Designing a Lesson Plan Using Short Stories

Universidad Autónoma de Sinaloa

Centro de Estudio de Idiomas Mazatlán

B.A. in E.L.T.

Teaching English through Literature

Author: Ana Paulina Gómez Sandoval

Tutor: Svitlana Kovalyk

Date: 10 / 03 / 2019
 Preliminary Information
Time 60 minutes
Level Low Intermediate
Class Focus Skills: Listening and Speaking
Systems: Past Simple and Present Progressive (Review)
Main Aim To develop listening for gist.
To extend students fluency on pair and group discussion
Subsidiary Aim To expose ss to an authentic text in the TL
To enable ss to respond freely to an authentic text.
To allow ss to work together in the creation of a new ending for the story
Assumptions This group of learners is able to comprehend and work with a variety of short
texts in the target language. Though, they are not very advanced learners, they
have the sufficient schemata and practice in reading for gist and detail in order to
understand the short story that I plan to present in this lesson. This learners are
poorly trained to infer meaning of new vocabulary words from context, but they
use translation in order to make this process easier.
Anticipated Affective: Due to this is a teenage group, I assume that these learners are not keen
Problems and readers of literature in their L1. Therefore, I expect to have a few hindrances,
though not that many because I believe that most learners (if not the whole group)
Solutions
are already familiar with this text. I consider it a very well-known children’s short
story which I plan to use as the basis for communicative and interactive activities.
Linguistic: Some possible problems might be that learners will find it difficult to
interpret certain expressions or new vocabulary words from context due to this
short story is originally translated into British English. Also, I expect to have
problems with understanding the chronological order of events in the story mainly
because I plan to break down the text into chunks for the fluency-focused
activaties.
Class Profile This group of young learners (teenagers ages 11-13) who are all middle school
students who take English lessons on Saturdays. Classes take place on Saturday
afternoon from 2pm to 5:30pm. This group is a mixed-ability group, some
students are really participative while others remain silent and passive and there is
also a marked difference in language proficiency. Students participate mostly in
their L1 and they are being constantly encouraged to use the TL. Most
importantly, this learners get really wild and hyped when they do group activities
and it is sometimes hard to keep a good classroom management.
Timetable Fit Last class, learners looked at past simple in contrast with past progressive and
(recent work some vocabulary related to accidents and misfortune. They worked together in
order to write a narrative text in which they had to use while and when clauses to
done)
talk about complete and progressive actions in the past. However, learners made
various mistakes when using this two tenses together, so further practice has to be
provided. Learners have done many speaking and writing but developing
receptive skills is not a priority in this course because of the curriculum design
and the organization of the text book.
Lesson I chose a world famous children’s short story by the German brothers Grimm:
Rationale “Little Red Cap”. I plan to use this novel to encourage my learners to develop
their listening and speaking skills and to expose them to different authentic texts
in the target language such as this classic work. Though, my focus is not on
teaching vocabulary or tenses I do plan to see how students respond to new
language in a short clip and highlight new words or expressions to check
comprehension.
I intend to enable my learners to have as many speaking and listening practice as
possible. I opted for adopting some principles of the Natural Approach due to the
activities I selected move from simpler to more complex activities in which
earners are required to use their language resources available to complete the task.
Regarding the practicality of the material, I find this text appropriate for students’
level of proficiency. This novel is a little bit more challenging from what they are
used to see in their course book passages and listening exercises, though, I think
the language and narrative style is somehow appealing for them.
I decided to adopt a communicative approach by carrying out activities whose
main focus is on fluency rather than on accuracy. One of my subsidiary aims is to
start bringing in authentic texts to the class to change the focus of my lessons. In
other words, I expect this material to be helpful in a way that I can vary the
sequence of activities and procedure commonly stated by the curriculum and to
introduce my learners to a different variety of English from what they are used to
look at.
In this session, we won’t analyze language deeply or focus on any system in
particular. This short story has a moral which I assume learners can deduce easily,
but in order to do that, I plan to play the role of a participant and to be constantly
eliciting ss answers, checking their progress and welcoming all of their ideas.
For the final activity, I considered that following a Cooperative Language
Learning approach would be the most suitable one for this type of activity, yet I
am not planning to specify procedure in detail as the approach suggests. For
instance, I want to pair students so one stronger student is assigned to a weaker
one so there is a learning-buddies interaction and the two of them develop their
interpersonal skills by communicating actively and assuming responsibilities.
Finally, I don’t plan to address errors strictly, but rather to welcome all ideas and
praise students’ participation so they feel motivated and more confident about
raising their voice and using the TL.
 LESSON PLAN
Session title “Little Red Cap”
Skill developed Speaking and Listening
Resources Video (11:45)
Slides
Worksheet
Session By the end of the lesson ss will be able to respond to an authentic text in the TL by interpreting the text, discussing the
learning moral, and composing their own pieces.
outcome(s) Ss will be better able to demonstrate their comprehension of an authentic text by personalizing the story ending.
Ss will be able to develop listening for gist.
Session outline
Stage aim Procedure Interaction Time
Pre-listening stage
Lead-in: T shows on the board a picture of Little Red Cap and the Wolf in her T-S 5’
To generate interest grandmother’s bedroom.(Appendix 1) and ask Ss’ the following questions:
in the story and
activating prior - Look at this picture…Do you know who she is?
schemata - Do you know this story? What is it about? About a girl and a malicious wolf?
- Do you like this story? Is it a happy story or a scaring story?
- How could you describe the main character Little Red Cap? What about the
malicious wolf? Is he ugly, bad, terrifying?

T asks ss to brainstorm some words they can use for describing the story of Little
Red Cap.
(T will leave those words on the board until the end of the class)
e.g.) pretty, boring, inspiring, short, scary, ugly, etc.
While listening stage
Stage 1: T explains to ss that they are going to watch the Little Red Cap short film. T-S 15
To prepare ss for T writes on the board:
the listening and What was Little Red Cap doing when the Wolf went into the Grandmother’s house
predict possible to eat her up?
T elicits ss answers:
information
Do you think she was lost? Or do you think she stopped to do something else?
Ss try to predict what Little Red Cap was doing and note down their answers on a
piece of paper.
T asks ss to focus on that question.
Ss listen and watch the video (11:45) (Appendix 2)
Stage 2: T asks ss to share their answers for the question written on the board. T-S 15
To test T welcomes all ideas and then plays minute 2:55 so ss check if their predictions
comprehension in were ok.
listening for gist T explains instructions for the activity.
and to identify Ss use Appendix 3.
elements of the text Ss check their answers with a partner. S-S
T projects the worksheet on the board and asks ss to come to the board and write
their answers.
Whole group checks answers.
T plays the video again and pauses the video after each scene of the plot to
confirm the order of the events.
Post listening stage
Stage 3: T projects a slide (Appendix 4) on the board and elicits ss answers. T-Ss 5
To initiate a S-S
discussion and share Ss get in pairs.
overall opinions T explains instructions for the activity.
about of the text T asks ss for the meaning of the words in bold and translates if necessary.
Ss discuss the questions in pairs.
Ss share answers with the rest of the group.

Stage 4: T shows on a slide (Appendix 5) a picture of Little Red Cap with a caption next to T-Ss 15
To engage ss in a it.
more meaningful and T asks one student to read out loud the caption.
freer activity and to T explains to ss that the story does not end with the huntsman killing the Wolf and
use previously learnt saving Little Red Cap and the Grandmother.
language
T asks ss the following:
- What could be another ending for this story?
- Do fairytales have a happy ending or a sad ending?
- Did Little Red Cap learn a lesson?
- Do you think Little Red Cap got out safe from that Wolf’s trap? Or do you think
the same thing happened again?

T models the task:

(T): …but this time Little Red Cap was on her guard. Little Red Cap put her cap
and basket next to a dark oak tree. She hid behind a shrub and waited for the wolf
to get closer. When the wolf approached her stuff, she jumped on top of him and
hit him with a stick on the head.
(T): What other situation can you think of?

Ss work together in pairs and write their new endings for the story. S-S
Ss come to the front and read their endings.
Group decides which ending is the best one.
Cool-down T asks ss the following: T-Ss 5
Task - Do you like this story? Ss-T
To wrap up the - Why (not)?
lesson and reflect - Has something similar happened to you before? Something bad? Scary?
on the work done. - Why do you think we should listen to our parents?
- Do you think we should trust strangers even if they are nice to you?
- Why (not)?
Appendix 1 (Lead-in Picture)
Appendix 2 (Video Script 11:45)

Once upon a time there was a sweet little maiden. Whoever laid eyes upon her couldn’t
help but love her. But it was her grandmother who could never give the child enough. One
day she made her a present, a small, red velvet cap, and since it was so becoming and the
maiden always wanted to wear it, people only called her Little Red Cap.
One day her mother said to her: “Come, Little Red Cap, take this piece of cake and bottle of
wine and bring them to your grandmother. She’s sick and weak, and this will strengthen
her. Be nice and good and greet her from me. Go directly there and don’t stray from the
path, otherwise you’ll fall and break the glass, and your grandmother will get nothing.”
Little Red Cap promised to obey her mother. Well, the grandmother lived out in the forest,
half an hour from the village, and as soon as Little Red Cap entered the forest, she
encountered the wolf. However, Little Red Cap didn’t know what a wicked sort of an
animal he was and was not afraid of him.
“Good day, Little Red Cap,” he said.
“Thank you kindly, wolf.”
“Where are you going so early, Little Red Cap?”
“To grandmother’s.”
“What are you carrying under your apron?”
“Cake and wine. My grandmother’s sick and weak, and yesterday we baked this cake so it
will help her get well.”
“Where does your grandmother live, Little Red Cap?”
“About a quarter of an hour from here in the forest. Her house is under the three big oak
trees. You can tell it by the hazel bushes,” said Little Red Cap.
The wolf thought to himself, “What a juicy morsel she’ll be for me! Now, how am I going
to catch her?” Then he said, “Listen, Little Red Cap, haven’t you seen the beautiful flowers
growing in the forest? Why don’t you look around? I believe you haven’t even noticed how
lovely the birds are singing. You march along as if you were going straight to school in the
village, and yet it’s so delightful out here in the woods!”
Little Red Cap looked around and saw that the sun had broken through the trees and that
the woods were full of beautiful flowers. So she thought to herself, “If I bring grandmother
a bunch of flowers, she’d certainly like that. It’s still early, and I’ll arrive on time.”
So she plunged into the woods to look for flowers. And each time she plucked one, she
thought she saw another even prettier flower and ran after it, going deeper and deeper into
the forest. But the wolf went straight to the grandmother’s house and knocked at the door.
“Who’s there?”
“Little Red Cap. I’ve brought you some cake and wine. Open up.”
“Just lift the latch,” the grandmother called. “I’m too weak and can’t get up.”
The wolf lifted the latch, and the door sprang open. Then he went straight to the
grandmother’s bed and gobbled her up. Next he took her clothes, put them on along with
her nightcap, lay down in her bed, and drew the curtains.
Meanwhile, Little Red Cap had been running around and looking for flowers, and only
when she had as many as she could carry did she continue on the way to her grandmother.
She was puzzled when she found the door open, and as she entered the room, it seemed so
strange inside that she thought, “Oh, my God, how frightened I feel today, and usually I
like to be at grandmother’s.” Then she went to the bed and drew back the curtains. There
lay her grandmother with her cap pulled down over her face, giving her a strange
appearance.
“Oh, grandmother, what big ears you have!”
“The better to hear you with.”
“Oh, grandmother, what big eyes you have!”
“The better to see you with.”
“Oh, grandmother, what big hands you have!”
“The better to grab you with.”
“Oh, grandmother, what a terribly big mouth you have!”
“The better to eat you with!”
No sooner did the wolf say that than he jumped out of bed and gobbled up poor Little Red
Cap. After the wolf had the fat chunks in his body, he lay down in bed again, fell asleep,
and began to snore very loudly. The huntsman happened to be passing by the house and
thought to himself, “The way the old woman’s snoring, you’d better see if something’s
wrong.” He went into the room, and when he came to the bed, he saw the wolf lying in it.
He had been searching for the wolf a long time and thought that the beast had certainly
eaten the grandmother. “Perhaps she can still be saved,” he said to himself. “I won’t shoot.”
So he took some scissors and cut open the wolf ’s belly. After he made a couple of cuts, he
saw the little red cap shining forth, and after he made a few more cuts, the girl jumped out
and exclaimed, “Oh, how frightened I was! It was so dark in the wolf ’s body.”
Soon the grandmother emerged alive. Little Red Cap quickly fetched some large heavy
stones, and they filled the wolf ’s body with them. When he awoke and tried to run away,
the stones were so heavy that he fell down at once and died.
All three were delighted. The huntsman skinned the fur from the wolf. The grandmother ate
the cake and drank the wine that Little Red Cap had brought. And Little Red Cap thought to
herself: “Never again will you stray from the path by yourself and go into the forest when
your mother has forbidden it.”
Little Red Cap Storyboard
After you watched the video “Little Red Cap: The Stories of the Brothers Grimm” , look at the pictures (a-i) in the
story board below and number them in the correct order. Then, complete the sentences underneath the pictures
to match the story.

a) 1 b) c)

Little Red Cap’s mother… The huntsman… As soon as Little Red Cap
_____________________ ______________________ went into the forest…
_____________________ ____________________ ____________________
__________________

d) e) f)

The wolf went into the The wolf… Little Red Cap went into her
grandmother’s bedroom and… _____________________ grandmother’s bedroom and…
_____________________ _________________and_ _____________________
_____________________ _____________________ _____________________

h) i) j)

Little Red Cap went into the The huntsman took his ax and… After Little Red Cap picked a
woods… ___________________ bunch on flowers…
___________________ ___________________ ___________________
___________________ ___________________
Answer Key
A) 1
B) 9
C) 2
D) 4
E) 7
F) 6
G) 3
H) 8
I) 5
Appendix 4 (Slide Discussion Questions)

Appendix 5 (Final Activity)

Evaluation Chart
Does this lesson plan help students deal with
language?
Does it help ss with a general understanding of the
story?
Does it help ss think about the story before initial
reading?
Does it have an integration of skills? (fours skills
integrated at some point or any combination)
Does it allow ss to personalize the story?
Does it allow ss to be creative?
Yes, it does. In my opinion, this lesson is really simple and interactive at the
same time. It is simple in the sense that the activities teacher selected do not
overburden students with new vocabulary nor does it force the focus on a
particular structure or skill. I like the approach teacher adopted, which is a
communicative one. I believe this lesson could work perfectly for the target
group teacher is working with and also, the activities teacher plans to carry
out move from controlled activities to more meaningful ones which allow
students to interact and use the language directly and freely.
Yes, it does. This lesson plan, I believe, is well structured and appropriate
for ss language proficiency and cognition. Due to this is a young group of
learners who do not enjoy reading lessons, teacher made a good choice
regarding the material. In addition, teacher has planned a good series of
questions which will help ss familiarize with the plot and other features of
the text without actually looking at terminology and elements explicitly.
Yes, it does. T has another point in favor by planning those pre-reading
questions that help ss to predict and anticipate what the text is about. One
thing that I credit the teacher for is how she designs questions in order for
students to give it some thought and relate some aspects of the text to their
own experience.
Yes, it does. The activities teachers designed focus on speaking and reading.
Yes, it does. The last activity allows ss to personalize the short story in a
creative and personal way. Ss have to come up with a different ending to the
story by asking them what they would have done differently if they had been
Little Red Riding Hood.
Yes, it does. The sequence of activities moves from controlled to freer
activities which become more meaningful and student-centered. The last to
activities are a good example of this.
 Does it have activities that help ss understand the
unique elements of a short story?
S|uggestions for improvement
Yes, it does. The speaking activities (the discussion activities) are planned
so ss become familiar with the plot of this particular story. Though, there is
not an explicit approach to understanding the elements of the text (plot,
climax, characters, resolution, etc) eacher did a good job with the post-
reading questions.
This lesson plan is really well planned. The activities are suitable and
purposeful for ss language proficiency and cognition. However, I do have
one suggestion for improvement and that is to implement some individual
post reading activities to test comprehension. It is a good idea to design
whole group and pair work activities, but sometimes it is good to let students
work and reflect on the language individually and at their own pace. So,
maybe doing a reading comprehension activity (a worksheet, quiz, writing a
summary) will help ss achieve this goal.

Reflection Paragraph

1) After the other teacher evaluated my lesson plan, I decided not to do any changes in the sequence of activities. The teacher’s
suggestion was to create a balance between individual work and group activities. I couldn’t design group activities because I only have
four students in this class, so what I did is that I tried to provide s many student interaction as possible by pairing them up. Maybe, in
the future, I’ll be able to design group activities with larger groups and change the interactions patterns a little bit.

2) If I had teach this lesson again, I would try to present some new vocabulary in the pre-listening so students find it easier to follow
the story. Some students expressed their sentiments about the video when teacher asked if it was easy to understand what the narrator
was saying. All students said they understood the story because they were already familiar with it, but most of them heard some
strange words that were confusing for them. Besides that, I’d like to use the written material as well or at least a part of it.

3) As for the principles I consider the most essential for using short stories in the EFL classroom, here are the ones I consider the most
important:
a) Having an effective pre- stage: this is really important because it facilitates students’ comprehension of the text and it helps them to
focus on particular elements of it.
b) Allowing students to use their creativity: One key aspect of using short stories as well. Target language is more likely to reside in
students’ filing cabinet if the activities they do are meaningful and engaging.
c) Letting students personalize the story: This is a significant one too. Not only do we have to let students personalize short stories but
also all types of literary texts. Students, as I mentioned already, reach and develop their higher order thinking skills only when they
produce something on their own.