Lesson Plan : Picture Stories

Lesson Level: Junior 1,2,3  Seniors 1 and 2 (All grades)  Duration: 45 Minutes

Lesson Title: Picture Stories

Grammar and Vocabulary

Use of tenses to create a narrative

Lesson Objectives

To develop students' ability to construct more complex stories and to sequence narratives.

Materials Required

A large selection of picture prompts – five for each group plus a bag of spares.

Five large pictures to use in demonstration OR a similar Power Point presentation.

Preparation

before the class sort the pictures into sets of five to give to groups. You will need as many sets as there are groups. Try to get pictures that relate to each other to make the task easier.^1,2

Put the sets into separate envelopes.

Procedure

1

Introduce lesson.

Explain that it is to develop skills at writing more complicated sentences.

Break the class into small groups – four is the ideal number.

(2 Minutes)

2

Put first picture on board and write a very simple sentence describing it.

e.g. The trees are in the field.

Elicit ideas for making it more complicated and add to sentence. More sentences may be added.

e.g.

The tall trees were standing in the beautiful green field as the sun set. There were a few clouds in the sky.

(3 Minutes)

3

Add the other pictures one by one, eliciting ideas and developing a story.

Get some students to read the story out loud.

(10 Minutes)

4

Give each group five pictures.

They may change one picture if the wish for one of the spares.

5

Give groups ten to fifteen minutes to write stories based on the pictures.

Monitor and assist as needed.

(15 Minutes)

6

In turn each group comes to the front and reads their story – bring whole group to front.

(15 Minutes)

Notes

1. See Tips #4 My most valuable resource.

2. For stronger classes you can simply allocate pictures randomly and NOT allow exchanges.