Learning Activity

Spooky Tales of 5th Grade-Part 3: Theme, Personification, and Fictional Narrative

Subject Area

English Language Arts

Grade(s)

5

Overview

Students will write a fictional narrative that includes the literary elements of characters, setting, and plot. Students will write a fictional narrative that includes a specific theme and two examples of personification. Students will be assigned a partner. Students will identify the theme and personification used in their partner's story.

This activity results from the ALEX Resource Development Summit.

English Language Arts (2021) Grade(s): 5

ELA21.5.12

Interpret the meaning of words, phrases, and patterns as they are used in texts, including domain-specific and academic vocabulary and figurative language.

Unpacked Content

UP:ELA21.5.12

Vocabulary

  • Domain-specific vocabulary
  • Academic vocabulary
  • Figurative language

Knowledge

Student know:
  • Academic vocabulary is language that is more formal than spoken language.
  • Domain-specific vocabulary refers to words that are used specifically in school subject areas, like math, science, and social studies.
  • Figurative language is a creative way to use words and phrases beyond their literal definition to explain or describe something.
  • Strategies to determine the meaning of words, phrases, and patterns in text.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • Interpret the meaning of domain-specific vocabulary, academic vocabulary, and figurative language as they are used in texts.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • There are multiple strategies they can use to interpret the meaning of academic and domain-specific vocabulary, including using context clues in the text, their background knowledge, the morphological structure of the word, and outside resources.
  • Words and phrases, including figurative language, can have different meanings in different texts.
English Language Arts (2021) Grade(s): 5

ELA21.5.17

Demonstrate comprehension of text by asking and responding to questions about literary elements used in the text.

Unpacked Content

UP:ELA21.5.17

Vocabulary

  • Demonstrate
  • Comprehension
  • Literary elements

Knowledge

Students know:
  • Literary elements within a story include the theme, plot, and point of view.
  • Comprehension can be demonstrated by asking and answering questions about a text.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • Ask questions about literary elements used in the text to demonstrate comprehension.
  • Respond to questions about literary elements used in the text to demonstrate comprehension.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • They can show they understood a story they read by asking and answering questions about specific literary elements.
English Language Arts (2021) Grade(s): 5

ELA21.5.34

Write personal or fictional narratives incorporating literary elements (characters, plot, setting, conflict), dialogue, strong voice, and clear event sequences.

Unpacked Content

UP:ELA21.5.34

Vocabulary

  • Personal narratives
  • Fictional narratives
  • Literary elements
  • Characters
  • Plot
  • Setting
  • Conflict
  • Dialogue
  • Voice
  • Event sequences

Knowledge

Students know:
  • A narrative is a piece of writing that tells a story.
  • A personal narrative tells about an event that was personally experienced by the author, while a fictional narrative tells a made-up story.
  • A narrative story describes a sequence of plot events in a logical order (beginning, middle, end).
  • Narrative writing includes text elements, like characters, setting, and conflict.
  • Dialogue is a conversation between two or more characters in a text.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • Write a personal narrative that recalls a personal experience or a fictional narrative with a made-up story.
  • Write a narrative with a logical sequence of plot events.
  • Incorporate literary elements into their narrative writing, like characters, setting, and conflict.
  • Include dialogue in narrative writing.
  • Use a strong voice in writing by developing a personal writing style.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • Narrative writing includes predictable elements, like a logical sequence of events and characters, setting, and conflict.
  • Incorporating dialogue between the characters can add details to their narrative writing.
  • Narrative writing can be used to tell about something that happened to them personally or it can tell a story they made up.

Phase

After/Explain/Elaborate
Learning Objectives

Learning Objectives

Students will write a fictional narrative that incorporates the literary elements of characters, plot, and setting.

Students will write a fictional narrative that has a specific theme and examples of personification.

Students will read a fictional narrative and locate examples of personification and interpret their meanings.

Students will demonstrate comprehension of a fictional narrative by identifying the theme and providing text evidence from the story.

Activity Details

1. Students will be given a Student Checklist. This checklist will help guide the students' writing and ensure they incorporate the necessary requirements. The teacher will discuss the checklist and answer student questions. 

2. The students will open the 5th Grade Spooky Tales Google Slides. They will use the graphic organizer they completed on slide 5 to help them write their fictional narrative. Students will also use slides 2 and 3 for examples of personification. The students will select one of the slides to type their story. They will choose from slides 7-11. 

3. The teacher will assign partners and pass out the Partner Activity sheet and explain the procedures for the activity. The goal of this activity is for students to read their partner's story and identify the theme and provide text evidence from the story to support their answers. Students will also locate the personification examples used in the story and interpret the meaning.

4. When students are finished, they will submit their Google Slides and turn in the Partner Activity sheet.

Assessment Strategies

Assessment Strategies

The teacher will use the Writing Rubric to assess students' fictional narratives.

The teacher will use the completed Partner Activity sheet to assess student understanding of theme and personification. The teacher will check to see if:

  • the student identified a theme and provided accurate text evidence.
  • the student accurately identified examples of personification and interpreted their meanings.

Background and Preparation

Background / Preparation

Students will have previously submitted the Google Slides in Spooky Tales of 5th Grade-Part 2: Theme and Personification. The teacher will need to unsubmit the slides and return them so the students can have access to the Google Slides for this lesson.

The teacher will make copies of the Student Checklist for each student.

The teacher will make copies of the Partner Activity sheet.

The teacher will make copies of the Writing Rubric.

Digital Tools / Resources

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1GZ4mXodLcGRBqyFjASLitkrTKmkky0UmyHFsB5V…

Approved Date

Owner (Author)

tmasuoka
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