English 1: The Story Lab

Course Overview
Narratives are stories, and stories are everywhere. Whether it's
a movie, song, newscast, work of art, or video game, the
narratives we consume, create, share, and believe in shape
ourselves and our world. There is power in story. Each one of
us is a living story, a story critic, and a storyteller.

In English 1 students will analyze, create, discuss, and share

narratives, considering how stories and our experiences of
them are shaped by questions of identity, place, language,
and culture.

By the end of this course, the student will be able to use the tools of narrative, discussion, and literary
analysis to:
❏ Analyze how narratives convey attitudes and worldviews around topics of identity
❏ Explore and express their own identity, experiences, and worldviews
❏ Make connections between literary and non-literary narratives to oneself and the world
❏ *Raise critical consciousness around topics of identity, place, language, and culture*

BIG Ideas
1. What is story? Why tell stories?
2. What is the impact of effective storytelling?
3. How do others tell stories? How can I tell stories?
4. What is the relationship between identity and story?

English 1: The Story Lab

Identity & Story: Who am I? What makes me who I am? What is story? What is the relationship between identity & story?

Unit 1: Unit 2: Unit 3: Unit 4:

Identity & Intersectionality: What Identity & Place: How does my Identity & Language: How does Identity & Art: How can I
makes up your identity?How do environment impact my my language impact my connect art to life? How do
stories reflect/represent identity? How do my stories identity? How can I learn from others use art to express
identities? impact those around me? other’s identities? identity?

Reading Narrative: In a Writing Narrative: Using Discussion: In a Literary Analysis: In a

written analysis, using a
short text I’ve read on my
own, I can explain how
the theme develops in a
story. (RL2)
narrative style, I can write
and share a story. (W3)
discussion, I can build on
the ideas of others and
reflect on my growth. (SL1)
written argument,
using evidence and
original commentary, I
can explain how an
author’s word choice
creates tone and
meaning. (W1, RL4)

Connection Between Units

Unit 1 begins with reading and analyzing narratives. In this unit, students will explore narrative techniques
within texts and analyze how those techniques communicate a theme or worldview. Unit 2 builds on the
reading and analysis skills from unit 1 as students experiment with narrative styles and techniques in their
own writing. In Unit 3, the learning focus shifts to learning the art of discussion. In this unit, the narrative
reading and writing skills learned from the first two units will serve as the support for collaborative
discussions. Unit 4 returns to reading and analyzing narratives, this time with a focus on examining the
author's word choice in order to make an argument about the text’s tone and meaning. This unit serves as a
bridge to English 2, where students will deepen argumentation skills.