Objective

Students will categorize stories according to a repeating pattern of themes using a variety of films, novels, short stories, and video games.

Hook

Ask students if they have ever heard of a story where someone begins as a good person, is corrupted, and then returns to good at the end? Solicit examples of stories with this patter. Allow a lot of thinking time as your students make connections.

After you’ve some examples, explain that these stories all share a similar “big idea” or theme. In particular, this theme is known as “a fall from grace” and “redemption.”

There are only a few themes authors choose from and they are repeated throughout history. This is another example of the generalization “structure increases creativity” in writing. Authors pick a theme and then build creatively around it.

Instruction

Define “Theme”

My 6th graders are fluent with the idea of an “author’s message,” so I don’t spend too much time definining “theme.” The introductory hook is typically enough. With younger students, you may need to introduce this concept (perhaps as its own lesson). Explain that a theme is the big idea that the author is exploring in his writing. It is not stated directly in the writing, but instead we must infer the theme based on evidence.

Let’s look at some common themes that authors use (as you are defining these terms, be sure to allow student participation. They will make connections to stories that you may be unfamiliar with. Encourage this since they are constructing meanining):

Fall From Grace/Redemption

Definition: A character begins as a hero or otherwise “good” person. Through some event, the character becomes “bad.” This is the fall from grace. The character then earns back their good standing through selfless action. This is the redemption. It’s possible, of course, to have a story about a fall from grace with no redemption or redemption without a fall from grace.

Essential characteristics:

• The protagonist begins heroically.
• A selfish act destroys the protagonist’s reputation.
• The protagonist returns to the hero status through selfless acts.

Examples:

• Anakin Skywalker (Star Wars)
• Brutus (Julius Caesar) – no redemption
• Scrooge (A Christmas Carol) – no fall from grace

The Quest or The Journey

Definition: The protagonist is on a mission to find a place, a person, or an item. During the journey, the main character experiences a change over time.

Essential characteristics:

• Character begins humbly
• Character acquires comrades
• Character changes throughout story
• The quest is less important than the final growth

Examples include:

• The Lord Of The Rings – Frodo must reach Mordor to destroy the ring.
• A Wrinkle In Time – Meg must find her father
• The Wizard Of Oz – Dorothy must reach the Emerald City so she can return home.

Coming of Age/Loss of Innocence

Definition A character grows up and loses their childish ways. This may mean taking on new responsibilities or realizing that something isn’t important. The loss of innocence theme has a more negative view of this transformation while a coming of age story is positive.

Essential Characteristics

• Character begins as a young person
• Character clashes with authority (teacher, parent, older sibling)
• Character goes through a conflict which changes their point of view
• Character understands the point of view of the authority
• The change can be good or bad (loss of innocence)

Examples include:

• Hatchet
• Where The Red Fern Grows
• To Kill A Mockingbird
• Grandfather’s Journey
• Lord of the Flies

Stranger In A Strange Land or Alienation

DefinitionA character is put in a place in which he feels alone and out of place. During this time, the character learns about himself and grows. He may also helps those around him grow as well. Essential characteristics:

• Character is out of place – strange setting, strange characters
• Character learns from his strange surroundings
• The other characters may learn from the main character

Examples include:

• E.T.
• Harry Potter
• Wizard of Oz

Guided Practice

Students now enter groups of four and are presented with a list of well-known stories and films. They categorize these stories based on their themes. I give them a list of stories and a literary theme worksheet :

Worksheet For Analyzing Themes

Naturally, you know which stories will work best with your class. They sort these into theme categories, giving an explanation of how the story fits with the theme. This would then be shared out and we would note any differences among groups. It is reasonable that one story could fit under multiple themes.

Independent Practice

I give students an assortment of settings – pictures taken from Flickr’s most interesting photos of the week. Students pick one setting and a plot summary using one of the themes we introduces. This plot should follow the dramatic structure presented in the previous lesson.

This lesson has led to some incredible stories of redemption set on a volcano

Coming Up

Now that we’ve introduced patterns in plot structure and themes, students will be examining the types of characters that populate these stories.

References

• Common Themes In Literature
• Harold Bloom’s Literary Themes – a series of books
• Frayer Model of concept attainment
• Kaplan and Gould’s The Flip Book and The Flip Book, Too
• Virtual Salt’s literary terms

Patterns In Writing III: Themes is a post from: Byrdseed Gifted

Related posts:

1. Patterns In Writing II: Plot Structure
2. Patterns In Writing I: Introduction
3. Start The Year With Themes & Generalizations

Recall that this unit is framed with the generalization that “structure increases creativity.”

In this unit, we’ll be using a Frayer Model-style concept attainment with definitions, essential characteristics, and examples/non-examples to define each act of the plot.

My goal with these lessons is to equip my students with a sophisticated set of tools to write with. Writing programs tend to start and end with setting, character, and plot. By showing my gifted students the authentic tools of an author, they have a higher level to aim for in their writing.

Plus, it’s a blast reading your students stories as they integrate sophisticate plots, themes, conflict, and character archetypes.

Objective

“Students will identify the pattern of a five-act plot structure in story-telling using a variety of films, novels, and short stories.”

Hook

Refer to the unit’s generalization “structure increases creativity.” Often, authors use an existing structure to organize their plot.

I might also mention that identifying patterns in plot structure goes back to 335 BC with Aristotle’s Poetics

Instruction

People such as Aristotle noticed that great stories (whether by the Greeks, Shakespeare, or Pixar) follow a common pattern. They each contain these five acts:

• Exposition
• Rising action
• Climax
• Falling action or resolution
• Dénouemont

Using these terms, we’re going to explore the plot of Finding Nemo.

1. Introduce language of the discipline “exposition”

Definition: In the exposition, the reader meets the protagonist and sees life before the conflict starts.

Essential Characteristics of the exposition:

• Introduces protagonists character traits
• Introduces general setting
• Main plot has not started.

Ask students to think from the point of view of the screenwriter: “How did the writer use the exposition to show the characters’ traits?”

Possible examples:

• Marlin’s cautious nature is shown when he goes in and out of the home indefinitely, checking for danger.
• Nemo’s ‘lucky fin’ is revealed, showing that he was physically affected by the baraccuda attack.
• We also see that Nemo is a regular kid, annoyed by his father’s worrying.
• Marlin is socially awkward, revealed through his terribly unfunny joke.

Non-Examples:

• The real conflict does not begin in the exposition.
• Nemo’s capture and Marlin’s attempts to find him are not part of the exposition.

Explain that the real plot hasn’t started yet. No one is trying to “find Nemo.” The conflict begins with an event known as the “inciting incident.”

2. Introduce “inciting incident” and “rising action”

In Finding Nemo, the conflict truly begins when Nemo is taken by the divers. This is known as the inciting incident. It is the origin of the next act, the rising action.

Definition: The rising action is the series of adventures the characters go on. Each adventure slowly takes them towards the climax. Quality stories get increasingly suspenseful and tense as the climax approaches. The rising action begins with an event known as the “inciting incident.”

Essential Characteristics

• Several mini-adventures within the main plot
• Longest act of the story
• Builds tension, excitement, and suspense over time

Examples of rising action from Finding Nemo:

• Inciting incident: Nemo is taken by the divers!
• Marlin encounters the sharks.
• Marlin goes through the jellyfish.
• Nemo gains the friendship of the aquarium fish.
• Nemo attempts to escape the aquarium.

3. Introduce language of the discipline “climax”

Definition: The climax is the peak of the action. It could be a huge battle or an exciting action scene.

Essential Characteristics:

• Most intense, exciting moment of the story.
• Storylines come together

Example from Finding Nemo: The search for Nemo intersects with Nemo’s own adventures in the dentist’s office. The climax continues into the ocean, reaching its peak when Nemo rescues the fish trapped in a net.

4. Introduce “Falling Action”

Can you imagine if the movie simply ended in the middle of all the excitement of the climax? We would never know how the big battle turned out or if the heroes were all safe.

Definition: The falling action is a short but vital part of the story that resolves the climax.

Essential Characteristics:

• Shows the outcome of the climax
• Tells the reader the status of the main characters

Example: In Finding Nemo, this is when Nemo saves Dorie and Marlin learns to trust his son.

Non-Examples: The falling action should not leave the reader confused.

5. Introduce the dénouement

Now I ask my students to think about the final part of the movie Finding Nemo. We see Nemo and Marlin back in the same situation as the beginning of the movie. They are back at the reef and Nemo is preparing to go to school. Only this time, there are major differences from the exposition. If we watch the clip, I would ask my students to note some of the differences:

Definition The dénouement reveals how the charaacters have “changed over time.”

Essential characteristics:

• The characters are back in a similar setting as the exposition
• The protagonist behaves differently, showing effect of the story’s conflict
• A great dénouement shows how the characters have changed.

In Finding Nemo, the dénouement shows:

• Marlin finally tells his whole joke.
• Marlin is no longer over protective of his son.
• Nemo is confident and happy.

Poor dénouements look like: :

• “And they lived happily ever after.”
• “And he never made the same mistake again.”

Guided Practice

Dramatic Structure Graphic Organizer

Break students into groups of four to participate in a practice session of identifying the plot elements of popular stories. I give a selection of choices such as: The Lion King, Harry Potter, Star Wars, etc.

I’m fine when groups use a story not on the list too. Each group should work with a different story. Groups analyze their story’s dramatic structure using a Freytag Triangle worksheet (pdf) and then present their work. These samples will go up as reminders and references.

Independent Practice

Students will develop their own Freytag Triangle (pdf) based around an idea for an original story (perhaps one they’ve created as part of this unit).

Closure

Refer back to the unit’s theme: “Structure increases creativity.” Note the wide variety of excellent, creative stories that use this plot structure. Preview that students will be creating their own stories based around this pattern.

Resources

• Kaplan and Gould’s The Flip Book
• Kaplan and Gould’s Flip Book, Too
• Wikipedia’s Dramatic Structure article

Patterns In Writing II: Plot Structure is a post from: Byrdseed Gifted

Related posts:

1. Patterns In Writing III: Themes
2. Patterns In Writing I: Introduction
3. Oz, Paragraphy, and Writing Strategies

Why did Alma’s family decide to make nativity figurines?

To me this is asking for low level thinking, certainly not what I would consider “critical.” Now, let’s transform this into a beautiful and rigorous question suitable for your gifted kids.

Add Depth And Complexity Icons

You can begin by adding an element of Sandra Kaplan’s depth and complexity:

• List three details that explain why Alma’s family created nativity figurines.
• Identify the change over time that made it possible for Alma’s family to create nativity figurines?
• Explain two opposing two points of view towards the nativity figurines.

Connect To A Larger Idea

Try connecting this question with a larger theme or quote:

• Explain how the nativity figurines support the big idea “conflict can lead to positive outcomes.”
• Explain how the Alma’s family and their nativity figurines demonstrate a theme of perseverance.
• Explain how the nativity figurines support the quote that “the best things in life are free.”

Connect To Other Stories

Increase the rigor by connecting the question with another story:

• Note three parallels between Alma’s family and the family of Jackie Joyner Kersee.

Take It To The Top!

Finally, move your thinking skill up Bloom’s Taxonomy by crafting an evaluative question:

• Do you agree with the family’s decision to devote time making nativity figurines?
• Which action represented a bigger sacrifice: making the nativity figurines or moving homes to support mom’s business?

Don’t Start Everything From Scratch

This is a simple example of taking grade-level curriculum and differentiating it to fit the needs of gifted learners. When creating lessons or assessments, be sure to mine your base program for all its worth. There are wonderful seeds there that, with your care, will blossom into an appropriate challenge for your students.

Transforming Textbook Questions is a post from: Byrdseed Gifted

Related posts:

1. Drive Instruction With Unanswered Questions
2. Start The Year With Themes & Generalizations
3. Character Analysis With Depth & Complexity

• Spanish: Adjectives come after nouns
• Japanese: Words are not pluralized. Numbers are implied within the sentence
• French: Nouns have gender

Benefits

Validation

By examining other languages, we validate our bilingual students and provide them with an opportunity to be experts during ELA. It’s also enjoyable to see students discussing and making connections as they analyze their language’s grammar.

Error Analysis

You are probably aware of patterns in your students writing caused by their first language. These may include errors in conjugation, subject-verb agreement, or tense. Rather than endlessly marking up papers in red ink, consider having your students compare and contrast English and their first language to truly understand the origins of these errors.

Fun

Your students will certainly get a kick out of learning about the multiple perspectives behind different languages.

Resources

• If you’ve got loads of money, Rosetta Stone has incredible resources for learning multiple languages.
• I’ve picked up several language textbooks for just a few dollars from my local library’s bookstore.
• Hit up iTunes’ podcast library and look for free language podcasts. Personally, I enjoy JapanesePod101 from iTunes.

Uplevel Grammar By Examining Another Language is a post from: Byrdseed Gifted

Related posts:

1. Can You Spice Up Grammar?
2. Language Arts Needs Of Gifted Learners
3. Vocabulary Skills For Gifted Students

Why?

Check out these examples. Which would you rather answer?

Math

• Boring: Compare and contrast multiplication and division.
• Fun: Which is better, multiplication or division? Why?

Social Studies

• Boring: Describe the similarities between Athens’ democracy and the Roman Republic.
• Fun: From the point of view of a commoner, which government would you rather live under?

Science

• Boring: List the qualities of metamorphic, sedimentary, and igneous rocks.
• Fun: Create a political campaign for your favorite type of rock in which it proves it is better than the other two candidates.

Plus, as I wrote about earlier, these types of assessments should be reflecting the depth of your instruction.

Ask Them Which Is Better is a post from: Byrdseed Gifted

Related posts:

1. Remixing Ideas With Gifted Students

The Skills

With our state testing around the corner, I certainly have a responsibility to my students to give them opportunities to practice state standards. So naturally, I frame my project around some 6th grade California standards:

Interpret and use ratios in different contexts (e.g., batting averages, miles per hour)
to show the relative sizes of two quantities, using appropriate notations (a/b, a to b,
a:b). – Number Sense 1.2

Calculate given percentages of quantities and solve problems involving discounts
at sales, interest earned, and tips.  – Number Sense 1.4.

And a whole slew of math reasoning standards.

I’m also upleveling the standard by working with percents greater than 100% – always a bit tricky for students.

The Practice

Since we are in review mode, I do a few “practice problems” just to test the waters. We’ll solve a few simple percent problems (What is 25% of 300? 50 is what percent of 450?). This does two things for me:

1. Let’s me orient my students towards the skill they’ll need to utilize in the upcoming problem.
2. Identifies the students who don’t have the basic skill down… I’ll park next to them during the rest of the activity.

The Inspiration

The post “Should I Have Bought That Apple Product” provides some outstanding information regarding the price of Apple products and the increase in Apple stock. For example, if you bought an original iPhone in January of 2007, you dropped $499. If you bought Apple stock instead, that stock would be worth $1,460 or an increase of about 293%!

The Hook

Again, borrowing from Dan Meyer’s rules for creating an intriguing and challenging problem, I begin with a visual of the original iPod (courtesy of Wikipedia) and throw out a bunch of questions to get the class talking.

First Generation iPod

• “What is this thing?” (first generation iPod)
• “How’s it different from the one you have now?” (black and white screen, buttons along the wheel, smaller hard drive, etc)
• “When did this iPod come out?” (October 23, 2001)
• “How much did it cost?” ($499)

Pose The Big Question

“Let’s say that instead of buying this iPod, you spent the same amount of money on Apple stock. How much would that stock be worth now?”

I then open up a round of inquiry (using the language of Melanie Montgomery’s Math Icons). During this time, students get thirty seconds to consider what information they need. Then I answer as many of those questions as I feel necessary. In this case, I’ll answer the following questions (oh, and I try to answer them all visually – I used screenshots from Yahoo’s finance webpage for example):

• How much did the iPod cost when it came out?
• How much did Apple stock cost on that day?
• How much is Apple stock worth now?

The Work

I then allow students to partner up and take a crack at the big question. Why partners?

• Collaboration is awesome.
• But too many cooks in the kitchen leads to chit chat and free-riders.
• I also leave the solo option available  for reasons explained here.
• This frees me up to sit with students who I identified earlier as lacking pieces of the base skill.

I’m also emphasizing organization of work in these activities. If their work requires any interpretation on my part, I send them back to relabel, restructure, and reorganize. Students are utilizing both depth and complexity and some of the math icons to make their work clear.

The Conclusion

We wrap it back up at the end and see who got the closest to the correct percentage. I’ll ask for some of the 6th grade skills students used to answer the question. We talk through their thinking a bunch too.

It’s always fun to leave them with a question (perhaps an assignment for home?). In this case, I uncovered an ebay auction selling a first generation iPod (new in box!). It sold for $325. Students then determined the percent that they would have lost by selling the iPod. Students could also investigate the percent difference between the stock option and the iPod’s

Any ways you’re using real data to intrigue your students? Share in the comments

iPods, Apple Stock, & Authentic Math is a post from: Byrdseed Gifted

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1. Solving Authentic Classroom Problems
2. Differentiating Math Lessons For Gifted Students
3. Is Your Math Instruction Creating Thinkers?

For my gifted 6th graders, simply teaching a direct instruction lesson about identifying causes and effects is a recipe for boredom and, as a result, behavior problems.

Upleveling Rigor Using Depth and Complexity

I ended up deciding to explore the big idea that “causes can lead to unexpected effects.” While this still conforms to by district-mandated base program, it also meets the higher intellectual rigor I want for my students.

Hooking Students With A Classic

To launch our exploration of causes and their unexpected effects, I decided to bring in my own love of The Beatles. I structured my lesson around the fact that The Beatles stopped touring in 1966. The causes of this event included:

• lack of amplifier technology to combat screaming girls (this is a fun one to demonstrate for your kids )
• fear for their personal safety
• fatigue brought on by their own fame

I then played two songs representing the time periods prior to and following this event: “Love Me Do” and “Strawberry Fields Forever.”

We listened to and discussed the lyrics, instrumentation, and general feel of the song “Love Me Do.” I explain some facts, including the limited recording technology (ie, Paul had to sing the line “love me do” by himself because John had to have time to bring his harmonica to his mouth – naturally now they would simply overdub to fix this).

We then listen to the song “Strawberry Fields Forever” and discuss the same topics. Students are quick to note the difference in instrumentation, the strange lyrics, and even pick up on the subtle effects on John’s vocals. I then explain some behind the scenes information about the recording (it was a combination of two separate takes in two different keys, sped up and slowed down to sound like the same key).

I explain that although The Beatles stopped touring because of three reasons, the effects of this event were completely unexpected, and included:

• incorporation of orchestral, ethnic, and experimental instruments into pop songs
• experimentation and advancements in recording technology
• increasingly complex lyrics and song structure

I then ask students to identify causes and unexpected effects in the base program reading story “The Great Wall.”

What interesting ways do you hook your gifted learners while staying true to a mandated reading program? Share in the comments!

The Beatles, Houghton Mifflin, and Gifted Students is a post from: Byrdseed Gifted

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1. Vocabulary Skills For Gifted Students
2. Enticing Gifted Students To Read Twice
3. Differentiating Math Lessons For Gifted Students

I can’t wait to bring this into my class! Think about the critical thinking skills we can practice with it:

• Comparing and contrasting all sorts of traits
• Determining cause and effect
• Analyzing trends
• Finding the origin of changes
• Determining parallels amongst systems
• Categorizing and re-categorizing based on new criteria
• Analyzing influences
• With a little more research, students could analyze how the hardware of systems affected their successes

I love to use resources like this to motivate and engage students when introducing a thinking skill. Any other ideas on how you’d  use a gallery of one hundred video game consoles in your gifted classroom?

Today We’ll Analyze Video Games Systems! is a post from: Byrdseed Gifted

Related posts:

1. Do Your Assessments Reflect Your Teaching?
2. Beyond The Book Report
3. Failures!

• Ask students to examine the change over time in their scores.
• Tell students to look for patterns in the type of questions missed.
• Encourage them to notice if the simply misunderstood a rule.
• Perhaps students need to notice a recent trend in their work.

Language Arts Example

Here’s a language arts reflection I use in my classroom that incorporates the thinking tools.
ELA Reflection with Depth and Complexity

Reflecting With Depth and Complexity is a post from: Byrdseed Gifted

Related posts:

1. Introducing Depth and Complexity
2. Character Analysis With Depth & Complexity
3. Go Deeper! Get More Complex!

When I show my students a video like this, I ask them to delve deeper using their thinking tools. Here’s the typical procedure:

• First, we spend a day discussing the video itself
• Students create a combination of depth and complexity tools that matches their interpretation of the video:
  • Multiple perspectives cause ethical problems.
  • Language can be a paradox.
• Students then spend time generating examples from other disciplines that match their deep and complex statement.
• We then have a day of presentations.

Have any other uses for a video like this? Let me know in the comments!

No Street Names In Japan is a post from: Byrdseed Gifted

Related posts:

1. Go Deeper! Get More Complex!
2. Introducing Depth and Complexity
3. Differentiate Lessons With The Content Imperatives