Erin Bowman - SUNY Cortland



Erin Bowman

Dr. Kennedy

ENG 504

20 November 2008

Young Adult Short Story Genre Study

Rationale

Do you find yourself struggling to reach some of the young readers in your class? Are the stories that you are reading as a class current? Do your students easily relate to the characters and issues that come up in their reading? A genre study in young adult short story, is the perfect way to transform your class from one that does not like to read or write because students can’t relate to the literature and lack ideas and motivation, to a class that is excited about reading and writing because they can relate to the material, and see their lives begin to matter on paper.

So what exactly is genre? In A Time For Meaning, Randy Bomer talks about a genre schema, or “a scheme for a kind of thing.” Our students are experts in genre schema. If we asked them to produce a sitcom, they would put a song in the beginning, and if we asked them to write a football cheer, a certain tone and rhythm would be present (116). Genre for Bomer is a “cuing system for reading,” and it “lays down a track for our reading [and writing]” (117). It is important that our students understand what genre is and that it encompasses many aspects of life. They also need to know how to use their knowledge of genre to benefit their reading and writing.

It is important to differentiate literary genre from genre as a whole. As Bomer puts it, “focusing on literary genres, as opposed to texts like business letters[…], allows kids to write about what matters most to them, their own personal lives […]” (119). The best way to build up students’ writing lives is to include lots of writing that they care about in your curriculum. Sometimes, however, we already include a lot of writing in literary genres in our classrooms, but certain students seem to be stuck writing in the same genre for each assignment. Incorporating a genre study into your classroom is a great way to build knowledge of certain genres, and help students who Nancie Atwell describes as “narrow genred” (293). Using a genre study in your classroom, you are not only asking “a genre-challenged [individual] to branch out, [you are also] help[ing] the [student] by extending some new branches” (293). A genre study is a perfect starting point for you to model for your students what the possibilities of genre are.

As teachers of English, it is important that we are constantly challenging our students with new material and guiding them to becoming more informed. Including genre studies in our classrooms, does just that. Genre studies create new openings for students by making them experts in something, and helping them realize that they can translate their knowledge of genre into action or better reading and writing. Lori Mayo, in an English Journal article, entitled “Making the Connection: Reading and Writing Together,” writes about the importance of genre studies in the classroom.

A genre study is one way to bring reading and writing together in the classroom. Reading and writing in one particular genre allows students to understand its conventions and use that understanding in their own writing. After students have responded to a text as readers, they can look at the writer’s craft and figure out how that craft helps to evoke the reader’s response. (74)

Using a genre study in her classroom, Lori was able to guide her students into more informed reading and writing lives. This is something that we can all do. It is important that as teachers, we continue to challenge both ourselves and our students to investigate and experiment with new genres. Instead of restricting ourselves to the tried and true genres of poetry, drama, and prose, we should branch out to study genres such as science fiction, graphic novel, and young adult short story.

A genre study does mean some extra homework for you, but it pays off. Teaching many different genres during the year, you will help your students to have new and powerful understandings of reading, writing, and writer’s craft. Students will become empowered by their knowledge and translate their knowledge into action. Some final projects for a school year that includes genre studies could be: publishing specific genres, writing a letter to an editor about the importance of genre knowledge, and hosting a new genre’s night at the local library. There are so many possibilities with this type of unit, so where do we start?

What a Class Genre Study Entails

1. You have to begin with an idea. What type of genre are your students least comfortable with? What type of genre would you like them to understand better? Would you like to help your students become more proficient in the genres that they tend towards? Is there a new genre that they seem very interested in but you don’t know a lot about and you would like to delve into it deeper with them?

2. Once you have decided upon your genre, start collecting texts. The more texts you have, the more possibilities there are for your students in their study of the genre.

3. Once you have your texts and ideas together, pick out a few “touchstone texts” that you will use to highlight the details of the genre while keeping your students interested and motivated. The purpose of these texts is to get your students’ attention, make them interested, and then to provide a good model for the students to use in their own writing at the culmination of their genre study. Many teachers who use classroom genre studies feel that these examples make a big difference with their students, especially if it is clear that you also enjoy your choices, and can mimic their style. Reminding us of the importance of modeling and using good examples of specific genres with our students, Lori Mayo writes:

From my own writing experience, I know that it is useful to find a piece that I admire, try to figure out what the writer did that makes me admire that piece, and try to do the same in my own work. Indoctrinated with the fear of plagiarism, some students need to be assured that it is acceptable to imitate another writer’s style. (74)

It is important, as stated by Mayo, to make sure that you are modeling the behavior that you expect from your students. It is also very useful to use personal experience from your own writing life in talking to your students about reading and writing in a specific genre. You want to make sure that your students know that it is okay to mimic the writing styles of authors.

4. In class, it is necessary to completely submerge your students in the genre. Begin with a few read aloud’s of a couple of touchstone texts. Make sure that your students have their writers’ notebooks out, and are using them to jot down anything of interest while you are reading to them.

5. Hand out a couple more examples and have your students read them to themselves. When they are reading these examples, it is important for your students to have their writers’ notebooks handy. Explain that they should use their writers’ notebooks to write down common characteristics in all of the examples of the genre that they have read and also to record ideas for their own writing that may come up while they are reading the example texts.

6. Next, split up your classes into groups and have the groups talk about what designates something as the genre you have chosen to study. Have them come up with a list of characteristics that classify something as that genre. Use their group lists to come up with a class list. This list should be made into a handout for them to refer to later with their own writing.

7. Once you think that your students understand what it takes for writing to meet the criteria of the genre, have them begin their writing. You will need to have a prepared writing assignment, and to go over it with them. Answer questions during this time, as well as showing them a model of what you expect from them. A good way to motivate students is to let them know that you will be doing this assignment along with them, and that you will share your work with them along the process.

8. Next, hand out a rubric that you have specifically created for this assignment. Have your students look over the rubric, and answer any questions that they may have about it before they begin the assignment. The purpose of the rubric is to let students know what you expect before they begin writing and also to familiarize them with the rubric on for the regents exam.

9. Depending on their writing levels, you will want to incorporate different mini lessons into their writing days. Mini lessons are great for focusing your students on specifics of their writing. For these mini lessons, focus on the characteristics of the specific genre that you are working on.

10. When your students have their first draft written, it is important that you use peer review as the first form of revision. Have students pair up and hand out a peer review sheet for them to fill in from their reading of their partner’s piece. Emphasize the importance of reading the piece through once, then reading it a second time through while taking notes on the peer review form.

11. It is important that you go over the revision process with your students. A mini lesson on revision is the perfect way to do this. Use a sample of your own writing, or student work, and go through the steps of revision with your students. Again, it is important that you are present in this process, providing a good model for your students.

12. Have students write a second draft based on the recommendations made by their peer reviewers. You will collect this draft and add your suggestions. Having students hand to you their draft after their peer review will cut down your work load. Students’ second drafts should be better developed and easier for you to get through. With this draft, focus on a common problem found across the set of papers. Some ideas of writing techniques to focus on in these mini lessons are: adding detail, remembering tense, cutting out unnecessary words, etc. Once you have zeroed in on something that they all need to work on, do a mini lesson on one of these techniques.

13. For your students’ third draft, have them focus on your corrections and the topic of your mini lesson. Explain that you will only focus on editing this draft. This is a good time to do a mini lesson on editing. When you collect this third draft, make sure that you are only editing it. You will want to give your students a prospective grade on this draft, but explain that it could be higher or lower depending on the amount of work that they put into their final copy.

14. When your students hand in their final copies, explain that you will be having an “Author’s Day” in class. This will be a time for each author to read his/her work to the whole class out loud and to receive comments and compliments from his/her peers. In the meantime, copy all of each class’s stories into an anthology that you will be able to hand to each student. This is also a good time for you to discuss publishing with your students, to give them options and resources for publishing their work.

15. After the “Author’s Day,” teach your students a lesson on reflection. It is important for them to reflect on how far they have come from the beginning of the genre study. Have your students write a brief reflection of the process for you to read. This assignment is formative, informal assessment. Its purpose is for both you and your students to see how far they have come through this genre study, and for you to see some things that went well and others that you may change for your next time teaching it.

Another suggestion is to give a Regents prep assignment during or after this genre study. This assignment should focus on both the Regents exam and the genre that they are focusing on so that it is relevant to both.

Though on paper an all-class genre study looks difficult, it is completely worth it. Once you begin teaching the genre study, you will see why it is recommended by so many of experts. The most important thing for your students is that they have good models to learn from and to look back on for their own writing, and a teacher who can answer their toughest genre-related questions. Also, working on your own writing while your class is writing is a great way to model good behavior, while enjoying your own writing time. So start collecting different texts meanwhile, let’s dive-in to the young adult short story genre study.

Diving-in to the young adult short story genre study

What classifies A young adult short story?

Young adult literature comes in many forms and genres. The most common thread in young adult literature is struggles in teenage life. Therefore, most students can relate to it. Despite its relevance, there are many common misconceptions about young adult literature. It is often looked down on in schools. Some critics have even called it “garbage.” Why might people see young adult literature as garbage? Probably because even though it treats themes prevalent in teen life, these are issues that mom, dad, and other adults would like to pretend are non-existent. As teachers, in order to be able to teach our students the best way that we can, we need to fully understand them. One of the genres that we can use to better understand them is young adult short stories.

A young adult short story is comparable to a traditional short story. It is a brief fictional narrative, usually between 2,000 and 7,500 words, though some stories are longer. Like any short story, young adult short story has a plot structure, characters, dialogue, setting, and conflict. Young adult short story is less complex than the young adult novel. Young adult short stories tend to have a single purpose and focus on a single incident.

Short story is a practical genre to teach because of its length and accessibility. A story is discussed more easily than a novel because students are more likely to have finished the reading. Another benefit is teachers who don’t have access to whole class texts can copy short stories for their students because of their short length.

Let’s Begin

I-Begin your genre study with a high interest story that exemplifies the genre. I begin with a story from Chris Crutcher’s Athletic Shorts entitled: “A Brief Moment in the Life of Angus Bethune.”

Context: Angus Bethune is a senior in high school. He is a very large kid who is constantly teased for his weight and his pair of gay parents. As a joke, the senior class voted to make him the Senior Winter Ball King. Though it was humiliating to think that he was voted in as a joke, Angus accepts the crown because it means getting to dance with the girl of his dreams, Melissa Lefevre. Two problems: Melissa’s boyfriend Rick Sanford is the one who started the whole joke on Angus, and Rick wants to spoil his good time; and Angus absolutely cannot dance to save his life.

[…]

The bottom line, though, no matter how my grandfather tried to convince me otherwise, was that Melissa Lefevre would remain a Fig Newton of my imagination throughout my school years, and no matter how hard Granddad primed me, I would never have the opportunity for any conversation with Melissa other than the one in my head. Until tonight. Tonight, I’ll have to talk to her. If I don’t, she’ll have only my dancing by which to remember me, which is like Mrs. Fudd remembering Elmer for his hair. It’d be a damn shame.

[…]

I rise to head for the stage and look up to see Melissa on her boyfriend’s arm, coming toward me through the crowd parting on the dance floor. Sanford wears that cocky look, the one I remember from football, the one he wore continually until the day I wiped it off his face on the sideline during our first full-pad scrimmage.

[…]

When the drummer bangs the last beat, the circle erupts in celebration, and I take a long, low bow. Melissa is clapping wildly. She reaches across and wipes a drop of sweat from my brow with her finger. When she touches the finger to her tongue, I tell God he can take me now.

[…] (Crutcher 4-25).

This story is a good example of a young adult short story. Angus is the main protagonist, Sanford is the antagonist, and Angus faces a teenage dilemma. Chris Crutcher does an excellent job capturing the teenage fear of dancing, the hurt of a first love who seems out of reach, and the joy of feeling like you are good at something. He also incorporates many other things that a lot of teens can relate to.

II- Before I read “A Brief Moment in the Life of Angus Bethune” aloud, I tell my students to take out their writers’ notebooks. A writers’ notebook is something that your students should be familiar with. It is a notebook that they should carry with them at all times, and be instructed to jot anything down in it that comes up. Maybe they are inspired by something on TV, in a magazine, something that they see while at the mall.

These notebooks should also actively be used in class all of the time. Explain to your students that inspiration can come at the most unexpected times in the most unlikely places. These notebooks can and should be used for:

Ideas

Reflection

Questions

Quick-writes

Anything else you feel appropriate

Students’ writers’ notebooks should be personal items that you may or may not choose to read. You can check that they are using them simply by glancing at the pages and seeing how long it takes your students to come up with ideas for writing assignments.

I tell students that when I finish reading the Crutcher story, I will ask them to answer the following questions:

1) Who was Angus Bethune?

2) What was Angus’ conflict?

3) Why was Angus’ grandfather important to the story?

4) Can you relate to Angus? How?

III- Reading one sample knock-your-socks-off text is not enough. You should choose one or two more touchstone texts, either from the following list, or of your own choice.

Top Picks for Touchstone Texts

In Chris Crutcher’s Athletic Shorts:

“A Brief Moment in the Life of Angus Bethune”

“Goin’ Fishin’”

“Telephone Man”

In Sharon G. Flake’s Who Am I Without Him?:

“So I Ain’t No Good Girl”

“The Ugly One”

“Jacob’s Rules”

“I Know a Stupid Boy When I see One”

In Hazel Rochman and Darlene Z. McCampbell’s Who Do You Think You Are?:

“Boy and His Dog” by Martha Brooks

“What Means Switch” by Gish Jen

“My Lucy Friend Who Smells Like Corn” by Sandra Cisneros

“The Red Convertible” by Louise Erdrich

Once you have chosen your stories it is up to you how to have your students read them. You can continue reading aloud, have a student read aloud, or have students read silently.

IV- After your classes have read a few different examples of young adult short story, split each class into groups. Ask your students to come up with a list of characteristics that are common among the stories that they have read. Stress the importance of collaboration and the fact that when you work together you gain a more comprehensive understanding of the text and, in this case, the features of the genre.

Some examples of what students may come up with in their group work are listed below:

1. One teenage protagonist who has a problem, crisis, or story to tell. This character is usually someone that the readers can relate to because of his or her physical characteristics, interests, problems, clique, or a number of other things.

2. One main setting: a house, a school, a field, the locker room, the prom, a car, etc. The setting is usually a place that the reader is familiar with and has been to.

3. A short list of characters usually including a protagonist and an antagonist. The character list is not complicated because there is only one plot. These characters are usually simple.

4. A singular plot line which is not complex. There are no interweaving plots. A young adult short story is very simply stated, a story about one instance or situation, happening at one place.

5. A moral or message for its readers. The morals and messages presented by young adult short stories are usually encouraging or discouraging a certain behavior.

6. A difficult decision or situation. The main character in a young adult short story usually faces a situation or decision that presents a dilemma for him/her. This is what makes the story interesting and keeps the readers’ attention.

7. Vocabulary appropriate for a young adult audience. Young adult short stories are written in words and a tone that teenagers can easily understand and relate to. These stories are often written in different teen dialects.

It is extremely important that after this discussion, you synthesize the lists that your students have come up with and create a handout for your classes. They will be able to check how they are doing with their own writing using this list. Make sure that you remember to remind them of this list when they begin their writing assignments. (For a sample list see Appendix A.)

V- Now, it is time to move from reading to writing. Hand out the writing assignment, the rubric, and the peer review sheet. (See Appendices B, C, and D) Go over each of these handouts closely with your students. Make sure that you stress the importance of the revision and editing process, the writing workshop, and the fact that they are writing these stories to be published.

VI- What a perfect opportunity to begin with a lesson on characterization. This lesson will get the students rolling with their stories by helping them to develop a character that they can include in their young adult short stories.

Have your students take a character from their writers’ notebooks. Then ask them to:

Give this character a name.

Give this character some mannerisms, and a voice.

Explain: where does this character live? OR what is the setting in which you can see this character?

Bring the character alive through action, and internal monologue.

Once this exercise is complete, have students share their characters. Students can ask each other questions about their characters in order to help one another to develop their characters more fully.

VII- They are ready to begin the good stuff now. Have your students write their first draft. Remind them to look at the genre features list, the assignment sheet, the rubric, and the peer review sheet again before beginning their writing, and also to have them handy throughout their writing. Remind students also of the due date for this draft, and that it will be peer reviewed on that date.

VIII- Give students a set of Peer Editing or Peer Critiquing Rules. You can do this by posting a list on the wall or giving them a hand out. Here is my example list:

Peer Critiquing Rules

1. Take your job seriously. Providing helpful suggestions can be as difficult as

writing.

2. Be positive and constructive. Sandwich your criticism between layers of

positive comments about the story.

3. Be specific. “This is a really bad story” isn’t helpful. Neither is, “I like your

story.” General comments will not help the writer improve his work.

4. Be encouraging. Help the author remember that polishing a story will make it

more interesting for others to read.

5. Whisper. In order for this time to be constructive, peer-editing teams need to

work as quietly as possible.

6. Don’t over-critique. No one enjoys getting their stories returned and covered

in red!

7. Be neat. Make sure that your comments are legible.

8. Highlight nuggets of good writing.

9. Look to see if the story is balanced between the beginning, middle, and end. A

general rule is to have 25% in the beginning, 25% in the ending, and 50% in

the middle.

Once students have peer reviewed, give them a mini-lesson on detail. At this point in their writing their stories are probably pretty bare-bones, making this the perfect time to remind them of ways to add detail, and why they need detail in their writing. (See Appendix E) Remind them of the due date for their second draft, and that you will be reading this draft.

IX- After you have collected and read their second draft and pin-pointed certain techniques that are apparent throughout the set of young adult short stories, give them a mini lesson on something that they need to work on. Examples provided in Appendix F are mini lessons for spacing dialogue, and tone.

X- Once they have completed the mini lesson that you have chosen, talk to your students about editing. Stress the importance of editing and the fact that they will be publishing their stories. Give them a mini lesson on editing like the example provided in Appendix G. Make sure you remember to give them the handout with the editing check list on it. There should also be a big poster of this editing checklist on the wall.

XI- Now that they have handed in their third draft for editing, it is time to discuss publication with your classes. Talk about the possibilities of writing contests, publishing online, sending in to local newspapers and periodicals to try for publishing. It is up to you whether you would like students to choose individual ways of publishing or if you would like everyone to try to publish the same way. I would recommend letting the students choose. The most accessible route of publishing is online. Here are a list of safe places to publish student work, though they are certainly not limited to this list:

Online Safe Publishing Resources









XII- Once students have submitted their young adult short stories to be published, it is important that you talk to them about the process that they have been a part of to get to this point. Let students know that you are proud and impressed by their work and that you look forward to even better work being published in the future. Then have students write brief reflections of the genre study as a whole. (See Appendix H for an example reflection assignment)

XIII- You may be thinking, how does this prepare my students for the Regents? To answer that question, I have also included a sample Regents assignment for your use if you are working with your students on preparing for the regents. (Appendix I)

There you have it, your guide to a comprehensive genre study of young adult short stories. Though this may seem like a lot to tackle, I promise that it will be worth it when you see the outcome. According to Randy Bomer, “Our students can learn how to learn about a kind of writing, so that they can always use their habitual ways of reading, thinking, collaborating, and composing to master whatever new forms they encounter.” In this way, by teaching genre studies in our classrooms, we are empowering our students with the knowledge to conquer all new genres that come about in their lifetime, literary or not. The ball is in your court now it’s your choice. Below are some resources that will help you to run with it. Good Luck!

Further Reading and Professional Sources

Here is a list of some great collections of young adult short stories that I have not yet mentioned:

Sixteen: Short Stories by Outstanding Authors for Young Adults by, Donald R. Gallow

13: Thirteen Stories that Capture the Agony and Ecstasy of Being Thirteen by, James Howe

No Easy Answers: Short Stories about teenagers making tough choices by, Donald R. Gallow

Visions: Nineteen Short Stories by Outstanding Writers for Young Adults by, Donald R. Gallow

Little Worlds: A Collection of Short Stories for the Middle School by, Peter Guthrie, and Mary Paige

Here are some professional resources that will help you in preparing for a genre study:

Bomer, Randy. Time for Meaning: Crafting Literate Lives in Middle and High School. Portsmouth, N.H.: Heinemann, 1995.

Calkins, Lucy McCormick.. The Art of Teaching Writing . Portsmouth N.H.: Heinemann, 1994.

Works Cited

Atwell, Nancy. In the Middle: New Understanding About Writing, Reading, and Learning. Portsmouth, N.H.: Boynton-Cook, 1998.

Bomer, Randy. Time for Meaning: Crafting Literate Lives in Middle and High School. Portsmouth, N.H.: Heinemann, 1995.

Crutcher, Chris. Athletic Shorts. “A Brief Moment in the life of Angus Bethune.” New York, NY: Dell Publishing, 1991. (5-25).

Mayo, Lori. “Reading and Writing Together: Apprenticeships and Genre Studies.” The English Journal : March 2000 (74-77).

Appendices

Appendix A

Sample List/ Handout: Characteristics of a Young Adult Short Story

1. One teenage protagonist who has a problem, crisis, or story to tell.

2. One main setting: a house, a school, a field, the locker room, the prom, a car, etc.

3. A short list of characters usually including a protagonist and an antagonist.

4. A singular plot line which is not complex.

5. Presents a moral or message for its readers.

6. A difficult decision or situation.

7. Dialogue and details that help the reader get to know the characters.

8. Vocabulary and tone appropriate for a young adult audience.

Note: You may come up with more characteristics with your students.

Appendix B

Young Adult Short Story Writing Assignment

Now that you have learned all about the young adult short story genre by listening to examples of them, reading them, discussing their characteristics, and writing about them in your writers’ notebooks, it is time to write your own. Finally!

Let’s Begin!

• Choose any topic from your writers’ notebook that you would like to become further involved with.

• Using the conventions that we have discussed, begin the writing process.

• Remember to develop your characters fully.

• Remember to use appropriate language.

• Remember to incorporate all of the elements that we have discussed (refer to your handouts)

• Be aware of your tense.

• Be aware of your tone.

• Remember to use dialogue.

• Show, don’t tell.

• Ask me questions when you have them.

The Process:

You will write a first draft that will be peer reviewed by one of your classmates.

Due:

You will then write a second draft based on the peer review and your own revisions that will be handed in to me.

Due:

Next, you will write a third draft that you will give to me for editing.

Due:

Then you will write a final copy based on my editing suggestions that will become part of our class anthology of young adult short stories from which you will read your story out loud to the class on Author’s Day, and you will have the option to publish for the world.

Due:

Appendix C

Rubric for Young Adult Short Story Assignment

| |6 |5 |4 |3 |2 |1 |

|Meaning |The author |The author |The author |The author |The author |The author does |

| |portrays a clear |portrays a clear |provides a moral |attempts to |includes a moral |not include a |

| |statement or moral|statement or moral|of the story, but |portray a moral, |but it has no |statement or moral|

| |of his/her story. |of the story. |it is not |but it doesn’t |connection to the |of the story. |

| |One that leaves a | |supported by the |make complete |rest of the story.| |

| |lasting | |character’s |sense. | | |

| |impression. | |actions. | | | |

|Develop-ment |Character(s) in |Character(s) in |Character(s) in |Character(s) in | Character(s) are |Character(s) are |

| |the story are |the story are well|the story are |the story are |present in the |not present in the|

| |vivid and alive, |developed, and |somewhat |present, though |story but the |story or not |

| |and the author |there is a clear |developed, there |not fully |setting and plot |developed at all, |

| |paints a picture |setting and an |is a clear setting|developed. There |are unclear. |and there is no |

| |of the setting |interesting plot. |and plot. |is a setting and a| |clear setting or |

| |clearly. The plot | | |plot but they are | |plot. |

| |is well thought | | |fuzzy. | | |

| |out and | | | | | |

| |interesting. | | | | | |

|Organiza-tion |Story has a clear |Story has a |Story seems to |Story may have a |Story either has |Story has no |

| |beginning, middle,|competent |have a foggy |beginning, middle,|no beginning or no|beginning or |

| |and end, with a |beginning, middle,|beginning middle |and end, but it is|ending, conflict |ending, and lacks |

| |clear and exciting|and end with a |and end. There is |missing a conflict|and resolution are|any sort of |

| |conflict and |conflict and |a conflict, but |or resolution |absent or |conflict or |

| |resolution |resolution |the resolution is | |indiscernible |resolution |

| | | |unclear. | | | |

|Language Use |Uses an audience |Uses an audience |Shows some |Shows minimal |Story is hard to |Story is |

| |appropriate tone, |appropriate tone, |audience |audience |follow, very |impossible to |

| |high level |good vocabulary, |awareness, good |awareness, uses |minimal vocabulary|follow, |

| |vocabulary, and |and appropriate |vocabulary, but |little or no |and simple |inappropriate |

| |varied sentence |amount of dialogue|lacks good |dialogue and |sentences |vocabulary and |

| |structure, and an |and detail |dialogue and |detail | |sentence structure|

| |excellent amount | |detail | | | |

| |of dialogue and | | | | | |

| |detail | | | | | |

|Conven-tions |Has no spelling, |Has very few |Has no more than 5|Has spelling, |Has spelling, |Has spelling, |

| |grammar, or |spelling, grammar |or 6 spelling, |grammar, and |grammar, and |grammar, and |

| |punctuation errors|and punctuation |grammar, and |punctuation errors|punctuation errors|punctuation errors|

| | |errors |punctuation errors|which take away |which make it hard|which make it very|

| | | | |from it |to follow |hard to read |

Overall Grade________ Comments:

Appendix D

Peer Review Sheet

Name: Date:

Peer Reviewer:

Answer these questions honestly and completely after reading your partner’s short story once, during your second read-through.

What is your initial reaction to the story?

What is the name of the protagonist? Is there one?

What is the conflict of the story?

Who is the antagonist? Is he/she well developed?

Does the writer address all of the characteristics of a young adult short story in his/her story? If not, what is he/she missing?

Does the author use vivid detail? Which was your favorite? How could he/she improve?

Is the tone of the story appropriate? Why or why not?

How is dialogue incorporated in the story?

Does the story have a clear beginning, middle and end? Explain.

Does the first paragraph draw you in to the story? Is it exciting?

Do you have any other comments for the writer?

Appendix E

Revision Mini-Lesson:

Describing with Detail

Weak Writing Example:

My dog Emily is little, white and gray. She has floppy ears and a short tail.

Revised Writing Example:

My dog, Emily, is a cute little dog. Emily is part Schnauzer and part West Highland Terrier, so she is quite small. She only weighs about twenty pounds, and stands about as high as my knee. Her long, shaggy fur is white and gray, with big strings of hair covering her big brown eyes. Looking into her face, you see Emily’s floppy ears, moist black nose, and long black eyelashes. When she is happy, you will see Emily wagging her tiny stump of a tail.

Small Group Practice:

Now, in your small groups, revise your story to include more specific detail. Remember to help your reader form a picture in his/her mind.

Mr. Bibeault is a man with gray hair. He is about average height, and he has blue eyes.

Appendix F

Sample Mini Lessons on Tone and Spacing Dialogue

Tone: Mini Lesson

Getting Started

• Write the following definition of tone on the board "Tone is a particular way of expressing feelings or attitudes that will influence how the reader feels about the characters, events, and outcomes. Speakers show tone more easily than writers because they can use voice, tone, gesture, and facial expressions. A writer must use words alone."

• Show sample passages.

Procedures

• Assign students in to groups of 3-4.

• Give each group a card with one of the following tone words written on it: sadness, courage, tension, sympathy, love, happiness, pride, sarcastic, excitement, hate, fear, anxiety. Encourage thesaurus use.

• Invite each group to write a description of a dog walking in the park, conveying the attitude on the card. They may not use the word written on the card in their description.

• When writing is complete, instruct students to determine which tools were used to show tone in writing.

• Instruct each group to read the description.

• Instruct class members to guess the tone.

• Instruct successful writers to share their tools with the class.

• If using this lesson for revision, invite students to read through their rough draft and ask: Did you demonstrate tone in your writing? How do you know? What tone did you convey?

• Instruct students to highlight at least one passage to rewrite in order to enhance the effectiveness of their tone in writing.

• Share rewrites with the class.

Dialogue: Mini Lesson

Character Clash Instructions

As you wrote your story, did you remember that each speaker in your story inhabits his or her own paragraph? If you have forgotten this rule, you have a character clash!

Example:

Kelli said, "I want my band shirt back right now. You didn't have permission to borrow it." "No," said Paul, "but you didn't have permission to take my CD either, and I can see it on your desk."

The dialogue above should be written in the form of two paragraphs, as shown below:

Kelli said, "I want my band shirt back right now. You didn't have permission to borrow it."

"No," said Paul, "but you didn't have permission to take my CD either, and I can see it on your desk."

In this mini-lesson, you will check the dialogues in your story for character clashes.

1. Count the speaking characters in your story.

2. Choose a highlighter or marker of a different color for each speaker (or if you're working on a computer, use different color fonts for each speaker).

3. With the first highlighter or marker, highlight the speech of the first character throughout your narrative.

4. Continue through your writing again for every additional speaker, using a different color for each one.

5. Now that you have color-coded each character's remarks, can you guess what you have if you see two or more colors in the same paragraph? That's right—a character clash!

6. Revise any character clashes by starting a new paragraph whenever the speaker changes.

Appendix G

Mini Lesson: Editing

Goal

Students will be prepared to edit their story.

Teacher Preparation

Make copies of Editing Checklist

Instructional Tasks

Emphasize that students should first consider the content of the entire story

before making line edits.

Explain that editing has more to do with correcting mechanical errors such as capitalization, punctuation, and spelling than revising does.

Each editor fills out an Editing Checklist for his/her story.

Editing Checklist

Directions

After reading through your story, check off the criteria listed below that you do well. Write additional comments on the back of this page.

• You showed the character’s main problem clearly.

• You focused on a short amount of time.

• The events which the character faced in resolving his problem were clear.

• The sequence of events made sense.

• The character resolved his problem himself.

• Events and settings are shown, not just told.

• You showed how the character felt and thought.

• You used the same tense throughout the whole story.

• You told the story from the same perspective (i.e., first or third person).

• You used strong, active verbs.

• You used adjectives and adverbs appropriately.

• You used dialogue effectively.

• You don’t always use “said” in dialogue. (Examples: whined, shouted, etc.)

• At least one time you used a simile, metaphor, or other creative language which enhanced the story.

• There is a good balance between the beginning, middle, and end.

• The title fits and is intriguing.

• You used complete sentences with correct spelling, grammar, capitalization, and punctuation.

Appendix H

Reflection Assignment

Now that we have gone through the genre study process:

• You have read extensively in the young adult short story genre

• We have discussed the characteristics of the young adult short story genre

• We have gone through lessons on tone and dialogue

• You have written your own young adult short stories

• We have gone through lessons on peer review and editing

• You have revised yours and one of your peer’s papers

• You have edited your own paper

• You have completed all of the drafts and handed in your final copy

• You have shared your story with the class aloud and as a part of the class anthology

• You have published or attempted to publish your story

Now, it is time to reflect on this process.

Please write a short 1-2 page reflection of the process.

What did you enjoy?

What helped you the most? the least?

What are you still having trouble with?

Would you want me to do anything different if I were to do another genre study with you?

Add anything else that you feel necessary.

Hand this in on:

Thank you for participating in the young adult short story genre study. You have come a long way with both your reading and your writing!

Appendix I

Regents Prep Assignment

Read:

The Me Hidden Within

By Michael A. Saunders

This season is the time for happiness and cheer,

But look through my eyes and you will see a tear.

The words that I speak are never to be heard,

And all I want from you is your promising word.

No one ever listens to a word that I say,

All I need is for someone to point me into the traveling way.

Having no one to talk to makes the anger build within,

So I think hard and loud knowing I need to raise my chin.

I fight with myself all the time,

Wanting to do something but knowing it's a crime.

I just want all this anger within me to just come out,

I have this huge urge just to shout.

I just want to release the real me from being hidden within,

Sometimes I think all the things I do are a sin.

Please help release the me hidden within.

Notes:

Now Read: “The Ugly One” from Sharon G. Flake’s Who Am I Without Him?

Notes:

Using your notes and both pieces of writing; write an essay that compares and contrasts the two pieces.

Don’t forget to: Reference both pieces

Discuss literary elements

Use quotations to support your statements

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