Title

“Stories from the Past”

Topic

This unit is focused on recounting past experiences. Students will learn to express simple past events using the simple past tense, working on their listening, reading, writing, speaking, and grammar skills to boost their confidence in English.

Theme: Telling Personal Stories

·         Grammar: An introduction to the simple past tense, emphasizing both regular and irregular verbs within the context of personal experiences. 

·         Vocabulary: Key words and phrases associated with personal experiences and past events, such as "birthday," "trip," "family," "friends," and "celebration." 

·         Listening: Targeted listening exercises to identify important words and phrases in dialogues or narratives about past experiences, like short stories or audio clips about celebrations. 

·         Reading: Engaging with short texts related to past experiences while employing strategies like prediction, summarization, and graphic organizers to enhance understanding. 

·         Writing: Composing sentences and brief paragraphs that narrate a personal experience, such as "My favorite birthday" or "A day at the park."   

·         Speaking: Participating in role plays and conversational activities that allow students to practice discussing their past experiences.

Time

·         Duration: 5 sessions of 1-2 hours each, over 2-3 weeks.

·         Total: Approximately 10 hours.

Unit Objectives

Main unit objective: Students will be able to express simple experiences and events from the past by using basic structures of the past simple tense in a communicative manner.

Lesson objectives:

·         Lesson Objective 1 (Listening): Identify key phrases and words in brief spoken narratives about past events.

·         Lesson Objective 2 (Reading): Comprehend the main ideas and details in short texts that describe past events. 

·         Lesson Objective 3 (Writing): Produce short written descriptions of personal past experiences using simple sentences in the past tense. 

·         Lesson Objective 4 (Speaking): Narrate a personal experience or event from the past using basic vocabulary and grammar. 

·         Lesson Objective 5 (Grammar): Apply the past simple tense in sentences and questions to describe experiences and events.

Course Learning Outcomes

Main unit learning outcome: By the end of the unit, students will be able to confidently describe simple personal events from the past, which will enhance their communicative competence in English.

Lesson learning outcome:

·         Lesson Outcome 1 (Listening): Students will be able to understand short spoken stories about everyday events. 

·         Lesson Outcome 2 (Reading): Students will demonstrate comprehension of texts by summarizing main points and utilizing a graphic organizer. 

·         Lesson Outcome 3 (Writing): Students will be able to compose a simple paragraph recounting a personal experience.

·         Lesson Outcome 4 (Speaking): Students will confidently share a short personal story about a past experience. 

·         Lesson Outcome 5 (Grammar): Students will accurately form and use past tense sentences in everyday contexts.

Formative -Assessments

Throughout the unit, low-stakes assessments will include:

·         Listening: Short quizzes and comprehension checks focusing on key phrases. 

·         Reading: Using graphic organizers and summarizing texts to assess understanding. 

·         Writing: Drafting personal narratives, participating in peer review, and receiving feedback. 

·         Speaking: Engaging in role-play and storytelling exercises, complemented by peer feedback. 

·         Grammar: Completing fill-in-the-blank exercises and participating in sentence-building games. 

Each session will conclude with a quick reflection or satisfaction survey to gauge student understanding and comfort level.

Teaching Method

·         Scaffolding: Instruction will begin with structured examples and guided practice to help students build a solid foundation. As students gain confidence, the tasks will gradually shift to more open-ended activities, allowing for greater independence.

·         Communicative Approach: The focus will be on interactive activities, such as role plays and discussions, to encourage the natural use of language in real-life contexts. This approach will help students feel more comfortable communicating in English.

·         Direct Instruction for Grammar: There will be short, focused explanations on the past simple tense, followed by practice in context. This method ensures that students understand the rules and can apply them effectively in their speaking and writing.

Key Resources

Include diverse and inclusive resources that will guide and support students.

·         Listening and Reading Materials: Simple short stories and audio recordings that are appropriate for A1 level learners.

·         Writing and Speaking Prompts: Visual aids like story maps and graphic organizers to support students in their writing and speaking tasks.

·         Games and Digital Tools: Online platforms or interactive exercises designed to reinforce the use of past tense verbs.

·         Kahoot! and Quizlet: are excellent tools for vocabulary and grammar review. I would use them to conduct quick, interactive quizzes on the present continuous or any other grammar points the class is learning.

Students’ context

·         English Level: A1 (CEFR) 

·         Age Range: 11-15 years 

·         Grade: Sixth 

·         Learner Needs: Given their limited prior exposure to the language, activities will be tailored to build foundational skills in a supportive and interactive environment.

Language Skill: Speaking (Oral Communication).
Topic: Daily Routines in the Present Simple.
Objective:
Students will be able to ask and answer questions about their daily routines using the present simple tense correctly.

- Activity Structure: 

Introduction:
Introduce the present simple tense as the grammatical structure used for discussing daily habits and routines.
Example sentences:

"I wake up at 6 a.m. every day."
"She brushes her teeth before breakfast."
Explain that students will interact with ChatGPT, which will act as a virtual teacher to help practice speaking skills.
Instructions:

Open ChatGPT on your browser.
Type the following prompt:
"Pretend to be an English teacher. Ask me five questions about my daily routine using the simple present tense. After I answer, provide corrections and explain my mistakes."

Read each question from ChatGPT and respond using complete sentences.
Review the feedback provided by ChatGPT to improve your responses.
Repeat the process until you feel confident with your answers.
Practice:
ChatGPT will ask questions such as:

"What time do you wake up?"
"What do you eat for breakfast?"
"Do you go to school by bus?"
Students will respond with sentences like:
"I wake up at 7 a.m."
"I eat eggs and toast for breakfast."
"No, I don’t. I walk to school."
Feedback:

ChatGPT will provide real-time corrections and explain errors.
After completing the activity, students will pair up to share their answers and practice pronunciation.

- Develop Content:

Prompts for ChatGPT:

"Ask me questions about my daily routine in the present simple tense."
"Correct my sentence: 'She don’t go to school on Sundays.'"
"Provide three examples of questions using 'do' or 'does.'"
Exercises for Students:

Complete the following sentences:
"He ____ (wake up) at 6 a.m. every day."
"We ____ (not have) school on Saturdays."
Write three questions about daily routines to practice with a partner.
Content Creation Using ChatGPT:

Students can ask ChatGPT to generate more questions or provide explanations about the use of "do/does" in questions and answers.