English materials for
​Secondary school in México

First Grade

Unit 2

Lesson plan

Lesson plan | Games & Lead-ins | Worksheets & Handouts | PowerPoint presentations
​Exercises for students | ​Project Ideas | Pop Quizzes & Exams | Resources
Introduction (10 mins.)
T asks Ss what they remember about a well-known classic tale (Cinderella or Snow White). T shows the cover or image of the classic tale and encourages Ss to talk about the setting, the main characters (hero and villain), the plot, the author and the audience.
Development (15 mins.)
T invites Ss to do a quiz about well-known classic tales:
  1. Cinderella wore shoes made of: a) silk b) gold c) glass
  2. Snow White ate a poisoned: a) banana b) apple c) orange
  3. Which little pig is the smartest? a) first b) second c) third
  4. Rapunzel has very long: a) eyelashes b) hair c) nails
  5. The woodcutter is the hero of which fairy tale? a) Goldilocks and the Three Bears b) Little Red Riding Hood c) Hansel and Gretel
  6. Who says ‘I’ll huff and I’ll puff and I’ll blow your house down’? a) a giant b) a wolf c) a witch
  7. By what time did Cinderella have to leave the ball? a) Midnight b) Eleven c) Noon
  8. How many bears did Goldilocks meet? a) 1 b) 2 c) 3
  9. For how many years was Sleeping Beauty asleep before the Prince woke her? a) 25 b) 50 c) 100
  10. Which of these fairy tales does NOT feature a wolf? a) Cinderella b) Little Red Riding Hood c) The three little pigs
  11. Which of these does Jack steal from the Giant in Jack and the Beanstalk? a) A cow b) A handful of magic beans c) The hen that lays the golden eggs
  12. Hansel and Gretel find a house made of: a) gold b) sweets c) straw
Consolidation (15 mins.)
T reads aloud some classic tales descriptions and asks Ss to try to guess what story is.
Here some descriptions:
  1. This tale is about a hungry wolf who wants to catch three pigs.
  2. This tale is about a girl who visits her grandma but she meets a bad wolf in the forest.
  3. This tale is about a wooden boy who lives with an old carpenter and wants to be a real boy.
  4. This tale is about servant girl who lives with her evil stepmother and stepsisters. She goes to a ball and the prince falls in love with her.
  5. This tale is about a little bird born in a barnyard who suffers abuse from the others ducks around him until he matures into a beautiful swan.
Closure (10 mins.)
In pairs, Ss discuss their favorite classic tale and give reasons for their choice.
Then, T reads aloud to the class the achievements for this unit and encourages Ss to share their ideas about the meaning of each achievement. Ss say their expectations they have of the unit.
Time filler: “Classic tales” – Ss label classic tales images.
Homework: Ss do some research. Ss have to choose a classic tale they like and write the following information required: title, author, main characters and the plot. They may include images.  
Introduction (10 mins.)
T asks Ss to guess the name of a classic tale by listing keywords and phrases for them.
For example:
Teacher: I am going to tell you a story. Tell me what the story is. “Girl, mother, basket, cottage, grandmother, ears, forest, woodcutter, bad & wolf”
Student: Little red riding hood.

Development (10 mins.)
Ss analyze the graphic and text arrangement of a classic tale (Jack and the Beanstalk). They have to  identify the title, subtitle, illustrations, author and some other features worth pointing out. Ss predict what the story may be about looking at the illustrations.
Consolidation (15 mins.)
In pairs, Ss answer the following questions from the classic tale cover:
  1. What type of the information does the cover tell you?
  2. Which text is the biggest and why?
  3. What can you infer from the illustration?
  4. Who is it written for? How do you know?
Closure (15 mins.)
In pairs, Ss do a jumbled text activity using extracts and images from a classic tale (Three little pigs). T promotes collaborative work.
T emphasizes the importance of illustrations in order to infer or predict what the text is about.
Homework: “What is the classic tale about?” – Ss complete the descriptions of some well-known classic tales. Then, Ss match the titles with the descriptions. Ss may use their dictionaries.
Introduction (10 mins.)
First, T writes a list of books on the board and asks Ss to identify the classic tales from the list. 
Development (20 mins.)
First, T asks Ss to tell some typical classic tale locations (castle, forest, kingdom, etc.). T gives them some help if necessary. Then, T asks Ss to match classic tales with settings.
First, T tells Ss that every story has good characters (like Snow White) or bad characters (like the queen in Snow White).  Then, T asks Ss to make a list of the characters in a classic tales.
Now, Ss match a list of adjectives with some characters.
Consolidation (15 mins.)
Ss describe 5 characters using adjectives and connectors (and & but). For example, The princess was beautiful and nice. Ss share their descriptions with others.
Closure (5 mins.)
Ss give feedback and make contributions to improve Ss’ writing skills.
Homework: Ss bring their favorite classic tale printed for the next class.
Introduction (10 mins.)
In pairs, Ss categorize a list of vocabulary from the classic tale “Little Red Riding Hood”: woods, wolf, woodcutter, grandma’s house, bad, evil, granddaughter, beautiful, mother, big teeth, mean, nice, brave, wicked, red hood and happy.
The categories are characters, locations, appearance and personality.
Development (10 mins.)
Ss complete a well-known classic tale framework.
The start: Once upon a 1) ______________....
Location: In the woods at grandmother’s 2) ________________
Character 1: A girl called Little 3) ________ Riding Hood. She is 4) _________________.
Character 2: A wolf. He is 5) ______________ and has big 6) _____________.
Conflict: When the girl meets the 6) ______________ in the woods and stopped to talk to him.
The resolution: A woodcutter killed the 7) ____________.
The end: They all lived 8) ____________ ever after.
Consolidation (15 mins.)
Ss do the previous activity now with their favorite classic tale. They have to find the setting, characters, the conflict and resolution.
Closure (15 mins.)
T invites Ss to come to the front of the class and share their work. T gives feedback and corrects wrong answers. 
Introduction (10 mins.)
Ss label images of common actions (verbs) from the classic tale “Three little pigs”. Ss share their answers with others.
Development (15 mins.)
First, Ss listen to an audio and complete the “Three little pig’s tale”. Then, Ss read the story and underline the 5 main events. Finally, Ss illustrate the main events.
Consolidation (20 mins.)
First, Ss complete another version of the same tale with the correct form of the verbs (past tense). Then, Ss contrast the two versions of the tale and take notes of the differences between them.
Closure (5 mins.)
T asks volunteers to come to the front of the class and share the differences that they found.
T tells Ss the importance of find the main events of the story.
Introduction (10 mins.)
First, T reviews what is a verb and gives examples. Then, T asks Ss to think of other verbs and writes them on the board. Finally, T encourages volunteers to write them in past tense form.  
Development (15 mins.)
First, T explains that sometimes past tense verbs don’t follow the -ed rule, these verbs are irregular and follow a different pattern. Then, T asks Ss to categorize in regular and irregular a list of verbs.
Consolidation (15 mins.)
T writes a list of sentences in the present tense (from classic tales) on the board and asks Ss to put them in past tense.
Ss choose 3 sentences and illustrate them in their notebook.
Closure (10 mins.)
T invites Ss to tell the class what they have learned about regular and irregular verbs.
Introduction (5 mins.)
T shows 4 images of classic tales main events and asks Ss to put them in order.
Development (15 mins.)
First, T tells Ss that every story is made up of a sequence, or series, of events. The way events are ordered to create a story is called the plot. Then, T writes 5 main events of a classic tale and asks Ss to put them in order. Ss compare their sequence with others.
Consolidation (15 mins.)
T gives Ss a printed classic tale. In pairs, Ss have to find the problem, events (rising actions, climax and falling actions) and the resolution.
Closure (15 mins.)
In plenary, Ss share their answers and T writes them on the board.

Introduction (15 mins.)
In pairs, Ss read a classic tale and decide if it is British or American English. Ss circle the words that give them the answer.
Development (15 mins.)
First, T asks Ss to complete a chart of British and American English words. Then, Ss compare the spelling of these words.
Consolidation (15 mins.)
T explains cultural aspects between the British and American English. T uses the following words: taxi/cab, soccer/football, fries/chips, and restroom/toilet.
Closure (15 mins.)
First, T invites Ss to share their knowledge about the countries. Then, T promotes a discussion with the whole class about British and American culture.
T explains that Ss are going to create a big book as their second product.
First, Ss have to choose a classic tale to retell.
Then, Ss have to decide the number of pages, the type of illustrations, and material needed.
Ss write the key events in a draft. Ss include the setting, the characters, and the plot. It may be helpful to answer the questions: who, what, where and when.
Ss make a draft of the illustrations.
Ss create the and illustrate the tale with cutouts of drawings.
Ss rehearse reading the classic tale out loud and practice pronunciation.
Finally, Ss read the classic tale to the class.