English Language Arts Grade 9-10
Educational Links

Writing Standard 3

Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, well-chosen details, and well-structured event sequences.

• Choose Your Own Adventure: Hypertext Writing Exp.
  This lesson, from ReadWriteThink, combines reading and writing in a collaborative, small-group learning experience. It utilizes technology, specifically Web page design, group and individual work, and student self-assessment. After reading several examples, students will plan their own adventure story. They will be divided into smaller groups for each split in the story until finally the students are writing their own endings. Using Web-authoring software, groups will create their own Web sites with the parts of the story hyperlinked to each other.
• Mark Twain and American Humor
  In this three-part lesson, students examine structure and characterization in the short story and consider the significance of humor through a study of Mark Twain's "The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County." Students will analyze the use of literary conventions and devices to develop character and point of view in the short story; investigate the purposes and significance of literary humor; and examine Mark Twain's storytelling style in relation to that of other American humorists.
• Ninth Grade Range of Writing Narrative Writing Samples
  These pieces provide examples of narrative writing for a range of discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences, over both extended and shorter time frames.
• Put That on the List: Collaboratively Writing a Catalog Poem
  In these contemporary times, our lives are often driven by lists - to-do lists, shopping lists, wish lists. Working in small groups, students brainstorm a list of human emotions such as anger, guilt, and happiness. Then, as a class, they select six to eight emotions from the list. Students then add more specific ideas, words, and phrases that describe and provide examples of each emotion. Next, students read and discuss Raymond Carver's poem "Fear" as a model for writing their own powerful poetry. Finally, working with one of the emotions listed by the class, each group composes their own list poem. These poems, stripped down in the most minimalist fashion, allow students to concentrate on important aspects of poetry, including word choice, phrasing and rhythm as well as the all-important "heart" of the poem.
• Tenth Grade On-Demand Narrative Writing Samples
  Sample narrative pieces written by eighth graders in response to a uniform text-based prompt.

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http://www.uen.org - in partnership with Utah State Board of Education (USBE) and Utah System of Higher Education (USHE).  Send questions or comments to USBE Specialist - Naomi  Watkins and see the Language Arts - Secondary website. For general questions about Utah's Core Standards contact the Director - Jennifer  Throndsen.

These materials have been produced by and for the teachers of the State of Utah. Copies of these materials may be freely reproduced for teacher and classroom use. When distributing these materials, credit should be given to Utah State Board of Education. These materials may not be published, in whole or part, or in any other format, without the written permission of the Utah State Board of Education, 250 East 500 South, PO Box 144200, Salt Lake City, Utah 84114-4200.