Grades 6–8
60+ Minutes
Narrative
VideosTom Perrotta is the author of 9 works of best-selling fiction, including Election and Little Children, both of which were turned into Oscar award-winning films. His novel The Leftovers was adapted into an HBO series and named a 2011 Notable Book by The New York Times.
You will learn about the Journey story shape, the Day in the Life story shape, and the Super Sleuths story shape.
STEP 1
First, watch the Story Shapes video, while reading along with the Mentor Text on page 1 of the Story Shapes — Handout. After you’ve finished watching the video, answer this question in your writing journal: What did you notice about the mentor text? Which events stuck out to you the most and which events do you wish you had more information about?
STEP 2
Next, read about the 3 common story shapes on page 2 of the handout: Journey, Day in the Life, and Super Sleuths. After you finish reading about each shape, answer the reflection question. Go ahead and watch the Story Shapes video again. Which of the 3 shapes does the story in the video fall under and how do you know? Write your answer down in your writing journal.
STEP 3
Now, you will begin to outline a story of...
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