Unit Plan 35 (Grade 8 ELA): Author Study – Intertextuality & Craft
8th graders analyze how modern stories transform classic myths and archetypes, then craft their own reimagined scenes using deliberate stylistic choices. The unit ends with formal author talks where students present and explain their creative adaptations.
Focus: How modern texts draw on myths/traditional stories; craft imitation; presentation
Grade Level: 8
Subject Area: English Language Arts (Reading—Literature; Writing—Craft; Speaking)
Total Unit Duration: 5 sessions (one week), 50–60 minutes per session
I. Introduction
Great authors are in conversation with the past. This week students study intertextuality—how contemporary works echo, transform, or subvert myths and traditional tales. They’ll map themes, archetypes, and event patterns from a source story into a modern text, then craft their own scene that deliberately reuses and reshapes those elements. The unit culminates in a brief author talk where students introduce and read an excerpt, adapting speech to a formal audience.
II. Objectives and Standards
Learning Objectives — Students will be able to…
- Analyze how a modern text draws on and transforms a myth/traditional story’s themes, event patterns, and character types, and explain the effect of these choices (RL.8.9).
- Produce clear, coherent writing in a focused scene or vignette that imitates targeted craft moves (diction, imagery, pacing, structure) appropriate to task, purpose, and audience (W.8.4).
- Present an author talk that uses formal English, purposeful pacing and tone, and audience-aware explanations of intertextual choices (SL.8.6).
Standards Alignment — CCSS Grade 8
- RL.8.9: Analyze how a modern work draws on themes, patterns of events, or character types from myths, traditional stories, or religious works.
- W.8.4: Produce clear and coherent writing appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
- SL.8.6: Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and tasks, demonstrating command of formal English.
Success Criteria — student language
- I can show what echoes (theme/archetype/pattern) the modern text uses and how it changes them.
- My original scene intentionally adopts a source element and a specific craft move, and reads clearly from start to finish.
- In my author talk, I speak in formal English, explain my intertext choices, and read with appropriate pacing and emphasis.