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CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.8.6
Analyze how differences in the points of view of the characters and the audience or reader
(e.g., created through the use of dramatic irony) create such effects as suspense or humor.
Guiding Question(s):
What is an Unreliable Narrator? How does it influence the way you read a story?
Rationale/Purpose:
In literature, sometimes the author creates an unreliable narrator in order to force the reader out of his
or her comfort zone, or to explore themes or ideas that are otherwise extremely difficult. By learning
about the unreliable narrator, students learn to question the author and think critically about information
that they share
Context/prior knowledge assumptions:
This lesson would occur near the end of the year, after a unit on Figurative Language and one on Short
Stories and during a learning segment on Authors Purpose as you near the final exam. At this point,
students have learned about point of view too, and explored stories that have multiple points of view.
Goals:
Students will be able to:
Discuss the way that unreliable narrators shape the reading experience.
List three biases that each narrator has that relate directly to the murder
Instructional Procedures
Warm-up (if applicable): Warm up every class period with vocabulary words. Today, we will use
the words evanescent, notorious, providence, plausible, and dejectedly.
Students will use a dictionary to copy down the definition, the part of
speech, and write their own example of using the word in a sentence.
These words will be seen later in the short story, and will help students to
understand the story better. 10 min
Hook: Tell the class that today they are going to help solve a mystery. A mystery
of murder. They will serve as detectives, trying to determine who
committed the murder and what the motive was. This intrique of murder
will pique their attention, and the “who done it?” atmosphere will lead to
discussions about author’s purpose, as well as point of view for the
characters in the story. Explain that this story isn’t technically solved, so
the students will need to evaluate what they think happened. 5 min
Content Instruction I prepare the materials ahead of time for the class period.
I introduce the short story, and lead the class in discussion about each
“I do” section of the story.
I divide them into groups for debate, and facilitate their debate
preparations if they are struggling.
Guided Practice We review together the importance of point of view, and the different
kinds that there are.
“We do”
We read each section together as a class in “popcorn” style. After reading
each section, we discuss it as a class and what new information this
section bring to the mystery. We start to evaluate our characters/narrators
for bias.
Discussion questions:
Who might the comb belong to? Why was it left there?
How many arrows did the man have in his quiver according to the
Buddhist man? How many did Tajomaru have? Where would the
missing ones be?
The dead man was a samurai, contrast this with the woman
description of him
How does Tajomaru not know where the wife is if his whole goal
was to capture her?
Why doesn’t the samurai’s wife talk about the events before she
was violated? How it happened?
What do you think about the fact that she passed out and that she
stabbed her husband and that she passed out again?
Independent Practice You think critically about each character and contribute to the discussion
about the different characters in the Grove.
“You do”
Work in one of three groups to determine why their character did not do
it, and why they are accusing another. This will be presented to the High
Police Commissioner who has to determine what happened.
The first group defends Tajomaru and accuses the murdered man of
killing himself. The second group defends the murdered man and accuses
the man’s wife. The third group defends the wife, and accuses Tajomaru.
You use 3-5 pieces of textual evidence to support your claims. You make
inferences about the characters based off of what you know.
Closure: Wrap up class by telling the students to continue their debate preparations
at home and outline the next class period (in which the students will have
time to actually do the debate). Tell them to remember to think critically
about their narrators in the future.
Attached materials:
https://mrdylitcirclestories.files.wordpress.com/2010/09/in-a-grove.pdf
Reflection on ECI 204 Midterm
This lesson plan, which would be taught near the end of the year to my eighth grade
students, was extraordinarily enjoyable to write. I definitely plan on using this lesson plan, or
something similar, in my own classroom. The process of creating the lesson plan was very
helpful in confirming my pedagogical knowledge, and quite honestly helped confirm that this is
The topic of unreliable narrators can be a dull and confusing topic for students, who
expect the ability to trust the narrators in stories that they read. Therefore, it was important to me
during the planning process to make sure that this was an enjoyable lesson, especially because
the ability to question and judge your narrator is an important skill for students to have.
Therefore, I want to ensure that students learn it well and can become proficient in the skill. By
using progressive pedagogical techniques, PCK, and a fun activity, students can really connect to
the material. I believe that this is progressive because of the use of group work and a student-
centric learning method. The discussion questions prompt students, and help lead them towards
making their own conclusions. The “who done it?” atmosphere surrounding the lesson adds to
the fun of it, and will keep students motivated and interested. By incorporating vocabulary into
the lesson, disciplinary literacy grows and gets established more than if students weren’t able to
This lesson also helps teach other skills to my students, which is my favorite part of the
lesson. The debate teaches students teamwork, as well as how the format for debate and the art of
evidence based argumentation. Also, the debate encourages students to participate in public
speaking. These several skills, as well as the content specifically, make this lesson a very