Rebekah Donoghue [17198592] English Accelerated Assessment 2

English unit: Creative Writing – Short Stories Stage 5

Unit overview Duration: 4 weeks

In this unit of work, students will explore the art of creative writing. By engaging in a focus study of short stories, students will
develop their understanding of the structure of short stories and the creative writing process. Students will examine the textual
forms and features of setting, character development, imagery and theme and, in doing so, will develop understanding of their
functions and effect on the text and its meaning. Students will actively engage in the creative writing process by drafting and
redrafting their own original short story. In doing so, students are given an opportunity to experiment with different language forms,
features and styles and apply their understanding and appreciation of these features and devices by composing their own sustained
text.

Syllabus EN5-1A: responds to and composes increasingly sophisticated and sustained texts for understanding,
Outcomes interpretation, critical analysis, imaginative expression and pleasure
EN5-3B: selects and uses language forms, features and structures of texts appropriate to a range of
purposes, audiences and contexts, describing and explaining their effects on meaning
EN5-5C: thinks imaginatively, creatively, interpretively and critically about information and increasingly
complex ideas and arguments to respond to and compose texts in a range of contexts
EN5-7D: understands and evaluates the diverse ways texts can represent personal and public worlds
EN5-8D: questions, challenges and evaluates cultural assumptions in texts and their effects on meaning

Resources Hot and Spicy by Oliver Phommavanh in Growing up Asian in Australia edited by Alice Pung
English Textual Concepts - Connotation, Imagery and Symbolism:
http://englishtextualconcepts.nsw.edu.au/content/connotation-imagery-and-symbol
It’s Raining in Mango by Thea Astley
Only Ten by Allan Baillie:
http://lrr.cli.det.nsw.edu.au/web/shortstories/Short_Stories/lo/5387/documents/Only%20Ten1.pdf
Universal Class – Best Methods for Writing Dialogue in Your Short Story:

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Rebekah Donoghue [17198592] English Accelerated Assessment 2

https://www.universalclass.com/articles/writing/writing-dialogue-for-short-stories.htm
Edutopia – How to Write Dialogue that Matters: https://www.edutopia.org/blog/dialogue-that-matters-aaron-
sorkin-todd-finley
Image: http://www.simonhoegsberg.com/we_are_all_gonna_die/slider.html
Scholastic Black Out Poetry: https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/blog-posts/john-depasquale/blackout-
poetry/

Assessment The following assessment experiences have been integrated into this unit of work.
Overview
Formative assessment
• Periodical draft submission of creative writing task through Google classroom
Summative assessment
• Student produce an original creative writing piece following the structure of a short story

Content Teaching, learning and assessment Resources

EN5-5C Integrated activities Google classroom – Your

- respond to and compose a
range of sustained imaginative,
informative and persuasive
texts which are increasingly
demanding in terms of ideas,
arguments and linguistic,
structural, cognitive, emotional
and moral complexity
Students will draft and redraft their own original short story in Short Story draft template
the lead up to submission for the formative assessment task. (access code: oduc7mh)
It is recommended the teacher provide time after each key
concept is covered for students to work on their original
piece of creative writing, improving their short story by
applying the techniques and strategies learned.

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Rebekah Donoghue [17198592]
EN5-7D
- analyse the ways in which
creative and imaginative texts
can explore human experience,
universal themes and social
contexts
EN5-3B
- analyse and evaluate the
effectiveness of a wide range of
sentence and clause structures
as authors design and craft
texts
English Accelerated Assessment 2
Introducing the short story
Teacher introduces the short story as text type:
- What is a short story?
- What are the elements?
- What are the characteristics?
- What is the structure?
Teacher reminds students that authors write because they
have something to say. Authors use writing to express ideas
or concerns about particular situations or the world. Authors
can also use writing to persuade and audience to a
particular point of view, challenge stereotypes or
Activity: Students are provided with a table of the features of
a short story and sort these in to an element, characteristic
or structural feature.
Structure
Teacher explains the basic structure of a short story:
- Orientation
- Conflict or problem
- Resolution
Teacher explains to students that a minor resolution may
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Rebekah Donoghue [17198592]
EN5-3B
- analyse and explain how text
structures, language features
and visual features of texts and
the context in which texts are
experienced may influence
audience response
EN5-1A
- analyse and explain the ways
language forms and features,
ideas, perspectives and
originality are used to shape
meaning
English Accelerated Assessment 2
occur that may then lead in to a compounding problem.
Linear versus Non-linear structure
Difference between linear and non-linear structure is
explained to students
Activity: students provided with deconstructed short story
and work in pairs to reassemble it.
Reflection: students begin to consider the structure of their
story and generate a table or flow-chart of their ideas on the
computer.
Descriptive Writing – Show, Don’t Tell
Teacher provides recap on descriptive writing: Sensory
description and Show, Don’t tell and discusses with students
why this is an important feature of creative writing
specifically in regards to short stories.
Activity: Students are shown examples of how simple
sentences are changed by applying the Show, Don’t Tell
method.
Individually, students change sentences provided by the
teacher by emulating the Show, Don’t Tell method. After 5
sentences are changed, students peer-review each others
work and make comment on one area in which they did well
and one area that could be improved.
Adjustment: students are provided with list of language
techniques and sensory examples to prompt writing.
Understanding Setting
Teacher introduces feature of setting and discusses with
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Rebekah Donoghue [17198592]
EN5-5C
- understand and explain the
ways in which composers
transform ideas and experience
into and within texts, including
consideration of their insight,
imaginative powers and
ingenuity
EN5-8D
- analyse literary texts created by
and about a diverse range of
Australian people, including
people from Asian
backgrounds, and consider the
different ways these texts
represent people, places and
issues
English Accelerated Assessment 2
class their thoughts on why it can be an important feature of
a text. Differences between the setting of a short story and
setting in a narrative are discussed.
- Setting provides important underlying information on
why the events in the story may be unfolding
- Setting in short stories is usually described in a few Hot and Spicy by Oliver
Phommavanh in Growing up
words and thus needs to be precise
Asian in Australia edited by
Alice Pung
Class reads ‘Hot and Spicy’
Students identify and discuss the setting of the short story
and how the setting provides an explanation for the
protagonist’s actions.
Activity: students attempt to rewrite passage of the short
story in a different setting. Class discussion on if and how
this changed the text:
- Did the meaning of the text change?
- What effect did it have on the actions of the
character?
Teacher introduces the concept of context in texts and
explains how it relates to setting.
- Context is different to setting, however, they
interrelate
- Setting is when and where something happens
- Context provides meaning to the when and where
Reflection activity: Students revisit the previous activity and
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Rebekah Donoghue [17198592]
EN5-1A
- identify how vocabulary choices
contribute to specificity,
abstraction and stylistic
effectiveness
English Accelerated Assessment 2
apply knowledge of context to explain how and why the story
was changed when the setting was changed. Students
share answers with the class.
Extension activity: Students write PEEL paragraph
explaining how these changes in setting impact the
text.
Creating Your Setting
Teacher provides refresher on Imagery as a technique http://englishtextualconcepts.
nsw.edu.au/content/connotat
- What is it?
ion-imagery-and-symbol
- How can it be used?
- Why is it used?
Teacher explains how writers use imagery to give greater
depth and clarity to their setting in fewer words.
Setting and Imagery activity: students given pictures of
different places and individually fill out a sensory imagery
worksheet to create a setting.
Where
Hear Smell See Feel Taste
What
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Rebekah Donoghue [17198592]
EN5-3B
- analyse and evaluate the
effectiveness of a wide range of
sentence and clause structures
as authors design and craft
texts
English Accelerated Assessment 2
Extension activity: students expand on sentences
above to compose Show, Don’t Tell paragraph about
the setting.
It’s Raining in Mango – Thea Astley It’s Raining in Mango – Thea
Astley
Teacher and students read chapter two ‘Getting to know
them’ (pp. 37 – 48) and identify and examine key techniques
used to reveal the setting and context of the text.
Activity: students identify ten phrases or literary devices in a
passage of the text that reveal the setting. If needed, provide
students with a list of literary devices for reference. Students
come together and share literary devices evident and
discuss how their effectiveness and emotions evoked by the
reader.
Extension: students move on to further sentences in
text
Adjustments: students are given the list of phrases
and literary devices to look for and identify them in
the passage by highlighting
Students emulate the writing of Thea Astley by rewriting a
passage composed or chosen by the teacher.
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Rebekah Donoghue [17198592]
EN5-7D
- analyse the ways in which
creative and imaginative texts
can explore human experience,
universal themes and social
contexts
English Accelerated Assessment 2
Reflection activity: students are given time to work on their
own short story focussing on using imagery to describe their
setting.
Character Development
Teacher explains characters are more than just people in
the story. They are carefully constructed by the author to
represent a type of person and should be someone the
readers can identify with.
Different types of characters in texts are identified and
discussed by teacher
- Major and minor characters
- Dynamic and static characters
- Protagonist and antagonist
- Round and flat
Who sits in this chair activity: Students are shown an image
of a chair (recliner, Chesterfield lounge, rocking chair etc.)
and create a character profile using CHARTS:
C – Clothing
H – Habits/Hobbies
A – Actions
R – Relationships
T – Thinking
S – Speaking
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Rebekah Donoghue [17198592]
EN5-3B
- analyse and evaluate the
effectiveness of a wide range of
sentence and clause structures
as authors design and craft
texts
EN5-1A
- present an argument about a
literary text based on initial
impressions and subsequent
analysis of the whole text
EN5-3B
- analyse and explain how text
structures, language features
and visual features of texts and
the context in which texts are
experienced may influence
audience response
EN5-8D
- analyse literary texts created by
and about a diverse range of
Australian people, including
people from Asian
English Accelerated Assessment 2
Character profile activity:
- Various pictures of people are handed to students
and students create their own personal character
profile on them using CHARTS
- Students work in groups and move around to different
stations, creating a character profile at each station.
Once groups have rotated between each station
character profiles are compared.
Adjustments: students are provided worksheets with
CHARTS acronym and possible responses
Direct or Indirect characterisation is explained to students.
Writers can either make direct statements about a character
or they can leave us to build up understanding through other
details that are presented indirectly that is, showing not
telling.
Activity: Only Ten – Allan Baillie
The title and final line are removed from the short story.
Teacher and students read the story together with the
teacher stopping to highlight key passages and techniques. Only Ten by Allan Baillie
Students create character profile on Hussein based on the http://lrr.cli.det.nsw.edu.au/w
text using CHARTS. eb/shortstories/Short_Stories
/lo/5387/documents/Only%2
Extension: students provide examples from text which
0Ten1.pdf
lead them to this understanding of Hussein
Adjustments: provide a quote and have students
explain what the quote says about the character
Class discussion on character profile – what did the class
come up with and why.
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Rebekah Donoghue [17198592]
backgrounds, and consider the
different ways these texts
represent people, places and
issues
EN5-3B
- create literary texts with a
sustained 'voice', selecting and
adapting appropriate text
structures, literary devices,
language, auditory and visual
structures and features for a
specific purpose and intended
audience
EN5-1A
- analyse and explain the ways
language forms and features,
ideas, perspectives and
originality are used to shape
meaning
- identify how vocabulary choices
contribute to specificity,
abstraction and stylistic
effectiveness
English Accelerated Assessment 2
Reflection activity: Teacher reveals the last line of the text
that has been omitted. Students reflect on what the purpose
of this structure is, what emotions does it evoke in the
audience, what is the author trying to say.
Reflection activity: students are given time to work on their
own short story focussing on giving depth to their character.
Dialogue https://www.universalclass.c
om/articles/writing/writing-
Teacher explains basics of dialogue:
dialogue-for-short-
- New speaker, new line stories.htm
- Common dialogue
- Complex dialogue
- Inner and outer dialogue https://www.edutopia.org/blo
- Beats g/dialogue-that-matters-
- Avoid umm, you know, err etc. aaron-sorkin-todd-finley
- Punctuation
Activity: students correct various sentences to enhance Texts rich with dialogue such
dialogue. as:
The Last Cabinet by Gary
Teacher explains effective dialogue often emulates real Crew in The Blue Dress
people. Dialogue is not an opportunity for the writer to tell edited by Libby Hathorn
the reader something they are afraid they will miss, strong They’re Made Out of Meat -
dialogue understands that people rarely say exactly what Terry Bisson
they mean and react in unexpected ways. Writers only have
characters speak when absolutely necessary, only
significant passages are included in a text and ensure that
characters are simplified or dull through their dialogue.
Teacher explains to students the different between inner and
outer dialogue. Effective dialogue reveals what might be at
stake for the character. Indirect dialogue can reveal a
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Rebekah Donoghue [17198592]
EN5-7D
- analyse the ways in which
creative and imaginative texts
can explore human experience,
universal themes and social
contexts
EN5-8D
- examine how language is used
to express contemporary
English Accelerated Assessment 2
character’s self-esteem, unspoken thoughts, attitude, wants
and desires which may be a direct contradiction of what the
author has them saying outwardly. In a short story, dialogue
may be completely internalised but can still reveal what the
character is fighting for/against/along with.
Activity: students are provided with a story starter and create
a short story between two people depicted the photo. For
example: http://www.simonhoegsberg.
com/we_are_all_gonna_die/
- Look, I love you but … slider.html
Alternatively, students create a short story using inner
dialogue focussing on one person pictured. For example:
- Staring at that camera lens feels like staring down the
barrel of a gun
Reflection activity: students are given time to work on their
own short story focussing on improving dialogue.
Theme https://www.scholastic.com/t
eachers/blog-posts/john-
Teacher and students discuss the idea that writing is driven
depasquale/blackout-poetry/
by a set of values, writers write because they have
something to say. Writing can be used to share a vision,
teach a lesson, convey an idea, make a statement, It’s Raining in Mango – Thea
persuade an audience and this underlying message is what Astley
we call a theme.
There can be more than one theme to a text. Themes can
be identified by asking:
- Which character is most important? Why?
- What’s the final message?
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Rebekah Donoghue [17198592]
cultural issues
- analyse literary texts created by
and about a diverse range of
Australian people, including
people from Asian
backgrounds, and consider the
different ways these texts
represent people, places and
issues
EN5-5C
- understand and explain the
ways in which composers
transform ideas and experience
into and within texts, including
consideration of their insight,
imaginative powers and
ingenuity
English Accelerated Assessment 2
- Are there any philosophical statements?
Themes can also be revealed indirectly through literary
devices such as imagery and symbolism.
Activity: Teacher and student read chapter five ‘Home is
where the heart is’ of It’s Raining in Mango. Teacher leads
class discussion on linking chapter five and chapter two
(previously covered) and identifying the theme. Students
discuss what it is Thea Astley is trying to say.
Extension: students research Thea Astley and report
back on what they have learned and how this can be
used as evidence for the theme identified.
Identifying themes activity: students work in groups to
identify the theme of a text. Each group is allocated 5-10
minutes to read a text, identify the theme and provide
evidence. Groups circulate the room until each group has
read each text and answered the questions. Students come
together as a class and share what theme they identified
and why. Teacher creates a mind-map for each text and
enters groups’ answers and evidence to demonstrate texts
are layered with meaning.
Black out poetry adaption activity: students are provided with
a page of a short story in which the theme is evident.
Students first identify the theme and circle the key word that
reveals this. Students then go on to circle other associated
words that link with their anchor word. Once completed,
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Rebekah Donoghue [17198592] English Accelerated Assessment 2

students illustrate the rest of the page around the circled

words in a way that represents the theme identified.
Extension: students write PEEL paragraph on what
theme is evident in the text.
Adjustments: theme is identified by the teacher and
student draws on evidence to support this; PEEL
paragraph is scaffolded.
Reflection activity: students revisit their original short story
and consider the theme, applying learned skills to improve
their story.

Reflection
Students apply knowledge learned throughout the unit to
their own creative writing and submit their short story as
summative assessment.

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Rebekah Donoghue [17198592] English Accelerated Assessment 2

Appendix – ICT resource

Students will use the below document to draft their short story. It is made available in
a Google classroom and forms part of their formative assessment. Students are
instructed to access the document in the classroom and edit it using Google Docs so
the Teacher can monitor their changes and provide feedback. Access code:oduc7mh
YOUR SHORT STORY
MAP YOUR STORY
SETTING:

CHARACTERS:

THEME:

PLOT:

DRAFTING YOUR STORY

Use the space below to draft your story. Keep track changes on so you can view your progress throughout the
unit.

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Rebekah Donoghue [17198592] English Accelerated Assessment 2

Reflection

This unit of work has been designed following the Understanding by Design (UbD)
model (Wiggins & McTighe, 2005) and works backwards from a summative
assessment task. This unit has been designed with a real-world class in mind.
Planned around a Year 10 English class of mixed-ability I will be teaching in my first
professional practice, this unit works towards the submission of a summative
assessment task by breaking down the creative writing process for students and
allowing them to put it back together to create their own original work.

UbD is a process that first involves determining what students need to know, often
the ‘big picture’ ideas (Wiggins & McTighe, 2005). From here, teachers determine
what they will consider appropriate evidence of learning and then provide
opportunities through learning activities that will promote understanding and
development of the desired skills (Wiggins & McTighe, 2005).

The ‘big picture’ idea students will understand and skills they will be able to execute
at the end of this unit present themselves in the form of a summative assessment.
Students will be required to submit their own creative writing piece in the form of a
short story. This summative assessment task has provided the framework from which
the unit of work was backward mapped as it is “clear about which specific
understandings” students need to demonstrate, however, formative assessment is
sewn throughout the unit to ensure student progress (Wiggins & McTighe, 2005).

The unit begins with the basics of a short story, its elements and structure and its use
of descriptive writing to “pack a punch” in a small amount of time. Acceptable
evidence of deep understanding here is having students consider possibilities for
their own short story and communicate this in a flow-chart or similar (NSW DET,
2003). This form of diagnostic assessment provides the teacher with crucial
information on the skill level of their students beforehand and as such, the teacher
can adjust the learning activities within the unit of work accordingly (Weatherby-Fell,
2015).

Following this diagnostic assessment, students examine the features of: setting,
character, and dialogue. The unit of work allows time for students to break down and
reconstruct each of the features of a short story to develop a deep understanding of
how each function and contribute to the success of a short story (NSW DET, 2003).

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Rebekah Donoghue [17198592] English Accelerated Assessment 2

For instance, by removing the title and first line of Only Ten by Allan Baillie and
asking students to create a character profile, this activity provides students with an
opportunity to understand, analyse and explain the ways in which writers can
structure texts to craft responses from the audience (NESA, 2012, p.8). This activity
lends itself to a lively class discussion and analysis of why writers makes specific
choices and allows students to “present an argument about a literary text based on
initial impressions and subsequent analysis of the whole text” (NESA, 2012, p.8).
Formative assessment occurs consistently throughout this learning where students
are provided time to work on their own creative writing piece after each focus area
has been covered. This allows students to assess their own learning and make
adjustments based on newly learned skills and also allows the teacher to observe
how students are organising, structuring and applying this new knowledge
(Weatherby-Fell, 2015).

The unit has been designed to deliberately leave the feature of theme until the end.
The purpose of this is inspired by UbD as it allows students to gain mastery of the
creative writing process and bring it all together with the ‘big idea’, that is, writers
write because they have something to say. By leaving the feature of theme until the
end of the unit of work, it is envisioned that students will use it as a form of reflection
and consider how they can improve their draft creative writing piece. This also forms
part of the formative assessment process and draws on Vygotsky’s constructivist
theory in which teachers are able to observe how students have related new content
into existing knowledge structures and apply it effectively (McGregor & Mills, 2017;
Weatherby-Fell, 2015).

The unit overall is scaffolded to support and develop student learning, however, extra
scaffolding and additional challenges have been scattered throughout the unit to
differentiate for diverse learners. Overall, the unit builds towards the high end of
Bloom’s taxonomy whereby students create their own original work. In order to get
here, however, students are coached through the foundational levels of
understanding, applying and analysing (Armstrong, 2018). For instance, when
learning about sensory imagery students are asked to identify and then evaluate the
effectiveness of phrases and literary devices in a passage of text. Scaffolding is
provided to students to who require additional support whereby phrases and devices
present are provided to students for them to highlight in the text. The purpose of this
is to allow students to focus on understanding and evaluating their effect on the text

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Rebekah Donoghue [17198592] English Accelerated Assessment 2

and discussing this with their peers rather than spending most of their time trying to
identify (Weatherby-Fell, 2015; Armstrong, 2018). Similarly, higher-ability students
complete the same activity and then move on to more complex passages of the text
to challenge their comprehension and analysis skills.

In conclusion, this unit of work has been constructed following the UbD approach in
an effort to breakdown the often-daunting task of creative writing. By working
backwards from the skills students need to exhibit, students are supported and given
every opportunity for success in producing their own original piece of creative writing.

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Rebekah Donoghue [17198592] English Accelerated Assessment 2

References

Armstrong, P. (2018). Bloom’s Taxonomy. Vanderbilt University: Centre for Teaching.

Retrieved from https://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-pages/blooms-taxonomy/

Baillie, A. (1992). Only Ten. Retrieved from

http://lrr.cli.det.nsw.edu.au/web/shortstories/Short_Stories/lo/5387/documents/

Only%20Ten1.pdf

McGregor, G., & Mills, M. (2017). The virtual schoolbag and pedagogies of

engagement. In B. Gobby, & R. Walker, R (Eds.), Powers of curriculum:

sociological perspectives on education (pp. 373 – 394), South Melbourne, VIC:

Oxford University Press.

New South Wales Department of Education and Training. (2003). Quality teaching in

NSW Public Schools: A classroom practice guide. Retrieved from

http://web1.muirfield-

h.schools.nsw.edu.au/technology/Programs/Template/Quality%20Teaching%2

0Guide.pdf

New South Wales Education Standards Authority. (2012). English Standard K-10

Syllabus: Stage 5. Retrieved from

http://syllabus.nesa.nsw.edu.au/assets/englishk10/downloads/englishk10_s5.

pdf

Weatherby-Fell, N.L. (2015). Planning for pedagogy: A toolkit for the beginning

teacher. In N.L. Weatherby-Fell (Ed.), Learning to teach in the secondary

school (pp. 105 – 131), Port Melbourne, VIC: Cambridge University Press.

Wiggins, G., & McTighe, J. (2005). Understanding by Design, expanded 2nd edition.

Retrieved from

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Rebekah Donoghue [17198592] English Accelerated Assessment 2

http://go.galegroup.com.ezproxy.uws.edu.au/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7C978141660

2255&v=2.1&u=uwsydney&it=aboutBook&p=GVRL&sw=w

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