So, how do I plan a lesson for my Kindergarten – 2nd grade class?
Here is my first post about Building Blocks of my lessons- TPR.
Here is my second post about Building Blocks of my lessons- PQA.
Here is my third post about Building Blocks of my lessons- STORIES
BUILDING BLOCKS
Things that I continually use throughout a lesson.
So the story is over…now what?
Well, if it was a good storytelling day, then make the most of it.
If it wasn’t (and we have all been there), then we can still salvage it. Call it STORY REHAB.
There are lots of activities to choose, but here are some of my favorites. You can choose just one, 2 of them or all. It just depends on your goals.
Number 1 — DRAW THE STORY
As you retell the story, students draw the story on their paper. I use a simple 4 box storyboard.
I like to draw with them so that as I draw I can describe what I am drawing. And, many kids don’t know how to draw certain things like speech bubbles, expressions, and adding details. The very creative kids draw their ideas, and kids who need some extra support can look at my drawings to guide them.
What is great about this activity is all the extra repetitions the students hear, and it is a less stressful time for students to ask questions.
After you have the drawings, you can retell the story as students point to their drawings. You can then do it out of order to check listening comprehension. You could have some of the students try and tell about one frame in Spanish or all of them. I always make this optional and worth classroom points. (For more information on classroom points, see my observation notes of Annabelle Allen La Maestra Local)
Number 2 — Character Study
Which character?
If your story had 3 or more characters, then you either have students draw the characters separately or create a document quickly with google images or images free of copyrights on pixabay.com. Students then cut them out, or you can cut them out ahead of time.
Download PDF of the image above – Character Study Butterfly
Once students have all the images, you describe the character. For example, tell something they might say or something they do in the story to the class. Students listen and raise the picture or pictures of the characters matching your description.
Variations:
- Put pictures of the characters around your room and students walk to the picture of the character you are describing.
- Take the activity outside! Students draw the characters on the sidewalk with chalk, and then as you describe the character, they can jump on top of their drawings.
- Now take those same images and students act out the story as you retell it. Or, as you retell the story, they hold up the character you are talking about at that time and switch throughout the story.
Number 3 — Parallel Story
I like to make a PowerPoint of a story that I can use year after year that is similar to the story I know I will tell or we will create as a class. Sometimes I have the story written out on the slides, or sometimes it is just the images. You can also check Storyteller’s Corner on TeachersPayTeachers for GREAT stories. I love to tell her stories in class and print them for my classroom library.
Below is a sample of one of the PowerPoints I have made.
Number 4 — Act out the story again
Something great about little kids is they will love to act the the story. You can have another set of actors to act out the story, OR you can put the kids in groups and have the groups act out the story at the same time as you retell it. (All the World’s a Stage)
Number 5 — Musical Story Review
I love to turn on the music. It can change things enough to make it novel. So, turn on your favorite Spanish song. Students walk around the room. Then, when you stop the music, they listen for a sentence from the story that they then act out. For example, (stop music) “The butterfly flies to México” or “The snake says -I like the desert-” Of course you do this in the target language.
Number 6 — Drawing
I love this one when I have an unexpected 5 minutes left after telling a story.
Pass out half sheets, and have students draw:
OPTIONS
- their favorite scene from the story. You can have requirements like there have to be 2 characters and/or the setting around the characters.
- what happens next in the story OR maybe draw a spin-off scene (like in the story of “The King doesn’t have a mouth” the students draw HOW the king lost his mouth).
- a story ending. Cut the story off before you end it. Your students draw the ending. For example “The boy opens his present, and it is ______ .”
Mrs. Spanish 