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Learning Objectives 

Students will: 

• Analyze settings as an element of fiction writing.
• Identify and define mood and spatial order in works of fiction.
• Incorporate setting, mood, and spatial order in original stories.
• Interpret and sketch a setting based on a short story.
• Develop a set of criteria for a peer critique. 
• Critique a peer's short story and sketch interpretation.

Standards Alignment

National Core Arts StandardsNational Core Arts Standards

Common Core State StandardsCommon Core State Standards

Recommended Student Materials

Editable Documents: Before sharing these resources with students, you must first save them to your Google account by opening them, and selecting “Make a copy” from the File menu. Check out Sharing Tips or Instructional Benefits when implementing Google Docs and Google Slides with students.

Websites

• Teaching Students to Critique

Teacher Background

Teachers should be familiar with critique strategies or read the article, Teaching Students to Critique. 

Student Prerequisites 

Students should be familiar with literary elements in fiction writing (character, plot, setting, dialogue, etc.)

Accessibility Notes

Modify handouts, text, and utilize assistive technologies as needed. Allow extra time for task completion.

Engage

1. Read the following passage to students:

On a rainy November morning in 1776, a soldier trod a solitary path along a road in western Virginia. His gait was slow, and his face— barely visible beneath untold layers of grime—betrayed an anguished, exhausted expression.

2. Have students sketch the setting, based on the information in the description. Read the passage a second time if necessary. Then have students create a list that includes the details they used to determine how they made their sketch. 

3. Allow time for students to share the pictures. Have them analyze and evaluate one another’s work.

4. Discuss how a story’s setting is not limited to place. Setting also includes time. There are many details in a story that help establish its time and place. Customs, manners, clothing, scenery, weather, geography, buildings, and methods of transportation are all part of setting. A setting is an important element because it provides the foundation upon which a story will be set. It depends heavily on a reader’s imagination and demands that the reader visualize. 

Build

1. Explain that settings range from very specific to very broad times and places and can serve different purposes in different stories. It is a literary element that may or may not have great significance in a story. The settings of some stories are explicit and established very early on. Others are implied. Some settings are very general—as in “a city during modern times.” And still others are very specific—Mrs. Cassandra Jones’ living room, October 19, 1985. Likewise, some authors believe that a story’s setting is as important as its plots and characters, while others are satisfied with establishing a general sense of time and place. The importance of setting will differ from story to story and this fact is entirely up to the author. Sometimes setting is unimportant—as with most fables. Other times it will directly affect the events of the plot, reveal character, or create a certain atmosphere.

2. Review terms related to the setting of a story. A vivid description of the setting will help the reader to see, hear, smell, taste, and touch the environment of the story. It may be helpful to examine a few authors’ approaches to each. Review and discuss the following terms: 

Mood: The feeling that a literary work conveys. Mood is heavily impacted by setting.

Spatial Order: A method of description that begins at one geographical point and moves forward in an orderly fashion. 

3. Share with students the following passage:

It was a cold and cheerless evening. The fog seemed to hover over the street, clutching the buildings, the streetlamps—the entire city —in a damp, icy grip. If one were to stand still, passers-by would emerge briefly from the gloom, only to disappear after taking just a few steps. These ghostly apparitions tormented James as he impatiently waited for his valet to return with his carriage.

4. Engage students in a discussion. Ask: What sensory details does the author use to draw the reader into the setting? What mood do these details help create? Evaluate the writer’s ability to relay mood. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of creating mood in a story.

5. Establish with students that there are several ways to organize a description of a place. You could start at the right and move to the left. You could start at the top and move to the bottom. Or you could start at the place closest to you and move to the place farthest from you, as in the following passage:

The door of the mansion dwarfed anyone who approached it. Even the tallest visitors had to reach up high to grasp the ornate door knocker (which surely was made of solid gold). The door swung open into a grand hallway, with floors of spotless pink marble. The walls were covered in gigantic mirrors, so that the foyer appeared to be at least three times larger than its already impressive size. At the end of the hallway, a grand white staircase spiraled up and up—so far that you might have expected an angel to greet you when you reached the top. But that was not so. The stairs led to a large, but surprisingly ordinary looking hallway with slightly worn, green carpeting and a long row of nearly identical doors. It almost resembled a hotel.

6. Have students practice using mood to create a setting. Divide the class into two groups. Have the first group give a happy description of the scene. Have the second group give a sad or ominous description. They will organize your description from either right to left, to bottom, or closest to farthest point from you. Display one of the following photos:

7. Hold a class reflection to discuss how the moods differ.

Apply

1. Have students write a short story that explicitly establishes a setting, clear mood, and uses spatial order. Students can develop original ideas or share the following with story suggestions. Once the stories are complete, they should work in peer editing groups to provide constructive feedback. 

2. Allow time for students to write and revise their work. Once their work is ready, have them type a final draft into word processing software, then print the short story for display. Be sure students include their name and story title. 

Reflect 

1. Display the short stories around the room. Give students two pieces of blank paper to each student. Have them walk around the room reading and analyzing the short stories, noting key elements of the story’s scene. 

2. Have students select one or two descriptions to sketch. After they sketch a scene, they will tape the scene next to the short story. 

3. Hold a “Critique and Interpretation” session. Establish with students what devices they will critique.Students will walk around the room again, analyzing each other's sketches. They will compare their interpretive sketches with those of their peers and the story itself. Ensure students follow pre-established rules for critiquing. Refer to the article, Teaching Students to Critique, for strategies.