Next, you can preview examples of narrative unit maps as you begin to consider what kind of map to create for driving effective curriculum design.
Table 1.1: Sample Grade 8 Excerpts of Writing Standards
| Source | Sample Grade 8 Writing Standards |
| CCSS (NGA & CCSSO, 2010) | W.8.3: Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, well-chosen details, and well-structured event sequences. a. Engage and orient the reader by establishing a context and point of view and introducing a narrator and/or characters; organize an event sequence that unfolds naturally and logically. b. Use narrative techniques, such as dialogue, pacing, description, and reflection, to develop experiences, events, and/or characters. c. Use a variety of transition words, phrases, and clauses to convey sequence, signal shifts from one time frame or setting to another, and show the relationships among experiences and events. |
| TEKS (TEA, 2010) | (15) Writing/Literary Texts. Students write literary texts to express their ideas and feelings about real or imagined people, events, and ideas. Students are expected to: (A) write an imaginative story that: (i) sustains reader interest; (ii) includes well-paced action and an engaging story line; (iii) creates a specific, believable setting created through the use of sensory details; (iv) develops interesting characters; and (v) uses a range of literary strategies and devices to enhance the style and tone. (16) Writing. Students write about their own experiences. Students are expected to write a personal narrative that has a clearly defined focus and includes reflections on decisions, actions, and/or consequences. |
| Ontario Curriculum (Ontario Ministry of Education, 2006) | Form 2.1 write complex texts of a variety of lengths using a wide range of forms (e.g., a memoir of a significant Canadian; a report comparing the economies of two nations and explaining how a new industry might affect each nation’s economy; briefing notes for an oral debate outlining both sides of an argument, including appeals to both logic and emotion; a narrative in the style of a particular author, adding to or extending a text by that author; an original satirical, science-fiction, or realistic fiction piece modelled on the structures and conventions of the genre; a free verse or narrative poem, or a limerick) |
Narrative Unit Map Examples
This section features two versions of unit map resources to examine. Later you can begin building your own map using the end-of-chapter exercise to guide you. At that time, you can select your preferred version and use items in the samples I provide as you see fit as well as augment your own entries.
To orient you to these resources, table 1.2 (pages 11–17) represents one format; tables 1.3 and 1.4 (pages 18–19) reflect a different one. Both include components for the beginning stages of backward planning aligned to narrative, such as elements of literature (setting, character, plot, and so forth), figurative language, and some literary devices (for example, dialect, mood, and suspense). However, tables 1.3 and 1.4 (pages 18–19) each show unit map excerpts that include activity ideas, resources to teach the unit, and formative assessment evidence. Sometimes when designing maps, lesson ideas surface; therefore, the format in these tables includes cells to record them. To conduct some lessons, what you record might be enough to lead effective instruction. For teaching new material, though, you can take what you input to later develop into more robust lessons. (See chapter 4 for a discussion about the gradual release of responsibility lesson design approach.) Some of you, though, may not prefer this granular level of detail for a unit map and will design one like the example in table 1.2 (pages 11–17). When reviewing this version and thinking about how you might use it to devise your map, consider these points.
• Although table 1.2 seems comprehensive and complete, you will find that adaptations, deletions, and additions will be necessary based on key factors, such as your targeted genre, content-area standards, the complex text or texts at the center of instruction, student population and characteristics, and other variables—even your teaching style. Your English language arts (ELA) standards will indicate items to add: specific literary devices (irony, foreshadowing, and satire, for example), grammar skills (like active versus passive voice), or sentence structure areas (such as parallelism or compound-complex sentences). In addition, you will likely include English language development or English learning expectations, and perhaps content-area standards if you teach and incorporate disciplines other than ELA for this narrative unit.
• The compilation of items serves as options for your unit, so you’ll select those that align to your learning outcomes. For example, you may not need every row I include or you might combine some like setting with imagery and revise accordingly. For each targeted area (for example, character, theme, or dialogue), perhaps choose one essential understanding or wordsmith to combine two, plus use some of the knowledge items instead of all bullet points.
• For lesson-guiding questions and skills, select those that address your students’ needs and the outcomes or revise them. Some appeal to reading—as students examine texts—and also guide students’ writing. For example, these questions and skills are geared to reading: How do readers determine a story’s narrator and point of view? Identify a narrative’s point of view and analyze how it impacts the work and readers’ perceptions. And these for writing: Who will be the narrator for my story? What point of view will I use? Introduce a narrator and establish a point of view. I typically enter reading first, followed by writing as students initially examine text and then apply what they learn to their own writing. Alternatively, you can separate reading and writing into their own columns or add subheadings within a column, as you wish.
Return to this section when you begin drafting your unit map to take into full account these points along with the others mentioned later in the chapter.
Before generating a map to develop your unit, there are some matters regarding the unit as a whole to consider, which I detail in the following sections. One involves the unit’s organizational structure and another concerns existing resources at your disposal. I also suggest that students keep a notebook (referenced in tables 1.3 and 1.4) throughout the unit and beyond to support their learning.
Narrative Unit Approach
A well-choreographed unit exemplifies commitment to your craft. Your dedication to detailing what matters most in the unit will yield dividends in organizing your teaching, targeting goals along the way, and contributing to student achievement. When you aptly prepare for curriculum design, your teaching will go more smoothly and you will position your students to progress in their learning. A unit map serves this purpose. It guides you in lesson design based on learning outcomes and indicates the sequence of lessons to reflect how the whole unit will flow. For example, at the outset it is prudent to issue one or more preassessments, which I discuss in chapter 2 (page 29) along with examples. Follow the