JAMBO'S STORY
B1+ level
Description
Main Aims
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To develop students' reading skills by enabling them to read for gist and specific information, and to introduce the Past Perfect and time conjunctions through a contextualized reading text.
Subsidiary Aims
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To expand students' vocabulary related to the reading text by teaching the target lexical items and improving their understanding and pronunciation before reading.
Procedure (40-51 minutes)
Teacher greets the class and tells Ss they are going to watch a short video. Teacher plays the first 10 seconds of the video and pauses it before the gorilla approaches the boy. Teacher asks guided questions such as "Where are they?", "What animal can you see?", "Is the boy safe?" and elicits brief responses from the class. Teacher then displays three prediction sentences on the board: A. The gorilla will hurt the boy. B. The gorilla will help the boy. C. The gorilla will ignore the boy. Teacher asks Ss to choose the prediction they think is correct by showing one, two or three fingers. Teacher asks two or three students to briefly justify their choices without confirming the correct answer. Teacher tells Ss they will find out whether their predictions are correct after reading the text but that they first need to learn some important vocabulary.
Teacher tells Ss that they will learn some key words before reading the text. Teacher presents the eight target words one by one using PowerPoint slides containing visuals, short contextualized situations and simple learner-friendly definitions. Teacher asks guided questions to focus Ss' attention on the context and checks understanding with simple CCQs before revealing each target word. Teacher models the pronunciation of each word, and conducts choral drilling. Teacher then displays a review slide containing all eight words and asks Ss to match the words to the corresponding pictures and meanings in pairs. Teacher conducts whole-class feedback and briefly revises the vocabulary before asking Ss to read the text and check whether their predictions from the lead-in were correct.
Teacher asks Ss to read the text individually within one minute without focusing on unfamiliar words or using dictionaries. Then, she instructs Ss to identify which of their prediction best matches the story.Teacher conducts whole-class feedback by eliciting the correct prediction and briefly asking Ss to justify their choice using information from the text.
Teacher distributes scanning questions and asks Ss to read the text again to locate specific information. Teacher reminds Ss that they do not need to read every word carefully but should look for the answers to the questions. Ss complete the task individually and compare their answers in pairs. Teacher monitors throughout the activity, provides support where necessary and conducts whole-class feedback by eliciting the answers from different students and referring them to the relevant parts of the text.
Teacher directs Ss' attention to selected sentences from the reading text containing the target grammar. Teacher asks guiding questions to help Ss identify which action happened first and elicits the function of the Past Perfect in describing an action completed before another action in the past. Teacher clarifies the meaning using a timeline, elicits the form and highlights the use of the time conjunctions before, after, when and by the time. Teacher models the pronunciation of the contracted form 'd and conducts choral and individual drilling. Teacher checks understanding through concept checking questions (CCQs) and then asks Ss to complete a short gap-fill activity using the target grammar and time conjunctions. Ss compare their answers in pairs before Teacher conducts whole-class feedback, clarifies any remaining difficulties and provides corrective feedback where necessary.
