Mª Fernanda Grueso Dávila

DIDACTIC UNIT:

NARRATIV

TEXTS 1
 Mª Fernanda Grueso Dávila

PALE 2009-2010
Mª Fernanda Grueso Dávila
ZAFRA
INDEX
1. GENERAL

ASPECTS ........................................................................................3

2. JUSTIFICATION...............................................................................

....3

3. OBJECTIVES.....................................................................................

.....3

4. CONTENTS........................................................................................

.....4

5. METHODOLOGY.............................................................................

.....6

6. MATERIALS AND

RESOURCES................................................................6

7. INTERACTION WITH THE OTHER

AREAS……………………...6

8. CROSS CURRICULAR

THEMES........................................ .......................7

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9. EVALUATION……………………………………………………

……7

10. ACTIVITIES………………………………………………………

…8

DIDACTIC UNIT: NARRATIVE TEXTS

1. GENERAL ASPECTS.

This Didatic Unit is addressed to students of the first year of Secondary Education.
The sense of the unit is to make the students sensitive towards the literary production
in English as a way of understanding the culture, tradition or way of life of English
speaking countries.
It is based on the four main points of English linguistics competence: listening,
writing, speaking and reading. We will need to study phonetics, vocabulary and
grammar.

. Level: 1º ESO. Age: 12 to 13.

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. Approximate length: * 4 hours

2. DESCRIPTION

- This Didactic Unit has been calculated for being developed in four sessions of 50
minutes each one.
It will be studied in the end of the first term, in December.

- This Didactic Unit is thought to be applied in a Secondary Education School placed

in a tourist Spanish town where people are aware of the importance of modern
languages, especially the English language.
- This Secondary School is well equipped and students are motivated.

3. OBJECTIVES

GENERAL OBJECTIVES

1. To increase their interest in literary reading as a source of pleasure and leisure .

2. To develop a critical and receptive attitude towards other cultures
3. To understand global and specific information from written texts
4. To use different strategies in order to achieve an autonomous learning of the
language.
5. To recognize and appreciate the communicative value of English as a foreign
language and the ability t use it.
6. Reading texts to obtain information in a comprehensive way.
7. Understanding and putting in practice oral and written messages in English.
8. To think about the English language system so that students can better
appreciate
their mother language.
9. - To put in pactice these four language competences:
• To understand oral English.
• To understand written English.
• To express oneself in oral English.
• To express oneself in Written English.

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DIDACTIC OBJECTIVES
1. To show global understanding of the story.
2. Reading in a comprehensive way the texts: Cinderella, Canterbury Tales,
Walter Scott…
3. To identify and name the characters in this unit.
4. To sequence and act out the story of the unit.
5. To make materials to play with them in the classroom.
6. To use ICT in the learning of English.
7. Motivating students and maintaning this motivation throughout their
English
learning.
8. Recognizing and comparing some socio-cultural elements contained in the
text
for mutual enrichment.

4. CONTENTS

. Concepts:
1. The main elements of a narrative text: narrator, characters, time and
space.
2. Cultural aspects of those countries where English is spoken
3. Frequent expressions and lexicon related to the subject of the novel or tale.
4. Elements of cohesion and coherence in written discourse .
5. Time relations in the narrative text.
Oral and written language
Functional contents:
• To get information from the text.
• Reading in a comprehensive way.
• Writing English messages properly.
• Reading and Speaking English fluently.
• To practice good manners in oral and written communication.
Lexical contents:

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• The specific vocabulary contained in the texts.

Phonetic contents:
• Rhythm.
• Intonation.

. Procedures:
1 . Global understanding of literary and no literary texts
2 . Extraction of specific information
3 . Extraction of implicit information
4 . Use of narrative technique.
5 . Reading news.
6 . Writing narrative texts.

. Attitudes:
1 . Attention and respect for those messages expressed in English.
2 . Interest in writing texts and understanding in an autonomous way .
3 . Confidence in the personal capacity to make progress
4 . Appreciate the teacher´s correction.
5 . Active participation in the English class.
6. Intellectual curiosity about new concepts, new ideas...
7 . To accept and respect linguistic and sociocultural differences between the
English and Spanish speaking countries.
8. To be always ready to speak in English.

5. METHODOLOGY

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M
y pedagogic method will be adapted to the characteristics of the students
to favour the capacity to learn on their own and work as a team promoting
creativity and dynamism and will integrate resources of information
technologies and communications in learning. Students will be initiated in knowledge
and application of scientific methodology.

This teaching methodology is thought for pupils´ development, integrating their

experiences and learning.
- Teaching must be personalized and adapted to the various learning rhythms of each
child.
- The teacher is responsible for the methods to be used.
- Recreational activities constitude an especially suitable resource at this level.
- Contents should be organized with a global focus.
- The teaching process is to be based on pupils´constructive activity.
- Language is above all a communication system. It is therefore necessary to learn
how to communicate properly, first orally, then by writing.

6. MATERIALS AND RESOURCES

. Means: photocopier, overhead projector, videotape recorder, DVD, video camera

. Materials: book, newspapers, dictionaries, video tape, CDs, exercise sheets .
-Computer.
-Internet (youtube, blog, webs…)
- A television set.
- A little library with books of different levels.
- Blackboard.
- Student´s book.
- Workbook exercises.
- Photocopies.
- Notebook.
- A tape-recorded with the lesson we are explaining.

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- Dictionaries.
- The map of English speaking countries.

7. INTERACTION WITH THE OTHER AREAS

- Spanish language: grammar, vocabulary.
- Spanish literature: the initial texts.
- Artistic education: occidental cultural.
- Foreign languages: grammar, vocabulary.
- Religion, ethics: occidental culture.
- Music: occidental culture.
- Social science, history: Commonwealth countries.
- Geography: the map of the English speaking countries.

8. CROSS CURRICULAR THEMES

- Education for peace.
- Social integration, dialogue, tolerance...

9 . EVALUATION

By means of the evaluation we check that the aims are being achieved .
. The evaluation must take place:
- at the beginning of the unit: initial by means of the prior knowledge questionnaire.
- during the process of learning, to readjust the process: formative
- at the end of the unit: summative : Write a tale similar as an English Fairy tale.

. Instruments of evaluation:
- Teacher´s diary
- Student´s diary
- Analysis of students´homework

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- Observation guides
- Co-evaluation and self-evaluation

10. ACTIVITIES
First session activities:

. Evaluation of previous knowledge:

. Presentation.
- predictions about the content of the text/film based on the title, pictures,
representative sentences : Cinderella. (reading text 1 and viewing video 1)
- Presentation of the necessary vocabulary and grammatical structures to understand the
text.
-Questions about narrative texts:
Who tells the story? Who are the main characters? What happens? Where? When?
Which are the fantastic elements? Is it a literary text? Why?

. Development of contents:
- prediction of content based on a previous reading/listening
- questions used to elicit the general ideas of the text/film (skimming)
- questions about specific ideas in the text/film (scanning)
- analysis of the text/film in order to discover the different techniques used
(narrator, dialogue, space, time…
. Strengthening and extension.
-listening a Cinderella film´s song. (video 2) with subtitules.
- using as a reference the text, write a different story changing the end .
- searching, writing and reading another traditional tale like: Little Red Hiding
Hood, The ugly duckling, The three little pigs, Pinocchio…
-recording a story between several players.

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-Second sessions activities.

1. Presentation:
-Pay attention teacher about CANTERBURY TALES.
-Searching author´s life and historic context.
- Predictions about the content of some tales : CANTERBURY TALES
ANIMATION (video 3).
-Reading some stories from CHAUCER´S CANTERBURY TALES, rewritten by
Marcia William. She is a british author and illustrator, who has made the Tales
accessible to children ages 10 and up in her book.
-Reading some tales like : The Knight´s Tale and The Wife of Bath´s Tale.
-Comprehension activities.
- Presentation of the necessary vocabulary in an active way: some words are
omitted from a fragment, so that the students have to fill the gaps using the
words provided.

2. Developments of contents:

- Raising expectations: after having read the fragment in the previous exercise,
what do you think the texts are about?
- Questions used to elicit the general ideas of the text (skimming):

- Analysis of the text in order to distinguish between facts and opinions and to identify
the writer´s goal (+ groups of four).

-Watching the video (video 4) and looking for differences with the text.

4. Strengthening:

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- Write an essay about the characteristics of the characters and the similarities and
differences between the two tales.
- Oral debate.

-Third sessions activities.

1. Presentation: ENGLISH FAIRY TALES (Joseph Jacob)

- Predictions about the content based on the title/ based on the picture .
-Searching about Jacob´s life, historic context and about his tales.
-Copy one tale and reading in the class in front of class mates.
- Presentation of the necessary vocabulary in an active way: some words are
ommited from a fragment, so that the students have to fill the gaps using the
words provided:

2. Development of contents:
-Reading the tale: The story of the three bears.
- Raising expectations: after having read the fragment in the previous exercise,
what do you think the text is about?
- Questions used to elicit the general ideas of the text (skimming):
- Questions about specific ideas in the text (scanning):
- Analysis of the text in order to distinguish between facts and opinions and to
identify the writer´s goal (+ groups of four)

3. Strengthening:

-Watching video on youtube. Com (blog-video 5)

-Some groups of students will record some scenes of this tale and another one, for
example, The cat and the mouse and The story of the three little pigs.

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-Fourth sessions activities

Presentation: TOM SAWYER (Twain).

-Searching and reading about life of American author.
-Investigating about American society and culture.
-Difference between American and british literature.
-Difference between tales and novels.
Development of contents.
-Researching into Twain´s life and his novels.
-Tom Sawyer´s video (Blog- video 6)
-Reading a fragment of the novel.
-Writing the end.
-Answering questions about texts.

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