Creating+a+Unit+Around+a+Single+Short+Story

__**Creating a Unit Around a Single Short Story**__ (from Tchudi & Mitchell's "Creating Instructional Units")


 * Group 1: "When Mr. Pirzada Came to Dine"**

__Selecting a Focus and Setting Objectives__ - Rituals - culture, memory, family, day-to-day activities

__Selecting Materials__ - "Too Many Tamales"

__Structuring the Unit and Orchestrating Activities__ Introduction - Birthday activity- name what happens on your birthday, is there a standard ritual?

During Reading -identify rituals for the family

Post-reading -in groups the group picks one ritual and perform it for class a la charades, others guess

__Evaluating and Assessing__ -script -letter to foreign pen pal explaining ritual in daily in life -create a new ritual for celebrating a test


 * Group 2: "Gryphon"**

__Selecting a Focus and Setting Objectives__ Focuses: - substitute teachers and the students' learning experience - truth & lies, myths, the role of trust Objectives - define myth - evaluate if Ms. Mefrenczi is a good or bad techer - relate story to students' own experiences with substitute teachers

__Selecting Materials__ - some Greek myths - gryphon myth - news story about REAL substitute (getting into trouble)

__Structuring the Unit__ (Order) - freewrite/journal entry about stubstitute experiences - small group comparison to establish commonalities and differences - shift from substitues to evaluating myths and separating fact & fiction

__Orchestrating Activities__ (Choice: groups, indiv., etc.) - poem about unexpected changes - small group think/pair/share - reinforce AND clarify ideas in short story

__Evaluating and Assessing__ - journal check - write short myth and compile into classroom "book of myths" - have lying contest as ice-breaker/fun - have folktale-creating contest (per hand-out)