S.C.E.

STORY- BASED/ LITERATURE TEACHING GUIDELINE to

ESL STUDENTS.

Starting
When planning a lesson around a book, you should start by thinking about the key
concepts that are in the story. Here’s an example:

You must plan a lesson around the story that you are using in your classroom. If the
story is telling about common daily activities like buying food from street markets,
then you should use it to your advantage because buying food from street markets
is common here in Cambodia so this will be a familiar context for young learners
and a great way to introduce and practice a range of vocabulary for fruit and
vegetables and structures for making polite requests.
This story also works as a jump off point for dramatic-play activities, allowing the
children to use the language from the story to role-play buying and selling fresh
produce in the classroom market.
Defining clear learning outcomes will help you make better choices about the
planned activities.
In this lesson children will develop important life skills while learning vocabulary for
food and structures for polite requests.
Then you can think about the key language that you might need to introduce or
revise prior to reading to support their understanding of the story or for the activity
they will do afterwards.
Do you think they need to understand every word in order to follow the story?
Not at all, in fact, I have found that children are incredibly good at interpreting
meaning when the language is presented in context. Of course, you have to make
sure you have done a good job at:
• Preparing a pre-reading stage that provides useful input
• Have been mindful to plan how you will use images and gestures and your
voice during the story to support their understanding.

STAGES OF A LESSON
There are many ways to structure your story-based lesson.

Introducing Key Language

• As I just mentioned earlier, you don’t need to pre-teach every word before
reading a story. In fact, that’s a terrible idea. However, there may be key
 language that is worth introducing or revising in order to prepare them for
listening to the story.
• There are lots of ways to this but in this guideline, I’ve used the famous
Mystery Box (or in this lesson the Mystery Supermarket Bags).
• These can work perfectly to spark their curiosity and introduce vocabulary or a
concept they will hear in the story.
Pre-Reading
• Make sure to sit where you can be easily seen and heard. They should all be
facing the book, so in the classroom with a group of children, make sure they
are in rows and not in a circle for Storytime.
• Set them up for success by developing a routine that will indicate that it’s
Storytime.
• You should also set the rules for the kind of behavior we all expect during
Storytime. Listening to a book being read aloud requires a lot of attention and
focus and we can help children with this by teaching them strategies (such as
whole body listening).
• Never start reading the story without first exploring the peritext. Teach
children about the parts of a book, including the cover, title, author, and use
the images on the front to get them curious, activate their prior knowledge and
prepare them to listen to the story.
Providing support
• Encourage students to draw on their current linguistic or world knowledge.
• Look at the cover and brainstorm words and ideas based on the title and/or
images
• Use images from the story and have students predict what it is about.
• If you have read the book before, encourage students to recall as much as
they can about the characters or storyline.
• Show enthusiasm for the book – if you don’t get excited about it, your
students won’t either.
While reading
Here are some general guidelines:
• Always read the story to yourself (or in front of a mirror) before going public
 • Decide how you will read it, what voices and actions you will use
• Get a feel for the rhythm and speed
• Use plenty of facial expressions, gestures and make use of the images to
support their understanding
• Plan ways you will encourage participation with gestures and questions to
have them reflect and predict.

Sample on How to Teach Vocabulary in Literature (Pre-Teaching Activities)

I. TRANSLATION INTO YOUR OWN LANGUAGE (5 marks)
Translate words below into Khmer.
1. Theatre (…..) : ………………………………………………………...………...……
2. Worry (…..) :…………………………………………………………………………
3. Borrow (…..) : ……………………………………………………………………….
4. Flat (…..) : …………………………………………………………………………...
5. Hurry (…..) : ………..………………………………………………………………..
6. Greet (…..) : …………………………………………………………………………
7. Architect (…..) : ……………………………………………………………………...
8. Journey (…..) : ………………………………………………………………………..
9. Massager (…..) : ………………………………………………………………………
10. Notice (…..) : …………………………………………………………………………
11. Successful (…..) : ……………………………………………………………………..
12. Shake (…..) : …………………………………………………………………………
13. Sunshine (…..) : ………………………………………………………………………
14. Terrible (…..) : …………………………………………….…………………………
15. Train (…..) :………………………………………………….…………………..……
16. Average (…..) : ……………………………………………………………………….
17. Article (…..) : …………………………………………………………………………
18. Attractive (…..) : ………………………………………………………………………
19. Deaf (…..) : ……………………………………………………………………………
20. Silver (…..) : …………………………………………….……………………………..
II. WORDS AND DEFINITIONS (5 marks)
Match words below with their definitions.
Words Definitions Answers
1. Very cool (adj) a. Very great 1.
2. Ordinary (adj) b. Not opened 2.
3. Tour (v) c. Not extraordinary 3.
4. Band (n) d. To visit 4.
5. Currently (adv) e. Not opened 5.
6. Secret (adj) f. Ways of cooking 6.
7. Fun (n) g. Reading text 7.
8. Recipe (n) h. Group of people who play the music 8.
9. Major (adj) i. In the present 9.
10. Flavor (n) j. Important 10.
11. Charity (n) k. Adjective of Energy 11.
12. At the moment l. Feel nervous 12.
(Adv)
m. It is an event like anniversary 13.
13. Behave (v) n. No job (jobless) 14.
14. Architect (n) o. Cannot hear 15.
15. Deaf (adj) p. A person who design new things or buildings 16.
16. Festival (n) q. To act or work in the office 17.
17. Unemployed (adj) r. Happiness 18.
18. Stressed (adj) s. Now 19.
19. Energetic (adj) t. How food and drink tastes 20.
20. Article u. Money or food given free to someone for being kind

III. VERBS AND THEIR COMPLEMENTS & ADJECTIVES WITH NOUNS (2.5 marks)
Match verbs and adjectives below with the appropriate phrase.

1. High a. some sun cream

2. Go b. that meal
3. Do c. me the time
4. Buy d. English
5. Speak e. three languages
6. Talk f. forever
7. Say g. my homework
8. Tell h. too many mistakes
9. Important i. the piano
10. Make j. running every morning
11. Pay for k. meal
12. Delicious l. price
13. Play m. meeting
14. Long n. day
15. Heavy o. rain
16. Busy p. time
17. Beautiful q. date
18. Blind r. girl
19. Serious s. table
20. Ugly t. issues
ANSWER SHEET
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11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

IV. FORMING SENTENCES FROM EACH WORD (5 marks)

Use each following word to write sentences. (Options)
 1. Activate (…..) : ………………………………………………………...…………………
2. Adventure (…..) :…………………………………………………………………………
3. Appreciate (…..) : ………………………………………………………………………..
4. Bite (…..) : ……………………………………………………………………………….
5. Bleed (…..) : ………..…………………………………………………………………….
6. Crime (…..) : ……………………………………………………………………………..
7. Damage (…..) : …………………………………………………………………………..
8. Enormous (…..) : ………………………………………………………………………..
9. Endanger (…..) : …………………………………………………………………………
10. Explode (…..) :
…………………………………………………………………………...
11. Fame (…..) :
………………………………………………………………………………...
12. Forest (…..) :
……………………………………………………………………………….
13. Land (…..) :
………………………………………………………………………………...
14. Length (…..) :
…………………………………………….………………………………...
15. Monkey (…..)
:………………………………………………….…………………..………
16. Permission (…..) :
………………………………………………………………………….
17. Refuse (…..) :
………………………………………………………………………………
18. Robbery (…..) :
……………………………………………………………………………..
19. Snake (…..) :
……………………………………………………………………………….
20. Jungle (…..) :
…………………………………………….…………………………………

V. TEXT COMPLETTION (10 marks)

Sally
a) moment b) cosmopolitan c) messenger d) really e) education
f) moved g) arrived h) worry i) September j) universe

Anton Kristoff from Toronto, Canada

Hi! I’m Anton. I come from Canada, but at the …………… I’ living here in New York. I’m
working as a bike……………….. I ……………. like New York, it’s the center of the
……………and it’s very ………………... I have friends from all over the world. I earn about
$100 a day in this job. That’s good money. I’m saving money for my………………….
I was born in Toronto, but my parents are from Bulgaria. They………………..to Canada
thirty years ago. When they first ………………..they didn’t speak any English. They
……………..about me. Last month I had a bad accident on my bike, but I’m fine now.
Next …………………I’m going to study for a Master’s degree and then I hope to get a good
job.
ANSWER SHEET
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Dominic
a) gallery b) Australian c) exhibition d) husband

e) aboriginal f) student g) anything h) existed

i) successful j) borrowed

Rowenna Lee from Melbourne, Australia

Hi! I’m Rowenna. I’m ………………., I come from Melbourne, but not now live in north
London with my…………….David. He’s English. David and I run an art gallery. It’s a gallery
for Australian Aboriginal art. I just love………………..art, I love all the colors and shapes.
I’m preparing a new ………………at the moment.

I came to England in 2006 as a…………… My parents wanted me to study law, but I didn’t
like it, -er, I hated it in fact. I left the course after three months and got a job in an art
………………., that’s where I met David. Then, we had the idea of opening our own gallery
just for Aboriginal art, because most English people don’t know …………….. about it.
That was in 2006, and we ………………$25, 000 from the bank to do it. We’re lucky
because the gallery’s really ………………. and we paid the money back after just five
years. I go back to Australia every year. I usually go in the English winter because it’s
summer in Australia. But I’m not going next year because, you see, I’m going to have
a baby in December. It’s my first so I’m very …………………….
 ANSWER SHEET
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VI. EXPRESSION MATCHING (2.5 marks)

Match the line A with B.
A B

1. Play A. Emails and texts

2. Go out B. Games on my PlayStation
3. Download C. Music and films
4. Send D. With my friends
5. Shop E. In front of the TV
6. Have F. Friends for a drink
7. Relax G. For clothes online
8. Meet H. A lie in
9. Listen to I. For a meal
10. Go out J. Music
ANSWER SHEET:
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