Engl 3398
Spooky Story Narrative Assignment
For my internship I have been working as a student teacher at QoA Catholic School in the middle school pod. Mrs. Manting, the ELA teacher for the 6th, 7th, and 8th grades, asked me if I wanted to help plan and execute a more "fun" activity for the 8th graders to have for their narrative writing unit. I said, "Count me in!". I knew that I wanted to make it enjoyable for them, while still meeting learning standards. To meet my expectations, I thought about what I would've liked when I was their age. I decided that instead of a test, we will hold a narrative writing contest. And since Halloween is coming up, the mode will be in the format of spooky stories that will be read aloud around a "bonfire" after submission, as their final day of the module.
Of course, I started with the school standards, which Mrs. Manting graciously provided me with. She gave me a worksheet that the pupils had been working on completing this unit that outlined the "focus correction areas". I used this as mymap for the requirements of the assignment, creating the"three pillars of but to give the students some agency, I let there be a third (required) standard to storytelling". I made it so the first two requirements were enforced class-wide, meet, but it was their choice of which to incorporate (as outlined in presentation). I also was careful to include writing samples with devices they would understand how to use themselves independently.
After talking to Mrs. Manting on timeline, she told me some dates she wanted them to have milestones completed by. She also let me know that they would need a guided way to brainstorm this project, with reminders and due dates along the way to ensure they do not fall behind. Keeping this in mind, I created 9 steps for the assignment. The first 4 steps go along with the spooky story brainstorming packet that I made, which outlines for them how to brainstorm characters, plot, and writing devices in small chunks. Steps 5-9 are to be completed independently in their notebook, drafting and self grading before the final submission. I give them the entire step-by-step process, so they can avoid confusion, and so that I can avoid a reverating "What do I do now?".
Here are some more writing examples I provided them with. I created an "inspiration menu" for the ones who have more trouble with creative autonomy, however, they are welcome to write about whatever they would like to. Following are some writing examples I provided and went over in class to give a demonstation of how some of the tools they are required to use would work together in a paragraph.
Mrs. Manting made sure I was hyper-aware of the amount of structure that this particular class needed. Noted! Here I provided them with a full start-to-finish timeline, and detailed descriptions of each step's dates and expectations. In an attempt to give some incentive, I made it a contest. Additionally, I have become aware in these past few weeks about just how much these students care about what their peers think of them -- and 8th graders can be judgmental! To mitigate the risk of this impacting the quality of their writing, these will be presented anonyously, and the winner may self-reveal if they so choose, but will receive a prize nonetheless.
Here is the ever so coveted rubric, to help them self-grade, and I to finalize. Just to make it a little bit more fun, and to give a little bit of leeway for the less confident writers, I incorporated Mrs. Bickerstaff (the literature teacher) to help us give them some extra credit. She provided us with that grade's vocabulary list, so they may receive 1 point per word successfully used in their scary story, with a max of 5 points (I mean it is a test grade).
Reflection
Curating this assignment was a lot of fun for me. I learned a lot about how much time goes into lesson planning, and how material or requirements you may have to adjust to accomodate for all of the students' needs. I found myself in an odd need of approval from them. Maybe not approval, but I really wanted them to enjoy the process. It can be very hard to keep them engaged at this age, where they care so little about scholastic happenings. So far, they are doing really well! Some students need more push than others, but they are all succeeding. In addition to allocated class time to work on this, every couple days I show a video clip, read a short story, or do an improv activity to get their creative juices flowing, and to have them ponder deeper on: "What makes something scary?". The bonfire night is next week, and I am very excited. I spent a few hours crafting a fake glowing firepit, and my hope is that we can sit around it with the lights turned off, and they can fully reap the benefits of all their hard work. This artifact has contributed to not only my organizational abilities, but it was a creative challenege for me too. I also got over my slight fear of presenting to the class, which will come in handy. I have also grown a more keen ability to tranlate and transpose materials and expectations to meet different students' abilities and needs.