Flash Fiction and Gothic Literature: Peer Editing
Flash Fiction Google Slide Presentation
Flash Fiction!
Overview
This exercise will not only teach students the art of flash fiction, but it will allow them to write, to work with their peers, and to publish! The teacher will have as much fun as the students!
Introduction to Flash Fiction
As a high school language arts teacher, I found teaching students how to write flash fiction was a fun and engaging way to practice narrative writing. To make it even more interesting, I introduced the students to Gothic literature and required their assignment to be a flash fiction horror story. To cap off the unit, we had a sharing party where students were free (but not required!) to read their stories to the class.When teaching the unit, I begin with the Google slide presentation above. It would be a good idea to require students to take notes during the presentation. At the end of the presentation, there is a slide that gives students the opportunity to discuss a few important details that review the presentation main points as well as to begin thinking about their writing assignment. It will be worth the time to discuss this slide in detail.
A final option: Before discussing the final slide, re-read "The Zombie of His Early Days" and allow students to identify the elements of flash fiction they just learned.
Introduction to Students:
Narrative writing is used to tell a story. For this unit you will not only learn how to develop your storytelling skills, but you will learn how to tell a story quickly...as in flash fiction! To make this even more interesting, you will also include some of the analysis skills you learned from learning about Gothic literature and Edgar Allan Poe.
We will begin the unit with a slide presentation that explains flash fiction. Next, you will analyze a few flash fiction stories. Finally, you will write your own short short story! Don't worry! It will all be over in a flash!
Planning for the Gothic Flash Fiction Story
This handout is three pages. The first page explains the task to the student. Go over page 1 with the students as a class. Answer any questions the students may have. Then, review the rubric on page 3 so that they understand the criteria for the assignment. If there are no further questions, give students ample time to brainstorm and to complete page 2 of the handout: the prewriting sheet.
Assign the prewriting sheet for homework. After approving the prewriting sheet, give the students a few days to work on their flash fiction in class so that they produce a rough draft...with your assistance from time to time. This rough draft will be the basis for the next activity.
After searching the Web for examples of scary flash fiction stories and discussing examples of horror movies, it's time to begin learning about the specific requirements for your task and to outline the plot for your narrative.
Three P's: Peer edit! Perfect! Publish!
After students have written their first draft, use the attached peer editing form so that they may improve their flash fiction before turning it in and/or sharing it with the rest of the class. I also require the students to turn in all of their drafts, pre-writing, and peer editing with their final drafts. The students should be very familiar with the rubric, so there will be no surprises when you grade their final work.
One final suggestion: I have also compiled all of the stories and printed a booklet for the students so that they can have a copy of all of their peers' work. (I also ask an artistic student to create a cover.) They love it!
Now that you have had the opportunity to write your narrative, the time has come to workshop your peers using previously discussed rubric and the peer editing form provided.
When giving feedback to your classmate, it is important to be thoughtful, reflective, and kind. Your goal is to help them improve their story, but give your suggestions tactfully. Keep that in mind as your complete your evaluation.