Appendix A: Second Language Literacy Learning Lesson Plans

The three lesson plans below outline a literacy learning

sequence on Persepolis: A Story of a Childhood (Satrapi,
2002) designed for Dutch EFL learners in the first year of
pre-university secondary education. The sequence is based
on the Intensive Reading Framework as outlined by
Hedgcock and Ferris (2009, p. 161) and includes a before,
during, and after reading lesson.
This text was partially selected for its potential to inspire
enjoyment in L2 reading and may thus encourage learners
to read comparable L2 texts. The sequel Persepolis: The
Story of a Return (Satrapi, 2002) could be read for a future
extensive reading project, however, this is beyond the scope
of the present lesson plans.

Lesson 1: Persepolis - Before Reading

Text: Persepolis: A Story of a Childhood by Marjane Satrapi
Before Reading Lesson
Lesson Focus:
- Schemata activation, and
- Schemata development
Lesson Objectives
- Developing cultural and historical
background knowledge relevant to
text
- Developing background knowledge
of author
- Developing information literacy, i.e.
finding & evaluating online
information
Activities:

Year: VWO 1
Time: 55 min.
Knowledge / Skills:
- Digital literacy skills: researching
and evaluating information
Resources:
- Graphic memoir Persepolis
- Access to computer room

Content schemata development may

expedite reading comprehension
(Kozminsky & Kozminsky, 2001, p. 188).
Time
(min)

Interaction
Structure

Annotations

1. Introduction Mini-Lecture

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Introduction of author
Introduction of text
Explanation of lesson aims
2. Brainstorming
Whole class brainstorm session
whereby students make free
associations with concepts relevant
to text
3. Internet Research
Students conduct Internet research
on cultural and historical
information relevant to the text.
Class divided into teams, who each
research one of the topics below:
- Geography, including location,
capital, population
- Ancient Persia
- Modern Period before 1979.
- Islamic Revolution 1979
- Women in Islam

4. Reporting Back to Class

- Teams prepare for presentation
- Reporting back to class

HOMEWORK: N/A

Teacher to whole
class

Whole class
activity

25

Team work

Research can be
conducted in L1.
General knowledge
information required
only. E.g. location in
the Middle East;
capital Tehran;
ancient culture;
Islamic revolution a
disruption of a
modern society.

20

Team work

Reporting can be
executed in L1.
All team members
need to speak during
presentation. Other
students need to take
notes.

Reflections:

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Lesson 2: Persepolis During Reading

Text: Persepolis: A Story of a Childhood by Marjane Satrapi Chapters 1 - 3
During Reading Lesson
Lesson Focus:
- Reading strategies
- Vocabulary learning
Lesson Objectives:
- Developing formal schemata of text
type, i.e. graphic literature
- Reading strategy 1: guessing word
meanings using L1 lexical knowledge
- Reading strategy 2: inferring word
meanings from visual context
- Vocabulary acquisition

Year: VWO 1
Time: 55 min.
Skills:
- Reading skills
- Visual literacy skills
Resources:
- Graphic memoir Persepolis
- Copies for students
Formal schemata development will aid
engagement with the text. A common
language for graphic literature will
facilitate discussions about the text.

Strategy 2 may also develop visual literacy

(Shwarz, as cited in z & Efecioglu, 2015, p. 76

Activities:
1. Mini-Lecture
- Introduction of text type
- Introduction of graphic novel
terminology
- Explanation of strategies
- Pre-teaching of vocabulary essential
to understand text
2. Read-aloud to class
First reading of first and second
chapter. Purpose is to establish gist.
3. Read-aloud: Intensive reading
Second reading, with the following
purposes:
- Modelling strategies
- Guided practise involving whole
class
4. Silent individual reading
Individual reading of sequential
chapters to practise strategies.
Students need to work out
vocabulary meanings of the words

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Time
(min)

Interaction
Structure

10

Teacher to whole
class

10

Teacher to whole
class

15

Whole class
activity

15

Individual work

Annotations

Terminology should
include: panel, strip,
spread, captions and
speech bubbles.

Integrating
several reading
strategies may be
more effective in
promoting
comprehension
(Kozminsky &
Kozminsky, 2001,
p. 190).
Individual feedback
should be provided.

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underlined in the text and log

answers in personal vocabulary logs.
5. Classroom Discussion
Brief activity to confirm
comprehension and accuracy of
vocabulary learning.
HOMEWORK: READING
- Read chapter 4-6
- Apply strategies to determine
meaning of words
- Maintain personal dictionaries

Whole class
activity

Students should not aim

to translate whole text
or use dictionaries to
find word definitions.

Reflections:

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Lesson 3: Persepolis After Reading

Text: Persepolis: A Story of a Childhood by Marjani Satrapi Chapters 3 - 6
After Reading Lesson
Lesson Focus:
- Summary writing

Year: VWO 1
Time: 55 min.
Skills:
- Writing skills

Lesson Objectives:
- Developing summary writing skills
- Consolidating vocabulary learning

Resources:
- Graphic memoir Persepolis
- Models of summaries

Activities:

Time
(min)

Interaction
Structure

Annotation

10

Whole class
activity

This activity is intended to

confirm whether students
have understood the main
events and central themes
in the chapters set as
homework readings.

15

Teacher to
whole class

Main teaching points

metafunctions summary
genre:
Ideational: Factual
representation of
main events in
present tense
Interpersonal: Thirdperson singular

10

Whole class
activity

Students should be
encouraged to recall new
vocabulary.

Discussion could be expanded to develop critical

literacy by asking students to compare prior
knowledge with new insights from the text.
Additionally, it could be expanded to develop
visual literacy by asking students to describe
their favourite frames.

1.
-

Classroom Discussion
Plot & main events
Characterisation
Vocabulary learned and strategy use

2. Modelling Genre - Summary

Teacher explanation of genre and
analysis of a few short examples.
- Purpose of summary
- Lexico-grammatical features of
genre
A visible pedagogy helps students
understand how texts are patterned in
distinctive ways to achieve particular
goals (Hyland, 2004, p. 88).

3. Joint Construction of Genre

Whole class activity: writing a
summary of Chapter 1 on the
blackboard

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A learning context characterised by high

challenge and high support is most likely
to extend learning and capability (Burns
& De Silva Joyce, 2005, p. 9)

4. Pair Construction of Genre

Pair work writing a summary of
Chapter 2.

5. Recap of Lesson
Students read summaries aloud,
followed by feedback on most
effective summary

15

Pair work

Whole class
activity

Summary should consist of

approximately 3 4
sentences and contain new
vocabulary where possible.
Individual feedback should
be provided.

HOMEWORK: WRITING & READING

Individual constructions of genre:
- Finish writing summaries for
chapters 3 6.

This activity consolidates

summary writing skills.

Reading:
- Read chapters 7 - 10

Reflections:

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