A literature unit on short stories and poems by Rudyard Kipling

¶ … Classroom

Grade level: 6th and 7th Subject: Literature

For this assignment a Literature Unit on Short stories for a 6th-7th grade combined classroom has been chosen. The purpose of 6th and 7th grade literature is to introduce and study various genres of literature, literary devices, and analytical techniques challenging students to develop advance literary skills including the ability to think critically about what they read and to develop advanced composition skills. Through this unit, students will examine fundamentals of literature through short stories, drama, and poetry from their classroom text and outside sources.

The challenge in teaching literature to a 6th/7th combined class is the range of cognitive ability and relative experience with critical thinking found among the students. This challenge can be addressed by careful observation and evaluation of the student's abilities. One approach would be to begin the year by offering all students the same text, since their reading ability will present a more narrow ability range and the same written assignment However, over time, assessment of the students' abilities should be carefully established to discover which students show the ability to tackle assignments that are more challenging. For these students additional reading could be assigned, greater length and depth of written assignments could be expected, and they could be appointed to leadership roles in the classroom. A formal grouping could be made, such as "Group A" and "Group B," or something more creative and non-competitive such as "The Stars" and "The Suns." Designation to these groups may or may not follow traditional class/age divisions. Furthermore, different groupings may occur for various subjects. For example, a sixth grade one student may be in the "A" for Language Arts, and the "B: group for math. In this way, the students are evaluated by ability and not by strict age guidelines.

An additional challenge is found in difference of social needs between sixth and seventh graders. 6th graders tend to be more docile to teacher lead instructions, while 7th graders tend to be more influenced by their peers. In this regard, a combined class can be very beneficial to students at this transitional stage of development. Combined discussion and literature-related activities can help students find a balance between adult and peer interaction.

The illustrated Language Arts unit outlined below covers eight 45 minute classes, intended to be taught over a two-week period, and is integrated for 6th/7th grade classroom. The chosen topic of this unit is "Short Stories and Poems by Rudyard Kipling." The unit offers material for literacy in literature, reading, comprehension, and creative writing.

Color Key .

Lesson Focus

Homework

Resources/Handouts

Lessons in Literature: Short Stories and Poems by Rudyard Kipling

First Class: Literature Reading and Discussion

What is Literature?

The word "literature" is from a Latin word that means "to be acquainted with letters"

It is the art of written works

Understanding Purpose and Audience

Understanding Themes

Introduce: Literary Terms Handout

Online Source:

http://multimediaportfolio.wikispaces.com/file/view/literaryterms_08.doc

Go over three terms on the handout: Setting, Plot, Climax, Character, and Conflict

If not enough time to complete, assign as homework

Literary Terms SOURCE: multimediaportfolio.wikispaces.com/file/view/literaryterms_08.doc

Setting: A description or explanation of the time and place of the work.

-- the "place" of a literary work may be rural, or urban. It may be the living room of a mansion, or an alley behind a convenience store.

-- the "time" of a literary work is the period when the events took place.

Character: An explanation of each character in the story through their traits.

A character is revealed through the author's description of Appearance: How a person is dressed, how they stand, or expressions on their face tell the reader important things about the character. What might a hole in the character's sweater tell us?

Actions: This is the most important trait of a character. Often a person is best described by what they do. Through a character's actions, a reader learns whether the character is kind, arrogant, compassionate, etc.

Thoughts: The character's thoughts help a reader to understand the motivation for their actions. They can reveal an attitude contrary to their actions, which reveal an inner conflict.

Speech: This trait refers to the words that character chooses and the way that they speak. For example, if a character uses terminology that seems intellectual, a reader may form the opinion that the character is educated.

Character's opinions: The author may use other characters in the story to reveal a character. For example, when "Bob" thinks about his beautiful wife, it helps to characterize his wife as beautiful.

Plot: The action or events that take place over time within a story. Plot includes the actions that occur to reveal the conflict of the story, as well as the climax, and the resolution of the conflict.

Climax: Besides the introduction of the conflict, the plot includes a climax where the story reaches a critical, or turning point. From this point, the action in the story moves toward a resolution of the conflict.

Conflict: A conflict is a problem or dilemma felt by one or more of the characters.

A conflict may be external:

Person vs. Person (Ariel the Mermaid vs. Ursula the Sea Witch)

Person vs. Nature (A sailor trying to cross the stormy ocean)

Person vs. Fate (A slave trying to escape slavery)

Person vs. Machine (A person who tries to fix a car that doesn't want to work)

A conflict may be internal:

Person vs. themselves (A person overcoming fear. Luke Skywalker must trust his instincts and believe in the Force) This kind of conflict is discussed more often than an external conflict.

Second Class: Literature Reading and Discussion

Intro to Short Stories (define new words on the board)

short- shorter than a novel work of fiction usually written in prose

often in narrative format includes a wide range of genres and styles

Homework:

Read Rikki-tikki-tavi

Online Source: http://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/k/kipling/rudyard/jungle/chapter9.html

Answer this questions on A piece of notebook paper:

Group B: Name the main characters and write a short description

Group A: Name the main characters and write a detailed description of them and identify their role in the story.

Students Complete Graphic Organizer for Active Reading

Online Source: http://go.hrw.com/resources/go_mk/la/latm/LITRES11.PDF

Third Class: Literary Toolbox: Setting and Character

.Introduce the role of the "setting" in a story

Introduce the role of the "character"

Characterization,

Explain and give examples of a characters role in the Conflict/Resolution of the story, including the characters virtues/vices.

Discussion:

What is the setting of the story Rikki-tikki-tavi?

Who is the main character in the story? What is he like?

Assign a student from "Group A" to write characteristics on the board as students answer

Is there a conflict in the plot? What is it?

Homework: design a one-page travel flyer for something found in the setting in Rikki-tikki-tavi. (Expect greater detail and organization from Group A students)

Ideas: What is a Muskrat? What is a mongoose? The Indian Jungle? What would it be like to live in India?

Due in two weeks

Use for display in classroom, parent night, or hallway-bulletin-board

Fourth Class: Literary Toolbox: Plot, Climax, Conflict

Identifying Conflict in the Plot: Challenging Predicaments

Discuss the Graphic Organizer that students completed for homework.

Have students break-up into pairs or groups of 3 to share information

Ask students to fill-in the classroom-chart on the board

Discuss and compare answers

Fifth Class: Literary Terms Quiz

6th and 7th Grade Language Arts

Literary Terms QUIZ [ANSWERS]

Matching: Match the words in the left column with the definitions in the right column by placing a letter in the blank space:

1.

2. Conflict F

3. Resolution A

4. Characters B

5. Setting G

6. Plot C

7. Climax D

8. Narrator E

a. Conclusion of a plot's conflicts

b. The people or living creatures in the story

c. Events in the story (what happens)

d. The point of where the action builds to its highest point

e. A person telling the story

f. A problem in the story that has to be solved

g. Time and place of a story

Using the story, "THREE LITTLE PIGS" give an example

of the following parts of a story:

Character:

The Three Pigs and The Wolf

Setting

The Straw House

The House made out of sticks

The Brick House

Conflict:

The wolf wants to blow down the house

Resolution:

The pigs defeat the wolf

Sixth Class: Literature Reading and Discussion

Groundwork for writing a short story:

Observation and Inspiration

Show Biography with +Digital Projector:

Online Resource: http://www.kipling.org.uk/kip_fra.htm

Show YouTube video with images from India

For Example: National Geographic's India: The Land of the Tiger (Show as much as time allows) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pn-Gas0DNwI

Discuss Kipling and how he got his inspiration for his stories.

Read aloud the following descriptive paragraph from "Something of Myself: A Very Young Person" (below)

Online Resource: http://www.di2.nu/files/kipling/SomethingOfMyself.html

Ask the students to recount the details they hear in the paragraph.

"Far across green spaces round the house was a marvelous place filled with smells of paints and oils, and lumps of clay with which I played. That was the atelier of my Father's School of Art, and a Mr. 'Terry Sahib' his assistant, to whom my small sister was devoted, was our great friend. Once, on the way there alone, I passed the edge of a huge ravine a foot deep, where a winged monster as big as myself attacked me, and I fled and wept. My Father drew for me a picture of the tragedy with a rhyme beneath:

There was a small boy in Bombay

Who once from a hen ran away.

When they said: 'You're a baby,'

He replied: 'Well, I may be:

But I don't like these hens of Bombay.'

"This consoled me. I have thought well of hens ever since."

Homework:

Group B: Choose 1 "Just-So" story to read:

Group A: Choose 3 "Just-So" stories to read:

Teacher: Print the stories and make available on a side table for students to choose

Online Resource: http://boop.org/jan/justso

Answer and be prepared to discuss:

Who are the main characters in the story you chose?

What Problems did they face?

How did they solve the problem?

Seventh Class: Writing Skills

Discuss ways to develop a characters for your own story

Discuss the difference between physical and non-physical traits

Draw two columns on the board. Label on "Physical" and the other "Non-Physical"

Have students take turns writing a character trait on the board under the appropriate column.

After everyone has had at least one turn, ask the class to take out their notebook, choose three traits from the board and find three ways to express those traits in more detail. Give 2-3 examples before they begin: for example "blue eyes" can become "hazy blue eyes."

Have the students turn in their work for credit. Spelling and neatness count.

Going Deeper

If time allows, explain that metaphors are not always as obvious and straight forward as the examples given above. [If time runs out, continue the next class]

Listen to the audio recording of Kipling's "The Way Through the Woods" (handout of text of this poem is on next page)

Collection of Poems found HERE: http://www.poetryloverspage.com/poets/kipling/kipling_ind.html

Audio Recording found HERE:

http://www.associatedcontent.com/audio/12462/nature_poem_audio_the_way_through_the.html?cat=42

YouTube Video of this poem found HERE:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0aGIWYE5C0Q

Ask the students what the "Woods" and the "Road" could symbolize

There are no right/wrong answers, this exercise is to get them thinking of the possibilities

Suggest non-tangible symbols such as "change," or "the passing of time"

Write their answers on the board.

Homework: Assign the following worksheet

Adapted from this online resource: http://bsdweb.bsdvt.org/~jfletcher/pdfs/9th%20Grade/Poetry/simile%20and%20metaphor.pdf

The Way through the Woods

Rudyard Kipling

They shut the road through the woods

Seventy years ago.

Weather and rain have undone it again,

And now you would never know

There was once a road through the woods

Before they planted the trees.

It is underneath the coppice and heath,

And the thin anemones.

Only the keeper sees

That, where the ring-dove broods,

And the badgers roll at ease,

There was once a road through the woods.

Yet, if you enter the woods

Of a summer evening late,

When the night-air cools on the trout-ringed pools

Where the otter whistles his mate.

(They fear not men in the woods,

Because they see so few)

You will hear the beat of a horse's feet,

And the swish of a skirt in the dew,

Steadily cantering through

The misty solitudes,

As though they perfectly knew

The old lost road through the woods. . . .

But there is no road through the woods

Identifying Similes and Metaphors

Underline the two nouns being compared

Decide whether each comparison is a simile or a metaphor.

Write the word SIMILE if the sentence contains a simile.

Write the word METAPHOR if the sentence contains a metaphor.

Write the meaning of the simile or metaphor based on the context of the sentence.

1. The baby was like an octopus, grabbing at all the cans on the grocery store shelves.

2. As the teacher entered the room she muttered under her breath, "This class is like a three-ring circus!"

3. The giant's steps were thunder as he ran toward Jack.

4. The pillow was a cloud when I put my head upon it after a long day.

5. I feel like a limp dishrag.

6. Those girls are like two peas in a pod.

7. The fluorescent light was the sun during our test.

8. No one invites Harold to parties because he's a wet blanket.

9. The bar of soap was a slippery eel during the dog's bath.

10. Ted was as nervous as a cat with a long tail in a room full of rocking chairs.

Answers

Worksheet 1

1. simile

2. simile

3. metaphor

4. metaphor

5. simile

6. simile

7. metaphor

8. metaphor

9. metaphor

10. simile baby - octopus class - 3 ring circus steps - thunder pillow - cloud

I - limp dishrag girls - peas in a pod light - sun he (harold) - wet blanket bar of soap - slippery eel

Ted

Online Resources:

Audio Recording of "The Way Through the Woods:" http://www.associatedcontent.com/audio/12462/nature_poem_audio_the_way_through_the.html?cat=42

Collection of Kipling Poems:

http://www.poetryloverspage.com/poets/kipling/kipling_ind.html

Just So Stories:

http://boop.org/jan/justso/

Kipling Biography:

http://www.kipling.org.uk/kip_fra.htm

Literary Terms:

multimediaportfolio.wikispaces.com/file/view/literaryterms_08.doc

National Geographic's India: The Land of the Tiger

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pn-Gas0DNwI

Rikki-tikki-tavi:

http://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/k/kipling/rudyard/jungle/chapter9.html

Similie and Metaphor Worksheet: http://bsdweb.bsdvt.org/~jfletcher/pdfs/9th%20Grade/Poetry/simile%20and%20metaphor.pdf

"Something of Myself: A Very Young Person"

http://www.di2.nu/files/kipling/SomethingOfMyself.html

Students Complete Graphic Organizer for Active Reading: http://go.hrw.com/resources/go_mk/la/latm/LITRES11.PDF

"Way through the Woods" YouTube Video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0aGIWYE5C0Q