The format for presenting my stories is similar how I prepare my lesson plans. An example is given below with highlighted annotations explaining each component and how I implement it in my classroom.
Structures: These are in past tense in order to facilitate more "natural" storytelling and exposure to a variety of verb tenses.
- New Structures: Structures that will be introduced in this story. I intended these to be the "notes" for the day as students copy them down as well as their translations. I limit these to three per story. If more are necessary, I create a new story with those.
- había [un(a)]- There was/were (a)
- quería - wanted
- fue a - went to
- Recent Structures: Structures that have been introduced in previous stories, but will likely need to be reviewed. These will be included in the actual storytelling to build upon vocabulary and structures that have already been acquired and/or need more repetitions.
- se llamaba - him/erself called s/he (he called himself)
- era - (S/he) was
- tenía - had
- Hay un(a): Structures that do not lend themselves to the various forms listed below are worked into personalized questions in other ways which are noted.
- action - hand over eye and point to something An action is added to most important words through the TPR method and used throughout stories and communication to facilitate comprehensible input
- Have students stand up and tell them "Hay un(a) chic@."
- After this is done a few times, ask it as a question: "¿Hay un(a) chic@?" and students reply with "Sí" or "No." Model correct answer in a complete sentence.
- Expand to ask ¿Qué hay? and have students respond with "chic@" or "Hay un(a) chic@." Model correct response.
- Expand to other easy objects (cognates/basic words) with props or pictures (dog, cat, elephant, banana, etc., first asking yes or no questions and progressing to open-ended questions.
- Quiere:
- Action - palms up wiggling fingers
- Question/responses:Most structures are manipulated into a present tense question (you form), a correct response pattern (I form), and how I will report student responses to the class (3rd person). I write the following on the board, model them, and translate them briefly with the class.
- ¿Qué / quier/es? = What/want/you? (What do you want?)
- Shouting/calling to someone I add a chant or song to the question so that the entire class can ask it together. I recommend repeating the phrase at least twice so students can join in on the second one if they miss the first time.
- Quier/o________. = Want/I _______. (I want...)
- Quier/e_______. = Wants/ s/he ______. (S/he wants...)
- Through a process of adding a chant/song to the question and allowing the entire class to participate, students are asked the question, allowed to create a personalized response, and the response is then reported to the class. The class responds chorally to what the person said. For example:
- Chant the question (¿Qué quieres?) two times, and point to a student. Ask "¿Qué quieres?"
- Student responds: "Quiero...."
- Report to the class: "(name) quiere...."
- Class responds
- Va a:
- Action: sweep hand away with "V" fingers
- Question/response
- ¿Adónde vas? = To where go you?
- Watch Señor Wooly's "¿Adónde vas?" Occasionally, I will include resources I find helpful for teaching these phrases.
- Sing (like Señor Wooly video): "¿Adónde vas? ¿Adónde, adónde vas?"
- Voy a_____. = I go to...
- Prompts: "Voy a WalMart/McDonald's/Disneylandia." For when students get stuck trying to respond, I model "sample" answers they can either copy or manipulate
- Va a______. = S/he goes to...
Story: This is a story template limited to only the structures students have already learned. Feel free to change and add details as you like. In planning, I'll stick to using mostly the new and most recent structures, but keep the older structures in front of me for adding details about the characters and what's happening. When I want more details, I'll look at the recent/old structures and ask for a new detail using those structures (hint: if you're using the "structure cards" on my tips page, the students often do this for you!). I may add a few of these detail here, but it'll really be up to you and your class which details are added. English translations are in red after each paragraph. When I have my own class, I will also provide examples of how my students personalized the story. Again, these stories are in past tense so that students are exposed to all verb tenses. Shelter vocabulary, not grammar!
Había un elefante. El elefante se llamaba Tiny. Tiny era un elefante muy, muy grande. Había un problema. Tenía dos bikinis azules, pero quería un bikini rosado. No tenía un bikini rosado. Era un problema grande.
There was an elephant. The elephant called himself Tiny. Tiny was an elephant that was very, very big. There was a problem. He had two blue bikinis, but he wanted a pink bikini. He didn't have a pink bikini. It was a big problem.
Tiny fue a Alaska. En Alaska, había un gato. El gato se llamaba Whiskers y era un gato pequeño. Whiskers no tenía un bikini porque no había bikinis en Alaska. Tiny quería un bikini. Había un problema.
Tiny went to Alaska. In Alaska, there was a cat. The cat called himself Whiskers and was a little cat. Whiskers didn't have a bikini because there weren't bikinis in Alaska. Tiny wanted a bikini. There was a problem.
Fue a California. En California, había un perro. El perro se llamaba Clifford y era un perro grande y rojo. Clifford tenía bikinis, pero no tenía bikinis rosadas. Tenía bikinis negras. Tiny quería un bikini rosado. Había un problema.
He went to California. In California, there was a dog that calls himself Clifford. Clifford was a big, red dog. Clifford had bikinis, but he didn't have pink bikinis. He had black bikinis. Tiny wanted a pink bikini. There was a problem.
He went to California. In California, there was a dog that calls himself Clifford. Clifford was a big, red dog. Clifford had bikinis, but he didn't have pink bikinis. He had black bikinis. Tiny wanted a pink bikini. There was a problem.
Fue a Hawaii. En Hawaii, había una chica. La chica se llamaba Suzie y era una chica baja, pero muy bonita. Tenía muchos bikinis. Tenía bikinis negros, azules, rojos, y rosados. Tiny quería un bikini rosado. No había un problema. El fin.
He went to Hawaii. In Hawaii, there was a girl that called herself Suzie. Suzie was short, but very pretty. She had many bikinis. She had black, blue, red, and pink bikinis. Tiny wanted a pink bikini. There was not a problem. The end.
He went to Hawaii. In Hawaii, there was a girl that called herself Suzie. Suzie was short, but very pretty. She had many bikinis. She had black, blue, red, and pink bikinis. Tiny wanted a pink bikini. There was not a problem. The end.
