LPBarney

Michigan English Language Proficiency: 1st-2nd**
 * MDE Grade 2 Language Arts

Lesson Plan: Story Pyramids and Reading Comprehension Big Ideas:Persistence, hope, effort, motivation, helping others. Themes: Never say never, don't give up without trying

R.NT.02.03 Narrative Text: Identify and describe characters’ actions and motivations, setting (time and place), problem/solution, and sequence of events. R.CM.02.03: Comprehension: compare and contrast relationships among characters, events, and key ideas within and across texts to create a deeper understanding by mapping story elements, graphically representing key ideas and details, and asking question as they read. L.3.2.e Listen attentively to stories/information and identify key details and concepts using both verbal and non-verbal responses. R.9.1.a Identify elements of a story, including character, setting, and sequence of events. R.9.2.a Demonstrate knowledge of story structure and sequence. L.1.2.a Follow simple three or four step oral directions to complete a classroom task.
 * English Language Arts Standards**
 * EL Proficiency Standards:**

-Use nouns, adjectives, and verbs to complete a story pyramid. -Identify the main character, setting, problem, sequence of events, and solution in a story and map the elements out on a story pyramid.
 * Objectives**

"The Little Engine That Could" by Watty Piper http://www.childrensbooksonline.org/Little_Engine_that_Could/pages/04_The_Little_Engine_that_Could.htm Story Pyramid Worksheet: []
 * Materials**

The purpose of this lesson is to teach an English Language class that focuses on the structure of a story, with an emphasis on improving comprehension skills in listening. To start off, have children sit in a circle in the story corner, and ask for volunteers to raise their hand and tell their favorite story. Define character, and ask them to identify the main character in their favorite story. Lesson on English literature to improve reading comprehension -Read a story to the class -Have them fill out a story pyramid that details character names, description of the character, setting, problem, events, and solution. -For grammar: Use for practice with parts of speech- nouns, adjectives. Underlined in green: descriptive adjectives that describe the characters. Underlined in red: nouns of main characters. Verbs in blue- main actions in the story. 1. Tell the children we are going to discuss the parts of stories today. Review from previous discussions, by reminding the children the main character is the main person or creature in the story, the one the story focuses on. The setting is the place where the story occurs, and the time during with it occurred. Problems are hard times the characters encounter, events are the main things that happen, and the solution is how the problems are solved. 2. Refresh the children on words that are used to describe these parts of the story. For instance, a noun is a person, place, thing, or idea, so the character would be an example of a noun. When describing the character, you would use adjectives to describe nouns. Tell the children they are going to use these words to fill in their charts after the story. 3. Read The Little Engine That Could to the class. Stop intermittently to point to the pictures and ask them questions about what is happening in the pictures. Ask questions after each couple pages regarding what was just read. Point out descriptive adjectives and important nouns and verbs in the pages. 4. After the book has been read, tell the children to take out their worksheets and fill them out in groups of 2. Work through the first few with them, and model one for them. The children will need a working knowledge of adjectives, nouns, and verbs to describe the characters and events in the story in small, simple sentences. Then have the pairs group into groups of 4 and compare and discuss their worksheets. Have the children use this worksheet to complete a summary paragraph. Tell them to include the main ideas and characters from the worksheet, to create 1-2 paragraphs Tell them they will be expected to include at least 5 nouns, 5 adjectives, and 3 verbs. Then have the children share their paragraphs with their partner, and provide feedback in the form of PQP: write at least one praise, one question and one suggestion for polishing. Explain in the following format: "Now you are going to look at each other's papers to help each other revise them. Find at least one thing you like and put a sticky note next to it with a praise. Find one thing you have a question about or think they could improve, and write your question on a sticky note next to it. Finally, take the last sticky note and write a suggestion for making the paper better." Children will provide peer feedback in this format, and then go back over their papers and revise them, using their partner's suggestions. Then they will turn them in. Teacher will provide the final form of feedback after the papers are turned in. Note any Take note of: did they include all required elements? Was paragraph cohesive? Did the paragraph accurately summarize the story? Some examples of feedback are: Correct answer: "Great job, the adjectives you used to describe the main character were very descriptive and colorful." Incorrect Answer: for event one, student writes 'the train is broken.' reply:"While it is true that the train didn't work, what is a word that describes the //action// that happened when it stopped working? Try to use a verb here." (tries to take the answer and use the information to come up with an action verb to describe the event, such as 'the train stopped.') After you have wrote your comments on the paper, the papers with comments will be returned to the students. They will then be asked to write a final draft of their paper, using your suggestions as guidelines. Through the process of group, peer, and teacher editing, this will provide the students with a thorough introduction to the revision process.
 * Introduction/Motivation**
 * Lesson Steps**
 * Production/Writing Task**
 * Feedback:**

Examples of Adjectives-in Green Examples of Nouns- in Red Examples of Verbs- in Blue Reading: "The Little Engine That Could" by Mabel Bragg. Chug, chug, chug. Puff, puff, puff. Ding-dong, ding-dong. The little train rumbled over the tracks. She was a happy little train for she had such a jolly load to carry. Her cars were filled full of good things for boys and girls. There were toy animals - giraffes with long necks, Teddy bears with almost no necks at all, and even a baby elephant. Then there were dolls- dolls with blue eyes and yellow curls, dolls with brown eyes and brown bobbed heads, and the happiest little toy clown you ever saw. And there were cars full of toy engines, aeroplanes, tops, jack-knives, picture puzzles, books, and every kind of thing boys or girls could want. But that was not all. Some of the cars were filled with all sorts of good things for boys and girls to eat- big golden oranges, red-cheeked apples, bottles of creamy milk for their breakfasts, fresh spinach for their dinners, peppermint drops, and lollypops for after-meal treats. The little train was carrying all these good things to the good little boys and girls __on the other side of the mountain__. She puffed along happily. Then all of a sudden she stopped with a jerk. She simply could not go another inch. She tried and she tried, but her wheels would not turn. What were all those good little boys and girls on the other side of the mountain going to do without the jolly toys to play with and wholesome food to eat? “Here comes a shiny new engine ,” said the little clown who had jumped out of the train.” Let us ask him to help us.” So all the dolls and toys cried out together: “Please, Shiny New Engine, do carry our train over the mountain. __Our engine has broken down, and the boys and girls on the other side will have no toys to play with and no wholesome food to eat unless you help us.__” But the Shiny New Engine snorted: “I pull you? I am a Passenger Engine. __I have just carried a fine big train over the mountain__, with more cars than you ever dreamed of. My train had sleeping cars, with comftorable berths; a dining-car where waiters bring whatever hungry people want to eat; __and parlor cars in which people sit in soft arm-chairs and look out of big plate-glass windows__. __I carry the likes of you?__ Indeed not!” And off he steamed to the roundhouse, where engines live when they are not busy. How sad the little train and all the dolls and toys felt! Then the little clown called out, “The Passenger Engine is not the only one in the world. Here is __another coming__, a fine big strong one. Let us ask him to help us.” The little toy clown waved his flag and the big strong engine came to a stop. “Please, oh, please, Big Engine,” cried all the dolls and toys together. “Do pull our train over the mountain. Our engine has broken down, and the good little boys and girls on the other side will have no toys to play with and no wholesome food to eat unless you help us.” But the Big Strong Engine bellowed: “I am a Freight Engine. I have just pulled a big train loaded with costly machines over the mountain. These machines print books and newspapers for grown-ups to read. I am a very important engine indeed. I won’t carry the likes of you!” the Freight Engine puffed off indignantly to the round-house. The little train and all the dolls and toys were very sad. “Cheer up,” cried the little toy clown. “The Freight Engine is not the only one in the world. Here comes another. He looks very old and tired, but our train is so little, perhaps he can help us.” So the little toy clown waved his flag and the dingy, rusty old engine stopped. “Please, Kind Engine,” cried all the dolls and toys together. “Do pull our train over the mountain. Our engine has broken down, and the boys and girls on the other side will have no toys to play with and no wholesome food to eat unless you help us.” But the rusty old engine sighed: “I am so tired. I must rest my weary wheels. I cannot pull even so little a train as yours over the mountain. I can not. I can not. I can not.” And off he rumbled to the round-house chugging, “I can not. I can not. I can not.” Then indeed the little train was very, very sad, and the dolls and toys were ready to cry. But the little clown called out, “Here is another engine coming, a little blue engine, a very little one, but perhaps she will help us.” The very little engine came chug, chugging merrily along. When she saw the toy clown’s flag, she stopped quickly. “What is the matter, my friends?” she asked kindly. “Oh, Little Blue Engine,” cried the dolls and toys. “Will you pull us over the mountain? Our engine has broken down and the good boys and girls on the other side will have no toys to play with and no wholesome food to eat, unless you help us. Please, please, help us, Little Blue Engine.” “I’m not very big,” said the Little Blue Engine. “They use me only for switching in the yard. I have never been over the mountain.” “But we must get over the mountain before the children awake,” said all the dolls and toys. __The very little engine looked up and saw the tears in the doll’s eyes, and she thought of the good little boys and girls on the other side of the mountain who would have no toys and no wholesome food unless she helped__. Then she said “I think I can. I think I can. I think I can.” And she hitched herself to the little train. She tugged and pulled and pulled and tugged and slowly, slowly, slowly, they started off. The toy clown jumped aboard and all the dolls and the toy animals began to smile and cheer. Puff, puff, chug, chug, went the little blue engine. “I think I can- I think I can- I think I can-I think I can- I think I can- I think I can- I think I can – I think I can- I think I can- I think I can.” Up, up, up. Faster and faster and faster and faster the little engine climbed until at last they reached the top of the mountain. Down in the valley lay the city. “Hurrah, hurrah” cried the happy little clown and all the dolls and toys. “The good little boys and girls in the city will be happy because you helped us, kind, Little Blue Engine.” And the Little Blue Engine smiled and seemed to say as she puffed steadily down the mountain. “I thought I could. I thought I could. I thought I could. I thought I could. I thought I could. I thought I could.”

__**Grammatical Examples from the passage:**__

__I have just carried a fine big train over the mountain__ Tense- past perfect

Here is __another coming__, a fine big strong one Deletion of pronoun - may confuse the student. What is coming? Or may not realize "coming" is not the subject of the sentence.

__I carry the likes of you?__ Question- irregular form.

__and parlor cars in which people sit in soft arm-chairs and look out of big plate-glass windows__ Relative Phrase

__Our engine has broken down, and the boys and girls on the other side will have no toys to play with and no wholesome food to eat unless you help us.__ Complex sentence, uses three "ands" so students may get lost in all the additions.

__The very little engine looked up and saw the tears in the doll’s eyes, and she thought of the good little boys and girls on the other side of the mountain who would have no toys and no wholesome food unless she helped__ Conditional sentence- Use of "unless", less common form of condition.

__on the other side of the mountain__ Prepositional phrase