Summary

In this lesson students use a graphic organizer to analyze cause-and-effect relationships in the plot of "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" by James Thurber. Then they use those insights to create another episode in Mitty's "secret life." They present the new episode to the class using digital storytelling techniques.

Indiana Standards 2006

• describe a sequence of events and communicate the significance of the events to the audience.
• locate scenes and incidents in specific places.
• describe with specific detaisl the sights, sounds, and smells of a scene and the specific actions, movements, gestures, and feelings of the characters; in the case of short stories or autobiographical narratives, use interior monologue to show the character's feelings.
• pace the presentation of actions to accommodate changes in time and mood.

Timeline

This activity will require 10 45-minute class sessions. Classroom computers require a video editor with at least 2 sound tracks.

Procedures

1. Day One: As a pre-reading activity, ask students to think about daydreams. Do a quick survey — how many people spent some time daydreaming in the past 2 days? How many daydreamed about a relationship? How many daydreamed about some kind of competition? How many daydreamed that they were the "star" of something? Point out that daydreams are healthy as long as they don't interfere with real relationships and responsibilities. Tell students they are going to read a story about a man who daydreams.
2. Students read "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty."
3. Students respond to the story using a graphic organizer as an analysis tool. The handout asks them to note what triggers a daydream in the story and what ends it. It also asks students to envision another daydream that uses the same pattern.
   • Graphic organizer in Adobe format to use as handout
   • Graphic organizer in generic word processing format. Students can upload, type in responses, and print.
   • Key for graphic organizer.
4. Day Two:Students discuss their analysis of causes and effects using the graphic organizer.
5. Students brainstorm and share creative ideas for another Walter Mitty daydream.
6. Day Three: Tell students that they are going to work in small groups to tell the story of another Walter Mitty daydream. They will use a process called digital storytelling.
7. Invite students to visit the DigiTales site. Have them click on "StoryKeepers' Gallery" and watch 3 - 5 digital stories.
8. Make a list of what these stories seem to have in common. Point out that their stories of Walter Mitty's next daydream need to have the same elements.
9. Day Four: Have students read through the seven steps of digital storytelling. Answer their preliminary questions as they go.
10. Students will work on their stories in small groups. The teacher will need to make sure each group has leadership, creativity, and confidence with technology. For this project, the teacher might want to assign students to teams.
11. Days Four - Ten Each group will work through the steps listed at the DigiTales site, including presenting their stories to the class.
12. After the applause, students should reflect upon their participation in this process. What have they learned? What will they do differently next time?

Assessment