July11,2016

DearAlecia,

ThankyousomuchAleciaforyourthoughtfulanddetailedlessononcharacterization.You
reallyhaveusthinkingaboutpeopleandlisteningtotheirstories.Welikedthewayyou
incorporatedvideosthattouchedourheartsandhelpedustoseethatweneverknowthe
impactwehaveonothers.Weappreciatedtheopportunitytoembracestoryofothersthatwe
donotknow.Andyouinspiredustoembraceourownstoriesandthinkabouthowourstories
sometimesevenblendintothefictionalrealm.

AFFECT/MOTIVATION

Wefeltcomfortablewithmovingbetweennonfictionandfiction.Youprovidedopportunityforus
toexploreourownstoriesandstoriesofothers.Weengagedintheworkofperspectives.We
alsoappreciatedtheopportunityforchoiceandlimitedchoicetoo.

Wealsoenjoyedyouruseofavarietyofmentortexts,andallofus,despiteexpandingacross
manygradelevels,seehowwecouldusethesetextsinourownclassrooms.Youengagedus
fromtheverybeginningwithyourownphotograph,aswellasoneofyourfavoritetexts,and
becausewecouldseehowpassionateyouwere,wefeltinspiredaswell.

Yourlessonsparkedourthinkingtomaketexttotextconnectionswithothertextsthatcould
workwellfortheteachingofvoice,empathy,andperspective.

PROMISINGPRACTICES
StudentsweregivenchoicewhenlookingthroughtheHumansofNewYorkwebsites,
yetnotoverwhelmingamountsofchoice.Thescopewasnarrowedforthisparticular
activity.
Useofmentortextswasscaffoldedwell,supportedwithquestionsanddiscussion,and
utilizedtosparkideasofinspiration.
Avarietyofgenreswerecelebratedasmentortextsfromfilm,toaudio,toimage,to
fictionandnonfictionprintbasedtexts.
Mentortextsandvideoswereusedtomodelcharacterizationforstudents.
StudentswereabletoincorporatelessonslearnedfromAnneLamottaboutdiscovering
characterwhileparticipatinginacollaborativewritingexercise.
Studentswereabletousenonfiction(the
HumansofNewYork
stories)inordertospark
ideasforfictionalstories.Thishelpedustothinkaboutwhootherpeopletrulyare,and
howtheirstoriesmightbeofvaluetousinthegreaterworld.
Youruseofvideokeptusengagedaswefollowedstoriesofothers.
Youallowedustoworkindependentlybeforeworkingcollaboratively,whichwasan
unexpectedpathbutsoenjoyabletoseewherethestoriesmerged.


CCSS/POLICY/PR

WritingNext:
InquiryActivities
CollaborativeWriting
Prewriting

HabitsofMind:
Curiosity
Openness
Engagement
Creativity
Persistence
Flexibility

CCSS.ELALITERACY.W.8.3
Writenarrativestodeveloprealorimaginedexperiencesoreventsusingeffectivetechnique,
relevantdescriptivedetails,andwellstructuredeventsequences.

CCSS.ELALITERACY.W.8.3.A
Engageandorientthereaderbyestablishingacontextandpointofviewandintroducinga
narratorand/orcharactersorganizeaneventsequencethatunfoldsnaturallyandlogically.

CCSS.ELALITERACY.W.8.3.B
Usenarrativetechniques,suchasdialogue,pacing,description,andreflection,todevelop
experiences,events,and/orcharacters.

CCSS.ELALITERACY.SL.8.1
Engageeffectivelyinarangeofcollaborativediscussions(oneonone,ingroups,and
teacherled)withdiversepartnersongrade8topics,texts,andissues,buildingonothers'ideas
andexpressingtheirownclearly.

CCSS.ELALITERACY.SL.8.1.C
Posequestionsthatconnecttheideasofseveralspeakersandrespondtoothers'questionsand
commentswithrelevantevidence,observations,andideas.

CCSS.ELALITERACY.SL.8.1.D
Acknowledgenewinformationexpressedbyothers,and,whenwarranted,qualifyorjustifytheir
ownviewsinlightoftheevidencepresented.

EXTENSIONS/ADAPTATIONS
Studentscouldcreatetheirownstoriesfromthepeopletheywroteaboutatthe
beginningofthedemonstration,usingthecharacterizationtechniquespracticedinclass.

StudentscancreatetheirownStoryCorps,interviewingsomeoneintheirfamilyand
recordingtheinterview.
Studentscouldgoto
https://storycorps.org/
andtrytogetStoryCorpsMobileTourto
theircommunity.
Asaclass,generateaHumansof[SchoolName]list,withstudentsinterviewingone
another,orevenbranchingoutintotherestoftheschool(includingteachers,students
outsidetheclassroom,hallmonitors,etc.)andthecommunity(storeworkers,police
officers,postalworkers,etc.).Thisdocumentcouldthenbepostedsomewhereinthe
schoolorcouldbecreatedinadigitalspace.
Ideasfromthislesson,includingtheStoryCorpsvideofromtheTedTalk,couldbe
combinedwithCaitlinStansellGreigsideasandmentortextsaboutteachingempathyto
createsomekindofinquirybasedunitaboutwhatitmeanstobeempathetic,whatit
meanstobeagoodfriend,whatitmeanstounderstandanotherpersonsperspective.
Forexample,
TheCuriousIncidentoftheDogintheNighttime
couldpairnicelywiththe
TedTalk.
Excerptsfrom
ZlatasDiary
and
TheFreedomWriters
couldalsobeinterestingmentor
textstouseinshowingstudentshowweallhaveastoryandweallhaveavoice.

QUESTIONSARISEN

Thislessonallowedustoexplorestory.Whathappensifastudentdoesnotdowhatyou
intendthemtodointhelesson?Whatiftheywanttosticktoacertainmodalityforstory
suchasaudioorimage?Whatiftheyworkwithnonfictioninsteadoffiction?Howdoyou
offerchoice,whilealsomeetingyourcurriculargoals?
DoyouhaveothervideosliketheSondersvideothatcouldbeshowntoyounger
students?
IwonderhowyouincorporateSonderwithyourstudents?Whatlessonsdoyoudoto
talkaboutSonderandhelpstudentsincorporateSonderintheirwriting.
Iwonderhowyouteachcharacterizationwithyourstudents?Howdoyouteachdirect
vs.indirectcharacterization?
Howdoweallowstudentstheopportunitytodowhatthey
need
todofor
them,
vs.what
thestudentsneedtodoinordertoaccomplishlearninggoals,targets,andstandards.
Studentscanbesoafraidtotakeanassignmentinacreativedirection.Howdo
weletstudentsknowwhatourexpectationsareforthemandwhenitisokayto
interpretassignmentsinauniqueway?

Weappreciateyourthoughtfulreflectionsthatledtothepurposefullyscaffoldedlesson.

Love,

Caitlin,Caitlin,Elana,Dawn