Unit 4 — Stories on Stage
Description
Students read and analyze dramas, learning the elements specific to plays such as scenes and stage directions. The unit focuses on identifying characters, analyzing plot elements including conflict and resolution, and determining theme. Students explore how stories can be adapted into plays and understand the elements of drama. They visualize and create mental images while reading, distinguish literal from nonliteral language, and identify figurative language. Students discuss character development and how plot and events support the author's purpose. The writing focus is narrative writing where students write original stories (not personal narratives) and adapt traditional tales into plays.
Essential Questions
- Why might stories be better told as plays?
- How can I recognize the characteristics of characters in an argumentative text?
- How can I distinguish between fact and opinion?
- How can I visualize and create mental images while reading a text?
- How can I identify and articulate the parts of a drama?
- How can I analyze literary elements of characters, setting, plot, and events?
- How can I identify and articulate conflict and resolution?
- How can I explain how the author's use of figurative language achieves a purpose?
Learning Objectives
- Identify author's claim, supporting facts, and intended audience
- Distinguish between facts and opinions
- Ask and answer questions about text and create mental images using five senses
- Identify conflict and resolution in stories
- Write sentences using imagery
- Paraphrase and summarize information read aloud
- Identify elements of drama (characters, setting, dialogue, stage directions)
- Identify theme and distinguish theme from topic
Suggested Texts
- The Saga of Pecos Bill — drama
- Gigi and the Wishing Ring — drama
- Two Bear Cubs — drama
- That's Entertainment — drama
Supplemental Resources
- Printed drama scripts for guided reading and performance
- Graphic organizer for tracking characters and conflict in dramas
- Sentence strips with figurative language examples
- Chart paper for displaying story elements (character, setting, plot, conflict)
Language
Reading: Literature
Writing
Formative Assessments
- Identification of drama elements in texts
- Comparison of narrative and play versions of stories
- Character development tracking charts
- Conflict and resolution analysis activities
- Five senses writing exercises about story scenes
Summative Assessment
Narrative Story Writing Piece
Benchmark Assessment
— not configured —
Alternative Assessment
Students may demonstrate understanding of drama elements and story adaptation through oral responses to teacher questions, a graphic organizer with visual supports identifying scenes and characters, or a recorded explanation comparing a narrative and play version. Word banks and sentence frames may be provided as needed.
IEP (Individualized Education Program)
For students with IEPs, support during drama reading should include access to audio versions of plays or text-to-speech tools so students can focus on understanding character and plot rather than decoding. Graphic organizers with visual prompts can help students track characters, conflict, and resolution as they work through texts. For the narrative writing summative assessment, students may benefit from dictation, scribing, or sentence frames that scaffold the storytelling structure while allowing them to demonstrate their ideas. Extended time and reduced-length writing expectations may be appropriate, with grading focused on demonstrated understanding of story elements rather than volume or mechanical accuracy.
Section 504
Students with 504 plans engaging in drama reading and narrative writing activities should be provided extended time on both reading tasks and the written summative assessment. Preferential seating during read-alouds and class discussions of character and theme supports focus and auditory processing. A printed copy of any stage directions, discussion questions, or task directions reviewed orally in class ensures consistent access to the content throughout the unit.
ELL / MLL
Multilingual learners should be supported with visual references such as illustrated vocabulary cards for key drama terms — including dialogue, stage directions, scene, and conflict — displayed throughout the unit for easy reference. Simplified directions paired with modeling help students understand the structure of plays and the differences between narrative and drama formats. When possible, connecting drama conventions or story themes to folktales and storytelling traditions from students' home cultures can build meaningful background knowledge and engagement with the unit's narrative writing focus.
At Risk (RTI)
Students who need additional support should be introduced to drama elements through shorter, accessible play excerpts before working with longer texts, helping them build confidence with the genre's unique features. Visual story maps and partially completed graphic organizers provide a clear entry point for analyzing conflict and resolution without overwhelming students. For narrative writing, providing a simple story structure template — with a defined beginning, problem, and resolution — allows students to focus on generating ideas and expressing them, rather than managing the organizational demands of the task independently.
Gifted & Talented
Students who are ready for greater depth should be challenged to examine how the adaptation process from narrative to drama changes the way a reader experiences character motivation and theme, going beyond identifying elements to analyzing authorial craft and choice. These students can explore how stage directions function as a unique form of authorial voice and compare that to how narration functions in prose storytelling. For the summative assessment, they may be encouraged to adapt a traditional tale into a play that deliberately shifts or deepens the original theme, incorporating figurative language and imagery into their stage directions and dialogue in purposeful ways.