A Short Story of Decision Making Retrospective

Students really enjoyed the role-playing game that is at the heart of this unit. I polled them at the end of the game saying, "'So, on a scale of 1-5 with I being 'totally lame' and 5 being 'this can't really be schoolwork,' where does this game fall?" Their answer: "About a four." I did not have to alter the game (or the unit) much, though I did realize that I forgot to include the fact that Character C has been given a map by a mysterious source in the character description. We added that information to the character sheet and the game went on as planned. Students enjoyed the "risk" evaluation when they drew a card to see how their decision played out. There were audible cheers and groans each time a character drew a card.

I found the students had a hard time with the decision trees for the assigned readings. I think narrowing down the plot into either/or choices was slightly artificial. When I teach this next time, I will have the students design their own decision trees for the second story after talking through an example on the first story.

Students' original stories were much more character driven than the first, undirected writing we had done. The "decision moments" they chose were interesting- several had to do with shoplifting or doing drugs. One student chose to polish her rough quest story for her semester portfolio. The unit was a success. I would definitely consider using it in a regular English classroom in the future--especially senior English where the students are taking economics simultaneously.

				Overall Score:
Plot: The plot is interesting and believable. The sequence of events is clear. The writer may rely on flashback or multiple narrators to create an overall picture. The conflict centers on a choice a character must make.	Character: The characters are well-developed and believable. There are not too many characters. The characters are easy to visualize/imagine. The writer uses dialogue, action and details to develop characters.	Originality: The story provides a unique perspective on a generally human problem. The pattern of events or the point of view gives this story a freshness that makes it worth reading.	Quality of Writing: The writer uses story-telling techniques smoothly. There are not long passages of telling." Instead, the writer a presents well-chosen scenes. The prose is easy to read, not cluttered with awkward sentences or redundancies. The language is vivid and precise.	Presentation: The story is typed, double-spaced, and uses proper mechanics and standard font for easy reading.