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Reintroduce: Realistic Fiction

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Lesson Type: Reintroduce
Grade: 1, 2, 3
Group Size: Small Group
Length: 20 minutes
Goal: Given a story planner worksheet, students will participate in a shared writing activity that applies the elements of Realistic Fiction.

What to Do

Prepare

Make a large version of the Story Planner on the board or chart paper.

Model/Instruct

1. Review the elements of Realistic Fiction.

Are fairy tales an example of Realistic Fiction? No, why not? That’s right, because Realistic Fiction takes place in modern times in the real world. The characters do not have any special powers. In Realistic Fiction the characters use dialogue that is familiar to us. In Realistic Fiction, the main character faces a problem and finds a solution.

2. Explain the lesson.

Today we will write our own group Realistic Fiction piece using this Story Planner to help organize our thoughts.


Practice

3. Explain how the Story Planner will be used.

We have three boxes here with lines. In the first box we will write the beginning of our story. The second box will explain the problem. The last box will explain the solution. Then we will add drawings of our character and dialogue in the boxes above.

4. Brainstorm ideas with the students for a character, a problem, and a solution.

5. Create the wording for the first box.

It all began…How should we begin the story? How can we introduce our character?

Suddenly…This is where we explain the problem.

At last…Now we will tell how the problem is solved.

6. Ask students to provide dialogue for each box.

Remember that dialogue is what the character says. The dialogue helps show how the character feels. What dialogue should we add here?

7. Add a picture for each box under the speech bubble.

8. Encourage students to list problems and solutions that they could use in a Realistic Fiction story in a notebook or journal.


Adjust

For Advanced Students:

Encourage these students to come up with a title for the group piece.


For Struggling Students:

While brainstorming, prompt these students to think about a time in their own life when they faced a problem.


For ELL Students:

Encourage these students to explore the character’s feelings and create drawings to express them.


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