You Compare Them! Fiction in Sub-Genre

Introduction

• Ask two student volunteers to act out a conversation where they both discuss how they feel they were wronged in a specific incident (i.e. shortchanged, minor car accident, or ignored in line by a clerk).
• Allow the pair two minutes to prepare for their presentation. While they’re away, tell your class they are about to witness a personal narrative in the drama sub-genre.
• Explain to students that the scenario they will see is a type of storytelling with a particular trait of interpersonal conflict. Ask your students to be on the lookout for expressions of conflict, shared perspectives, and differences in perspective.
• Call the actors in, and watch the performance until it’s clear what the conflict is about and how each person has a clearly different view of the situation.
• Start the review process by asking your class the the following questions:
  • What's the genre (fiction)?
  • What's the sub-genre (drama)?
  • What triat or characteristic from the sub-genre will you witness (interpersonal conflict)?
  • What do you need to focus on while you watch the performance (similar and different expressions of conflict)?
• Share out details of student observations after the performance.
• Tell your students they are going to learn to compare and contrast fiction texts in a common sub-genre, through features specific to the sub-genre.