Dissecting a story (look at all them dogs and ponies!)

Tomorrow is my final observation before reaching some form of tenure, and while I’m not too worried about the whole process, there’s always something on my shoulder pouring poison into my ear. Meanwhile, I’ve been looking for an opportunity to get away from the simple exercises I’ve been putting my students through, and decided to combine all of them into one handout on The Reading Process. (Feel free to download it by using the links below.)

Page One

Download Page One

Page one focuses on the simple stuff: Character Analysis, and includes space for the students to write about character traits, discuss major and minor conflicts, and to mark that character as a protagonist or antagonist. The page also leave space for the students to write short descriptions of each of the major plot points, and also has a vocabulary portion — this one’s specifically directed toward the story we’re currently reading: The Monkey’s Paw, by W.W. Jacobs.

Ooh! There’s also an audio version read by John Lithgow! Sweet!

If anything, this page is meant to be somewhat playful; each part of the paper is printed in a different direction. In order to complete the work on this side, the students will have to turn it around and around. Sometimes a simple change in what’s expected can elicit enthusiasm from the students. Maybe, if I’m lucky, this difference will allow them to remember better this work they’ll do.

Page Two

Download Page Two

Page two deals with more with the author, and includes something from the other side, just for fun. Included on this page are questions about Tone, Mood, about how Setting and the Title affect a story.

There’s a section to draw the plot of this particular story, and I included it to point out that not every story must have falling action and resolution. Sometimes it just doesn’t happen.

Also on this page is a fairly guided essay meant to help kids talk about the work an author does to create a story. I included lines on the page to show just about how much writing I’m looking for, and it, too, is angled just a little to help students set it apart from the rest of the page.

I think this will keep the students busy tomorrow during the class period, and it will allow me to easily move about the room during the observation. It’s not that I wouldn’t help the students out on this paper, but with the amount of work they’re given, it’ll be simpler for me to move from table to table to address specific questions.

Shoulda been doing this stuff all along.