from
personal engagement with the creative process.
2. make stylistic choices in terms of linguistic, literary and visual devices,
demonstrating awareness of impact on an audience.
3. select relevant details and examples to develop ideas.
creative piece
Students will use different
forms of narrative in different
writing styles and with
different points of view to
produce a piece that develops
their own style as a writer
while simultaneously
exploring the narrative
structure as they explored the
structure of argument.
Style and language mechanics
1. use appropriate and varied vocabulary, sentence structures and forms of
expression.
2. write in a register and style that serve the context and intention.
3. use correct grammar, syntax and punctuation.
4. spell with accuracy.
creative nonfiction or fiction:
•
•
•
•
•
•
vignette
short story
alternate ending
mash up
new point of view passage
story from a song
*Proficient writing requires a
minimum of two pages in MLA
format.
Approaches to Learning (ATL)
collaboration through group
discussion and work
communication, particularly
reading skills focus in this unit
reflection through self-assessment
and conferencing
thinking – all of it!
transfer, making connections
through literature circles,
identifying EoF throughout
ACTION: Teaching and learning through inquiry
Content (selected or required)
Learning process (description)
Oral: student discussion, literature circles
Written: working with mentor texts, quizzes, practice
crafting various EoF (sharing in writer circles?)
Visual: drawing texts as a means to understanding them
Learning experiences and teaching strategies
literary movements – gothic (10), realism (18),
romanticism (20)
genre – short story (24)
narrative types – fable (33), folk tale (33), parable (36)
Folk Tale – “The Happy Man’s Shirt” (Calvino) – EoL
394
chiaroscuro (65)
flashback (73), foreshadowing (73)
EoF – atmosphere/mood (87); character (88)/direct,
indirect characterization (89); protagonist /
antagonist (90); flat / round (91); dynamic / static
(92); stereotype / stock (93); foil (94); motivation
(95);
plot, exposition, external and internal conflict (96);
climax, falling action, denouement, catastrophe (97);
point of view, narrator, person, 1st person observer, 1st
person participant, third person limited, third person
omniscient (98);
setting (100), symbol (102), theme (103), tone (104)
One Week – Romanticism story (choices listed below)
“The Pedestrian” (handout)
“The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” (outside source)
“The Scarlet Ibis” (Hurst) – EoL 342; HR166
“The Golden Kite, the Silver Wind” – EoL 364
“A Sound of Thunder” (Bradbury) – EoL 498; HR 220
“To Da-Duh, in Memoriam” (Marshall) – EoL 525
Unit 5: Pronouns
11: Agreement
13: Nominative vs. Objective
Unit 8: Other Punctuation
25: Quotation Marks (direct quotes)
26: Quotation Marks (with other punctuation)
One Week – Realism story (choices listed below)
“A Christmas Memory” (Capote) – EoL 50
“Thank You, M’am” (Hughes) – EoL 86; HR 52
“Marigolds” (Collier) – EoL 118
“The Interlopers” (Saki) – EoL 150; HR 82
“The Sniper” (O’Flaherty) – EoL 211; HR 110
“Liberty” (Alvarez) – EoL 245
“The Gift of the Magi” (O’Henry) – EoL 286; HR 140
“American History” (Cofer) – EoL 564; HR 250
“Beware of the Dog” (Dahl) – EoL 590
One Week – Gothicism story (choices listed below)
“The Cask of Amantillado” (Poe) – EoL 172
One Week – Another story from above; crafting writing
Formative assessment
Class discussion on elements of a story and what makes a good story
Quizzes on elements of fiction (from EoL text spreads), mini-tests on various elements vs. one
test on all elements?
Writing experimentation creating individual EoF using models from short stories read,
partner and group feedback
writer circle collaborative short story
Differentiation
Students will choose which type of writing assessment they will complete.
End?
Sharing of and reflecting on creative pieces
Reflection includes self-assessment, discussing second points of the EoF rubric on a rubric
handout, and an answer to the unit question, “Does art reflect life or life reflect art?”
Teacher assessment will take into account students’ reflections as well as the written work
Resources
EoL book
Holt Reader
“The Pedestrian” from Gotcha’ unit
LTD
REFLECTION: Considering the planning, process and impact of the inquiry
Prior to teaching the unit
During teaching
After teaching the unit
 Why do we think that the unit or the
selection of topics will be interesting?
 What do students already know, and what
can they do?
 What have students encountered in this
discipline before?
 What does experience tell us about what
to expect in this unit?
 What attributes of the learner profile does
this unit offer students opportunities to
develop?
 What potential interdisciplinary
connections can we identify?
 What do we know about students’
preferences and patterns of interaction?
 Are there any possible opportunities for
meaningful service learning?
 What in the unit might be inspiring for
community or personal projects?
 Could we develop authentic opportunities
for service learning?
 How can we use students’ multilingualism
as a resource for learning?
 What difficulties did we encounter while
completing the unit or the summative
assessment task(s)?
 What resources are proving useful, and
what other resources do we need?
 What student inquiries are emerging?
 What can we adjust or change?
 What skills need more practice?
 What is the level of student engagement?
 How can we scaffold learning for students
who need more guidance?
 What is happening in the world right now
with which we could connect teaching and
learning in this unit?
 How well are the learning experiences
aligned with the unit’s objectives?
 What opportunities are we hearing to help
students explore the interpretative nature
of knowledge, including personal biases
that might be retained, revised or
rejected? (DP theory of knowledge skills
development)
 What were the learning outcomes of this
unit?
 How well did the summative assessment
task serve to distinguish levels of
achievement?
 Was the task sufficiently complex to allow
students to reach the highest levels?
 What evidence of learning can we
identify?
 What artifacts of learning should we
document?
 Which teaching strategies were effective?
Why?
 What was surprising?
 What student-initiated action did we
notice?
 What will we do differently next time?
 How will we build on our experience to
plan the next unit?
 How effectively did we differentiate
learning in this unit?
 What can students carry forward from this
unit to the next year/level of study?
 Which subject groups could we work with
next time?
 What did we learn from standardizing the
assessment?
 Why do we think that the unit or the
selection of topics will be interesting?
Students like anything that has to do with
creativity.
Short stories are also thought provoking;
themes provide a purpose and allow for
connection with the stories.
 What do students already know, and what
can they do?
 What have students encountered in this
discipline before?
Students have also been exposed to stories
from childhood; they can connect with
telling and listening to stories.
They may not know technical names, but
they generally have an innate sense of the
shape of a story.
 What attributes of the learner profile does
this unit offer students opportunities to
develop?
Communicator and Risk-Taker (taking risks
in writing)
Knowledgeable (shape of stories and
techniques used to develop them)
Reflective (to determine next steps in writing)
 What potential interdisciplinary
connections can we identify?
Art history
 How can we use students’ multilingualism
as a resource for learning?
Have multilingual students bring in and/or
translate a story from their culture