Copy of Reading A short story(The last day of the world) by Ray Bradury
Intermediate level
Description
Main Aims
-
To provide scan and detailed reading practice using a text about The last night of the world in the context of a short story.
-
To expose Ss to authentic material that is appropriate to their age and level.
-
To provide fluency speaking practice in a Conversation / Debate in the context of The decisions made by the characters in the story.
Subsidiary Aims
-
To provide practice of language used for Giving opinion, agreeing and disagreeing. in the context of the events of the story.
-
To provide clarification of some lexical items used in the short story
-
By the end of the lesson, Ss will have had the chance to present their ideas/opinions (providing enough reasons to support them.)
Procedure (100-136 minutes)
T welcoms Ss. T asks Ss about the stories that they have recently read. T asks Ss what kinds of stories they like. T asks Ss kind of problems do they face with when reading English stories. T asks Ss whether they think that reading stories/novels in English is useful. T asks Ss what kind of things do you learn from reading stories. T gives Ss a few minutes for open class discussion.
T tells Ss the title of the story. ''The last night of the world'' T writes the title on the board T asks the Ss about it. What do you think this is? Ss( a title of a story/novel/film) T it's a short story written by Ray Bradbury. T tells/elicits if possiblesome info about the author; (Ray Douglas Bradbury (August 22, 1920 – June 5, 2012) was an American fantasy, science fiction, horror and mystery fiction author,Widely known for his novel Fahrenheit 451 (1953) as well as his science fiction and horror story collections The Martian Chronicles (1950) The Illustrated Man (1951), and I Sing the Body Electric (1950). Bradbury was one of the most celebrated 20th- and 21st-century American writers. He received many awards, including a 2007 Pulitzer Citation, Bradbury also wrote and consulted on screenplays and television scripts. Many of his works were adapted to comic book, television and film formats.On his death in 2012, The New York Times called Bradbury "the writer most responsible for bringing modern science fiction into literature) T asks Ss to free associate /brainstorm around the title of the story. T encourages Ss to participate and write some interesting answers on the board. T might asks Ss to work in pairs for a a few minutes if some of the Ss weren't ready to participate with the whole class immediately. T allows open class discussion. T shows Ss a pic. Two middle aged married couple relaxed and drinking coffee. Who do you think they are? (characters in the story/main characters...etc) T doesn't confirm nor deny Ss answers and gives them a chance to predicate. T asks Ss a few questions to help them predicate. Do you think they are married? Are they nervous/relaxed? Do you think they have children? Are they talking about sth? What do you think it is? T writes Ss answers on the board (written record) to help them compare their ideas with those in the text.
T shows Ss the HO (the short story) T asks Ss to read quickly and check whether their prediction were true and find out what the story is about? were Ss's predications correct ? Ss are given only 23 min to do this task. T times the activity and makes Ss aware of that to encourage them to work enthusiastically. Ss work T monitors from a distance. T tries to be less obtrusive during the reading activity. Ss finish T asks Ss to check their answers together. T does open class feedback.
T puts Ss in groups. T asks Ss to look at the words/[phrases in bold. T tells Ss that they will be given a list of meaning which they need to match them with the words in bold in the story. T shows Ss the HO(words /meaning match) T tells Ss not to unfold the paper till they finish matching. T gives Ss the HO and asks them to read the word and determine their meaning from the context. T does/elicits the first one as an example. Ss work T monitors Ss finish T asks Ss to unfold the paper and check their answers.
T asks Ss about the characters and the main theme of the story T tries to elicit the element of fiction. SETTING A home in the United States. CHARACTERS Husband Knows the world is ending but does not panic. Wife Knows the world is ending but does not panic. Stan Willis Co-worker of the husband. Two unnamed daughters Children of the husband and wife. T asks Ss questions to check their understanding of the story. What did the couple do when they know it was the last night of the world? Ss (They continue with their daily routine, as always.) Did the children know about that? Ss ( no, maybe) Did their parents tell them? Ss (no, they didn't) What happened at the end? Ss (Seemingly, the world ends.)......etc T tries to set up the mood for the speaking activity. what is the main THEME of the story? *Acceptance of death: The reason for this worldwide death is not made clear, Perhaps most interesting thematically is the decision for the couple to simply spend their last night as they would every other night. There is a comfort in routine: may be seen as a noble choice... * the story may also be read as the life-draining nature of too much routine, of leading a basically mechanized life of fixed schedules and expectations, a lifestyle that leaves one "dead inside". Such neutrality has political consequences as well, allowing other nations to commit evil acts which were perhaps another reason why the world ends.
T asks Ss some questions? T divides Ss into As and Bs T tells Ss to look at the questions/sentences that are posted around the class? T tells Ss that As must agree with the question or sentences. and Bs must disagree.3 T tells Ss that they must give good reasons for their opinion and allow their partner to talk. T tells Ss that she will be giving marks for the Ss whose reasons/opinion are convincing. T reminds/encourages Ss to use the phrases/expression for agreeing and disagreeing which they took the previous class. T elicits some useful phrases for agreeing and disagreeing/ giving opinions. T writes some on the board. Personal Point of View • Speaking for myself… • In my opinion… • Personally, I think… • I'd say that… • I'd suggest that… • What I mean is… Agreeing with an opinion/point mentioned • Of course. • absolutely right. • Yes, I agree. • I think so too. • That's a good point. • Exactly. I'd go along with that. • That's true. • That's just what I was thinking. • I couldn't agree more. Disagreeing with an opinion • I don't agree... • However… • That's not entirely true. • On the contrary… • I'm sorry to disagree with you, but… • Yes, but don't you think… • That's not the same thing at all. • I'm afraid I have to disagree. • I'm not so sure about that. • I must take issue with you on that. • It's unjustifiable to say that... T tells Ss that they only have a min to talk about each question/sentence. 1.Did the husband and wife spend their last night in a nice way? 2.They made the right decision by not telling the children about the last night? 3. They should have gone out and made a party to enjoy their last day/night. 4.They were selfish they should have told their kids about it,may be they wanted to do something before the world ends? 5.They shouldn't have gone to work? T tells Ss to move to another each time they hear her clapping. 10 Ss, 5 papers, each two stand next to one. Ss work T monitors and makes sure that everyone is participating. Ss finish, T asks them to go back to their places. T asks Ss one questions too round up the class. What would you do if you were in the characters positions? Is it difficult to make such decisions? would you do this with your own children? If you had a chance to meet the couple what would you tell them? T does an open class discussion.