English materials for
​Secondary school in México

Third Grade

Unit 2 - Syllabus 2011

Lesson plan

Lesson plan | Worksheets & Handouts | PowerPoint presentations | ​Exercises for students | ​Project Ideas | Pop Quizzes & Exams
Introduction (15 mins.)
As students enter the classroom, have some suspenseful music playing. T set the scene by dramatically closing the door and waiting a few seconds before introducing the subject of the lesson. T brings a bag with a mystery object inside. T asks volunteers to come to the front and asks Ss to feel the object without looking. T asks Ss to describe the object and how they feel.
T introduces the idea of suspense by asking these questions:
  • How do you feel when you don’t know what is going to happen next?
  • Does listening to spooky music make you feel scared or haunted?
  • Do you like suspense and horror stories?
Development (15 mins.)
T shows the book cover of a suspense and horror story: “The Iron Maiden” by Bram Stoker. T asks Ss to predict what the story might be about based on the title.
T explains to Ss that the iron maiden is a torture and execution device used in the 19th century. 
T gives Ss the first part of the story "The Iron Maiden". In pairs, Ss try to put the jumbled texts into a possible order. Then Ss listen to an audio and check their answers.
Consolidation (10 mins.)
In, pairs, Ss have to identify the setting and characters by doing a matching activity with the information in the story.
Closure (10 mins.)
T invites Ss to predict “what will happen with the characters in the next part of the story?”
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.
Introduction (10 mins.)
First, T writes some emotions (happy, angry, sad, nervous, confused and scared) on pieces of paper. Then, volunteers pick one and act out the emotion with facial expressions or body language in front of the class. Next, Ss try to guess the emotions. Finally, Ss classify the emotions as: positive, negative, neutral.
T starts a class discussion regarding the most common emotions in suspense stories.
Development (20 mins.)
In pairs, Ss read extracts from suspense stories and match them with the correct emotion. Ss contrast their answers with others.
First, T asks Ss to list situations where each emotion is involved. Then, T writes their answers on the board and highlights relevant vocabulary for the class. Finally, Ss take notes.
Consolidation (10 mins.)
T reads aloud some extracts from other stories dramatically and asks Ss to infer the characters’ feeling.
These are some extracts:
  • And she said, “I have no one in my life and I feel totally alone in this world.”
  • The man said, “You need to get the kids and get out of the house now! I’ll call the police.”
  • We enjoyed each and every corner of the village. The village seemed to have something that the city lacked.
  • A rich man’s wife became deathly ill, so he called for the doctor. By the time the doctor arrived, his wife had died.
  • There was a 10-year-old girl who lived in a very old house. She hated the house. It was cold and damp all of the time.
Closure (10 mins.)
T asks Ss to provide an example in which they would feel one of the emotions that we discussed in class. T provides this sentence stem: "I feel this emotion when ____."
Introduction (10 mins.)
First, T creates a wordle (word clouds) with key vocabulary from “The Iron Maiden” Part 2. Then, T shows it to Ss and encourages them to infer what the story might be. Ss have to identify the setting, the main characters, actions and emotions involved. Ss take notes.
Development (20 mins.)
In pairs, Ss do a fill-in activity about the second part of the story “The Iron Maiden”
Ss contrast their answers with others.
First, T asks Ss to circle the sentences where emotions are involved. Then Ss illustrate them.
Consolidation (10 mins.)
T asks Ss to identify the types of sentences (declarative, exclamatory and imperative) from the story. Ss underline these types of sentences and then they write them on their notebooks.
Closure (10 mins.)
T invites Ss to predict “what will happen with the characters in the last part of the story?”
Introduction (10 mins.)
T writes “Shark bite” on the board and elicits words from Ss.
Ss reviews adjectives completing “The girl and the shark” story.
Ss answer the following questions:
  1. Why was Nancy scared?
  2. Where did the shark bite her?
  3. Why did the author tell this story?
Development (20 mins.)
T helps Ss to brainstorm the rules to form superlative adjectives. T writes their ideas on the board.
T use some extracts (sentences) from the story and asks Ss to rewrite the sentences using superlative adjectives. T suggests some prompts to complete the comparisons.
Here some extracts:
  1. Nancy was a young medical student -> Nancy was the youngest medical student (in her school).
  2. She hit the wild waves -> She hit the wildest waves (in the sea).
  3. A white shark with sharp teeth slammed into her -> A white shark with the sharpest teeth slammed into her.
  4. Nancy found a safe way to call for help -> Nancy found the safest way to call for help.
Consolidation (10 mins.)
T reads aloud a list of short sentences using adjectives and encourages Ss to respond with the superlative form.
Example:
Teacher: An old book.
Students: The oldest book.
Closure (10 mins.)
Ss give feedback and make contributions to improve Ss’ writing and speaking skills.
​Time filler: Ss complete the story "The thief"
Introduction (10 mins.)
T writes Ss the first part of extracts from “The Iron Maiden (Part 3)” on the board. T encourages Ss to infer the second part.
Here are some extracts:
  1. In the torture tower, there were…
  2. On the inside of the door of the Iron Maiden, there were long…
  3. Elias didn’t be afraid and got inside of…
  4. The black cat was there. She jumped up quickly and scratched…
  5. It looked very, very horrible. Elias…
Development (20 mins.)
In pairs, Ss put jumbled texts from “The Iron Maiden (Part 3)” into a possible order. T monitors and helps as necessary. Finally, Ss share their order with others for peer-correction. In plenary, Ss discuss the correct order and explain the main events of the story.
Consolidation (15 mins.)
In pairs, Ss make a timeline to retell the main events of the story and they include the characters’ feelings and emotions.
Closure (5 mins.)
T asks Ss to make a list of emotions that the reading of this story provokes.​
Introduction (10 mins.)
T put Ss into teams and gives them a cover of a short suspense story.
T encourages Ss to infer the setting, the characters and the vocabulary used in the story.
Development (20 mins.)
Ss read the story and complete the following framework.
The start: The story took place in 1) ______________
The main characters are: ______________ _________________
The conflict is: ___________________________________
The resolution: _____________________________________________
The end: ___________________________________________
Consolidation (10 mins.)
Ss list the main events and describe the characters’ feelings. Ss take notes.
Closure (15 mins.)
T invites a volunteer for each team to come to the front of the class and share their work. T gives feedback and corrects wrong answers. 
T put Ss into teams. Each team should bring a suspense story to read it. Ss make a list of emotions found in the story.
Ss illustrate the situation or event where emotions are shown. Then Ss write a short description of the situation. Ss may write out their emotionary on cardboards. Ss make a cover for the emotionary.
Ss organize the events in a sequence. Read the product with the whole group and make any final additions, modifications, corrections, etc. Ss add their suggestions, ideas and contributions to further improve their work.
T sets up a presentation for other groups and the school community so the emotionaries can be shown and exhibited.