1

Dr. Hartman,
It seemed more logical to place my thoughts about the Assign/Assess phrase of the
assignment here at the beginning. Im honestly disappointed about the Writing
Assignment that Emily submitted. I should have followed up on communication
more with her during her writing process. I merely told her to contact me if she had
any questions at all. I checked in once to make sure that everything was going all
right but there was no way to peer over her shoulder at the work on her desk to
guide her in the right direction. I should have made sure that I received formative
work during the writing process and I didnt do that.
Im also now wondering if I should have given a page minimum for the assignment. I
thought students would proceed with their stories enough to complete a plotline,
which is largely absent from Emilys submission. However, now that I look at the
student sample I have I think that I should have included a page minimum in my
assignment. Im still reluctant to make that change because I dont know exactly
how long to say that a short story should be; I was hoping to extend freedom to my
students by not giving them a page minimum.
I feel like I did not do well as a teacher on this assignment. I wish I had given Emily
more teaching material to work through for such a huge assignment.
Your feedback on this phase of my assignment will be much appreciated. How can I
avoid these mistakes in the future? Please help!
Thank you,
Sarah Anne

Writing Assignment Design

Sarah Anne David
Teaching of Writing: Dr. Hartman
1 April, 2015
Introduction/Overview of Assignment:
One of the most difficult aspects of writing for 9 th graders is meshing the formulaic
persuasive/expository writing style they have observed in academic work with the
free form/narrative style that creative writing necessitates. Many students may
have difficulty grasping the creative process because they need concrete rules and
formulas to plug in to each step of creative work. This assignment will encourage
them to work together as a class to create a town in a specific setting of their
choosing. Then they will write individual stories, working in groups to offer peer
review as the stories become finalized. When the stories have been finalized we will
create a town map of all the places mentioned in their stories. This assignment is
important because it encourages the students to think through writing concepts as
they design, create, present, and debrief their own creative writing.
Purpose:
The art of storytelling, specifically short stories, is a way of building something
creatively that it would take much longer to build in the real world. In narratives,
characters embody the environment they are given and perform the way that their
writers decide they will perform. To hold the fate of a human being, even a
fictionalized human, in your grasp is a tremendous thing. This writing assignment
will give students the ability to slip into the world of creativity, a world of your own
making. In this world students and their characters have enormous potential to
affect change. Through this assignment students can come to see the world that
they build with their actions in everyday life.
Context:
The writing assignment I have created is structured to meet specific 9 th grade
Common Core Curriculum standards. This design is the beginning of a semester
long project for these 9th graders. So the various parts of the assignment will be
administered at different times throughout the semester. I will introduce the writing
assignment to students after we have learned about William Faulkners fictional
creation of Yoknapatawpha county. This assignment will conclude at the end of the
semester when the students will present their stories to one another in a series of
readings and create a map of the town they designed together.
Goals/Objectives/Standards:
The standards that this assignment meets are as follows:

3
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.3
Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective
technique, well-chosen details, and well-structured event sequences.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.3.a
Engage and orient the reader by setting out a problem, situation, or
observation,
establishing one or multiple point(s) of view, and introducing a
narrator and/or
characters; create a smooth progression of experiences or
events.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.3.b
Use narrative techniques, such as dialogue, pacing, description, reflection,
and multiple
plot lines, to develop experiences, events, and/or characters.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.3.c
Use a variety of techniques to sequence events so that they build on one
another to create a coherent whole.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.3.d
Use precise words and phrases, telling details, and sensory language to
convey a vivid picture
of the experiences, events, setting, and/or characters.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.3.e
Provide a conclusion that follows from and reflects on what is experienced,
observed, or
resolved over the course of the narrative.
Production and Distribution of Writing:
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.4
Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and
style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. (Grade-specific expectations
for writing types are defined in standards 1-3 above.)
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.5
Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting,
or trying a new approach, focusing on addressing what is most significant for a
specific purpose and audience. (Editing for conventions should demonstrate
command of Language standards 1-3 up to and including grades 9-10 here.)
Works Cited:

4
Common Core Standards Initiative. Common Core State Standards Initiative:
Preparing Americas Students for College and Career. Common Core
Standards Initiative, 2015. Web. 21 February 2015.
<www.corestandards.org>

(Student Handout)
We Built This City: Creating a Town through Short Stories
9th grade Literature: Spring 2015
Introduction: (What are we doing?)
We are beginning a semester long project in which we will create
a town together as a class (like William Faulkners Yoknapatawpha
county). We will decide on a setting, time period, demographic
and name for the town we create. After weve created our fictional
town, you will each write a short story about a character (or
multiple characters if you wish) who live in this fictional town. You
will go through each step of the writing process with your short
story in peer review groups and we will work throughout the
semester on completing your stories. When your stories are
finished we will share them as a class and then create a city map
of all our characters and where they live in our fictional city.
Purpose: (Why are we doing this?)
Storytelling is a very special form of art that allows us to create a
world in which we want our characters to live and then create
events, settings, and lifestyles for our characters to inhabit. I want
you all to see that you can create worlds with your words. I want
you all to see how precious your creativity is to the real world
that we live and breathe in every day.
Requirements: (What has to be in it?)
We will create the fictional town together and then everyone will
receive a handout of the specifics we outline for personal
reference during your creative process.

Your story should include:

-a narrative of a character who lives in the fictional town we
create
-a setting
-sensory descriptions (sight, sound, taste, touch, hearing)
-dialogue
-a PLOTLINE (this story has to move)
We will also create the town map together and everyone will
contribute to this process at the end of the project.
You are individually responsible for the development and
execution of your own creative process throughout the duration of
the project.
Notes: (Anything else I need to know?)
This is supposed to be fun. Enjoy working with your classmates to
create this fictional town. The more each of you enjoys the project
and really interacts with the assignment, the more all of us will
enjoy the project. Ill be writing a story along with you guys to
populate our town so well all get to experience it together.
Due Dates: (When do we need to turn this in?)
We will have our fictional city created by February 27 th
First drafts of stories will be due on March 20 th
Final drafts of stories will be due on April 3 rd
Final short stories will be due on
Rubric: (How am I graded?)
State Standard:

Excee Meets
ds (4 (3

Somewh Does
at
not

Project Requirement:

Engage and orient the reader by setting

out a problem, situation, or observation,
establishing one or multiple point(s) of
view, and introducing a narrator and/or
characters; create a smooth progression
of experiences or events.

Write a story with a characters and a

dynamic plotline (ie. a storyline that
goes somewhere), including one point
of view and a series of events that
move the plot along.
Use narrative techniques, such as
dialogue, pacing, description, reflection,
and multiple plot lines, to develop
experiences, events, and/or characters.

Your story includes dialogue,

description, and plotlines that develop
the characters and events in it.
Use a variety of techniques to sequence
events so that they build on one another
to create a coherent whole.

Develop a story with various events

that happen in various
circumstances/settings which lead up
to the climax and resolution of your
narrative.
Use precise words and phrases, telling
details, and sensory language to convey a
vivid picture of the experiences, events,
setting, and/or characters.

Describe details in your story using

various senses (ie. sight, sound, taste,
touch, hearing) to portray an accurate
picture of the experiences, setting(s)

point
s)

points)

meets
(2
points)

meet
(0
points)

and characters you describe.

Provide a conclusion that follows from and
reflects on what is experienced, observed,
or resolved over the course of the
narrative.

Participate in a presentation of your

story. You may either present a
summary of your story and then reflect
on what happened in the narrative or
read your story aloud to the class and
then reflect on what happened in the
narrative.
Produce clear and coherent writing in
which the development, organization, and
style are appropriate to task, purpose, and
audience.

Final draft should be written in an

organized, sequential manner, with
correct grammar and tone for the town
setting that our class created.
Develop and strengthen writing as needed
by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or
trying a new approach, focusing on
addressing what is most significant for a
specific purpose and audience.

Work in your peer review groups to

plan, revise, edit, rewrite, and polish
your stories throughout the semester.

Emily Lewis
Ms. David
Writing Assignment
March 30, 2015

Hey there. My name is Amelya and Im from Utopiod . Youve never

heard of it? Im not surprised. Its probably because Im from the future.
Thats right; two hundred years in the future to be exact. Youre also probably
wondering what Im doing writing to you since you dont even know I exist
yet, but Ill get to that later. Whats important now is that you pay close
attention and understand my story. Well, its not just my story, its kind of
your story too, but Im getting way too far ahead of myself.
Like I said, Im Amelya and Im 16. Utopiod is a pretty awesome place,
but its kind of messed up too. Like freaky messed up. You see, the
government has taken over our personal lives to the point where they can
see inside our house. Like hidden cameras, but theyre not even hidden. They
dont have to be because the government knows that everyone is too afraid
to fight back. You would be too after what happened to the last group of
people that tried to defy the government.
Why would we want to fight back you ask? Well, beside our complete
and total lack of privacy, theres also this thing called Selection. Selection
happens when you turn 17. The government assigns you a job, you go train
for a year leave your family and everything- and then they decide if you are
fit to perform that job. If they decide you arent.well. Lets just say we
dont really know what happens. But we do know that those who havent
performed well are never seen again. So, even if we dont like our
assignments, we really have no choice of whether or not we will stay. We
have to.