Lesson:Bill's crazy spree

Learning goal
Students will be able to
 * name common places in the neighborhood (shopping mall, church, movie theater, etc.),
 * to give and receive directions using common prepositions of location (left, right, across from, etc.),
 * use the simple past to describe a sequence of actions (i.e. students will be able to report a brief story about a third person).

Prerequisite

 * exposed to common place names;
 * exposed to common prepositions of location;
 * exposed to common idioms for giving/receiving directions (go three blocks, turn left, look to your right, etc.)
 * exposed to the simple past of common verbs

Material

 * overhead transparency: neighborhood map (preferably including the class site and surrounding community)
 * overhead transparency: Lesson:Bill's crazy spree/Joe's day off
 * overhead transparency: Bill's crazy spree/Map
 * photocopies: Bill's crazy spree/Map
 * photocopies: Lesson:Bill's crazy spree/Gina and the girls evaluation prompt

Intro

 * 1) Put Lesson:Bill's crazy spree/Joe's day off up on the transparency and ask a student to read the story.
 * 2) Ask another student to read the story again and
 * 3) Ask a third student to trace Joe's path on the projection with a pointer.
 * 4) Tell students that today they will get to play detective, discover a story and tell it to the class.

Presentation

 * 1) Put a simple map of the school neighborhood and surrounding community up on the overhead (or draw such a map on the board)
 * 2) Volunteer information about your own daily schedule and write it to the right or left on the board. Example: I usually...
 * 3) * go for a walk in the park before breakfast
 * 4) * drop my dogs off at the dog sitter's house
 * 5) * drive to school
 * 6) * etc.
 * 7) Go over the list, pointing out places on the map and describing your routes. Example:
 * 8) * "I go three blocks to La Brea Avenue and turn left."
 * 9) * "Across the street from Ralphs, I stop at Bean & Sweats and buy a cup of coffee and a muffin"
 * 10) * etc.
 * 11) Ask a student what they usually do, mark their daily itinerary on the board (or transparency) and write the information on the other side of the board from your own list in the 3rd person singular. Example:
 * 12) * "Manny drops his children off at the elementary school across from St. Anthony's Church"
 * 13) * "Then he visits his mother and makes her breakfast"
 * 14) * etc.
 * 15) Describe the route as in #3 above,
 * 16) Change the student's name to a character name and tell the same information as a story in the simple past tense, adding a couple of dramatic details and culminating in one dramatic event. Example:
 * 17) * "It is the last day of work before winter vacation."
 * 18) * " Manny Joe Clancy woke up as usual and drank a cup of coffee."
 * 19) * "He took his children three blocks to their school at the corner of 1st Ave. and Main St."
 * 20) * "He went two blocks East on 1st Ave., turned right on Elm Street, went two more blocks and stopped at his mother's house across from the playground."
 * 21) * "He crashed into a fire hydrant in front of his mother's house."
 * 22) * "The fire hydrant broke and sprayed water thirty feet into the air..."
 * 23) Tell students, "Now you are going to make up a story about Bill and his crazy day."

Application/activity

 * 1) Organize students into small groups;
 * 2) give each group a copy of the Lesson:Bill's crazy spree/Map;
 * 3) tell the class that today they are detectives and must
 * 4) find out what happened in Bill's story based on the evidence and
 * 5) tell their version of events to the class;
 * 6) give students time to study the evidence and make up their story, side coaching as needed;
 * 7) put up the "Bill's Crazy Spree" overhead and ask each group to tell their version of Bill's story while tracing his path on the projection with a pointer

Test

 * 1) Pass out Bill's crazy spree/Gina and the girls evaluation prompt
 * 2) Give students time to respond, assisting as needed
 * 3) Ask students to tell their stories to the class