Curriculum / ELA / 8th Grade / Unit 5: Facing Calamity: Climate Change Facts and Fictions / Lesson 8
ELA
Unit 5
8th Grade
Lesson 8 of 23
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Explain how writer Abby Geni uses imagery and figurative language to establish mood and meaning in a short story.
Short Story: “World After Water” by Abby Geni
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Tasks that represents the peak thinking of the lesson - mastery will indicate whether or not objective was achieved.
What central message does writer Abby Geni communicate in this story about the relationship between climate change and social inequity? How does she use imagery to emphasize this central message? Provide at least two examples from the short story to support your answer.
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Questions about the text that will help guide the students understanding
How does Geni use imagery to introduce and develop the setting in paragraphs 1–4? Provide at least two examples from the text and carefully explain your thinking.
How does Geni use imagery to develop the mood of paragraph 5? Identify the mood of these paragraphs and at least two specific words, phrases, and images that help to develop it.
How does Geni use figurative language and imagery to develop the reader’s understanding of the home in the wealthy neighborhood? Provide at least two examples from paragraphs 8 and 9 to support your answer.
Consider the figurative and descriptive language the author uses when describing water. How does this reveal the complex role of water in the boys’ lives? Provide at least three examples from the text to support your thinking.
Based on what you know about climate change, does this story seem plausible? Explain your thinking.
Assess student understanding and monitor progress toward this lesson's objective with an Exit Ticket.
Literary terms, text-based vocabulary, idioms and word parts to be taught with the text
imagery
n.
a literary device where an author includes vivid sensory details.
figurative language
language that goes beyond the literal meaning of words and phrases and is used with the intention of creating an image, feeling, or deeper understanding for the reader.
Reading and/or task to be completed at home in preparation for the next lesson.
To ensure that students are prepared for the next lesson, have students complete the following reading for homework. Use guidance from the next lesson to identify any additional language or background support students may need while independently engaging with the text.
Article: “Notes from a Bottle” by James Stevenson
While reading, answer the following questions.
When and where does this story take place?
Who is the narrator of this story?
Who are the other characters in the story?
What is the primary problem that these characters face?
What do they do to try and solve this problem? Are they successful?
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RL.8.2 — Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text, including its relationship to the characters, setting, and plot; provide an objective summary of the text.
RL.8.4 — Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone, including analogies or allusions to other texts.
Standards that are practiced daily but are not priority standards of the unit
L.8.6 — Acquire and use accurately grade-appropriate general academic and domain-specific words and phrases; gather vocabulary knowledge when considering a word or phrase important to comprehension or expression.
RL.8.1 — Cite the textual evidence that most strongly supports an analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
RL.8.10 — By the end of the year, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poems, at the high end of grades 6—8 text complexity band independently and proficiently.
SL.8.1 — Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 8 topics, texts, and issues, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly.
W.8.1 — Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence.
W.8.1.a — Introduce claim(s), acknowledge and distinguish the claim(s) from alternate or opposing claims, and organize the reasons and evidence logically.
W.8.1.b — Support claim(s) with logical reasoning and relevant evidence, using accurate, credible sources and demonstrating an understanding of the topic or text.
W.8.4 — Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
W.8.9 — Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.
W.8.9.a — Apply grade 8 Reading standards to literature (e.g., "Analyze how a modern work of fiction draws on themes, patterns of events, or character types from myths, traditional stories, or religious works such as the Bible, including describing how the material is rendered new").
W.8.10 — Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences.
Next
Determine a theme in the short story, "Notes from a Bottle" and explain how the author develops it; identify literary allusions and explain how they help to build meaning in a text.
Explain how specific words, phrases, and structural choices develop tone in Greta Thunberg’s speeches, and how tone impacts meaning.
Standards
RI.8.4
Identify the key ideas Gore uses to support his claims about climate change and assess whether the evidence he provides is relevant and sufficient.
RI.8.8
Identify a writer’s claims in a text and explain how they support those claims, as well as how they respond to conflicting viewpoints.
RI.8.6RI.8.8
Infer the meaning of unknown words using context clues, use reference materials to verify the meaning of words, and explain how word choice develops meaning in an informational article.
L.8.4L.8.4.aL.8.4.cL.8.4.dRI.8.4
Explain how Kathy Jetñil-Kijiner specific words and phrases develop tone in a poem and how tone impacts meaning.
RL.8.4
Write objective summaries and determine central ideas in informational articles.
RI.8.2
Identify claims made in an informational article and assess the relevance and sufficiency of evidence provided to support those claims.
RL.8.2RL.8.4
RL.8.2RL.8.9
Research the possible impacts of climate change and begin to brainstorm aspects of setting for climate fiction narratives.
W.8.3W.8.8W.8.9
Draft two paragraphs vividly describing the setting of your climate fiction narrative.
W.8.3W.8.3.aW.8.3.bW.8.3.d
Draft a short climate fiction scene.
W.8.3W.8.3.a
L.8.2L.8.2.aW.8.3W.8.5
Compare and contrast the central arguments of two articles about climate change, and explain how one author acknowledges and responds to viewpoints that differ from their own.
RI.8.6RI.8.9
Determine the central idea of sections of An Inconvenient Sequel and synthesize information in a short presentation that educates classmates.
RI.8.2SL.8.4
Synthesize information about a young climate activist and create a short presentation that educates classmates.
Delineate arguments made about climate change and assess whether the evidence provided is relevant and sufficient.
Engage in a Socratic Seminar with peers, responding directly to others by rephrasing and delineating arguments, determining the strength of evidence, and posing clarifying questions.
SL.8.1SL.8.1.dSL.8.3SL.8.4
Research the potential local impacts of climate change in preparation for writing a letter to a congressperson.
W.8.1W.8.7W.8.8W.8.9
Outline a letter urging a congressperson to take action to stop climate change.
W.8.1W.8.1.aW.8.1.bW.8.5
Draft a letter urging a congressperson to take action to stop climate change.
W.8.1W.8.1.aW.8.1.bW.8.1.cW.8.1.e
L.8.3L.8.3.aW.8.1W.8.1.d
2 days
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