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50 min
Student Lesson
Lesson 38: Stories for the Future, Mapping a Narrative Arc
Content
Students will begin their Performance Task by selecting a narrative pathway and mapping a story arc.
Language
Students will justify a narrative pathway and use verbal phrases, connecting words, and consistent verb tenses to describe a planned narrative action sequence.
Foundational Skills
Students will learn about verbal phrases as narrative tools.
How does memory help us understand who we are, and what is lost when memory disappears?
How do stories help communities survive change and imagine a future worth building?
Knowledge-Building:
Students bring together the unit’s study of memory, storytelling traditions, and imagined futures as they plan original narratives.
Enduring Understanding:
Stories preserve identity and guide future choices when people face change, loss, or new futures.
Future Lessons:
In Lessons 39 and 40, students will begin drafting their narratives for the Performance Task.
Unit Performance Task:
Students begin their Performance Task by selecting a narrative pathway and mapping their story arc.
| Lesson Flow | Purpose of Learning Experience |
|---|---|
Launch5 Minutes | Students will activate prior knowledge about how they plan when writing a story. |
Literacy Lab10 Minutes | Students will learn how verbal phrases function in sentences and how writers use them to add action, texture, and purpose to narrative plans. |
Learning in Action30 Minutes | Part A: Choose Your Narrative Path (W.8.5) Students will select a narrative pathway for their Performance Task. Part B: Build Your Story Arc Planner (W.8.4, W.8.5) Students will map the arc of their story using a planner. |
Material List
Unit 4 Lesson 38 Student Edition
Routines
Turn and Talk
Language Study
Invite students to briefly review any narrative scene, notebook entry, or idea they developed earlier in the unit so they can build from existing work rather than start from scratch.
Say: In recent lessons, you’ve analyzed how authors like Donna Barba Higuera and W. E. B. Du Bois make purposeful choices about storytelling. Today, you’ll begin making those same choices as writers by planning your own narrative.
Instruct students to turn and talk with a partner about the following questions.
Ask: How do you usually plan a story or narrative before you write it?
I usually think of the main problem first and then decide how it ends.
I sometimes picture the setting and characters before I start writing.
I do better when I make a quick plan, because if I just start writing, I get stuck in the middle.
Ask: Why might planning be especially important when writing a story?
You need to think about the main elements of the story first, like characters, plot, conflict, and setting.
Planning helps make sure the story connects to a bigger idea.
It helps you decide what matters most in the story.
Say: Today, you will make one of the most important decisions in the entire Performance Task: choosing the pathway for your story and starting to map out the key events before you begin drafting.
Teach: Verbal Phrases as Narrative Tools
Say these Directions: Today, we are studying verbal phrases. A verbal phrase is built from a verb, but it does not act like the main verb of the sentence. Writers use verbal phrases to add movement, highlight important ideas, and show purpose without creating a new sentence.
Display the chart. Briefly review each type of verbal phrase and how it functions.
Type | Function | Example |
|---|---|---|
participial phrase | functions as an adjective and modifies a noun | Carrying the last story, she boarded the ship alone. |
gerund phrase | functions as a noun and names an action | Remembering is an act of resistance. |
infinitive phrase | functions as a noun, adjective, or adverb and often shows purpose | She had one goal: to preserve what the system had tried to erase. |
Say: Observe how each phrase functions. “Carrying the last story” shows action (participial). “Remembering is an act of resistance” names an idea (gerund). “To preserve what was erased” shows purpose (infinitive).
Say: As a writer, I choose words and phrases based on what I want to emphasize. Verbal phrases let me describe a character in motion, name an idea as important, or show why a character acts. Writers choose a verbal phrase based on what they want to emphasize—action, idea, or purpose
Say: Now, we are going to practice expanding simple kernel sentences so that we can use them effectively in our own writing. Use one different verbal phrase type for each sentence.
Display the following sentence prompts.
Expand this kernel sentence with a participial phrase: The guardian ran toward the archive.
Clutching the last map, the guardian ran toward the archive.
Expand this kernel sentence with a gerund phrase: The people kept the story alive.
Keeping the story alive became the people’s way of fighting back.
Expand this kernel sentence with an infinitive phrase: The girl hid the recording.
The girl hid the recording to protect her family’s history.
Say: As a writer, I choose based on what I want to emphasize—whether I want to describe a character in motion, name an idea as important, or show why a character acts.
Teacher Tip |
|---|
If time allows, briefly read a short excerpt from The Last Cuentista (end of the novel) or “The Comet” to highlight how writers use sentence structure to develop character action and ideas that drive the plot forward. Use this moment to connect grammar to narrative writing by pointing out how verbal phrases help show action, clarify ideas, and express purpose. |
Say: As you plan and then draft your narrative, you will use verbal phrases to help you describe what your characters are doing, what matters in your story, and why your characters act. Clarify what matters in your story, and explain your character’s purpose.
Students choose a narrative pathway and begin shaping the direction of their story. Emphasize that each pathway offers a different way to explore the unit’s themes of memory, identity, and the future.
Say these Directions: Today, you will choose a pathway for your Performance Task narrative. Choose the pathway that best fits the idea you want to develop. You may continue with the previous pathway you have been developing throughout the unit or choose a new one.
Display an abridged version of the Performance Task Prompt:
Create a narrative that looks forward, showing how memory and identity help people find their way. Your story may be true, fictional, or blended, but it must show how remembering the past shapes what comes next.
Display the four narrative pathways. Briefly review each one, focusing on the type of story and its purpose.
Narrative Pathways:
Speculative Story (Fictional Future):
Imagine a future world where something essential to humanity—stories, emotions, art, or nature—has been lost. Write about a character or community that tries to restore it.
Narrative of Becoming (True or Blended Memoir):
Write a true story—or a mix of truth and creative retelling—about a moment when you realized who you were becoming. Show what you learned, how you changed, and what you want to carry forward into the future and the wider world.
Reimagined Cuento or Myth (Cultural Continuity):
Retell a cultural, family, or community story in a way that speaks to today’s or tomorrow’s world. You can keep its structure but change the setting, values, or message to show how stories evolve to fit new times.
Continuation or Companion Story (Novel Continuation):
Write a new story set in The Last Cuentista’s world. You might narrate from another point of view (Voxy, Feathers, Suma), imagine the next generation, or show how new stories are born on Sagan.
Say: I am choosing the Speculative Story pathway because I want to imagine a future city where lullabies have been erased from the public archive. My main character finds one forbidden recording and has to decide whether to keep it hidden or share it with others. I want my story to explore how memory can survive inside art, even when a system tries to control people. I also want to show that protecting culture can help a community become more human.
Say: Before you choose, take a moment to think about the two pathways that interest you most. Which pathway feels most interesting to you? Which one feels most inviting or enticing to turn into a full story?
Provide time for students to read the pathway options. Encourage them to review ideas they explored about memory, identity, or the future in previous lessons to consider the idea they may want to further develop.
Say these Directions: In your journal, write:
The pathway you selected
One idea or message you want your story to explore
One possible moment, conflict, or situation your character might face
Optional Sentence Starters:
I am choosing the ___ pathway because ___.
I want my story to explore ___ about memory, identity, or the future.
I am choosing the Continuation or Companion Story pathway because I want to write about what happens on Sagan after Petra’s stories begin spreading. My story will follow a younger character who hears one of those stories for the first time. I want my story to explore how memory can rebuild trust after people have been controlled for a long time. I also want to show that the future changes when more than one person becomes responsible for remembering.
If time allows, have students briefly share their pathway and idea with a partner.
Students will use a Story Arc Planner to map the key elements of their narrative, including setting, conflict, memory, point of view, and theme.
Say: Now that you have chosen your pathway, you will plan your story in more detail. Your pathway should help you figure out your story elements.
Display the Story Arc Planner. Model how to begin filling it out using a think-aloud.
Say: If I chose the Speculative Story pathway, I might set my story in a future city where music has been erased. That setting creates the problem right away. My central conflict could be that my character finds a forbidden recording and has to decide whether to keep it hidden or share it. The memory or story element is that recording; it represents what has been lost and what could be restored. As I plan, I make sure the events connect. The setting creates the conflict, and the conflict connects to the theme I want to communicate.
Say these Directions: Now that you have chosen your pathway, you will plan your story in more detail. Your pathway should help you figure out your story elements. You will use your Story Arc Planner to outline the key elements of your narrative based on the pathway you selected. You do not need to complete every part perfectly; focus on building a clear plan you can draft from.
Display the following prompts to support students as they complete their Story Arc Planners.
Say these Directions: Use the following prompts to help you complete your Story Arc Planner.
What world or setting will your story take place in? How does the setting create or shape the conflict?
What is the central problem in your story? What is at risk?
What memory or story element is important, and why does it matter?
Who is telling the story, and how do they respond to the conflict?
What idea or theme do you want your story to communicate?
Provide time for students to complete their Story Arc Planners. Circulate to ensure students are making clear connections across sections.
Say: This plan will guide your drafting. In the next lesson, you will use your planner to write an opening that brings your reader into this world and begins your story.
Story Element | Description |
|---|---|
Setting/World | a greenhouse city on a future moon where old Earth songs are banned and oxygen is rationed |
Central Problem or Conflict | The main character finds a hidden lullaby archive, but sharing it could get her family removed from the city’s safe zone. |
Point of View | first-person point of view from a 13-year-old maintenance apprentice who is curious, careful, and tired of following orders |
Characters |
|
Key Events |
|
Themes | Memory should be protected, art carries identity, and communities become stronger when they share responsibility for preserving culture |
Teacher Tip |
|---|
If students struggle to complete all sections of the planner, have them complete the planner one section at a time (character, setting, and conflict first, then memory and theme, then events). You can also pause the class after each section to quickly check for understanding before moving on. |
Provide students with a Reflection (i.e., 1–5). As needed, model how to demonstrate a level of confidence using the continuum.
Reflection |
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Reflect on your ability to plan a clear and purposeful narrative using the Reflection routine.
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Transition students into pairs.
Say these Directions: Review your Story Arc Planner. Discuss with your partner:
What is one part of your plan that feels clear and ready to draft?
What is one part you may need to develop more before writing?
I feel confident about my conflict because I know what problem my character is facing. I still need to develop my ending because I’m not sure yet what I want the reader to understand.
Instruct students to review their Story Arc Planners and respond to the following prompt in their Journal. Students should finish their Story Arc Planners if they did not finish during the lesson.
As you review, write a brief note responding to the following:
Which part of your plan feels strongest?
Which part do you want to revise or develop further before drafting?
Finish your Story Arc Planner to prepare for the following lesson’s narrative drafting.