Abstract
Students will take all of their brainstorming
notes from the previous lesson and pull their ideas
together to write a science fiction short story. This
story will have major and minor characters, a futuristic
setting in which a clean form of energy production
fuels the civilization and eliminates specific environmental
health problems caused by previous energy production,
a plot which unfolds in a logical manner, and a positive
theme which emphasizes the ability of humankind to
solve the problems of society in a way that does not
cause harm to human beings or the environment. Students
will write in two stages. First they will write out
their stories paying attention to the above concerns.
Second, they will refine their stories by improving
the mechanics and the level of sophistication with
which they were written.
Purpose – In this lesson
students will write a science fiction short story in
which all the elements
of a short story are employed appropriately, plus an
environmental health aspect and a clean form of energy
production have been incorporated into the plot. Objectives
Students will be able to:
Write a short story in which:
1.
Events are presented in a logical order
2. The point of view is clear
3. The theme is developed
4. Sensory language, concrete language and/or
dialogue are used appropriately
5. There are major and minor characters
6. The setting is some time in the future
7. Capitalization, grammar, spelling, and
punctuation have been used correctly
Students
will use some of the following to enhance the
quality of their prose:
1.
Transitions
2. Varied sentence structure
3. Parallel sentence structure
4. Active voice
English
Education Standard
WRITING
W-P6. Write a story that develops complex characters,
plot structure, point of view and setting; organizes
ideas in meaningful sequence; and includes sensory details
and concrete language to advance the story line.
PO 1. Write a first- or third-person story
- develop a point of view
- present events in a logical order
- develop events that convey a unifying theme or tone
- include sensory details, concrete language and/or dialogue
- use literary elements (e.g., plot, setting, character, theme)
W-P1. Use transitional devices; varied sentence structures; the active voice;
parallel structures; supporting details, phrases and clauses; and correct spelling,
punctuation, capitalization, grammar and usage to sharpen the focus and clarify
the meaning of their writing
PO 1. Use transitions (e.g., conjunctive adverbs, coordinating conjunctions,
subordinating
Conjunctions) where appropriate
PO 2. Vary sentence structure (e.g., compound, complex, compound-complex)
PO 3. Use active voice as appropriate to purpose (e.g., creative writing)
PO 4. Use parallel structure appropriately
PO 5. Sharpen the focus and clarify the meaning of their writing through the
appropriate
use of:
- capitalization
- standard grammar and usage (e.g., subject-verb agreement, pronoun agreement
and consistency of verb tense)
- spelling, with the use of a dictionary/thesaurus (as needed)
- punctuation (e.g., comma, ellipsis, apostrophe, semicolon, colon)
Teacher Background
An appreciation of science fiction and
a delight in the writing process
Resource Websites
List URL and title of page
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