Developed by Farhat Bobby Khan
Morton Middle School, Vandalia
Language Arts/Writing
Grade Level: 6

Introduction

The Muse Machine Summer Institute 2016 inspired teachers in different ways to weave the institute theme of, “Undesirable Elements” into their lessons with students. Farhat Bobby Khan, from Morton Middle School in Vandalia, Ohio, used this theme to inspire the writing that her sixth grade students were required to do for language arts. She asked them to retell and illustrate the plot of the novel, “Dar and the Spear-Thrower” by Marjorie Cowley. They were asked to listen to it again and then to write their ideas as a choral piece for the whole class to recite. Such original thinking came from this idea! Bobby’s students proudly demonstrated their visual art and their choral speaking for the principal and other guests when the lesson concluded!  You can see for yourself what a great job they did!

Non-Arts Discipline

Language Arts

Strand/Process

Reading: Literature/ Key Ideas and Details

Content Statement

1. Cite textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inference drawn from the text.
2. Determine a theme or central idea of a text and how it is conveyed through particular details; provide a summary of the text distinct from personal opinions or judgment.
3. Describe how a particular story’s or drama’s unfolds in series of episodes as well as how the characters respond or change as the plot moves toward a resolution.

Enduring Understandings:
Imaginative texts can provide rich and timeless insights into universal themes, dilemmas and social realities of the world. Literary text represents complex stories in which the reflective and apparent thoughts and actions of human beings are revealed. Life therefore shapes literature and literature shapes life.

Arts Discipline

Writing Process

Strand/Process

Writing: Text Types and Purpose

Content Statement

• Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, relevant descriptive details, and well-structures event sequences.
• Engage and orient the reader by establishing a context and introducing a narrator and/or characters; organize an event sequence that unfolds naturally and logically.
• Use narrative techniques, such as dialogue, pacing, and description, to develop experiences, events, and/or characters.

Enduring Understandings:

• Writers share information, opinion and ideas by using multiple techniques and text types. This knowledge allows them to communicate in appropriate and meaningful ways to achieve their intended purpose.
• Listen to the novel “Dar and the Spear-Thrower” by Marjorie Cowley.
• Illustrate each chapter after listening to the corresponding chapter.
• Unfamiliar words were projected on the screen to aid student understanding.
• They were assessed by taking an AR (Accelerated Reader) test.
• Students were given the option to choose a character and describe the relative details about the setting, plot, problem/solutions, and climax.
• The student peer-edited the information they wrote about the character.
• In the end, the teachers compiled students’ edited scripts into a complete narrative named as “The Undesirable Elements of Dar and Toreg’s Clan.”
• The students practiced reading their script along with body actions such as unison clap, snaps, and stomps.

Essential Questions

• How do readers communicate experiences or events using descriptive details with a well-structured events sequence?

Content Elaborations

• Students will learn how to cite evidence from the text to understand the explicit analysis of the text, as well as inferences made.
• Along with determining the theme of a text, central idea, and how details impact the personal opinions and/or judgment of the characters.
• Students will learn how to detect changes in the characters and how the story changes the characters’ mood and perception of the world.

Expectations for Learning

• Students will demonstrate learning by listening and completing the illustrations, which will show their understanding. The illustrations reflect the main idea, setting, characters, and plot of each chapter.
• Students will learn to write a descriptive paragraph using the paragraph rubric and the tool kit from Story Works (Scholastic  Magazine) to guide their writing.
• Students will develop oral and non- verbal communication skills.

Instructional Strategies

• Students will be engaged in reading along with the teacher, pausing at unfamiliar words, figurative language, concepts, and dramatic scenes to reflect.
• Modeling fluency, enunciation and expression.
• Students will be shown previous examples of student’s illustrations.
• Showed a cohesive paragraph that was constructed using the writing process along with a paragraph rubric.

Assessment (Pre and/or Post)

• Students will know how well they are learning by viewing the movie The Neanderthals and using a Venn diagram to compare and contrast the two pre-historic species.
• After completing the reading of the novel Dar and the Spear Thrower by Marjorie Cowley the students will take an AR test.
•  The writing process will be assessed with the attached rubric: for the topic sentence and keeping the promise of the topic. The cohesiveness of the paragraph will also be considered as an important factor for the students understandings.

Materials & Resources

• Text Book Dar and the Spear-Thrower for all students and the teacher.
• Manila paper folded in rectangles for each chapter’s illustration.
• Colored pencils or crayons
• Smart board with pictures of unfamiliar objects and relevant scenes projected for student’s understandings.

Student Performance Tasks

Students illustrated each chapter, with the title, chapter number reflection of the setting, event, climax, plot, solution, and compare/contrast after daily reading.

Career Connections

tudents will develop team spirit, collaboration, acceptance of diversity and professional communication skills.

Diverse Learners

Students with IEP,504 or ESL will be directed and given extended time to complete the daily assignments .Extra intervention will be provide administered as needed. The gifted /tag students will have to add additional elements to their illustrations.

Interdisciplinary Connections

 After interviewing the summer institute participants by Ping Chong and Company I was inspired to require my students to create their own “Master Piece”.  My students created their individual script about the characters of” Dar and The Spear Thrower”. The presentation is almost a replica of the summer workshop theme of “Undesirable Elements.”

Technology Connections

The students will take an A.R. Test. The smart board projected the movie, scenes and unfamiliar words for students understanding.

Home/At Work Connections

Finished and uncompleted illustrations were taken home to be shared and completed. 

Paragraph Writing Rubric