1. Prior Knowledge: Students should have a vocabulary of 950-1000 words in English. Students should have a basic understanding of how to read simple short stories on daily life, and simple exchanges while shopping or buying food. Students should be able to write sentences following examples, and they should be able to write about themselves and their family using basic adjectives and nouns to describe their interests and hobbies.
2. Big Ideas: - Students will be able to identify verbally and in writing the protagonist, tense, and plot of a short story or conversation. - Students will be able to create simple sentences in past, present, and future tenses. - Students will be able to write a story based on a story previously read.
3. 8th Grade Middle School English as a Foreign Language Standard: Writing- Read a short story and rewrite it by changing the protagonist or the tense of the story (The National School Curriculum-English 2008).
3.1. Objectives
3.1.1. The student will identify the protagonist in a story.
3.1.1.1. Scaffold 1: Use Examples- During the lesson, use example stories and conversations to introduce the protagonist and characters of a story. Using multiple examples in varying levels of difficulty to read and identify the protagonist will aid students more (Northern Illinois University).
3.1.1.2. Scaffold 2: Visual Aids- Use pictures of the characters speaking in the example stores shown during the lesson. It may help more to have speech bubbles and character faces pop up with their conversations as the students read and listen (Alber 2011).
3.1.2. The student will recognize the tense of a story, whether it be in the past, the present, or the future.
3.1.2.1. Scaffold 1: Pre-teach Vocabulary- Introduce common verbs and their simple conjugations before having students identify them and write them in sentences. Examples of simple verbs: to be, to go, to have, to do, to play, to use, to study, to learn, to hold, to wear, etc. (Alber 2011).
3.1.2.2. Scaffold 2: Intentional Partner Work- Have students practice writing sentences in past, present, and future tense, then have students trade their sentences with a partner to correct mistakes that may have been made. This holds both students accountable to know what they are supposed to do, and helps them teach each other (Houser).
3.1.3. The student will determine a short story's plot based on characters and events happening in the story.
3.1.3.1. Scaffold 1: Read Aloud- Read a level-appropriate text to students out loud. If the class is advanced enough, have students popcorn read around the room. Display the story on a powerpoint projected or on a TV screen (Houser).
3.1.3.2. Scaffold 2: Modifying by Level of Thinking- Have students partner or group up to unscramble the events of the story they just listened to to put them back together in the correct order. Give each group a set of sentences from the story that describe the main events. Have a handout/worksheet ready for them to fill out addressing the characters and setting of the story. This exercise can be completed with different, but similar short stories broken up into sentence strips for students to put back together (Robinson).
3.1.4. The student will understand the necessary elements of a complete sentence.
3.1.4.1. Scaffold 1: Sentence Starters- Have a worksheet of a previous story plot students have learned, and have fill-in-the-blanks where certain verbs and characters can be filled in. This exercise can be like Mad Libs, a common English game. This scaffolding helps students understand the correct structure to follow when writing a sentence, such as where the subject and verb should go (Houser).
3.1.4.2. Scaffold 2: Musical Prompts- If students are having difficulty remembering correct capitalization and punctuation when writing, it may be useful to introduce a catchy song for them to remember. Every time there is a mistake, the teacher can hum the tune of the song, or sing the lyrics and students will know what's wrong, and can easily remember the necessary elements of a sentence too (Northern Illinois University). Example -->
3.1.4.2.1. Example -->
3.1.5. The student will create a short story based on a short story previously read.
3.1.5.1. Scaffold 1: Mind Maps- Before students begin writing sentences, have them fill out a mind map created by the teacher on a worksheet, identifying the title of the story, characters, setting, and main plot events. The map can look like a mountain, using the 5 main elements of plot, with rising action, climax, falling action, and conclusion. Students can then begin creating sentences for their story (Northern Illinois University).
3.1.5.1.1. Example -->
3.1.5.2. Scaffold 2: Tap Into Prior Knowledge- Have students choose a story they have read in class to rewrite the ending. The teacher could have the students determine one thing they didn't like about a certain story, and have them rewrite that one part of the story. Students can have the freedom to create new characters and new events and places in the story as they deem is necessary (Alber 2011).
3.1.5.3. Scaffold 3: Use of First Language- Have students choose a common Korean short story to translate, identifying the main characters, the tense, setting, and plot, and have students rewrite the the story with different characters, or a new ending. This incorporates students' culture within the lesson, and fosters abstract thinking (Houser).