This 54-page unit, written for Years 7-8 (ages 11-13) offers beginning high school students an introduction to genre, focusing on Andy Milligan's adventure novel Trash. It comprises:
an introduction to genre and the conventions of the adventure genre
five sections on Trash with reading comprehension questions
activities on the foundational elements of narrative (character, setting, conflict, plot, and voice). These activities ask students to identify the narrative element in the novel and write short examples of their own
an exclusive short adventure story for reading extension or differentiation
a two-part assessment task where students identify conventions in an unseen passage, then write creatively in the genre