Unit 1 — Reality Check
Description
This unit examines the distinction between reality and illusion through reading literature and writing narratives. Students read short stories, folktales, poems, and screenplays to analyze how writers blur the lines between what is real and what is imagined. Through close reading and discussion, students recognize how setting and plot interact to create meaning. Students write realistic fiction narratives that develop characters through descriptive details, dialogue, and pacing. Mentor texts and independent reading provide models of effective narrative craft.
Essential Questions
- What can blur the lines between what is real and what is not?
- How does personal response to literature contribute to understanding?
- What makes a story unforgettable?
Learning Objectives
- Cite textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly and inferences drawn from the text.
- Determine and analyze theme or central idea and provide objective summaries.
- Analyze how setting and plot interact in stories and dramas.
- Determine meanings of words including figurative and connotative meanings.
- Analyze how form and structure contribute to meaning in poems and dramas.
- Analyze how authors develop and contrast different characters' points of view.
- Write narratives that develop real or imagined experiences with descriptive details and well-structured event sequences.
Suggested Texts
- Mirror Image — short story
- Not Everything It Seems — article
- Two Legs or One? — folktale
- The Song of Wandering Aengus — poem
- Eldorado — poem
- Monster — screenplay
- Monster: A Graphic Novel — graphic novel
Supplemental Resources
- Graphic organizers for analyzing plot and character traits for organizing story elements
- Index cards for vocabulary practice with word meanings and figurative language
- Chart paper for collaborative analysis of setting and mood for displaying student thinking
Language
Reading: Informational Text
Reading: Literature
Speaking and Listening
Writing
Students examine historical perspectives, cultural contexts, and civic themes through narrative and informational texts, analyzing how authors portray time periods, places, and characters in relation to historical events.
Students use digital platforms and technology tools to produce and publish writing, conduct research, create multimedia presentations, and engage in online collaboration and communication.
Students develop critical thinking, communication, and collaboration skills through discussions, presentations, and written work that prepare them for post-secondary success and informed citizenship.
Formative Assessments
- Diary entry responding to character emotions and conflicts
- Discussion of plot and flashback techniques in short stories
- Analysis of character traits through written responses
- Informal debate on the influence of appearance on perception
- Creation of memes to demonstrate understanding of text themes
- Choral reading performances demonstrating understanding of poetic devices
- Panel discussion comparing different versions of texts
Summative Assessment
Write a realistic fiction short story demonstrating narrative techniques, descriptive details, and character development.
Benchmark Assessment
— not configured —
Alternative Assessment
Students may demonstrate understanding through oral retelling of a story's key events and character motivations, supported by visual aids or graphic organizers that map plot and setting. Written responses may be shortened or completed with sentence frames and word banks to scaffold narrative analysis.
IEP (Individualized Education Program)
Students may benefit from graphic organizers that help them map the relationship between setting and plot before writing or discussing texts, supporting both comprehension and narrative planning. For written output tasks such as the realistic fiction story, allow students to use voice-to-text tools, dictation, or a scribe to capture their ideas, and consider accepting shorter drafts that demonstrate mastery of key narrative elements like character development and descriptive detail rather than a full-length piece. Providing annotated or pre-highlighted versions of complex texts, along with sentence starters for analytical responses, can reduce processing barriers while keeping students engaged with grade-level content. Break the summative writing task into staged checkpoints with teacher feedback so students can focus on one narrative skill at a time.
Section 504
Students should be given extended time on written tasks, including the summative narrative and any written analytical responses, and may benefit from a low-distraction environment during independent reading and writing periods. Access to a printed copy of directions and assignment criteria, along with preferential seating during discussions and choral reading activities, supports sustained focus throughout this unit's multimodal tasks.
ELL / MLL
Previewing unit vocabulary related to narrative craft — such as setting, plot, theme, dialogue, and figurative language — with visual supports, illustrated word walls, or bilingual glossaries will help students access both the reading and writing demands of this unit. When analyzing how writers blur reality and illusion, use visual story maps or sequencing tools so students can demonstrate comprehension without relying solely on written English. Allow students to discuss their ideas in their home language with a partner before transitioning to English responses, and simplify directions for multi-step tasks like the narrative writing assignment by presenting one step at a time.
At Risk (RTI)
Connecting unit texts to students' own experiences with situations that felt unreal or surprising can build engagement and activate prior knowledge before close reading begins. For the narrative writing task, providing a structured template with labeled sections for character introduction, setting description, rising conflict, and resolution gives students a clear entry point without limiting their creativity. Offering additional small-group discussion time around plot and character analysis allows students to build understanding through conversation before committing ideas to writing, and recognizing incremental progress in revision and participation keeps motivation strong throughout the unit.
Gifted & Talented
Students can extend their analysis of how reality and illusion function in literature by examining how different genres — such as magical realism or unreliable narrator narratives — use this tension in more complex ways, drawing comparisons across the unit's texts. In their realistic fiction writing, encourage students to experiment with sophisticated narrative techniques such as non-linear structure, shifting point of view, or subtext in dialogue to deepen character development beyond surface description. Students may also pursue independent inquiry into how the themes of this unit connect to philosophical or psychological questions about perception and truth, presenting their thinking through an original essay, creative piece, or another format of their choosing.