Narrative Writing Lesson: Severe Weather
Lesson Plan
1 hour 50 minutesGrades9, 10, 11, 12English Language Arts
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Written by Christa Delaney
About this lesson
This lesson introduces students to narratives by young people impacted by severe weather and guides students in writing their own stories.
Inquire: Students watch a video explaining how storms are increasing in severity due to climate change.
Investigate: Students analyze first-person narratives about severe weather by young people from across the United States.
Inspire: Students write and present their own narratives based on their experiences of storms or severe weather.
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Everything you need to teach it
How to edit these materials (video)Teaching tips
Suggestions
- The stories in this lesson include diverse geographical regions in the United States and young people from diverse backgrounds.
- Students learn about storytelling by listening to the stories of other young people.
- To shorten the lesson, teachers can pick one picture to use for the Inquire section and one video to use in the Investigate section.
- The Investigate and Inspire section can be completed on separate days or class periods.
- The narrative writing activity can be extended over several days and include rounds of peer editing or writer’s workshop
- Students can record their stories and turn them into a podcast with an introduction, theme, and conclusion.
Prerequisites
- Students need a device with an internet connection in order to access the videos in the Investigate section.
- Students should be familiar with some narrative techniques.
- Teachers should prepare narrative writing brainstorming worksheets, visual diagrams, or templates as needed.
- Teachers should preview the five videos and select the most appropriate ones for their classroom context. If needed, teachers can pre-assign videos to groups of students.
Differentiation
- Teachers can choose to focus on the oral elements of storytelling such as intonation, pauses, and pacing.
- Students can compare the audio-only podcast with the visual elements in the videos and choose an audio-only or video format to record their narratives.
- Students can dictate their narratives or use a template to write their stories.
- Students can be provided with an example story opening or a list of sensory adjectives.
- Higher level or advanced classes can incorporate advanced narrative writing techniques such as framing, foreshadowing and misdirection, nonlinear storytelling, juxtaposition, and negative space.
From the scientist review
This lesson provides a profound insight for students to share their experience with hurricanes or extreme weather events and how it impacts their lives, livelihoods, and property. Then, students reflect on their feelings and share these narratives to encourage others to respond to any natural disaster in the future. All materials contained in this lesson have been verified, and this lesson is endorsed for teaching.
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About the teacher writer
Christa Delaney
Christa Delaney holds a Bachelor's Degree in Environmental Studies and Teacher Education from Richard Stockton College of New Jersey and a Professional Science Master's in Environmental Studies and Sustainability from Unity College. She has been teaching since 2005 and has 21 years of experience teaching Advanced Placement Environmental Science to grades 11–12. Christa is certified to teach Biological Science and specializes in environmental science and sustainability education.
