Course Profile English in Daily Life, ESLBO, ESL Level 2, Open, Public

Unit 1: Tell Me a Story

Time: 20 hours

Activity 1 | Activity 2 | Activity 3 | Activity 4 | Activity 5

Unit Developers: Hazel Excell, Sandra Katz, Alison Kelsey, Barbara Landry, Barbary Leitch, Lesley Macdonald, Paula Markus, Betty Ann Taylor, Moira Wong

Development Date: February 2000

The whole world is one great conversation, which is carried out through telling stories and it is this great conversation that holds us together.

Janet Lunn

Unit Description

Through the study of folk tales, myths, and legends of diverse origins, students will gain an understanding of the elements of a story and of storytelling. Students will be introduced to a variety of storytelling techniques, including visualizations, vocal expression, and mime. Simple sentence structure, adjectives and adverbs, and common verb tenses will be emphasized through creative writing exercises. In the culminating activity students will individually create a story for class presentation as well as for publication in a class collection of stories.

Strand(s) and Expectations

Strand(s): Oral and Visual Communication; Reading; Writing; Social and Cultural Competence

Overall Expectations: BORV.01, BORV.02, BORV.04; BREV.03, BREV.04; BWRV.01, BWRV.02, BWRV.03; BSCV.04.

Specific Expectations: BOR1.01, BOR1.02, BOR1.03, BOR1.06, BOR1.07, BOR1.08, BOR2.04, BOR3.01, BOR3.03; BRE1.02, BRE3.06, BRE4.02; BWR1.02, BWR2.01, BWR2.02, BWR2.03, BWR3.01, BWR3.02, BWR3.03, BWR3.05; BSC2.01.

Activity Titles (Time + Sequence)

Activity 1	What Comes Next?	180 minutes
Activity 2	Practise with a Picture	180 minutes
Activity 3	More Stories!	240 minutes
Activity 4	Paint it with Words	240 minutes
Activity 5	Your Masterpiece	360 minutes

Unit Planning Notes

· This unit is designed as the introductory unit of ESLBO. As this course will be an entry point into the Ontario school system for many students who have studied some English, it is designed not only to build students’ language, cognitive, and academic skills, but also to expose them to a variety of teaching/learning strategies. Many students will be coming from educational systems where they have not taken an active role in the classroom. As a means of introducing students to a wide range of teaching/learning strategies, this unit encompasses a variety of methodologies and classroom groupings: full class, small groups, heterogeneous and homogeneous groups, and pairs. Many of the activities are designed to show students that knowledge is acquired from peers as well as teachers and that they have a responsibility to be actively involved in the teaching/learning process.

· The ESL classroom and the ESL teacher often serve as a counselling service for ESL students. Very early in the unit, take time to review student timetables and to ensure that students are placed correctly and have complete and appropriate schedules. Continue to assess each student’s progress on an ongoing basis throughout the course and make changes and adjustments to programs as necessary. Encourage students to ask for help with any adjustment or academic issues that concern them. Assure them that it is important and acceptable to ask questions of their teachers and peers and encourage them to do so. It is important that the teacher spend time creating a welcoming atmosphere to help students feel comfortable in their new school environment.

· This unit focusses on the study of folk tales, myths, legends, and the art of storytelling. Stories and storytelling are a vital aspect of all cultures. Many of the stories you will read and tell in class may already be familiar to the students in their first language. Keep this in mind when you are selecting materials. Ensure materials reflect and respect the cultural, linguistic, and racial diversity of the class and of Canadian society.

· Everyone enjoys a good story and being read to. It is important to note that it is easier to retain new language that has been heard rather than new language encountered in print form only. When choosing a story to read aloud, look for one that has repeated vocabulary and sentence patterns, an interesting plot with a creative problem to solve and interesting characters. Some stories are meaningful because the students have parallel stories in their own language and culture. Other times students have a particular interest in the topic and the setting of the story. A visit to the school library or the public library will reveal the wealth of material available. Anthologies of folk tales, myths, and legends are found in the 398.2 section of the library. You will also find award-winning publications of folk tales, myths, and legends in the children’s section of the public library. Children’s publications are useful because they are short in length and the pictures immediately link words to meaning. These books also reinforce the oral rhythm and intonation patterns of English and the artist’s creative interpretation of the text heightens interest in reading. Also, make use of any collections of suitable folk tales, myths, and legends that are already available in your school.

· Purchase a class set of a thesaurus designed for ESL students and make it available for student use throughout the unit.

· There is also a wide range of material on stories and storytelling for educators on the Internet. These web sites are listed in Resources.

· The Storytellers School of Toronto has a directory of storytellers throughout Ontario. In the culminating activity it is suggested that a professional storyteller be invited to class. For a free storyteller’s directory write to: Storytellers School of Toronto, 791 St. Clair West, 2nd Floor, Toronto, Ontario M6C 1B7.

Prior Knowledge Required

· knowledge of simple and compound sentence structure

· knowledge of some co-ordinate conjunctions, e.g., and, but, or

· familiarity with question and answer patterns

· knowledge of simple verb tenses

· knowledge of word functions: adjectives and adverbs

· knowledge of pronouns

· ability to work in groups

Teaching/Learning Strategies

Storytelling, modelled writing, journal writing, co-operative learning groups, teacher read-alouds, silent reading, vocabulary charts, key word lists, student-created books, cloze exercises, directed reading, Internet searches, pair, group and class interaction, role play, sequencing activities, graphic organizers, language games, strip stories, self- and peer-assessment, student presentations, K-W-L charts, process writing, pictorial story outline, semantic webs, student prepared overhead transparencies.

Assessment and Evaluation

Activity	Type	Tool	Categories
Activity 1	Diagnos/Form Diagnos/Form Diagnos/Form	24-hour Log Cartoon Story Sequence a Strip Story	Thinking Thinking/Knowledge Think/Comm/Application
Activity 2	Formative Formative	Checklist of Storytelling Skills Pictorial Outline	Know/Communication Know/Comm/Application
Activity 3	Formative Formative Summative Summative	Story Log Question Formation Written Assignment Comprehension/Question Test	Think/Communication Communication Know/Comm/Application Know/Comm/Application
Activity 4	Summative Summative Formative	Cloze Exercise Group Writing Assignment Checklist of Storytelling Skills	Knowledge Think/Comm/Application Know/Communication
Activity 5	Formative Summative Summative	Student Folder Rubric for Written Product Rubric for Storytelling	Know/Think/Com/Application Think/Com/Application Think/Com/Application

Resources

Azar, Betty Schrampfer. Basic English Grammar. New Jersey: Prentice Hall Regents, 1996.

Azar, Betty Schrampfer. Fundamentals of English Grammar. New Jersey: Prentice Hall Regents, 1992.

Barton, Bob. Tell Me Another. Markham, Ontario: Pembroke Publishing, 1986.
The chapter on “Making the Story Your Own” is especially helpful.

Berish, Lynda and Sandra Thibaudeau. Canadian Concepts, Books 1 and 2. Toronto: Prentice Hall Allyn and Bacon, 1997.

Blatt, Gloria, ed. Once Upon a Folktale. New York: Teachers College Press, 1993.
Strategies for teaching folk tales

Cameron, P. Tales from Many Cultures. Reading, Mass: Addison-Wesley, 1995.

Collins, Rives and Cooper, Pamela. The Power of Story - Teaching Through Storytelling. 2^nd ed. Scottsdale, Arizona: Gorsuch Scarisbrick, 1997.
Contains wealth of storytelling activities to use in the classroom. Excellent teaching resource.

Graham, Carolyn. Jazz Chants. New York: Oxford University Press, 1988.

Graham, Carolyn. Jazz Chants-Fairy Tales. New York: Oxford University Press, 1989.

Green, J. The Ultimate Guide to Classroom Publishing. Markham: Pembroke Publishers, 1999.

Hamilton, Martha and Mitch Weiss. Children Tell Stories. New York: Richard C. Owen, 1999.
Contains 25 short, easy-to-tell stories and a bibliography of tales especially appropriate for student tellers.

Hartman, Pamela, Patricia Esparaza, and Annette Zarian. Tense Situations. Toronto, ON: Harcourt Brace & Company, 1984.

Kasser, Carol and Ann Silverman. Stories We Brought With Us. New Jersey: Prentice Hall Regents,
1986.

MacDonald, Margaret Read. The Storyteller’s Start-Up Book. Little Rock, AR: August House, 1993.
Excellent resource. Exceptionally rich bibliographies and practical advice for beginner storytellers.

Murphy, Raymond. Grammar in Use. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1989.

Paris, Judy and Sandra Tracy. Favorite Fables in Our Lives. San Diego: Dormac, Inc., 1989.

Porter, Jessie. Voices Past and Present. Toronto: Wall and Emerson, 1999.
Contains wide variety of folk-tales, myths, fables, and legends with accompanying student and teacher activities.

Schoenberg, Irene. Focus on Grammar: A Basic Course for Reference and Practice. New York: Addison-Wesley Publishing Co., 1994.

Smolan, Rick and David Cohen (project directors). A Day in the Life of Canada. Don Mills, ON: Collins Publishers, 1984.
Collection of photographs taken across Canada to capture the life of a nation during one 24-hour period.

Storytellers School of Toronto. The Art of Storytelling: A Guide for Parents, Teachers, Librarians, and Other Storytellers. Toronto: The Storytellers School of Toronto, 1984.

Stern, Anita. Tales from Many Lands. Chicago: National Textbook Company, 1996.
This anthology provides a wide variety of folk tales presented in simple language with accompanying activities and graphic organizers

Weaver, Mary C., ed. Tales as Tools: The Power of Story in the Classroom. Jonesborough, TN: National Storytelling Press, 1994.
Contains exceptionally complete bibliographies.

Yashinsky, Dan. Next Teller: A Book of Canadian Storytelling. Charlottetown, PEI: Ragweed Press, 1994.
Contains a wide sampling of Canadian telling.

Yolen, Jane. Favorite Folktales from Around the World. New York, NY: Pantheon. 1986.
Exceptionally rich anthology of beautiful world tales organized by theme.

Suggested Thesauruses

Young Writer’s Thesaurus. Scarborough, ON: Nelson Canada, 1996.
All-Canadian, easy-to-use resource.

Roget’s Student Thesaurus. Glenview, IL: Scott Foresman-Addison Wesley, 1994.

Web Sites

www.web.net/~story
This web site for the Catalyst Centre in Toronto has a collection of folk-tales available for educators and storytellers alike. Author Chris Cavanaugh is an experienced storyteller and excellent resource for ideas on how to use storytelling in the classroom.

www.storyarts.org/
Heather Forest’s site for teacher, librarians, and students explores the use of storytelling in the classroom to enhance speaking. This resource also contains rubrics for assessing storytelling skills.

http://users.aol.com/storypage
This resource contains hypertext links to:

· home pages of professional storytellers

· home pages of storytelling festivals

· articles on storytelling

· children’s literature resources for storytellers

Activity 1: What Comes Next?

Time: 180 minutes

Description

Students get to know each other through a variety of collaborative activities. As well as helping to break the ice, these activities introduce the concepts of chronology, sequencing, sequence words and the development of a simple storyline. Students review the present and past tense. Students practise putting illustrations and text in order to develop an awareness of how contextual and syntactic cues help the teller to tell a story and the listener to understand.

Strand(s) and Expectations

Strand(s): Oral and Visual Communication; Reading; Writing; Social and Cultural Competence

Overall Expectations

BORV.04 - communicate orally using accepted word order, common tenses, and other features of English grammar with some accuracy and consistency;

BREV.03 - demonstrate knowledge of English vocabulary related to classroom studies;

vBWRV.03 - use a variety of simple sentence patterns and basic conventions of standard Canadian English with some accuracy in written work;

BSCV.04 - demonstrate adaptation to school norms, key teacher expectation, and classroom routines.

Specific Expectations

BOR3.01 - use and respond appropriately to common non-verbal signals;

BOR3.03 - demonstrate knowledge of appropriate verbal behaviour in a variety of contexts;

vBRE3.06 - demonstrate comprehension of syntactic cues;

vBWR3.03 - use a variety of simple sentence patterns in their writing;

BWR3.05 - check spelling using a variety of resources;

BSC2.02 - ask questions of teachers and peers for clarification and to obtain information.

Planning Notes

· As this is the initial unit of the year or semester, it is important to include ice-breaking activities at the beginning of the first few classes.

· Having the students line themselves up in alphabetical order by last name reinforces the skill of alphabetizing and emphasizes the importance of the family name in Canadian society. Additionally, it acts as a further icebreaker and promotes student interaction. As some students may be sensitive about their birth date or arrival date, avoid using these criteria to establish a timeline.

· Line one wall of the classroom with a single row of chart paper to prepare for school arrival timeline.

· Obtain a copy of A Day in the Life of Canada or a similar substitute.

· Prepare an overhead of Appendix A – 24-Hour Log.

· In advance complete a copy of Appendix A – 24-Hour Log, for yourself, a fictional character, an object, or the school. To complete the log for your school, collect information about the people and events in the school, e.g., the caretaker arrives at 6:30, volleyball practice begins at 7:00; the office opens at 8:00; the cafeteria opens at 8:30.

· Two of the learning strategies in this activity involve physical manipulation of concrete materials. Students will be working on these activities in pairs. Make adequate copies of Appendix B – A Day in the Life Cartoon Sequence Story and Appendix C – Sequence Story and cut into individual frames or strips. Put each set of these manipulatives into separate envelopes to distribute to student pairs. Prepare a second sequence story for student assessment. Newspaper comic strips provide a readily available source for the creation of sequence stories.

· Keep a supply of chart paper, markers, glue sticks, and tape to use for class timeline and frame stories.

· Encourage students to word-process their written work whenever possible.

· Language activities on present and past tense can be found in Fundamentals of English Grammar, Focus on Grammar, and Grammar Connections 1.

Materials Needed

· chart paper, markers

· copies of Appendix A – 24 Hour Log

· copies of Appendix B – A Day In the Life Cartoon Sequence Story

· copies of Appendix C – Sequence Story

· copy of the illustrated book, A Day in the Life of Canada

Prior Knowledge Required

· knowledge of simple sentence structure

· punctuation of simple and compound sentences

· some transition words

· ability to work collaboratively

Teaching/Learning Strategies

1. Begin the first several classes of the course with a different ice-breaker, such as: Name Whip, Find Someone Who, similarities and differences games, etc.

2. As an entry into sequencing tasks, have the students line themselves up in alphabetical order based on their family name. Have students stand, move around, and talk to each other in order to complete this activity effectively. Circulate and assist students as they complete this task. When students are satisfied with their order, verify the order by having students call out their surnames.

3. Ask students to remember what time they arrived at school that morning. Repeat the line-up activity, however, this time instruct students to use their school arrival time to establish the line-up order. If people arrived at the same time, they can stand parallel to each other. Have students line themselves up parallel to the board or a wall on which you have placed chart paper. When students are satisfied with the order they have created, draw a horizontal line at eye level on the board or chart paper. Insert the name and arrival time of each student along this line, thus creating a school arrival timeline. Use this timeline to review/teach sequence words. List these words on chart paper to create a reference chart of sequence words e.g., first, second, next, then, finally and continue to display and build this list throughout the unit. Have students copy the list into their notebooks.

4. Using the school arrival timeline and the sequence word list, write a class experience story. Have students copy the story into their notebooks.

5. Show the students the book, A Day in the Life of Canada (A Day in the Life of Japan and A Day in the Life of Australia are also available from Collins Publishers). Put a copy of Appendix A – 24-Hour Log on the overhead. Demonstrate how to complete the log. Review/teach the simple present tense. Have students complete the 24-Hour Log with information about what they usually do over a 24-hour period, including a simple line drawing of the activity. Have students use their log and sequence word lists to tell a partner about a day in their life. Change partners and logs, have students practise the third person singular by telling new partners about a day in the life of their previous partner.

6. Review/teach the simple past tense. Introduce necessary irregular past tense verbs (slept, ate, etc.). Have the students complete the 24-Hour Log over a weekend. Have students exchange their logs with a partner and using sequence words and the past tense, tell each other or the class about their partner’s Saturday or Sunday.

7. Put students into pairs. Give each pair a series of Appendix B – A Day in the Life Cartoon Sequence Story. Have students arrange the cartoon frames so that they tell a story. Partners review the frames and together negotiate an order. When the pair has agreed on the sequence of the pictures, have them use sequence words and the past tense to write short captions for each frame. Have students edit their sentences for word order, spelling, punctuation, and verb tense. Circulate around the classroom helping students edit their sentences. When students have completed their editing, have them rewrite or word-process the final draft. Have students paste frames and captions onto a piece of bristol board or chart paper. Post the stories around the room. Students walk around the room with their partners to see how other groups have arranged the frames and retold the story. Discuss with the class some of the differences and similarities which they noted.

8. Put students into different pairs and give each pair a copy of Appendix C – Sequence Story, which has been cut up and placed in envelopes. Have pairs read the strips and sequence them to create a story. Take up as a class. Focus on the content and language clues which helped the students determine the order that they chose.

9. Distribute teacher-prepared sequence story. Students individually sequence this story.

Assessment/Evaluation Techniques

· Use any of the activities in this unit as diagnostic assessments of the students’ skills.

· Completion of the 24-Hour Log (Appendix A) and the related oral activities will help determine the students’ knowledge of basic vocabulary and their ability to use simple sentences in oral communication (diagnostic/formative).

· Completion of the Cartoon Sequence Story (Appendix B) demonstrates students’ ability to write simple and compound sentences, to use the simple past tense, and to sequence ideas (diagnostic/formative).

· Use the Sequence Story (Appendix C) to assess students’ reading skills and their comprehension of syntactic cues (formative).

Accommodations

· Allow students with weaker English language skills to work with a class member who speaks the same language.

· Permit students who are reluctant to reveal details of their own lives to produce time logs of fictional characters or characters from television programs or movies.

· Use Picture Stories for Beginning Communication for more visuals for simple stories.

Resources

Heyer, Sandra. Picture Stories for Beginning Communication. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall Regents, 1989.

Smolan, Rick and David Cohen (project directors). A Day in the Life of Canada. Don Mills, ON: Collins Publishers, 1984.

www.storyarts.org/
Heather Forest’s site for teacher, librarians, and students explores the use of storytelling in the classroom to enhance speaking. This resource also contains rubrics for assessing storytelling skills.

Activity 2: Practise with a Picture

Time: 180 minutes

Description

In this activity students develop an understanding of effective storytelling techniques. Using these techniques, students prepare a group reading of a folk tale. Students are also introduced to the concept of visualization and imaging through the use of a pictorial outline.

Strand(s) and Expectations

Strand(s): Oral and Visual Communication; Reading; Writing; Social and Cultural Competence

Overall Expectations

BORV.02 - recognize and respond appropriately to body language, pauses, and common stress and intonation patterns in English speech;

vBORV.04 - communicate orally using accepted word order, common tenses, and other features of English grammar with some accuracy and consistency;

BSCV.04 - demonstrate adaptation to school norms, key teacher expectations, and classroom routines.

Specific Expectations

BOR1.06 - use short sentences and phrases to tell stories, recount events, provide directions or instructions, and give opinions;

vBOR1.07 - use tone of voice, gestures, and other non-verbal cues to help clarify meaning when describing events, telling stories and stating opinions;

vBOR1.08 - use the customary stress and intonation patterns of English speech to emphasize meaning or to express feelings;

BOR2.04 - use common tenses, adjectives, adverbs, conjunctions, prepositions, common idioms, some two-word verbs and some interrogative and negative constructions appropriately and with some consistency;

BWR2.01 - generate and organize ideas for writing, using graphic organizers provided by the teacher;

BSC2.01 - ask questions of teachers and peers for clarification and to obtain information.

Planning Notes

· Collect a wide variety of folk tales of diverse origins. Use anthologies of folk tales as well as children’s publications. The illustrations and simple text of the children’s books will facilitate reading.

· Obtain from school or local library commercial recordings of professional storytellers, poetry readings, taped books, or recorded plays.

· Obtain a copy of Jazz Chants or Jazz Chants - Fairy Tales.

· In this activity students will be drawing a pictorial outline for their stories. A pictorial outline is a graphic organizer used in storytelling. These pictorial outlines can take many forms, e.g., one large picture, a collage, picture frames, picture wheel, etc. The pictorial outline helps students to visualize the story and become aware of how storytelling stimulates pictures the imagination.

Materials Needed

· tape recorder and blank tapes

· video recorder and blank video tapes

· chart paper and markers

Prior Knowledge Required

· understanding of choral reading

· use of graphic organizers

Teaching/Learning Strategies

1. Select a favourite folk tale to read aloud to class. Use vocal and facial expression to add interest to the reading. Brainstorm with students how you used your voice to read the story. Record student responses on chart paper to begin a reference chart of effective storytelling skills. To emphasize the use of expression in storytelling, read another short tale with no expression or voice variation, and then repeat it using animated expression. Discuss their reactions to the two readings. Also discuss with the class how animated vocal expression helps to clarify meaning for the listener.

2. Play an audio tape of a professional storyteller, a taped book, a poetry reading, or a recorded play. Discuss with the class how professional readers use their voices to give clues to meaning. Add any new points to the class reference chart of effective storytelling skills. From the chart create a checklist that will be used for self/peer assessment.

3. Select a jazz chant to practise choral reading. Have the students experiment with a variety of vocal expressions: whisper the chant, vary the volume as you go through the chant, soft to loud and then loud to soft. Express different emotions in the chanting. Have students chant as if they were afraid, happy, angry, sad, lost, confused, surprised, etc. Have students note how facial expression changes with the different emotions. Suggest to students that they practise at home in front of a mirror. Discuss how the use of facial expression and intonation adds interest to storytelling.

4. Divide students into small groups. Distribute a collection of folk tales to each group (see the 398.2 section of the library). In their groups students browse through the books and pick a story that they will read to the class. As students prepare for the group reading encourage them to refer to the reference chart of effective storytelling skills. Give plenty of time for each group to prepare the reading. Students can divide the story into a number of sentences that each member will read, or if they are using illustrated books each member of the group can read a page. Circulate around the room, giving suggestions and guidance to the groups as they prepare the reading.

5. Have each group present their reading to the class as a whole. Have student audience complete the checklist of effective oral techniques as peer evaluation and give the following feedback to the groups: What was good about their group reading and what could be improved for the next time?

6. Introduce to the class the concept of visualization. Explain to the class that to tell a story it is important to be able to “see” the story as a sequence of pictures or images in the imagination. Read or tell a new story to the class. Have students close their eyes as you read/tell the story. After, discuss with students the images they saw in their imaginations. To help trigger discussion, ask the following questions: What did the characters look like? What were the characters wearing? What was the weather like when the story took place? What did the countryside or the setting look like? In pairs have students compare the different images they imagined. Have a class discussion on how imaging is unique to each person.

7. Read the story once more. With their partners have students draw a pictorial outline. Explain to students that this is not an art project. Students can use stick figures, geometrical figures, abstract markings, etc. Circulate around the room giving feedback and suggestions to students. After students have had enough time to draw the story with their partner, have students retell the story to one another based on their pictorial outline. Remind students to use plenty of vocal expression to help bring their story to life. When students have had enough opportunities for rehearsal, have students get into groups of four and share their stories through storytelling.

Assessment/Evaluation Techniques

· Use the pictorial outline to assess students’ oral comprehension.

· The students’ creation of a chart and checklist from Teaching/Learning Strategies 1 and 2 demonstrates their ability to recognize the use of both facial expression and vocal intonation patterns to convey meaning (formative).

· Students use their checklist to assess peer storytelling skills (formative).

Accommodations

· Make an audio or video recording of students who would like additional feedback.

· Have students work in pairs to coach and prompt each other in preparation for the presentation.

· Have students tell their story in the first language as a transition to telling it in English.

Resources

Porter, Jessie. Voices Past and Present. Toronto, ON; Wall and Emerson, 1999.
The first section of this text is devoted to fables that are retold in simple language.

Stern, Anita. Tales from Many Lands. Chicago: National Textbook Company, 1996.
This anthology provides a wide variety of folk tales presented in simple language with accompanying activities and graphic organizers.

Kasser, Carol and Ann Silverman. Stories We Brought With Us. New Jersey: Prentice Hall Regents,
1986.

Paris, Judy and Sandra Tracy. Favorite Fables in Our Lives. San Diego, CA: Dormac, Inc., 1989.

Blatt, Gloria, ed. Once Upon a Folktale. New York: Teachers College Press, 1993.

Winer, Lise. Five Folk Tales. New Jersey: Prentice Hall Regents, 1982.

www.storyarts.org/
Heather Forest’s site for teacher, librarians, and students explores the use of storytelling in the classroom to enhance speaking. This resource also contains a wide selection of Aesop’s fables and Tales in a Nutshell.

Activity 3: More Stories

Time: 240 minutes

Description

In this activity, students read a variety of stories and use a graphic organizer to develop an understanding of the key elements of story structure such as setting, characters, plot, and theme. Through participation in a question game, students complete graphic organizers and practise the interrogative.

Strand(s) and Expectations

Strand(s): Oral and Visual Communication; Reading; Writing; Social and Cultural Competence

Overall Expectations

BORV.01 - participate in conversations on familiar topics in some social situations;

BORV.02 - recognize and respond appropriately to body language, pauses, and common stress and intonation patterns in English speech;

BREV.04 - respond to a range of short fiction and non-fiction texts, using a variety of strategies;

BREV.04 - read texts with familiar content or vocabulary, using a variety of reading strategies;

BWRV.01 - write in a variety of forms;

vBWRV.03 - use a variety of simple sentence patterns and basic conventions of standard Canadian English with some accuracy in written work.

Specific Expectations

BOR1.01 - maintain face-to-face conversations on familiar topics;

BOR1.02 - determine meaning by requesting clarification and restating information when necessary;

BOR1.03 - listen to others and stay on topic in a group discussion;

BRE1.02 - read and respond to a variety of materials selected for study and pleasure;

BRE4.02 - use a graphic organizer provided by the teacher to extract information from pre-selected texts;

vBWR1.02 - respond appropriately to written questions based on familiar academic content (e.g., by writing short sentences or phrases; by completing graphic organizers);

vBWR3.02 - use a variety of simple sentence patterns in their writing;

vBSC2.01 - ask questions of teachers and peers for clarification and to obtain information.

Planning Notes

· Select a fable or folk tale text from those recommended in the resource list or from resources you have available. Choose a variety of stories from the text for classroom use. When selecting stories, choose carefully in order to reflect the cultural diversity of the students in the classroom and Canada. Be prepared to discuss bias issues that may appear. The Internet has excellent web sites devoted to fables and folk tales.

· Choose an illustrated text that will be used for a K-W-L chart.

· In this unit students will complete a graphic organizer, Appendix D – Story Log. The main goal of the story log is to help students think about the structure of a story, e.g., setting, characters, plot, and theme. Throughout the unit students will add to the log as they read/hear new stories.

· Prepare ten statements about the content of a story. Leave space above each statement for the students to write corresponding questions.

· Complementary grammar exercises can be found in Basic English Grammar, Fundamentals of English Grammar, Grammar in Use, and Focus on Grammar.

Materials Needed

· multiple copies of Appendix D – Story Log

· copies of teacher-selected folk tales

Prior Knowledge Required

· knowledge of question and answer patterns

· familiarity with the use of graphic organizers

· ability to extract information from a text

· ability to work in small groups

Teaching/Learning Strategies

1. Show students an illustration from a selected story. Have students get into groups and answer the following questions relating to the picture: What do you know? and What do you want to know? In a K/W/L chart record student responses. Review/teach formation of wh-questions and yes/no questions. Have students copy questions into their notebooks.

2. Give students the corresponding text of the story. Students work in pairs, reading the story aloud. Have students answer the questions they have copied into their notebooks and complete the L (What did you learn?) section of the K-W-L chart.

3. Distribute a copy of Appendix D – Story Log, to each student. As a class, use the information from the story the students have just read to complete the log.

4. Distribute copies of a second teacher-selected story. Have students independently read this story. To confirm understanding students fill in their story log. To reinforce interrogative forms, have students write questions for a series of teacher-prepared statements about the story. As a class verify the questions the students created.

5. Put students into small groups. Provide students with a list of stories you have selected and have each group choose a story to read. The group reads its story together and fills in the story log.

6. Explain to students that they will have to complete their story log for the stories read in the other groups by asking yes/no questions. In their groups students develop a list of yes/no questions that they will use to discover the necessary information to complete their log, e.g., Is the character an animal? Is the character a person? Is character a teacher? Does the story take place in a forest? Does the story take place in a castle? Students write their questions on separate slips of paper and place them in a box.

7. Groups take turns as expert panels at the front of the room. The expert panel draws a question from the box, reads it out loud and answers yes or no. This is repeated until students can complete their story logs or after a specified number of tries, have the expert group provide missing information.

8. Students choose one story that they have learned from the question game, and using the information in their story log write five to eight sentences about that story. Students write first draft and then have opportunities for self/peer and teacher editing.

9. For assessment, students read a new story independently. They complete a story log and create questions based on this story.

Assessment/Evaluation Techniques

· Use the Story Log to assess students’ ability to extract information from pre-selected texts and record this on a graphic organizer (formative).

· Student-created questions provide opportunity to assess students’ skills in using questions for clarification and obtaining information (formative).

· Use the writing activity from Teaching/Learning Strategy 8 to assess students’ ability to write in simple sentences and use some basic conventions of written English (summative).

· Use the independent reading activity to assess students’ ability to respond to fiction and organize information on a graphic organizer. This activity also incorporates the skills of basic question formation (summative).

Accommodations

· Students may also keep a personal response journal in which they record their feelings or reactions to a story.

· Instead of writing questions for Teaching/Learning Strategy 6, students can play an oral game of Twenty Questions, with the teacher first modelling how it is played.

Resources

Porter, Jessie. Voices Past and Present. Toronto, ON: Wall and Emerson, 1999.
The first section of this text is devoted to fables that are retold in simple language.

Stern, Anita. Tales from Many Lands. Chicago: National Textbook Company, 1996.
This anthology provides a wide variety of folk tales presented in simple language with accompanying activities and graphic organizers.

Kasser, Carol and Ann Silverman. Stories We Brought with Us. New Jersey: Prentice Hall Regents, 1986.

Paris, Judy and Sandra Tracy. Favorite Fables in Our Lives. San Diego, CA: Dormac, Inc., 1989.

Blatt, Gloria, ed. Once Upon a Folktale. New York: Teachers College Press, 1993.

Winer, Lise. Five Folk Tales. New Jersey: Prentice Hall Regents, 1982.

www.storyarts.org/
Heather Forest’s site for teacher, librarians, and students explores the use of storytelling in the classroom to enhance speaking. This resource also contains a wide selection of Aesop’s fables and Tales in a Nutshell.

Activity 4: Paint It with Words

Time: 240 minutes

Description

In this activity, students develop descriptive vocabulary by brainstorming and creating word webs for adjectives and adverbs. Through a group creative writing exercise, students become more familiar with the writing process and present their stories to the class.

Strands and Expectations

Strand(s): Oral and Visual Communication; Reading; Writing; Social and Cultural Competence

Overall Expectations

BORV.01 - participate in conversations on familiar topics in some social situations;

BORV.02 - recognize and respond appropriately to body language, pauses, and common stress and intonation patterns in English speech;

BWRV.02 - use some elements of the writing process, with teacher guidance, with an emphasis on prewriting activities;

vBWRV.03 - use a variety of simple sentence patterns and basic conventions of standard Canadian English with some accuracy in written work.

Specific Expectations

vBOR1.07 - use tone of voice, gestures, and other non-verbal cues to help clarify meaning when describing events, telling stories and stating opinions;

BOR1.08 - use the customary stress and intonation patterns of English speech to emphasize meaning or to express feelings;

BOR2.04 - use common tenses, adjectives, adverbs, conjunctions, prepositions, common idioms, some two-word verbs, and some interrogative and negative constructions appropriately and with some consistency;

BWR2.01 - generate and organize ideas for writing, using graphic organizers provided by the teacher;

BWR2.02 - compose a first draft of a simple composition;

vBWR3.02 - use common tenses and verb phrases, adjectives, adverbs, and some conjunctions in their writing;

vBWR3.05 - check spelling using a variety of resources.

Planning Notes

· On slips of paper, write the names of the characters introduced throughout the previous activities and put them in a box labelled Characters from Stories.

· Create a teacher-prepared web chart (see ESLA0/Unit 1-24) using descriptive words associated with a character from one of the stories. Students will use this web chart as a model.

· For the creative writing exercise, make a list of generic characters, settings, and problems. Write these on slips of paper and place them in boxes marked Characters, Setting, and Problem.

Examples
Characters	Setting	Problem
girl	farm	lost
boy	forest	storm
animal	ocean	breaks something
giant	city	forgets something
machine	mountains	loses something

· Provide students with copies of a suitable thesaurus.

· Complementary grammar exercises for adjectives and adverbs are found in Azar’s Fundamentals of English Grammar.

· In advance, book time with the computer facilities available in your school to allow for students to practise writing and editing using a word-processing program.

Materials Needed

· overhead transparencies and markers

· overhead projector

· chart paper and markers

Prior Knowledge Required

· use of overhead transparencies

· word functions and definitions: adjectives/adverbs

· verb tenses: present, and regular/irregular past

Teaching/Learning Strategies

1. Lead the class in a brainstorming session of words we use to describe people, and characters in a story. Encourage students to think of as many words as possible. Have a thesaurus available and instruct students how to find synonyms. Record student responses on chart paper. Have students also copy lists of words into their notebooks. Be prepared to address possible stereotypes certain words create.

2. Review with students the names of all the different characters they have heard of and read about in the stories told and read in class. Students can also refer to their story log for characters under the heading, “Who.”

3. Using lists from steps 1 and 2, demonstrate to students how to develop a web chart (see ESLAO Course Profile Unit 1-24 for examples) showing descriptive words that are associated with specific characters (e.g., the hare – proud, foolish, unreliable, lazy).

4. Divide the class into groups and have them pick three slips of papers from the box labelled Characters from Stories. In their groups students create a web chart for each character. Students develop first copy of web charts on plain paper. Assist students with word search techniques and spelling. After students have checked first copy (self/peer and teacher editing) have students transpose their work onto overheard transparencies and then present their work to the rest of class.

5. Review/teach definition and function of adjectives. Use a cloze exercise on adjectives for assessment.

6. Brainstorm action words associated with the different characters from the stories heard/read in class. Record student responses on board. Review/teach formation of adverbs. Brainstorm possible adverbs associated with action words already listed on board. Record student responses and have students copy lists of words into their notebooks.

7. Break students into groups. Using student-prepared web charts on adjectives plus the lists of action words and adverbs, have each group create two or three sentences associated with characters from the stories, e.g., The foolish hare slept soundly. The wise tortoise progressed steadily. The frightened boy called loudly.

8. After peer/self and teacher editing, have students transcribe sentences onto chart paper and have each group present work to the rest of class.

9. Discuss with class how adjectives and adverbs provide interest and colour to writing and storytelling.

10. To incorporate vocabulary-building techniques into student writing, introduce the following creative writing exercise. Take a generic character, setting, and problem and write a story together on board. Have students come up with progression of story, helping out only if students get stuck at some point in the story. Encourage students to use as many adjectives and adverbs as possible. After the story is completed, edit the story together and have students transcribe story from board into their notebooks. Have students update story log with information from the story they created.

11. Repeat the above creative writing exercise in groups. Each group picks a slip of paper from the boxes labelled Character, Setting, and Problem. In their groups, students develop a simple story based on the slips of paper they have chosen. Remind students to use adjectives and adverbs in their writing. Students write first draft and then have opportunities for self/peer and teacher editing. Word-process student writing. Group stories are submitted to teacher for teacher evaluation (summative).

12. Have groups prepare a class presentation of their stories. Groups tell (not read) their stories. To help students learn the story, have groups create a pictorial outline of the main events. Have groups incorporate different vocal expressions and mime learned in Activity 2, e.g., introduce a chant into the story, vary the volume at appropriate times in the story, use facial expressions, clapping, etc. Give students plenty of time to rehearse.

13. Students present their stories. Use the checklist of effective storytelling skills developed in Activity 2 for peer evaluation.

Assessment/Evaluation Techniques

· Use the cloze exercise to assess students’ vocabulary acquisition and application (summative).

· Use of Storytelling Skills Checklist from Activity 2 demonstrates student recognition of non-verbal cues to help clarify meaning when telling stories (formative).

· Group stories are evaluated for content and accuracy in writing (summative).

Accommodations

· Make audio and video recordings for students who want additional feedback.

· Provide pictures of people to help students brainstorm descriptive words in Teaching/Learning Strategy 1.

· Allow students to ready their stories aloud in Teaching/Learning Strategy 12.

Resources

Azar. Foundations of English Grammar. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice Hall Regents, 1984.

Berish, Lynda, Sandra Thibaudeau, and De Rosa Wilson. Grammar Connections 1 and 2. Toronto: Prentice Hall Allyn and Bacon, 1995.

Suggested Thesauruses

Young Writer’s Thesaurus. Scarborough, ON: Nelson Canada, 1996.
All-Canadian, easy-to-use resource.

Roget’s Student Thesaurus. Glenview, IL: Scott Foresman-Addison-Wesley, 1994.

Activity 5: Your Masterpiece

Time: 360 minutes

Description

In this culminating activity, students draw upon their understanding of story structure and the language skills developed in the previous activities to write their own stories. These stories are presented to the class and together are published as a class collection of stories.

Strand(s) and Expectations

Strand(s): Oral and Visual Communication; Reading; Writing; Social and Cultural Competence

Overall Expectations

BORV.02 - recognize and respond appropriately to body language, pauses, and common stress and intonation patterns in English speech;

vBORV.04 - communicate orally using accepted word order, common tenses, and other features of English grammar with some accuracy and consistency;

vBWRV.01 - write in a variety of forms;

BWRV.02 - use some elements of the writing process, with teacher guidance, with an emphasis on prewriting activities;

vBWRV.03 - use a variety of simple sentence patterns and basic conventions of standard Canadian English with some accuracy in written work.

Specific Expectations

vBOR1.06 - use short sentences and phrases to tell stories, recount events, provide directions or instructions, and give opinions;

vBOR1.07 - use tone of voice, gestures, and other non-verbal cues to help clarify meaning when describing events, telling stories and stating opinions;

vBOR1.08 - use the customary stress and intonation patterns of English speech to emphasize meaning or to express feelings;

BOR2.04 - use common tenses, adjectives, adverbs, conjunctions, prepositions, common idioms, some two-word verbs, and some interrogative and negative constructions appropriately and with some consistency;

BWR2.01 - generate and organize ideas for writing, using graphic organizers provided by the teacher;

BWR2.02 - compose a first draft of a simple composition;

BWR2.03 - use simple word processing software to compose and edit pieces of writing;

vBWR3.01 - compose a short paragraph containing simple and compound sentences;

BWR3.02 - use common tenses and verb phrases, adjectives, adverbs, and some conjunctions in their writing;

BWR3.05 - check spelling using a variety of resources;

vBWR3.03 - use a variety of simple sentence patterns in their writing;

BSC2.01 - ask questions of teachers and peers for clarification and to obtain information.

Planning Notes

· Create an assignment page to distribute to the students. On this page clearly indicate the nature of the assignment, the various stages of the assignment, and the specific completion dates for each stage. Prepare copies of the assignment and the evaluation rubrics for each student.

· Create a simple tracking sheet on which to record student progress and completion of various stages of project.

· If possible, invite a professional storyteller from the community to give a presentation to the class.

Materials Needed

· copies of the assignment

· copies of the evaluation rubrics

· student folders

Prior Knowledge Required

· basic elements of a story and storytelling

· use of graphic organizers

· understanding of the writing process

Teaching/Learning Strategies

1. Explain to the class that in this final assignment they will be creating and writing their own stories. They will present their final product to the class and then the stories will be used to create a class booklet.

2. Give copies of the assignment to the students and review it with them. Give specific deadlines for each stage of the process. (See Planning Notes.) Make students aware that the process is as important as the final product. Insist that students keep their ideas, rough drafts, sketches, etc., in a folder which will be handed in with the final project.

3. Review the assignment criteria by examining and explaining the evaluation rubric with the students.

4. To help students choose the stories they will develop, review the following suggestions:

· Build a story based on a real life experience;

· Interview a relative about a problem and resolution and use the story for the basis of a new retelling.

5. As a group review what makes a story appealing and the elements that are included in every story. Review the importance of language in sequencing and character development. Create a class checklist of these items.

6. Students complete a graphic organizer, similar to the story log, as a tool for developing their thoughts. Students also complete word webs for each character in their story. Some students may want to create a pictorial outline of the main events and the characters in their stories to assist with their thinking.

7. Using their graphic organizers and pictorial outline as notes, students discuss their ideas with a partner. A story partner must actively listen, ask for clarification, give feedback, and make positive comments to the author. Story partners discuss the stories with each other and complete the story checklist devised by the class.

8. Students use their organizers and partner’s feedback and begin to write their stories. Allow time and opportunity for students to compose and conference with their partners.

9. Allow plenty of time for students to share and revise their drafts with their story partners. Circulate and assist with this process.

10. Students create final drafts of their stories.

11. Review with the class the storytelling techniques they learned in Activity 2. Allow plenty of time for students to work with their story partners and practise these techniques in their storytelling. Suggest to students that they practise telling their stories to family members or in front of a mirror.

12. Prepare a storytelling area from which students present their stories to the class.

13. Students submit the final copies of their stories for compilation in the class collection. Distribute class collection of stories to each student and donate one copy for display in the library.

Assessment/Evaluation Techniques

· To assess student writing, see Appendix E – Rubric for Assessing Student Written Product.

· To assess storytelling skills, see Appendix F – Rubric for Assessing Storytelling.

Accommodations

· Some students may be uncomfortable presenting to the entire class. Allow students to present their stories to selected audiences (small groups, teacher only) depending on their comfort level.

· Keep tape recorders and tapes available for students who want additional practice and feedback.

· Allow students to use a visual prop to support their storytelling.

· Other suggestions which may be offered as ideas for creating the story include:

· Update a familiar tale by making the students’ local community the setting;

· Build the story around one, or a number of the visuals collected by the class;

· Tell an urban legend;

· Tell the life story of an inanimate object (a stone, a piece of bread, a stoplight, etc.);

· Mix and match elements from the various stories on their Story Log to create a new story.

Appendix A

24-Hour Log

Name:

Date:

Time

Who?

What?

Where?

Drawing

Appendix B

A Day in the Life – Cartoon Sequence Story

Drawn by Ian Strung, student at Earl Haig S.S., Toronto, 1999. Permission granted for publication and reproduction.

Appendix C

Sequence Story

Long, long ago, the north wind and the sun were not friends. They often fought and argued with each other about which one was stronger.

One day they saw a traveller walking down the road. “Now we have the perfect way to settle our argument,” they both thought. “We will see who can force the traveller to take his coat off. Whichever of us can do that will be the strongest.”

First the north wind blew gently against the man. The man shivered slightly but kept walking.

After that the north wind gathered his strength and blew strong gusts of wind at the man. These gusts of wind made the man gather his coat more closely around him.

Then the north wind gathered all its strength and blew strong cold winds that almost pushed the man over. These winds made the man pull his coat more tightly around him.

When the wind saw this, it gave up trying and said to the sun, “It is your turn now.”

The sun smiled. It came out from behind the cloud and began to shine gently upon the man.

After the wind disappeared and the sun began to shine, the man unbuttoned his coat.

Then the sun climbed higher in the sky and began to shine more brightly on the man.

Soon the man became warm.

First he unbuttoned his coat.

Next he took off his gloves and put them into his pocket.

He thought, “A little while ago, I was freezing. Now I am warm.”

“Not long ago my coat could not keep me warm. Now it is making me very hot.”

Finally the man stopped and took off his coat.

When the wind saw the man take off his coat, it turned to the sun and said, “I agree. You are stronger than I am!”

Appendix D

Story Log

#	Title	Who?	When?	Where?	Why? (the problem)	What Happened?	The Lesson
1
2
3
4
5
6

Appendix E

Rubric For Assessing Student Written Product

	Level 1	Level 2	Level 3	Level 4
Knowledge/ Understanding · uses sequence words to develop storyline	- demonstrates limited understanding of sequence words	- demonstrates some understanding of sequencing words	- demonstrates considerable understanding of sequence words	- demonstrates thorough understanding of sequence words
Thinking · uses graphic organizers to develop ideas	- demonstrates limited use of graphic organizers to develop ideas	- demonstrates some use of graphic organizers to develop ideas	- demonstrates considerable use of graphic organizers to develop ideas	- demonstrates thorough use of graphic organizers to develop ideas
Communication · uses writing conventions: correct sentence structure, spelling, punctuation	- demonstrates limited use of writing conventions	- demonstrates some use of writing conventions	- demonstrates considerable use of writing conventions	- demonstrates thorough use of writing conventions
· uses adjectives and adverbs	- limited use of adjectives and adverbs	- some use of adjectives and adverbs	- considerable use of adjectives and adverbs	- thorough use of adjectives and adverbs
· uses appropriate verb tenses	- limited use of appropriate verb tenses	- some use of appropriate verb tenses	- considerable use of appropriate verb tenses	- thorough use of appropriate verb tenses
Application · demonstrates understanding of setting, character, plot, and theme	- demonstrates limited understanding of setting, character, plot, and theme	- demonstrates some understanding of setting, character, plot, and theme	- demonstrates considerable understanding of setting, character, plot, and theme	- demonstrates thorough understanding of setting, character, plot, and theme

Note: A student whose achievement is below level 1 (50%) has not met the expectations for this assignment or activity.

Appendix F

Rubric for Assessing Storytelling

	Level One	Level 2	Level 3	Level 4
Knowledge/ Understanding · uses sequence words to tell the story	- demonstrates limited understanding of sequence words	- demonstrates some understanding of sequencing words	- demonstrates considerable understanding of sequence words	- demonstrates thorough understanding of sequence words
· uses adjectives and adverbs	- uses adjectives and adverbs in a very limited fashion	- uses some adjectives and adverbs	- uses adjectives and adverbs with considerable ability	- uses adjectives and adverbs very effectively
Thinking/Inquiry · uses correct verb tenses and endings	- demonstrates limited use of verb tenses and endings	- demonstrates some use of verb tenses and endings	- demonstrates considerable use of verb tenses and endings	- demonstrates thorough use of verb tenses and endings
· organizes ideas for presentation	- demonstrates limited organization of ideas	- demonstrates some organization of ideas	- demonstrates considerable organization of ideas	- demonstrates thorough organization of ideas
Communication · speaks clearly and audibly	- communicates audibly and clearly with limited ability	- communicates audibly and clearly with some ability	- demonstrates considerable ability to speak audibly and clearly	- demonstrates thorough ability to speak audibly and clearly
Application · uses facial expression and body language to clarify meaning	- uses limited expression and body language	- uses some expression and body language	- uses considerable expression and body language	- uses thorough expression and body language
· modulates voice in relation to ideas being presented	- uses limited modulation of voice	- uses some modulation of voice	- uses considerable modulation of voice	- uses thorough modulation of voice

Note: A student whose achievement is below level 1 (50%) has not met the expectations for this assignment or activity.

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