Students compose rough versions of their own narratives. To prepare a final draft, they receive feedback on their own stories as well as evaluate and comment on the stories written by their peers. At the end of the lesson, students are going to:
- identify and fix ambiguous pronouns.
- examine the literary elements and story structure (exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, resolution) in the stories written by their classmates.
- recognize the methods employed in their classmates' stories to create the setting and characters.
- find instances in their classmates' stories where they should have shown rather than told.
- determine which point of view each of their classmates used in their stories.
- edit their own story's initial draft, keeping in mind both their own ideas and their classmates' comments.
- read other students' writings aloud and offer feedback.

- What effects do language conventions and grammar have on written and spoken communication?
- How do readers decide which information from what they hear, read, and see to believe?
- How can readers decide what is reliable?
- How do literary and informational texts become meaningful to strategic readers?
- How does the purpose of the reader affect how they should read a text?
- How does interaction with text elicit thought and response?
- How does what people read affect how they ought to read it?
- What is the objective?
- What is the true purpose of this text?
- What makes writing clear and effective?
- What will appeal to the audience the most?
- Who is the target audience?
- Why do authors write?

- Characterization: The method an author uses to reveal characters and their various personalities. 
- Climax: The turning point in a narrative; the moment when the conflict is at its most intense. Typically, the structure of stories, novels, and plays is one of rising action, in which tension builds to the climax. 
- Conflict/Problem: A struggle or clash between opposing characters, forces, or emotions. 
- Exposition: Writing that explains something, often in the beginning of a story. 
- Falling Action: All of the action in a story that follows the turning point or climax. The falling action leads to the resolution or conclusion of the story. 
- Imagery: Language that appeals to any sense or any combination of the senses. 
- Literary Devices: Tools used by the author to enliven and provide voice to the writing (e.g., dialogue, alliteration). 
- Literary Elements: The essential techniques used in literature (e.g., characterization, setting, plot, theme). 
- Plot: The structure of a story. The sequence in which the author arranges events in a story. The structure often includes the exposition, the rising action, the climax, the falling action, and the resolution. The plot may have a protagonist who is opposed by an antagonist, creating what is called conflict. 
- Resolution: The portion of a story following the climax, in which the conflict is resolved. The resolution of Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey is neatly summed up in the following sentence: “Henry and - Catherine were married, the bells rang and everybody smiled.” 
- Rising Action: The part of a story where the plot becomes increasingly complicated. Rising action leads up to the climax, or turning point. 
- Setting: The time and place in which a story unfolds. 
- Vague Pronoun: A pronoun that has an unclear antecedent.

- copies of a Sample Student Writing (LW-6-2-3_Sample Student Writing) for each student
- a copy of Sample Student Writing for overhead projection
- a way to show the how-not-to-peer-review video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBuq4qgRhCc 
- copies of student rough drafts, enough for each student in the group
- highlighters or markers of different colors, a set for each student (alternatively, individual groups could share one set)
- copies of Peer Review Checklist (LW-6-2-3_Peer Review Checklist)

- Move around the groups while they read and comment on the drafts to find out which students struggle with the revision process or who needs more practice drafting. 
- Students who are lacking in any one or more story elements can brainstorm effective ways to develop those elements with their partners or other group members. 
- One way to quickly assess whether student writers are meeting their objectives and whether students are adept at the peer response process is to use a color-coded system for highlighting elements and supporting documentation.

Explicit instruction, modeling, scaffolding, and active engagement 
W: Students will edit their initial drafts of stories for theme, characterization, plot, conflict, setting, and showing rather than telling. 
H: In addition to working on their own stories, students get the chance to assess the stories of their peers and offer and receive helpful criticism. 
E: After looking over the components of their own short story, students practice analyzing them individually, in groups, and with the class as a whole. 
R: By switching up how they examine and edit story elements and by honing their writing skills, students can improve their final drafts. 
E: Students can analyze and contrast their ideas and answers with those of their peers, as well as decide which changes to make to their own stories. 
T: Students work in groups before working individually, and they observe new activities modeled before beginning them. 
O: By the end of the lesson, students are ready to write their final drafts. They have had multiple chances to apply what they have learned—in class, in groups, and individually—to a particular story. 

Focus Question: How do you revise a short story draft to achieve a polished final draft?

Part 1

Based on their finished graphic organizer and the input from their peers from Lesson 2, students compose an initial draft of their story during class. (Or, the rough draft might be given as homework.) Inform the class that to prepare for writing the story's final draft, they will read and discuss the short story drafts written by their classmates later in the lesson and get feedback on their own work. Before starting Part 3 of this lesson, gather the students' drafts and make copies of them.

Part 2

"You'll be editing your drafts very soon. We'll go over how to edit it after I show you an example short story. Together, let's read it first." Distribute copies of LW-6-2-3_Sample Student Writing to every student. Read it to your students. (Note: This is a genuine student sample with strengths and weaknesses that can be critiqued; it is not intended to be a model piece of writing. It contains basic omissions, grammatical and usage mistakes, etc.) "Which aspect of this work—the theme, the description, the character, or the sentence—do you find most appealing?" Ask students to identify the writing's strengths and weaknesses. First, determine the 5 Ws. Next, assess the figurative language, descriptions or details, theme, plot, characters, and setting. Encourage students to participate as much as possible while guiding the process by modeling your thinking for them. On one side of the board, list the strengths. If, during this process, you discover a weakness, note it down on the other side so you can talk about it more later. (Explain that after significant revisions are complete, grammar and mechanics corrections should be made.) On the projected copy of the writing sample, emphasize the strong points.

"What does the writer need to work on for the final draft?" Underline these answers on the projected copy using a distinct color. Encourage students to provide constructive feedback. Expand on any notes you may have made while trying to pinpoint your strengths. "This writer would have the chance to make revisions and submit a polished rough draft if you were in your group."

Language Skills Mini-Lesson

"We're concentrating on the writer's areas of improvement, so let's take a moment to examine the pronouns used in this narrative. In the past, we have practiced recognizing and using pronouns in their appropriate cases—subjective, objective, and possessive—as well as intensive pronouns that finish in "-self" or "-selves." Let's now discuss ambiguous pronouns. Vague pronouns are those with unknown antecedents. The antecedent is the noun to which the pronoun refers or replaces. Because vague pronouns confuse readers, skilled writers take care to avoid using them in their writing. Let's examine an ambiguous pronoun example from the sample narrative we just read."

Read the second paragraph aloud to the class again. "At any point in the paragraph, do you not know to what the writer is referring when they use a pronoun?" ("Even though he gave me great tips and pointers, I still missed it all the time.") "Yes, it's unclear in this sentence what the word 'it' means. We can guess, but as readers, we shouldn't have to. The writer should be precise. What do you suppose the author is missing, if you had to guess? " (referring to the basketball hoop) "How can the sentence be improved to fix the vague antecedent, 'it?' "In what ways could the writer clarify?" (“Even though he gave me great tips and pointers, I still missed the basket all the time.")

As you reread the fifth paragraph, ask students to keep their heads down and listen carefully. "This paragraph contains two ambiguous pronouns. Raise your hand for each one you hear. Keep in mind that you are searching for a pronoun with an ambiguous antecedent. " Slowly read the fifth paragraph out loud. When you read the following italicized words to your students, watch for their hands to rise. ("When I got to Clarissa's house, she and her mom had made sandwiches for lunch. She said I could have one. After lunch, we started shooting hoops over and over. We practiced the tips and pointers he had given us.") During reading aloud, ask students to raise their hands and tell a partner when they do so. On the board, write the two sentences that contain ambiguous pronouns. Discuss why they are ambiguous and how to make the antecedent clear. (Who is she? Who is he?)

Lastly, assign students to read the sixth paragraph independently. In the paragraph, they ought to draw attention to the two ambiguous pronouns and substitute them with terms that clearly state the antecedent. (“Clarissa gave me a high-five. My other friend, Marie, cheered me on. I was nervous, and I missed all of my first few shots. She told me to keep trying. I didn’t give up. On my last shot, I just threw it in, and SWISH, I made it!" Who is she? What is it?) Students should discuss their answers as a class after sharing them with a partner.

'In the sample writing, we have found certain ambiguous pronouns. As you edit your writing, keep an eye out for any ambiguous pronouns, and when you provide feedback to your peers, keep an eye out for them as well."

Part 3

Assign students to groups of three or four. Ensure that there are enough copies of each student's draft for every group member. Show students this video to help them emulate the typical errors that peer reviewers make: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBuq4qgRhCc. Ask students to make a bulleted list of the top ten errors while they watch. (marked by Picky Patty, Whatever William, Joan the Generalizer, Mean Margaret, Loud Larry, Pushy Paula, Off-Task Oliver, Speedy Sandy, and Defensive Dave) Talk about these dangers and how to stay away from them.

Project a blank copy of the Narrative Writing Graphic Organizer
(LW-6-2-1_Narrative Writing Graphic Organizer- Blank) so that students have a visual reminder of what they should be looking for in each draft. Assign colored markers, or highlighters, to each student. Make a class chart with a different colored marker for each story element (e.g., red for character, blue for setting, green for plot, and so on). Distribute the peer review checklist (LW-6-2-3_Peer Review Checklist) concurrently. "First, go through the entire rough draft. Write down one or two quick reactions to the story. For instance, what gave you pleasure? What emotions do you experience?"

"Using the colors designated in the chart, go over the entire draft multiple times, emphasizing the evidence the author used to develop each story element from the graphic organizer. For instance, use the (____) marker to read the story while focusing solely on character development. Next, read it once more, but this time, emphasize setting details with the (_____) marker, and so forth. If you employ this strategy, you'll be far more concentrated and meticulous. Furthermore, the author will be able to see any crucial details that they might have missed in their story thanks to the color coding." Walk your students through each color for each draft to make sure they are using their time if you think they need assistance staying on task

"Go through the checklist for peer reviews. Fill in the blanks with an X for each element or quality that you noted was complete in the draft. Additionally, space is provided for notes and recommendations. In the comments section under "Setting," for instance, you could explain that you thought there should have been more setting details, even though you only highlighted a few. You could also offer the author some advice on how to go about adding more. 'I understand that this story takes place on the weekends, but I believe it would be helpful for the reader to know what season it is,' you might say. 'In your story, isn't it summer? Jeff is practicing ice skating even though it's not even hockey season, so sharing that with your readers will help them appreciate how committed and determined he is.' Your goal is to help each other improve, so help as much as you can."

Explain how the author uses dialogue, figurative language, or descriptive words and phrases to develop setting, character, conflict, and so on.

Give the groups enough time to go through each draft in their group and provide feedback. Next, allow students to critique each other's drafts in depth.

To make sure that students are ready to write the final drafts of their stories, gather each student's highlighted rough draft and finished graphic organizer. Gather the peer edits to confirm the remarks before students apply the criticism to their narratives.

Inform students that before submitting their final drafts of their stories, they must proofread for grammar and mechanics after making significant changes to their rough drafts.

Ask students to finish their final drafts. As time permits, they could be finished in class or given as homework.

Extension:

Help students create a plot line using a graphic organizer (like the one at https://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/lesson_images/lesson223/plot_mountain.pdf)  if they need more practice making plots. This will allow them to see if they have included all the plot elements.

Students who require additional assistance in character development can collaborate with a partner to write a dialogue that highlights different aspects of a character.

Students whose drafts require more descriptive language can work in pairs or small groups to practice showing rather than telling. Assign them a list of ambiguous phrases like "The man walked down the street" or "The noise had a strong effect on them," and ask them to explain the ideas using more vivid verbs or imagery.