Lesson Plans for Elementary/ESL Students A set of useful lesson plans based on enticing moral stories that will fuel the learning knowledge of 5-7 year old English speaking students

by Alvin Tse Acknowledgements: Mr. Gregg Lee Ms. Marjie Sweeney Ms. Lauren Adams

Dear teachers,

Thank you for using this set of lesson plans that I’ve created, it means so much to me.

After visiting the Basis Primary School in Bagan, Myanmar in November 2015, I was inspired to help

children globally to improve their English skills. After all, the English language is one of the most

recognised languages in the world and is unarguably one of the gateways to global communication. During

our time with the children in Myanmar, I realised that the children learned best through book-based

activities that improved their comprehension skill. Working with Grade 1 children from the Canadian

International School of Hong Kong, I started to come up with some possible activities where the children

would learn to communicate with each other, and eventually the world, in the English language.

Under comprehensive guidance from Grade 1 teachers Ms. Marjie Sweeney and Ms. Lauren Adams, I came

up with six strategic and comprehensive lesson plans that I feel will allow a class of young or

English-as-a-second-language students to further their skills in the English language and deepen their

understanding and vocabulary, learning valuable life lessons in English along the way. These were

carefully crafted from the personalities and intercommunal perspectives of the children I worked with,

including the international school children, the beautiful children I worked with in Myanmar, as well as a

group of English-as-a-second-language children coming from low-income families in Lei Tung Estate,

Hong Kong, that I have been working with as well. A short diagnostic test provided would allow the

students to choose the level they start from - level 1 is designed for what one would expect of a foreign

street vendor’s English level, and level 5 is designed for the average second grade student studying

English.

Thank you for helping me and teachers around the world make the world a more interconnected place.

Thanks,

Alvin Tse

Creator of these lesson plans

Name: _________________ Class: _______ Hi! We are grade 10 students that really want to have fun with you and learn more English together with you. Unfortunately we don’t really know much about where your individual English skills are, so it would be great if you had some fun with these questions so we could see exactly how good you guys are at English. Can you please take the next period or two finishing some of the questions that we’ve prepared for you below? You don’t have to finish everything, but please try your best.

1. Read the below passage and there are some fun activities you can do below.

Once upon a time, a man and his wife had the good fortune to have a goose which laid a golden egg every day. Lucky though they were, they soon began to think they were not getting rich fast enough. They imagined that if the bird is able to lay golden eggs, its insides must be made of gold. And they thought that if they could get all that precious metal at once, they would get mighty rich very soon. So the man and his wife decided to kill the bird. However, upon cutting the goose open, they were shocked to find that its innards were like that of any other goose! With your favourite highlighter, highlight some words that you don’t know.

2. Please answer the next few questions in complete sentences or follow the instructions given.

“they were shocked to find that its innards were like that of any other goose!” From the rest of the passage, what do you think “innards” means? ___________________________________________________________________________________ Check the box next to the right answer.

a. Why did the couple want to cut open the bird?

▢ The couple were thankful they had a bird that laid golden eggs and wanted to know more

▢ The couple were curious and wanted to see the gold insides the bird

▢ The couple were hungry and wanted to eat the bird

▢ The couple were greedy and wanted to sell the gold insides of the bird

b. What does the story tell us?

▢ Ducks are amazing animals and can do many things

▢ Appreciate what you own and don’t be greedy for any more

▢ Don’t judge anything based on what it looks like from the outside

▢ Be patient and you will get rich eventually

Are you greedy sometimes? Will not being greedy make you more successful? Why?

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3. Read the below passage and there are some fun activities you can do below. It is harder than the first one and some of the activities will be harder as well.

When Billy reached his home, Kitty was standing at his front gate. “What’s wrong?” she asked him. “Someone has stolen my new bike,” he cried, “I forgot to lock it when I called to visit old Tommy.” “Don’t worry,” said Kitty, “My Snoopy will help you find it.” She called her dog. “Find Billy’s bike, Snoopy,” she said, and they followed the dog as he went back to Tommy’s house. Snoopy then went sniffing along the road until they turned a corner, and there ahead of them were three boys. One was sitting on Billy’s bike! “That’s my bike,” cried Billy, but the boys raised their fists and shouted; “Get lost, you little scut.” Immediately Snoopy barked and snarled viciously at the three boys. They ran away, leaving Billy’s bike behind. Picking up his bike, Billy walked home beside Kitty and her dog. He was so happy to get his new bike back. “Your Snoopy is a great dog,” he said. “I told you so,” said Kitty. With your favourite highlighter, highlight some words that you don’t know.

● Please answer the next few questions in complete sentences or follow the instructions given.

““That’s my bike,” cried Billy, but the boys raised their fists and shouted; “Get lost, you little scut.”” Find one word that you think best describes the boys. _______________ Based on the above sentence, what do you think “scut” means? ___________________________________________________________________________________ Did Kitty make the right choice having her dog chase away the boys? Write a sentence saying why she did or didn’t make the right choice. (answer space is given on the next page)

___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ Is Kitty a good friend? Why or why not? ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ Think of Kelso’s choices. What would you do if you were Billy? ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________

5. Read the below passage and there are even more fun activities you can do below. Don’t worry if you can’t do some of the activities - just leave them blank.

Bunny Rabbit lived in the forest. He had many friends. He was proud of his friends. One day Bunny Rabbit heard the loud barking of wild dogs. He was very scared. He decided to ask for help. He quickly went to his friend, the deer. He said, “Dear friend, some wild dogs are chasing me. Can you chase them away with your sharp antlers?” The deer said, “That is right, I can. But now I am busy. Why don’t you ask bear for help?” Bunny rabbit ran to the bear. “My dear friend, you are very strong. Please help me. Some wild dogs are after me. Please chase them away,” he requested to the bear. The bear replied, “I am sorry. I am hungry and tired. I need to find some food. Please ask the monkey for help.” Poor Bunny went to the monkey, the elephant, the goat and all his other friends. Bunny felt sad that nobody was ready to help him. He understood that he had to think of a way out by himself. He hid under a bush. He lay very still. The wild dogs did not find the bunny. They went chasing other animals. Bunny rabbit learnt that he had to learn to survive by himself, not depending on his unhelpful friends. With your favourite highlighter, highlight some words that you don’t know.

6. Please answer the next few questions in complete sentences or follow the instructions given.

What was wrong with Bunny’s friends? Why didn’t they want to help? ___________________________________________________________________________________

What could the deer, the bear, and all Bunny’s other friends have done to help? Give three examples of how you would help Bunny if you were his friend.

● _____________________________________________________________________________

● _____________________________________________________________________________

● _____________________________________________________________________________

7. Try these harder questions based on the same story about Bunny Rabbit and his unhelpful friends.

Is Bunny Rabbit making right choices in asking his friends? Give two other actions that Bunny Rabbit could have done in the first place without the help of his friends.

● _____________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________

● _____________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________

Think of three reasons why you can’t help your friends sometimes.

● _____________________________________________________________________________

● _____________________________________________________________________________

● _____________________________________________________________________________ Pick one of the reasons you wrote above and explain what your friend in need has to do instead of asking you for help. ___________________________________________________________________________________

8. Try to read this harder story about a rich man and his son visiting a poor town.

Once upon a time, there lived a very rich and wealthy man in a big town. He led a luxurious life. He always boasted about his wealth to his friends and relatives. His son was studying in a distant city and he returned home for vacation. The rich man wanted to show off to his son how rich he was. But his son wasn’t fond of any luxurious lifestyle. However, the rich man wanted to make his son realize that his lifestyle was extremely rich and that poor people suffered a lot. He planned a day’s visit to the entire town to show him the life of the poor people. The father and the son took a chariot and visited the entire town. They returned home after two days. The father was happy that his son was very quiet after seeing the poor people honouring the rich man and after witnessing the sufferings of the poor due to lack of facilities.

The rich man asked his son, “Dear boy, how was the trip? Have you enjoyed it?” “Yes my dad, it was a great trip with you,” the son replied. “So, what did you learn from the trip?” the father asked. The son was silent. “Finally you have realized how the poor suffer and how they actually live,” said the father. “No father,” replied the son. He added, “We have only two dogs, they have 10 dogs. We have a big pool in our garden, but they have a massive bay without any end! We have luxurious and expensive lights imported from various countries, but they have countless stars lighting their nights. We have a house on a small piece of land, but they have abundant fields that go beyond the horizon. We are protected by huge and strong walls around our property, but they bond with each other and surround themselves with their fellow beings. We have to buy food from them, but they are so rich that they can cultivate their own food.” The rich father was stunned and speechless, on hearing his son’s words. Finally the son added, “Dad, thank you so much for showing me who is rich and who is poor. Thank you for letting me understand how poor we really are!” With your favourite highlighter, highlight some words that you don’t know.

9. Try to answer some of these longer questions below.

What does the son understand from his trip with his dad to the poor town? How is it different from what his father understands? ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ Name a lesson you learnt from the story. What is the moral of the story? ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ What does being rich mean according to the son? How is it different from how we think of rich people? ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________

“Dad, thank you so much for showing me who is rich and who is poor. Thank you for letting me understand how poor we really are!” Is the son right? Do you think you are rich or poor now? What makes your life happy? ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________

10. Now you’ve read all these stories, think back to the stories you’ve read. Circle the number on the scale that you think best represents what you thought.

Think back to the first story you read about the duck who laid golden eggs. How many words did you highlight in the first story? _____________ How hard did you think the story was? (1 = too easy, 10 = too hard) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 How hard did you think the questions were? (1 = too easy, 10 = too hard) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Think back to the second story you read about Billy’s stolen bike. How many words did you highlight in the second story? _____________ How hard did you think the story was? (1 = too easy, 10 = too hard) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 How hard did you think the questions were? (1 = too easy, 10 = too hard) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Think back to the third story you read about Bunny Rabbit and his unhelpful friends. How many words did you highlight in the third story? _____________ How hard did you think the story was? (1 = too easy, 10 = too hard) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 How hard did you think the questions were? (1 = too easy, 10 = too hard) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Think back to the fourth story you read about the rich man and his son visiting the poor town. How many words did you highlight in the fourth story? _____________ How hard did you think the story was? (1 = too easy, 10 = too hard) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

How hard did you think the questions were? (1 = too easy, 10 = too hard) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Would you like to work with more stories like these with us? _____________

Placement Guide If the student is able to manage most questions in part 2 (multiple choice), they are ready for level 1 If the student is able to manage most questions in part 4 (descriptive questions), they are ready for level 2 If the student is able to manage most questions in part 6 (listing questions), they are ready for level 3 If the student is able to manage most questions in part 7 (explanation questions), they are ready for level 4 If the student is able to manage most questions in part 9 (analytical questions), they are ready for level 5 At the start of the year, students should be at the level 1-2 range After they finish all activities in a level, they can move to the next level (no test needed) The diagnostics test can be redone as a final exam It is every teacher’s responsibility to place the student in a band that the teacher personally thinks best fits the student. Part 10 is designed to help teachers with this.

Lesson Plan: Level 1 Guide Book: Jordan’s Soccer Ball Time: 120 minutes (4 lessons) Warm up activities:

- Circle activity: go around introducing themselves and the best trick they’ve played on someone (10 min) Goal/Objective: Students will be able to:

● gain a solid understanding about bullies and playing tricks ● sequence the story (rearranging the story when cut into 5-6 parts) ● have a discussion with their buddies about bullies in the book ● present a sentence on the importance of standing up for your friends.

Materials Needed:

- sufficient copies of “Jordan’s Soccer Ball” - flashcards - simple, laminated task sheets (attached)

Strategies:

- Read the book to the children first (10 min) - Asking questions: “Why won’t the big boys give Jordan the ball?” (20 min) - Having the children discuss the problems with bullying in table groups (20 min) - Making the children refer to the book: “how does Jordan know that his dad’s here in the park?” (10 min) - Sequencing the story with flashcards - hide cards in a playground and have the children find and

sequence them (30 min) - Discussion: Why should we say No to bullies? What did we learn? (30 min)

Teacher Prompts How does Jordan feel when the big boys don’t give him the ball? Why do the big boys run away so fast? What will you do if your best friend is being bullied?

Student Prompts Jordan feels angry and scared because the big boys won’t give him and Kris the ball, because the ball belongs to Jordan. The big boys run away because if Jordan’s dad catches them bullying Jordan, they will get in trouble. I will stand up for him/her and I will tell my parents that my best friend is being bullied (along the lines of that).

Takeaways:

● children know what to do when they are bullied ● children have a deeper understanding of the story ● children are able to sequence the story ● children are able to write 1-2 sentences on standing up for their friends

Teacher’s Tips

● referring to Kelso’s Choices ● How does your family influence you?

Jordan’s dad goes for a run in the park and says he will come

back later.

Jordan and Kris kick the ball into

some trees.

A big boy gets the ball and tries to steal it away from Jordan

and Kris.

The big boys bully Jordan and Kris and try to take their ball.

The boys do not believe that Jordan’s dad is in the park which ends up to be a trick.

Jordan’s dad’s friends talk to Jordan which scares the big

boys.

Jordan gets his ball back.

Lesson Plan: Level 2

Guide Book: Look Out!

Time: 120 minutes (4 lessons)

Warm-up activities:

- Circle activity: go around the circle answering the question “What is bullying?” (10 min)

Goal/Objective: Students will be able to: ● understand the consequences of bullying ● have a student-led discussion with their buddy on instances of bullying that have impacted the student ● as Kylie and Zoe, present a 2-3 sentence letter to the bullies (the big girls) in the story.

Materials Needed:

- sufficient copies of “Look Out!” - props for scenarios - see scenario sheet - poster paper and paper for the letter

Strategies:

- Read the book to the children first (15 min) - Scenario acting: under buddy guidance, act out a bully scene - have the first group act out the scene

from the story, and recreate a few other scenes (30 min) - Poster: Bullying is NOT Okay! Flash Activity - separate class into two groups (15 min) - Buddy discussion: Bullying and how it has impacted the student (20 min) - Writing: Introduction and Kylie and Zoe’s letter to the bullies (30 min) - Wrap-up: what did we learn? (10 min)

Teacher Prompts What are the consequences (explain: what happens after?) of the big girls jumping out? How do Kylie and Zoe feel after the big girls are told off by Miss Bell? Why did Kylie and Zoe stay where they were when they noticed the big girls were behind the wall? Why did the big girls plan to scare the children?

Student Prompts

The girls jumping out caused Miss Bell to get angry at them and they were stopped from ever jumping out like that again. Kylie and Zoe feel happy because the girls learnt their lesson and would no longer scare them again. Kylie and Zoe stayed where they were because they were afraid of the big girls and didn’t want to be

scared by them. They avoided the big girls behind the fence. The big girls planned to scare the children because they thought it was funny and wanted the little girls to be frightened of them.

Takeaways:

● The children understand some consequences of bullying ● The children realise the problems behind bullying and why there are bullies ● The children know how to deal with bullying in their own lives in the future

Teacher’s Tips

- think about the cause and effect of bullying - give the children time to draw their favourite part

Acting Out Scenes from “Look Out!”

One really good way to extend what you know about a book is to act out some of the scenes that are in the book. Have some fun with your buddies and friends when you’re acting out the scenes we give you, but remember to consider:

- What are the characters saying and what emotions do you have when your character says the line?

- Why did the character do what he did and what does he/she feel inside? - When does your play happen? Since the book doesn’t say anything about

when the play happens, it’s your job to decide! - Who does the character like? Who does the character not like? - Where does the play happen? Use the playground if you need to.

Remember to refer to the what the book says.

Have fun!

Lesson Plan: Level 3 Guide Book: The Busy Beavers Time: 120 minutes (4 lessons)

Warm-up activities:

- go around the circle and mention the needs and wants of the Aberdeen community they visited

Goal/Objective: Students will be able to:

● understand new vocabulary, including words special to the Canadian society (beavers, dams)

● understand the needs and wants of the beaver community

● pair up with a fellow grade 1 student and discuss the importance of helping one another within a community

● describe three ideas on how they can help the local society

Materials Needed:

- sufficient copies of “The Busy Beavers”

- paper for problem-consequence charts and writing

Strategies:

- Read the book to the children first (15 min)

- Vocabulary introduction (15 min)

- Allowing the children to brainstorm, with a mindmap, the beavers’ problems and how they solved them (30 min)

- Creating problem-consequence charts for the story and allow children to think of other consequences had the

beavers not worked together or as hard as they did (15 min)

- Writing down their own problems in their daily lives and creating problem-consequence charts to how they could

solve them (45 min)

Teacher Prompts

Why does the beaver family wake up and help the father

beaver?

What would happen if the beaver family stayed asleep?

What ways helped the beavers work together?

Student Prompts

The beaver family wakes up to help the father beaver

because they care about the father beaver / they want to

help him fix the broken dam.

If the beaver family stayed asleep, their father would not be

able to fix the dam and their home would be destroyed.

The beavers problem-solved and found bigger branches

to close the hole in the dam. They also communicated with one another by slapping their tails on the water. They

also listened to each other.

Takeaways:

● The children understand the needs and wants of the beaver community as well as their own local community

● The children understand the concept of solving problems as a team by communication and listening

● The children learn about problems and consequences

Teacher’s Tips

- remember about identities and relationships

- needs and wants

- regard communities, working together

- remember about vocabulary (especially with Canadian-related words)

Problem-Consequence Chart

Have a look at how the beavers solved their problems as a community in the story. What can

you find that the beavers did? What consequences did this lead to? What would happen if

the beavers did something different? Why?

Problems Consequences

Lesson Plan: Level 4

Guide Book: Lily’s New Home

Time: 120 minutes (4 lessons)

Warm-up activities:

- Buddy activity: Children complete the sentence “My home is the best home in the world because…” (5 min) - Share with the class after (5 min)

Goal/Objective: Students will be able to: ● notice major differences between the country and the city and establish that Hong Kong is a city ● see the difficulty of change and how appreciating a community makes change easier ● read a simple four-line excerpt of a perspective of a different society and have a group discussion on the benefits of

the society Materials Needed:

- sufficient copies of “Lily’s New Home” - paper for mindmap - sufficient copies of two excerpts of people in different communities

Strategies:

- Read the book to the children first (15 min) - Class discussion: why did Lily move? (15 min) - establish that it is because parents need to find work in a city - Buddy discussion on the benefits of living in the city (15 min) - Think up as many challenges of moving between communities with partner and buddy as possible on a mindmap (10

min) and share ideas (5 min) - Introduce four-line excerpt to students - randomly pass them out so the groups are completely random. Read with

buddy and discuss (20 min) - Get into groups and have a short discussion (10 min) - Front of class discussion on the society’s benefits (30 min)

Teacher Prompts Why does Lily feel so unhappy at the start? Why does Lily feel happy at the end in her new home? Why did Lily move?

Student Prompts

Lily feels unhappy because of the change from the old countryside to the city that she now lives in, and she misses her old home. Lily feels happy because she learns to appreciate the community around her and find out the benefits (good things) around her new community. Lily moved because her parents had found a new job, and needed to live closer to their job so they could earn a living more easily (for advanced readers more conveniently).

Takeaways:

● The children understand the reasons people move ● The children can look at the benefits of every situation ● The children learn to appreciate their own surroundings

Teacher’s Tips

- How do journeys change you? - Why do people make journeys? - Link to: Journeys create change and lead to new opportunities

I am a construction worker in a poor village. My family

struggles to find money to live and always has to leave the

house to scrummage for food. Our family always eats

together every night and we feast on the food that we are

able to buy, though it is never enough.

I am a worker in a developed, happy village. Our family has

enough to eat every day. However, every time I go to work,

I have to pass a river full of crocodiles. It is very hard to

cross the river and some of my friends have died trying to

cross it. We do not have enough material to build a bridge.

I am a student at a very accomplished school. I get very

good grades all the time and all my teachers are fond of me.

However, my friends all think I am annoying and I spend all

lunch recess in the playground alone.

I am a worker at a very successful business. Many of the

things I do greatly impact the business. However, I do not

get recognised for what I do by my boss, and I get yelled at

for being lazy all the time. This makes me very sad.

Lesson Plan: Level 5 Guide Book: Treasure in the Attic Time: 120 minutes (4 lessons) Warm-up activities:

- Circle activity: What is treasure? (10 min) Goal/Objective: Students will be able to:

● notice the true meaning of “treasure” in the story ● realise that different things are valuable to different people ● write a structured paragraph on treasure in their own lives

Materials Needed:

- sufficient copies of “Treasure in the Attic” - paper for mindmap and writing - a box and slips for buddy discussion - props for acting out (including a picture)

Strategies:

- Read the book to the children first (15 min) - Mindmap with buddy: What are your treasures? What is most important in your life? (15 min) - Pick a slip out of a box with a certain person (e.g. helpers, construction workers, drivers, etc.) and have a discussion

with buddy on treasure in that person’s life (20 min) - Buddy discussion on book: treasure is different to everyone (10 min) - Flash activity: acting out Chapter 4 of the story (15 min) - Writing: what is treasure in your life? (45 min)

Teacher Prompts How do Abby and Zoe feel when she first sees the treasure in the attic? Why is the photo treasure to Abby, Zoe and Ms. Patterson? What is more important to Abby, Zoe, Mom and Ms. Patterson - gold and diamonds, or old memories and photos? Why?

Student Prompts Abby and Zoe first feel confused because instead of the treasure they expected, all Mrs. Patterson showed them was an old school photo. The photo is treasure because it brings memories of something that Abby and Zoe have never seen before - their mother as a child. Abby, Zoe, Mom and Ms. Patterson think that old memories and photos are more treasurable because they bring back moments to Mom that can be shared with Abby and Zoe. Unlike gold and diamonds, these photos are about the family.

Takeaways:

● The children have a complete reformation of their understanding of treasure ● The children realise that treasure is different to everyone and everyone has different perspectives regarding treasure

and what they love the most ● The children start to realise their own treasures

Teacher’s Tips

- making text-to-self connections - bring in the “Who we are” unit, think of identity and relationships - how is treasure important to them?