Fiction

Topic: How to Teach Fiction

Objectives & Outcomes

• Students will be able to identify different types of fiction and understand the purpose of each type.
• Students will be able to analyze and evaluate a piece of fiction by assessing the characters, plot, and setting.
• Students will be able to create their own piece of fiction by using their imagination and writing a story.
• Students will be able to understand and apply the concept of foreshadowing in a piece of fiction.

Materials

• A variety of fiction stories or pieces for students to analyze and evaluate (e.g. short stories, novels, fables, fairy tales)
• Pen or pencil for each student
• Paper or a laptop for each student

Warm-Up

• Review the concept of literary genres by showing students a PowerPoint with a list of different genres (e.g. poetry, drama, nonfiction, fiction). Ask students to name some genres they are familiar with and some they are not.
• Next, show students a brief video or reading excerpt from a piece of fiction and ask them to consider the following questions: Who are the characters in this story? What is happening in the story? What is the setting? Why do you think the author chose to write about this particular topic?

Direct Instruction

• Introduce the concept of fiction to the students. Explain that fiction is a type of literature that involves made-up characters, events, and settings.
• Review the questions from the warm-up activity and use them as a starting point to discuss the characteristics of fiction. For example, discuss how the characters in a piece of fiction may be different from real-life people and may have extraordinary or unusual qualities.
• Provide students with some examples of different types of fiction (e.g. fairy tales, science fiction, historical fiction). Have students discuss the characteristics of each type of fiction and how it differs from other types of fiction.

Guided Practice

• Divide students into small groups and provide each group with a different piece of fiction to read.
• Have students use the questions from the warm-up activity as a starting point to discuss the characteristics of the fiction they are reading. Encourage them to use the characteristics discussed during warm-up to help them classify the piece of fiction as fiction.
• After reading, have students share their thoughts and ideas with the class.

Independent Practice

• Have students choose a different piece of fiction to read and complete the Characteristics of Fiction worksheet.
• Encourage students to think critically about the characteristics of the fiction they are reading and how they can apply what they have learned to help them classify the piece of fiction as fiction.

Closure

• Review the key characteristics of fiction as a class.
• Ask students to share one thing they learned about fiction during the lesson.

Assessment

• Observe students during independent practice to assess their understanding of the key characteristics of fiction.
• Collect and review the student-written fiction pieces for understanding of the key characteristics of fiction.
• Use a checklist to assess students' understanding of the key characteristics of fiction.