Day Four: Fantasy

Lesson 1.4 Comparative Storytelling in Alternate Realities (Part 4): Fantasy
Created by John Kotnarowski (Spring 2014)

Objectives: Students will be able to…

• Identify the common features and/or identifying characteristics of fantasy stories
• Place this tradition on a greater (historical) storytelling “spectrum” (of meaning)
• Relate the cultural importance of this type of story telling to global popular culture (and their own home culture)
• Compare and contrast the common features of fantasy writing with other genres from the unit
• Practice Summary Writing

Materials
Copies of Readings (passage from Chapter 2 of “The Hobbit”, “The White Ship”)
Fantasy Writing Schema Development Thinglink
Thinglink Scavenger Hunt
Brainstorming Cubes
Story Elements Organizer
Comparative Genre Analysis Chart

Sources
Blake, R. (n.d.) Apocalypse. [Illustration]. Retried from:
    http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Dragon#mediaviewer/File:William_Blake_003.jpg
Devera, J. (2008). Characteristics of fantasy literature. Retrieved from:
    http://www.humanities360.com/index.php/characteristics-of-fantasy-literature-2-57552/
Lovecraft, H.P. (1919). The White Ship. In The United Amateur, 19(2). pp. 30-33.
NPR. (2011). Your pick: Top 100 science fiction, fantasy books. Retrieved from:
    http://www.npr.org/2011/08/11/139085843/your-picks-top-100-science-fiction-fantasy-books
Tolkien, J.R.R. (1937). The Hobbit. New York: Ballantine Books.
Webb, B. (2007, April 23). The real purpose of fantasy [Web log post]. Retrieved May 16, 2014 from
    http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2007/apr/23/bridgingthegapswhyweneed


Preparation
Students will come to class having completed their pre-reading common elements entries for the fantasy genre and having read The White Ship by H.P. Lovecraft.

Teaching Instructions [60 minutes]
I. Schema Activation -> Brainstorming [5-7 minutes]
Have students get into small groups and discuss the following questions:

• What were you first impressions about this genre based on “The White Ship? Is it what you expected? Why or why not?
• Based on the excerpt, what do you think are some common features of the “Fantasy” genre? Explain why.
• Are you familiar with any other Fantasy stories (hint: these can be books, movies, poems, etc).?
• Are fantasy stories popular in your home culture? Can you give any examples?

Once students have finished discussing, bring the class together and share answers among the group. Make sure to ask for any questions they may have had (about the discussion questions or the story/genre in general).

II. Schema Development: Fantasy Overview "Thinglink" [5-7 minutes]
Now, share the “Fantasy Overview Thinglink” with the class. It links students to some information on the common features of fantasy writing, famous works or fantasy writing and famous fantasy writers. Have the students use the link to answer these questions.

III. Intensive Reading: Excerpt from “The Hobbit” [25 minutes]
Begin by passing out the excerpt from Chapter Two of “The Hobbit” by J.R.R. Tolkien. Then proceed to complete the following steps with your class:

• Pre-Reading: As a class, discuss the following questions:
• What do you know about the book this passage comes from? Has anyone in your group read it?
• What is a “Hobbit”? How do you know? How does this characterization represent the ideals of fantasy writing?
• What other questions do you have about the story passage?

• Reading: As students read, ask them to collect information on the passage by creating a “story cube”. Pass out the templates and ask the students to write the following question words on one of the six sides of the cube:
• Who?
• What?
• Where?
• When?
• Why?
• How?

As they read, have them fill in 1-2 sentences worth of information for each category

• Post-Reading: Have students form new groups of three. Task them with discussing the following questions:
• What happens in this passage? Create a short (4-5 sentence) summary.
• What elements of this passage represented the features of fantasy writing?
• Was there anything atypical of fantasy writing? Explain.
• Did you enjoy this passage? Why?

IV. Reflective Response Journaling/Genre Analysis [Remaining Time]
If there is time remaining, the students can fill out their comparative genre analysis charts.

V. Homework
Student will update their comparative genre analysis charts and do the required reading for the upcoming "theme" lesson on "Science Fiction". The reading is "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas" by Ursula K. Le Guin and fill out the common elements organizer.

They should also continue work on their final project.