Where the Crawdads Sing - Descriptive Language and Setting Development

Weekly Sequence of Learning

Course: 11th Grade Week: 
Narrative – Short Story
Learning Goals/Standards:
Reading:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.11-12.3
Analyze the impact of the author's choices regarding how to develop and relate elements of a story or drama (e.g., where a
story is set, how the action is ordered, how the characters are introduced and developed).

Students should understand that writers make specific choices about how to develop elements of a story, such as
characterization, setting, plot etc. 
Writing:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.11-12.3
Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, well-chosen details, and well-
structured event sequences.
o   CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.11-12.3.B
Use narrative techniques, such as dialogue, pacing, description, reflection, and  multiple plot lines, to develop
experiences, events, and/or characters.
Studets will use a variety of narrative techniques such as word choice and descriptive language to enhance elements
(such as setting) in their writing.
Text(s):
Where the Crawdads Sing, by Delia Owens (excerpt from chapter 1, and the start of the novel).
1.
Ma
1952
The morning burned so August hot, the marsh’s moist breath hung the oaks and pines with fog. The palmetto patches stood unusually
quiet except for the low, slow flap of the heron’s wings lifting from the lagoon. And then, Kya, only six at the time, heard the screen
door slap. Standing on the stool, she stopped scrubbing grits from the pot and lowered into the basin of worn-out suds. No sounds now
but her own breathing. Who had left the shack? Not Ma. She never let the door slam.
But when Kya ran to the porch, she saw her mother in a long brown skirt, kick pleats nipping at her ankles, as she walked down the
sandy lane in high heels. The stubby-nosed shoes were fake alligator skin. Her only going-out pair. Kya wanted to holler out but knew
not to rouse Pa, so she opened the door and stood on the brick-‘n’-board steps. From there she saw the blue train case Ma carried.
Usually, with the confidence of a pup, Kya knew her mother would return with meat wrapped in greasy brown paper or with a chicken,
head dangling down. But she never wore the gator heels, never took a case.
Ma always looked back to where the foot late met the road, one arm held high, white palm waving, as she turned onto the track, which
wove through bog forests, cattail lagoons, and maybe-if the tide obliged – eventually into town. But today she walked on, unsteady in
the ruts. Her tall figure emerged now and then through the holes of the forest until only swatches of white scarf flashed between the
leaves. Kya sprinted to the spot she knew would bare the road; surely Ma would wave from there, but she arrived only in time to
glimpse the blue case-the color so wrong for the woods – as it disappeared. A heaviness, thick as black-cotton mud, pushed her chest as
she returned to the steps to wait.  
Kya was the youngest of five, the others much older, though later she couldn’t recall their ages. They lived with Ma and Pa, squeezed
together like penned rabbits, in the rough-cut shack, its screened porch staring big-eyed from under the oaks.
Jodie, the brother closets to Kya, but still seven years older, stepped from the house and stood behind her. He had her same dark eyes
and black hair; had taught her birdsongs, star names, how to steer the boat through saw grass.
“Ma’ll be back,” he said.
“I dunno. She’s wearin’ her gator shoes.”
“A Ma don’t leave her kids. It ain’t in ‘em.”
“You told me that fox left her babies.”
 
“Yeah, but that vixen got ‘er leg all tore up. She’d’ve starved to death if she’d tried to feed herself ‘n’ her kits. She was better off to
leave ‘em, heal herself up, then whelp more when she could raise ‘em good. Ma ain’t starving, she’ll be back.” Jodie wasn’t nearly as
sure as he sounded, but said it for Kya.
Her throat tight, she whispered, “But Ma’s carryin’ that blue case like she’s goin’ somewhere big.”
Online collaboration
•       Read aloud the first paragraph. During a second read aloud, tell students that you’re going to think aloud this time,
noticing key words and phrases that stick out in your mind (“the morning burned so August hot,” “the marsh’s
moist breath hung the oaks and pines with fog” etc.).  
•       Ask students to identify other key descriptions from that paragraph. Annotate digitally if possible. *Note how the
language is helping to establish the setting.
•       Keep reading aloud or ask the students to finish the excerpt on their own, collecting descriptions of the setting as
they read. Share out what students identify.  
•       Discussion use Breakout rooms if possible, to encourage small group conversations.   
*Pose the questions – Why might an author choose to begin a story with description of a setting? What type of
“craft” moves is the author making here (personification, simile, alliteration, etc.)? How does the description of this
place impact you, as a reader?  
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MODELING – Try and do what Delia Owens does, and begin a story by focusing on the setting.
“To start my short story, I’m going to focus in on the details of the place and try to put my readers right there with me. The
story is about my decision to quit the sport I loved and played my whole life – softball. Words don’t just shoot out of me as
beautifully as Delia Owens. So, first I want to try and think about a few different phrases, words, or descriptions I could use
to help create the scene. My story takes place in right field of a softball game. Here’s what I remember:”
•       5th inning of a three-game tournament day
•       Late July – the heat seemed to swarm and pulse all around me out in right field
•       In between pitches I noticed that I was covered in grass stains from my socks to the neck of my uniform.
•       The indescribable smell of my leather mitt held all the memories of my childhood
•       The all-of-a-sudden cheers erupting from a nearby field following the sharp  “dink”  of a big hit.
•       Late afternoon Alabama storm clouds looming in the distance.
•       Even though we were ahead, I remember wishing that storm would head our way and end my misery.
•        I prayed the dusty red clay would become such a muddy mess and that our game would be cut short.
So now, I’m going to try and put it all together more eloquently. (I would always try to do this live if possible. But here it is,
for now).
The late July heat swarmed and settled in right field as 5th inning exhaustion began to take root. In between pitches of this
3rd game of the day, I found myself staring at a road map of Zoysia grass stains stretching from sock to neck of my once
pristine uniform. Nearby, there’s a sharp dink, and the all-of-a-sudden eruption of cheers signaling a change in another
game’s momentum. I take a whiff of my leather mitt – all the smells of my childhood lingering there - and notice the late
afternoon Alabama storm clouds looming in the distance. Even though we were ahead, I found myself praying that those
thunderheads would drift our way and wash the dusty red clay into an unplayable mud puddle.
 
Independent Tasks:
Delia Owens chose to tell a story set in a place she knew really well – the Carolina Marsh. Because she was familiar with
this place, she could focus in on the small details and describe it in a way that puts the reader right in the middle of this
place – a place that will no doubt be incredibly important to her story. I did the same thing with my story that takes place
on the softball field.
What place do you know really well?
Use the excerpt from Where the Crawdad’s Sing, and my model to guide your through your own writing. Use your digital
Writer’s Notebook to compose a list, or series of descriptive phrase about the place you want to write about.
Finally, put it all together and compose at least a 1 paragraph entry (6 - 8, 11th grade sentences) that focuses on the setting
and helps your reader experience that place with all of their senses. It should sound like the beginning of a great story.  
Book Club Objective:
“Words I love”
After reading for 10 minutes or so, identify words or phrases from your text that you find to be really beautiful. It’s great if
you can find descriptive language about the setting. But descriptive language can be found all over a text. Find a few
examples to share with your book club, and be ready to share why you like those lines/phrases so much.
Technology:
In a digital writer’s notebook, students should begin composing their paragraph entry on a setting for a potential short
story.
Options for advanced learners:
Level-Up Option
Go back and re-read the second half of the excerpt from Where the Crawdad’s  Sing.
How do the details of the characters, also enhance the setting? Think about what they’re wearing, what they’re saying,
what they’re doing.
Can you generate a second paragraph of your entry that begins to include characters?...but still focuses on developing the
setting? Give it a try.
OR
Really take a look at how Delia Owens varies her syntax (sentence structure). There’s a mix of really long, elaborate
sentences and very short, staccato sentences – like when the screen door slaps. What are your sentences like? Are they
having an effect on your reader, or on the description you’re trying to create?
Options for students in need of additional or alternative support:
Just like we collected a list of Delia Owens’ descriptive phrases, when you go to write about your familiar place, make a list
of phrases or words you could use in your writer’s notebook entry. Don’t worry about putting it all together yet.