The Boarded Window by Ambrose Bierce Unit Overview of isolation that settlers experienced to familiarize them with the time-period that “The Boarded Window” was written. The class
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The overarching theme/big ideas that will ground the unit.
This unit will explore themes like death, grief, and fear, and how they apply to the
student’s personal lives.
Unit Rationale:
Students will read the short story "The Boarded Window" as the primary text as an
introduction to American literature. This text is beneficial to the students by introducing
themes such as death, grief, and fear that can be thoroughly discussed and related to their
own lives. I would also like to give a brief overview of the American frontier and the
difficulties of isolation that settlers experienced to familiarize them with the time-period that
“The Boarded Window” was written. The class discussions and break-down of the text is
valuable for students to learn how to critically evaluate texts, vocalize ideas on the themes,
and make personal connections to the text’s themes.
Objectives:
Students will summarize text by documenting important events throughout the story. Students will demonstrate an understanding of the story’s themes through writing tasks and class participation in discussion. Students will discuss themes of death, grief, and fear and relate those themes to their own life experiences. Students will relate themes to their own personal experiences. Students will write their own narrative essay and share their personal experiences with the class. Students will recognize the historical setting and significance of The Boarded Window. Students will gain understanding of new vocabulary in the text. Students will critique and evaluate another student’s essay.
6. SL.9.1d Respond thoughtfully to
diverse perspectives, summarize points
of agreement and disagreement, and,
when warranted, qualify or justify their
own views and understanding and make
new connections in light of the evidence
and reasoning presented.
7. W.9.3 Write narratives to develop real
or imagined experiences or events using
effective technique, well-chosen details,
and well-structured event sequences.
Stage II
Calendar: Outline of lessons, goals, & activities
Day Lesson Name Goal/Objective Activities Assessment
1 LESSON CONTENT Introduction to the American Frontier and reading of “The
Boarded Window.”
Students will recognize the historical setting and significance of The Boarded Window. Students will gain understanding of new vocabulary in the text. Students will understand how to summarize text by documenting important events throughout the story.
Have students take a short pre-assessment quiz.
PowerPoint of pictures and information regarding the
frontier and mapping of the setting of the story.
Reading of “The Boarded Window.” Have students
highlight or circle unknown vocabulary.
Write highlighted vocabulary words on board for students to use on worksheet. Homework: Grammar/Story Map (can be started at end of class if there is time).(RI 9.2)(RL 9.1)(RL 9.3)
2 Themes and Narrative Essay Introduction
Students will demonstrate an understanding of the story’s themes through writing tasks and class
Create word cloud with all the themes from the class.
participation in discussion. Students will discuss themes of death, grief, and fear and relate those themes to their own life experiences
Class discussion on themes and how grammar and word
structure used by author sets the stage for themes and suspense.
(R.L.9.4, R.L. 9.5) Handouts on narrative essay and
explanation. Students start working on narrative essay worksheet.
3 Essay Workshop Day Students will relate themes to their own personal experiences. Students will be given the opportunity to write their own narrative essay and share their personal experiences with the class
Students write final draft of informal narrative essay,
referencing it to the themes in the story.
(W.9.3a,b,c,d) Students score each other’s
work. Students are given an
opportunity to share their personal narratives with the
class
Students take a short post-assessment quiz.
Daily Plans
Day 1
Title of today’s lesson: “The Boarded Window” reading Overview: Students will receive an overview of the American frontier of the 1830’s, listen and read along with the story, “The
Boarded Window” and choose unknown vocabulary words.
• Students will read along and listen to “The Boarded Window.”
• Students will highlight unknown vocabulary words and will create a collective board of vocabulary sticky notes.
For Homework:
• Students will fill out a Grammar/Story Map
Learning Objectives:
• Students will recognize the historical setting and significance of The Boarded Window.
• Students will gain understanding of new vocabulary in the text.
• Students will summarize text by documenting important events throughout the story.
Anticipated student conceptions or challenges to understanding: Explain the challenges you anticipate students might face in accomplishing the lesson objectives and how you plan to address these.
• I expect students to have difficulty with the vocabulary in parts of the story and will be addressing it by discussing the
unknown vocabulary and having students define at least three previously unknown words in their Story Map.
• I expect that students may not completely understand homework assignment and will address it by explaining the
Grammar/Story map before the end of class.
Materials/Sources:
• Story/Grammar Map
• Copy of “The Boarded Window”
• “The Boarded Window” reading by teacher • Highlighters/pencils • Chrome books
Instructional Sequence:
Introduction/Motivation: 1. (2 mins) Introduction of myself 2. (10 mins) Pass out chrome books, have students take pre-assessment quiz on google form or printed sheet
https://goo.gl/forms/9Hcv2AvTzXzI6UOr1
Study Learning:
3. (5 mins) PowerPoint of American Frontier and very brief explanation of setting. 4. (15 mins) Audio reading of “The Boarded Window.” A copy of Ambrose Bierce’s “The Boarded Window”
story and a highlighter will be passed out to each student.
• Students will be asked to highlight unknown vocabulary throughout story during the audio reading.
Culmination:
5. (5 mins) Vocabulary discussion (students call words out, I write them on board)
Follow-Up:
6. (5 mins) Class conclusion: Teacher will assign the Grammar/Story Map as homework for students to complete by the next class day (ask students to write down three words from the board on their maps to define).
• Teacher will briefly discuss the assignment, clarifying each category on the worksheet.
Assessment: Grammar/Story Map Worksheet (Worksheet will be started in class if there is any time left)
Title of today’s lesson: “The Boarded Window” discussion
Overview: Group discussion of homework and beginning informal narrative essay.
• Group creation of themes word cloud
• Group discussion of themes from story and importance of characters.
• Talk about what a narrative essay is and cover the assignment for the next day.
• If there’s time, allow students to gather in groups and work on their narrative essay worksheets.
For Homework: come up with a working idea for narrative essay
Learning Objectives:
• Students will demonstrate an understanding of the story’s themes through writing tasks and class participation in discussion.
• Students will discuss themes of death, grief, and fear and relate those themes to their own life experiences.
Anticipated student conceptions or challenges to understanding:
• I expect that students may not understand what a narrative essay is and plan to pass out a page including the specifics.
Materials/Sources:
• Narrative essay information page
• Narrative essay worksheet
• Grading rubric
• Copy of “The Boarded Window”
Instructional Sequence:
Introduction/Motivation:
1. (2 mins) Have students take out homework and make sure that everyone still has their copy of the story (have extra copies available).
2. (5 mins) Explain to students that we will be creating a word cloud with the themes they had come up with for homework. Create word cloud while students call out their ideas. Come up with one main theme.
3.
Study/Learning: 4. (10 mins) Ask students to explain why that was considered the main theme over all. Ask about other minor
themes.
Culmination: 5. (10 mins) Pass out Narrative Essay handouts, worksheet, and grading rubric. Go over introduction of what a
narrative essay is and review the grading rubric. Answer any class questions
Follow-Up:
6. (rest of class time) Students gather in groups to brainstorm ideas and begin working on their narrative essay worksheet. Establish expectations of what I want them to discuss in the groups.
Assessment: Finish Narrative Essay worksheet for homework.
Day 3
Title of today’s lesson: Essay Workshop Day Overview:
• Complete final draft of Narrative Essay
• Turn in essay
Anticipated student conceptions or challenges to understanding: Explain the challenges you anticipate students might face in accomplishing the lesson objectives and how you plan to address these.
• I expect that students may have questions about the structure of the essay and I will address this issue by answering any
questions individually.
Learning Objectives:
• Students will relate themes to their own personal experiences. • Students will write their own narrative essay and share their personal experiences with the class.
• Students will critique and evaluate another student’s essay.
Materials/Sources:
• Narrative Essay Worksheet and Rubric
• Notebook paper
• Chrome books
• Candy
Instructional Sequence:
Introduction/Motivation: 1. (2 mins) Answer any questions that may have risen over the narrative essay or worksheet.
Study/Learning:
2. (15 mins) Write final draft of narrative essay from the worksheet individually and turn it in.
Culmination: 3. (10 mins) Pass out chrome books, have students take post-assessment quiz
4. (10 mins) Students pass their paper to another student and using the rubric from yesterday, we “grade” the papers as a class, following the rubric guidelines
Follow-Up:
5. (rest of class) Ask several students to share their paper with the class (offer candy to participators).
Assessment/Homework: post-assessment quiz on Google forms.
List characters and describe them in 1 or 2 words: Draw most important scene: Identify one main theme in story and use one quote from text to back it up:
Characters: Descriptive Words: Possible Main Theme:
____________________________________________ Summarize events from each section of story using bullet points:
Beginning Middle End
• ______________________________________
• ______________________________________
• ______________________________________
• ______________________________________
• ______________________________________
• ______________________________________
• ______________________________________
• ______________________________________
• ______________________________________
• ______________________________________
• ______________________________________
• ______________________________________
Day 1 Activities/ story
“The Boarded Window” By Ambrose Bierce
In 1830, only a few miles away from what is now the great city of Cincinnati, lay an immense and almost
unbroken forest. The whole region was sparsely settled by people of the frontier--restless souls who no
sooner had hewn fairly habitable homes out of the wilderness and attained to that degree of prosperity
which today we should call indigence, then, impelled by some mysterious impulse of their nature, they
5abandoned all and pushed farther westward, to encounter new perils and privations in the effort to regain
the meager comforts which they had voluntarily renounced. Many of them had already forsaken that
region for the remoter settlements, but among those remaining was one who had been of those first
arriving. He lived alone in a house of logs surrounded on all sides by the great forest, of whose gloom and
silence he seemed a part, for no one had ever known him to smile nor speak a needless word. His simple
10wants were supplied by the sale or barter of skins of wild animals in the river town, for not a thing did
he grow upon the land which, if needful, he might have claimed by right of undisturbed possession. There
were evidences of "improvement"--a few acres of ground immediately about the house had once been
cleared of its trees, the decayed stumps of which were half concealed by the new growth that had been
suffered to repair the ravage wrought by the ax. Apparently, the man's zeal for agriculture had burned
15with a failing flame, expiring in penitential ashes.
The little log house, with its chimney of sticks, its roof of warping clapboards weighted with traversing
poles and its "chinking" of clay, had a single door and, directly opposite, a window. The latter, however,
was boarded up--nobody could remember a time when it was not. And none knew why it was so closed;
certainly not because of the occupant's dislike of light and air, for on those rare occasions when a hunter
20had passed that lonely spot the recluse had commonly been seen sunning himself on his doorstep if
heaven had provided sunshine for his need. I fancy there are few persons living today who ever knew the
secret of that window, but I am one, as you shall see.
The man's name was said to be Murlock. He was apparently seventy years old, actually about fifty.
Something besides years had had a hand in his aging. His hair and long, full beard were white, his gray,
25lusterless eyes sunken, his face singularly seamed with wrinkles which appeared to belong to two
intersecting systems. In figure he was tall and spare, with a stoop of the shoulders--a burden bearer. I
never saw him; these particulars I learned from my grandfather, from whom also I got the man's story
when I was a lad. He had known him when living nearby in that early day.
One day, Murlock was found in his cabin, dead. It was not a time and place for coroners and newspapers,
30and I suppose it was agreed that he had died from natural causes or I should have been told, and should
remember. I know only that with what was probably a sense of the fitness of things the body was buried
near the cabin, alongside the grave of his wife, who had preceded him by so many years that local
tradition had retained hardly a hint of her existence. That closes the final chapter of this true story--
excepting, indeed, the circumstance that many years afterward, in company with an equally intrepid spirit,
35I penetrated to the place and ventured near enough to the ruined cabin to throw a stone against it, and
ran away to avoid the ghost which every well-informed boy thereabout knew haunted the spot. But there
is an earlier chapter--that supplied by my grandfather.
When Murlock built his cabin and began laying sturdily about with his ax to hew out a farm--the rifle,
meanwhile, his means of support--he was young, strong and full of hope. In that eastern country whence
40he came he had married, as was the fashion, a young woman in all ways worthy of his honest devotion,
who shared the dangers and privations of his lot with a willing spirit and light heart. There is no known
record of her name; of her charms of mind and person tradition is silent and the doubter is at liberty to
entertain his doubt; but God forbid that I should share it! Of their affection and happiness there is
abundant assurance in every added day of the man's widowed life; for what but the magnetism of a
45blessed memory could have chained that venturesome spirit to a lot like that?
One day, Murlock returned from gunning in a distant part of the forest to find his wife prostrate with
fever, and delirious. There was no physician within miles, no neighbor; nor was she in a condition to be
left, to summon help. So, he set about the task of nursing her back to health, but at the end of the third day
she fell into unconsciousness arid so passed away, apparently, with never a gleam of returning reason.
50From what we know of a nature like his we may venture to sketch in some of the details of the outline
picture drawn by my grandfather. When convinced that she was dead, Murlock had sense enough to
remember that the dead must be prepared for burial. In performance of this sacred duty he blundered now
and again, did certain things incorrectly, and others which he did correctly were done over and over. His
occasional failures to accomplish some simple and ordinary act filled him with astonishment, like that of a
55drunken man who wonders at the suspension of familiar natural laws. He was surprised, too, that he did
not weep--surprised and a little ashamed; surely it is unkind not to weep for the dead. "Tomorrow," he
said aloud, "I shall have to make the coffin arid dig the grave; and then I shall miss her, when she is no
longer in sight; but now--she is dead, of course, but it is all right--it must be all right, somehow. Things
cannot be so bad as they seem."
60He stood over the body in the fading light, adjusting the hair and putting the finishing touches to the
simple toilet, doing all mechanically, with soulless care. And still through his consciousness ran an
undersense of conviction that all was right--that he should have her again as before, and everything
explained. He had had no experience in grief; his capacity had not been enlarged by use. His heart could
not contain it all, nor his imagination rightly conceive it. He did not know he was so hard struck; that
65knowledge would come later, and never go. Grief is an artist of powers as various as the instruments
upon which he plays his dirges for the dead, evoking from some the sharpest, shrillest notes, from others
the low, grave chords that throb recurrent like the slow beating of a distant drum. Some natures it startles;
some it stupefies. To one it comes like the stroke of an arrow, stinging all the sensibilities to a keener life;
to another as the blow of a bludgeon, which in crushing benumbs. We may conceive Murlock to have
70been that way affected, for (and here we are upon surer ground than that of conjecture) no sooner had
he finished his pious work than, sinking into a chair by the side of the table upon which the body lay, and
noting how white the profile showed in the deepening gloom, he laid his arms upon the table's edge, and
dropped his face into them, tearless yet and unutterably weary. At that moment came in through the open
window a long, wailing sound like the cry of a lost child in the far deeps of the darkening woods! But the
75man did not move. Again, and nearer than before, sounded that unearthly cry upon his failing sense.
Perhaps it was a wild beast; perhaps it was a dream. For Murlock was asleep.
Some hours later, as it afterward appeared, this unfaithful watcher awoke and lifting his head from his
arms intently listened--he knew not why. There in the black darkness by the side of the dead, recalling all
without a shock, he strained his eyes to see--he knew not what. His senses were all alert, his breath was
80suspended, his blood had stilled its tides as if to assist the silence. Who--what had waked him, and
where was it?
Suddenly the table shook beneath his arms, and at the same moment he heard, or fancied that he heard, a
light, soft step--another--sounds as of bare feet upon the floor!
He was terrified beyond the power to cry out or move. Perforce he waited--waited there in the darkness
85through seeming centuries of such dread as one may know, yet live to tell. He tried vainly to speak the
dead woman's name, vainly to stretch forth his hand across the table to learn if she were there. His throat
was powerless, his arms and hands were like lead. Then occurred something most frightful. Some heavy
body seemed hurled against the table with an impetus that pushed it against his breast so sharply as nearly
to overthrow him, and at the same instant he heard and felt the fall of something upon the floor with so
90violent a thump that the whole house was shaken by the impact. A scuffling ensued, and a confusion of
sounds impossible to describe. Murlock had risen to his feet. Fear had by excess forfeited control of his
faculties. He flung his hands upon the table. Nothing was there!
There is a point at which terror may turn to madness; and madness incites to action. With no definite
intent, from no motive but the wayward impulse of a madman, Murlock sprang to the wall, with a little
95groping seized his loaded rifle, and without aim discharged it. By the flash which lit up the room with a
vivid illumination, he saw an enormous panther dragging the dead woman toward the window, its teeth
fixed in her throat! Then there was darkness blacker than before, and silence; and when he returned to
consciousness the sun was high and the wood vocal with songs of birds.
The body lay near the window, where the beast had left it when frightened away by the flash and report of
100the rifle. The clothing was deranged, the long hair in disorder, the limbs lay anyhow. From the throat,
dreadfully lacerated, had issued a pool of blood not yet entirely coagulated. The ribbon with which he had
bound the wrists was broken; the hands were tightly clenched. Between the teeth was a fragment of the
animal's ear.
Day 1 activities/pre-assessment quiz
Name____________________
Pre-Assessment Quiz TIAI Unit Lesson Plan
Have you previously read "The Boarded Window" by Ambrose Bierce?
a. Yes b. No
The "American Frontier" is the name for the _____________.
a. Great Awakening of America during which many new inventions were created b. westward expansion of the population including culture and folklore c. great revival of religion that swept the nation d. cowboys that worked on ranches during the early 1800s
Theme is the _____________ in a piece of literature.
a. plot b. resolution of the plot c. list of characters d. deeper meaning
Impetus means _____________.
a. the force or energy with which a body moves b. inclined to be mischievous c. Vivacity and enthusiasm d. a series of actions or steps taken in order to achieve a particular end
The definition of bludgeon is __________________.
a. activity involving effort or exertion b. to roar and be tumultuous c. to deter or frighten by pretense or a mere show of strength d. a thick stick with a heavy end, used as a weapon
When writers use sensory details in a story, they_____________________.
a. use symbolic images and indirect suggestion to express emotions and states of mind b. employ the five senses to engage a reader's interest c. attribute human characteristics to something nonhuman d. use language that normally signifies the opposite, typically for emphatic effect
A personal narrative essay ______________.
a. is an essay that compels the reader to do something. b. is an essay about a personal story. c. is an informative essay that presents a balanced analysis of a topic. d. is an essay that paints a picture with words in order to convey a deeper meaning.
Have you ever written an essay that connected a piece of literature to your
own past experiences? ______________
a. Yes b. No
Privation means ______________.
a. belonging to or for the use of one particular person or group of people only. b. sharing in the knowledge of something secret. c. a state in which things that are essential for human well-being such as food and warmth
are scarce. d. a special right granted or available only to a particular person or group of people.
In order to build suspense in a story, the author must ____________.
a. quickly rush to the important part, or climax, of the story and finish it. b. continue the timeline of the story at a steady pace from beginning to end. c. slow the story down and use details and vocabulary for emphasis. d. write about several different events instead of focusing on only one.
Day 2 Activities/plans WRITING A PERSONAL NARRATIVE ESSAY
Choose One Event What personal life story can you relate to a theme that we discussed from The Boarded Window? Plan How will you write it? What actions do you want to include? Beginning, Middle, and End Stories should have a beginning, middle, and end. You should determine how the story begins, what happens in the middle (where the bulk of the action will take place) and how the story ends. How to Move an Event Through Time Example: I was completely immersed in the miserable world of Facebook, my mind greedily lapping up the juicy tidbits of gossip and the latest “fake” news articles. Meanwhile, the water in the pot had completely evaporated, and the pot had begun to smoke. Suddenly, there was a massive explosion on the stove behind me!
One way to move an event through time is by choosing words that reflect this movement. Some words that show movement through time are meanwhile, before, after, during, and suddenly. There are many more. Choose the ones that make the most sense for your story. Rising Action & Big Moment The story should have a big moment, or climax, and it should have events leading up to that big moment. It is easy to make the mistake of rushing through this important part of the story. You should do just the opposite. This part needs to be slowed down as much as possible in order to build suspense. Using sensory detail Example: As I dragged through the door and dropped my load of suitcases, familiar smells of baked ham and turkey dressing overwhelmed me. I heard mom’s off-key whistle rise above the clattering and commotion of the kitchen and felt unbelievably happy. I was finally home!
Slow down big moments by using sensory detail to describe what is happening. Resolution Stories need endings. Make sure to resolve your ending and wrap up any loose ends. Do not leave your readers hanging as to what happened to all the characters. Use Dialogue Example: I raced into the house as if my feet were on fire! “JENNA!” I screamed, frantically searching for a glimpse of her auburn hair. “What is wrong with you?” came a reply from the back of the house. I felt like my heart was going to beat right out of my chest! I could barely squeak the words out past a throat full of fear, “Jenna, come on, we have to get into the cellar now! There’s a tornado headed right for us!”
Feel free to use dialogue in your story. It will take your story to the next level. No Need to Be 100% Accurate There is no reason that you must tell the story exactly like it happened. This is a time when you not only can, but should, embellish the facts in order to make your story more interesting.
Day 2 Activities/ worksheet
Name: ____________________________
Personal Narrative Essay Planning Worksheet
FYI: If you need more writing room that what is given, you may use notebook paper, but please attach all written work to worksheet.
My story will be told in:
First-person perspective (I tell my story) Third-person perspective (a narrator tells the story) The one event from my life that I chose to write my personal narrative essay about is: ____________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ The theme that I chose to incorporate from The Boarded Window into my story is: _______________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 1st paragraph: Describe the setting of your story. DO NOT TELL ABOUT ANY EVENTS YET! Use sensory details such as what you see, touch, smell, hear, taste, feel… _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 2nd paragraph: Describe the main character, and hint at the actions that might take place later in the story. Ideas: personality traits, physical description, show how character perceives himself/herself. DO NOT TELL ABOUT ANY EVENTS YET! _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 3rd paragraph: PLOT (Beginning, describe the conflict, start the action) *Hint: you may have more than four points*
Have you previously read "The Boarded Window" by Ambrose Bierce?
c. Yes d. No
The "American Frontier" is the name for the _____________.
e. Great Awakening of America during which many new inventions were created f. westward expansion of the population including culture and folklore g. great revival of religion that swept the nation h. cowboys that worked on ranches during the early 1800s
Theme is the _____________ in a piece of literature.
e. plot f. resolution of the plot g. list of characters h. deeper meaning
Impetus means _____________.
e. the force or energy with which a body moves f. inclined to be mischievous g. Vivacity and enthusiasm h. a series of actions or steps taken in order to achieve a particular end
The definition of bludgeon is __________________.
e. activity involving effort or exertion f. to roar and be tumultuous g. to deter or frighten by pretense or a mere show of strength h. a thick stick with a heavy end, used as a weapon
When writers use sensory details in a story, they_____________________.
e. use symbolic images and indirect suggestion to express emotions and states of mind f. employ the five senses to engage a reader's interest g. attribute human characteristics to something nonhuman h. use language that normally signifies the opposite, typically for emphatic effect
A personal narrative essay ______________.
e. is an essay that compels the reader to do something. f. is an essay about a personal story. g. is an informative essay that presents a balanced analysis of a topic. h. is an essay that paints a picture with words in order to convey a deeper meaning.
Have you ever written an essay that connected a piece of literature to your
own past experiences? ______________
c. Yes d. No
Privation means ______________.
e. belonging to or for the use of one particular person or group of people only. f. sharing in the knowledge of something secret. g. a state in which things that are essential for human well-being such as food and warmth
are scarce. h. a special right granted or available only to a particular person or group of people.
In order to build suspense in a story, the author must ____________.
e. quickly rush to the important part, or climax, of the story and finish it. f. continue the timeline of the story at a steady pace from beginning to end. g. slow the story down and use details and vocabulary for emphasis. h. write about several different events instead of focusing on only one.