GOALS: -For all students to have the opportunity to practice speaking in front of the class -For students to practice

altering and dramatizing parts of a story -For students to demonstrate their knowledge of urban legends through the stories the make or tell STANDARDS: CC.7.SL.6 Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas: Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and tasks, demonstrating command of formal English when indicated or appropriate CC.7.L.4.a Vocabulary Acquisition and Use: Use context (e.g., the overall meaning of a sentence or paragraph) as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase PROCEDURE: 1. As a warm up, give students 5 minutes to either edit the stories they found yesterday or to write a quick outline of a story they just made-up. Were going to have a ghost story day where students will tell (or re-tell) legends theyve found. These should be LOCAL and SHORT. Students will only have 2 minutes to tell their story, and there will be a timer to make sure everyone gets to practice speaking. 2. Have students get into a circle, turn off half the lights in the classroom (as one would for showing movies in class). Pass around a flashlight. The story-teller has the flashlight and everyone else needs to listen to the speaker. As they listen to stories, inform students that their exit ticket for today will be to write down their favorite story and favorite speaker, and why those were their favorites (was the story original? Did it have a surprising twist? Did the speaker use dramatic pauses appropriately, or get into character to explain the victim or attacker?) 3. Go around the room, passing the flashlight and listening to student stories. The goal for today isnt necessarily for everyone to finish telling their story- thats part of the final project. The goal is to make sure everyone gets a chance to practice telling a story theyve found or written, since the Telephone Game is a story the teacher chooses. 4. Teacher should help students who have forgotten parts of their story or who are struggling. 5. Last 3 minutes of class have students complete their exit tickets with their favorite story and favorite speaker. These could be the same or they might be different. What makes an effective speaker? What makes the story good? Over the weekend, the teacher will use these responses to give students advice for polishing up their stories next week and preparing for the oral presentation. ASSESSMENT: SL.6 Informally assess students speaking skill and adaptations for the story L.4.a. Informally assess students understanding of urban legend stock character(istics). Is there a superstition? What is the common theme/trait/action amongst the victims?