The picnic : a storytelling proposal for the second infant cycle in the English subject

FACULTAD DE EDUCACIÓN DE PALENCIA UNIVERSIDAD DE VALLADOLID THE PICNIC : A STORYTELLING PROPOSAL FOR THE SECOND INFANT CYCLE IN THE ENGLISH SUBJECT. FINAL DEGREE WORK IN EARLY YEARS EDUCATION, FOREIGN LANGUAGE (ENGLISH) TRABAJO FIN DE GRADO EN EDUCACIÓN INFANTIL, MENCIÓN LENGUA EXTRANJERA (INGLÉS) AUTORA: Marta Alonso Sanz TUTORA: Doña Rocío Domene Benito Palencia, 15 de junio de 2021 ACKNOWLEGDEMENTS I would like to thank my tutor, Rocío Domene Benito, for highly motivating me to develop my Final Degree Work on this topic. . To Ana Isabel Díez for leading the way into English Children Literature and make me love it. To Carmen Alario Trigueros for being inspirational and for encouraging me to do my best as a future teacher. Finally, I would like to dedicate this work to my mum, Rosario Sanz Urbón, for being my role model teacher to strive for my goal. RESUMEN Este Trabajo Fin de Grado se centra principalmente en la importancia del Storytelling en el segundo ciclo de Educación Infantil. Esta técnica de enseñanza es motivadora, estimulante y divertida, y puede ayudar a desarrollar actitudes positivas hacia la lengua extranjera, la cultura y el aprendizaje de idiomas. El alumnado ejercita la imaginación, puede involucrarse en un cuento al identificarse con los personajes y tratar de interpretar la narración y las ilustraciones. Por otro lado, es todo un reto implementar una propuesta de Storytelling en una clase de infantil en la asignatura de inglés, como segunda lengua, lo que significa que el inglés se convierte en la lengua vehicular del aprendizaje. Asimismo, un cuento puede servir para desarrollar otras asignaturas como Conocimiento del Entorno, Plástica, Matemáticas, Música, Teatro y Educación Física. ABSTRACT This Final Degree Work is based on the importance of Storytelling in Early Years. This teaching technique is motivating, challenging and enjoyable, and can help develop positive attitudes towards the foreign language, culture and language learning. Children exercises the imagination; they can get involved in a story as they identify with the characters and try to interpret the narrative and the illustrations. On the other hand, it is really challenging how to implement a storytelling proposal in an infant class in the subject of English as a second language which means that English turns into the vehicular language for learning. A story can be used to develop other subjects such as Knowledge and Understanding of the World, Arts and Crafts, Maths, Music, Drama and Physical Education. PALABRAS CLAVE/ KEY WORDS Storytelling, Infant Education, Natural Approach, CLIL, TPR, Literacy. Cuentos, Educación Infantil, Enfoque Natural, AICLE, TPR, Inglés INDEX Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 6 Objectives of the Final Degree Project ............................................................................. 7 Justification ....................................................................................................................... 7 Theoretical background .................................................................................................. 11 1. Storytelling .......................................................................................................... 11 1.1 What is storytelling?..................................................................................... 11 1.2 Storytelling in Early Years ........................................................................... 12 1.3 Criteria to choose books for storytelling ...................................................... 14 1.4 Verbal and non-verbal communication ........................................................ 16 2. Theories and Methodologies ............................................................................... 17 2.1 Natural Approach ......................................................................................... 17 2.2 Total Physical Response............................................................................... 18 2.3 Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) .................................... 21 Design of the proposal .................................................................................................... 23 1. Context ................................................................................................................ 23 2. Methodology ........................................................................................................ 23 3. The book .............................................................................................................. 24 4. Objectives ............................................................................................................ 25 5. Proposal ............................................................................................................... 27 6. Adaptation for 3-year-old class ........................................................................... 34 7. Adaptation for 5-year-old class ........................................................................... 35 8. Assessment .......................................................................................................... 36 Results ............................................................................................................................ 37 Original design and changes ................................................................................... 37 Children motivation................................................................................................. 38 Conclusions .................................................................................................................... 38 Final considerations .................................................................................................... 38 Reflections .................................................................................................................. 41 References ...................................................................................................................... 42 Annex ............................................................................................................................. 46 Annex 1: The story ..................................................................................................... 46 Annex 2: Fruties glove ................................................................................................ 49 Annex 3: Food flashcards ........................................................................................... 50 Annex 5: Character’s interactive activity ................................................................... 52 Annex 6: Sequence activity cards (4-year-olds) ......................................................... 53 Annex 7: Pocket-Story ................................................................................................ 55 Annex 8: Identify capital letters and full stop. (4-year-olds) ...................................... 56 Annex 9: Nouns flashcards ......................................................................................... 57 Annex 10: Build the words with pegs ......................................................................... 60 Annex 11: Match activity ........................................................................................... 61 Annex 12: /p/ sound .................................................................................................... 62 Annex 13: Replace junk food for healthy food ........................................................... 63 Annex 14: Assessment ................................................................................................ 64 Annex 15: Family cookie glove .................................................................................. 65 Annex 16: Sequence activity cards (3-year-olds) ....................................................... 66 Annex 17: Sequence activity cards (5-year-olds) ....................................................... 68 Annex 18: Identify capital letters and full stop. (5-year-olds) .................................... 69 Annex 19: Assessment rubric ..................................................................................... 72 Annex 20: Self-assessment template .......................................................................... 73 ~ 6 ~ INTRODUCTION This Final Degree Work focuses on the design of a didactic proposal based on storytelling in the Infant second cycle. The use of storytelling in early years Education is an essential and fundamental strategy that has been used for years. It is the ideal tool for children to learn in a meaningful context, overcoming the limitations of their small environment. Storytelling has countless advantages for children. It helps them to handle feelings and emotions, develop their personality and get to know themselves. It also allows them to develop their imagination, creativity, empathy and critical thinking, decision making and conflict resolution skills, bringing them closer to specific scenarios and situations. In addition, storytelling provides them with the opportunity to get to know their own culture and new ones, learning from them and learning to respect them. It is crucial to choose the right story considering external, internal aspects and the type of book. Together, we should link somehow the story to the topic in the official curriculum. In order to foster understanding, verbal and non-verbal communication are key elements that we must plan in advance. Some theories and methodologies are combined with Storytelling core. On the one hand, the proposal facilitates the acquisition of a second language, thanks to the Natural Approach theory. On the other hand, Content, Cognition, Culture and Communication are relevant principles in the design of the different tasks of the proposal. When telling a story in a Second Language, Maths, Arts and Crafts, Drama, Music, Physical Education, Knowledge and Understanding of the World subjects are involved and taught through English. Likewise, teaching in Early Years involves other methods and resources such as TPRs, songs, chants and games. The unit designed was partially implemented thanks to the Internship, which means results were considered to improve a better proposal. Subsequently, reflections allowed this teacher to think in extensions and further possibilities that could be implemented in the future. ~ 7 ~ OBJECTIVES OF THE FINAL DEGREE PROJECT This final degree project aims to achieve the following objectives: • To apply theories about teaching a second language in the context of storytelling for younger children. • To get in depth about storytelling for younger learners. • To create a justified criterion. • To design a storytelling proposal for nonnative English speakers in early years. • To adapt the proposal to the different levels of early childhood education. • To generate positive and enriching experiences and feelings through English language, literature and culture. • To facilitate knowledge of the environment through storytelling. • To encourage teamwork and group feeling. • To adapt practice to current circumstances. • To promote critical thinking, creativity and imagination through storytelling. • To integrate interdisciplinary contents through English language. • To use storytelling and literature as powerful weapons to transform society from early childhood. JUSTIFICATION This Final Degree Project arises from an interest in storytelling and in designing a proposal to be implemented in Infant Education. Although teaching in early childhood education has some specific limits, the great amount of possibilities is, indeed, unlimited. In this sense, it is required that children learn English in the most possible meaningful and playful way. Therefore, storytelling is a way to introduce English as a second language so that children can interact in English in a significant way, in a familiar context and with that touch of fantasy or unexpected twists that characterise stories for the youngest children. Storytelling teaches little children to keep their attention by engaging them with the story. However, storytelling is not “just ~ 8 ~ telling a story to children”, it is a much more complex process and way of interaction. It is about involving them in the story, getting them into it and making them believe they are the main characters, thus developing their imagination and creativity. Storytelling offers an infinite number of possibilities to work with: from learning about new cultures to dealing with sensitive and traditionally considered controversial or ‘taboo’ issues such as death or child abuse. Moreover, they encourage pupils to develop skills such as conflict resolution and critical thinking as part of the storytelling process. Storytelling is supported by some methodologies and educational theories that maximise these benefits and make storytelling a more meaningful, playful and successful activity. Additionally, this Final Degree Project is designed to be carried out in the subject of English in the early years’ classrooms. For the learning of a foreign language such as English, the use of adapted input and the support of non-verbal language is vital to facilitate students' learning, even more in early childhood education. We cannot forget the current situation we are enduring now. Due to the use of the mask, the input is reduced, many of the expressions or dramatizations lose expressiveness and do not communicate as it used to. Therefore, this Final Degree Project attempts to fulfil this limitation with visual support so that children receive sufficient input in the English language. Thanks to this Final Degree Project, the following competences of the Degree in Early Childhood Education will be developed: General competences. The general competences present in this Final Degree Project have been unified into the following: • To know and understand the fundamental psychological, sociological and pedagogical characteristics of pupils at different stages. • To identify the objectives, curricular contents and evaluation criteria of the Early Childhood Education curriculum. • To understand, apply and be familiar with the main teaching-learning techniques, methodologies and strategies. • To be able to recognise, plan, carry out and value good teaching-learning practices. • To integrate the knowledge needed to solve educational problems. ~ 9 ~ • To convey information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialist and nonspecialist audiences. • To acquire strategies and techniques for autonomous learning. • To know the intercultural reality and the development of attitudes of respect, tolerance and solidarity towards different social groups. Specific competences. The specific competences of the following modules are included: Basic Training, Didactic-Disciplinary, Final Degree Project and English Language in Early Childhood Education: • To understand the educational and learning processes and the developments in the evolutionary psychology in the 0-6 years period, in the family, social and school context. • To promote the acquisition of habits based on autonomy, freedom, curiosity, observation, experimentation, imitation, acceptance of rules and symbolic play, as the main means of learning about social reality. • To favour the educational integration of students with difficulties. • To promote children's knowledge and control of their body and its motor possibilities. • To understand that the daily dynamics in Early Childhood Education are changing in each student, group and situation and to have the ability to be flexible in the teaching exercise. • To know how to meet the needs of the students and how to transmit security, calmness and affection. • To express with appropriate use of verbal and non-verbal communication and be able to master techniques to encourage their development through interaction. • To know children's literature and to develop strategies for children's approach to literary texts. • To be able to relate theory with practice in the reality of the classroom and to master observation and recording techniques. • To be able to express orally and in writing in English (level C1). • To design, elaborate and evaluate didactic proposals that use reading and dramatization in the English approach in Early Years Education. ~ 16 ~ c. Type of book: The type of book selected is crucial. There are many types of books adapted to the needs of the classroom and to the contents and objectives that the teacher wants to achieve. Some of the most common types of books used with the youngest children are the following: o Fiction book o Non-fiction book o Picture book 1 o Biographies o Historical o Poems o Dictionaries All these criteria will be considered to select the most suitable story adapted to the children. Once the story has been selected, other aspects will be taken into account when carrying out the storytelling. One of the most relevant aspects is the verbal and non-verbal communication while telling the story. 1.4 Verbal and non-verbal communication When telling a story, verbal and non-verbal communication is essential to reach children in the most meaningful way and to make them more interested in the story. Verbal communication is the process of expressing ideas or thoughts through words. It can be oral or written, in this case the focus will be on oral verbal communication. This type of communication involves a certain number of components: o Language o Key words o Grammar Non-verbal communication is the process by which information is transmitted by means of gestures, signs or clues. In non-verbal communication there are also a variety of elements to be taken into account: 1 Pictures Books are stories in which illustrations play a more important role in the development of the story. These stories may or may not have words. And they are based on the assumption that children understand pictures before words, so they give more importance to the latter. For this reason, picture books include other types of books: fiction, non-fiction, biographies, etc., and can thus combine both. ~ 17 ~ o Kinesics: It is the information that is sent unconsciously through gestures or body posture. This can indicate to the audience information about our feelings or state of mind. o Emblems o Illustrators o Affect displays. o Regulators o Adaptors o Posture o Paralanguage: These are all those speech sounds that do not form words but can change or complete the meaning. o Qualifiers: Quality of the voice, volume, pace, intonation and pitch o Segregates o Silence o Proxemics: It is the use of the physical space between the teller and the audience during the communication. This aspect is strongly influenced by culture. o Haptics: It is everything that is transmitted through touching in communication. This aspect is also closely related to culture. Both verbal and nonverbal language are essential elements in storytelling. Verbal communication should be adapted to the age and level of the children, so that for earlyyear children must be short, concise and simple. The nonverbal language should enrich the story for understanding in a meaningful way. Storytelling must be supported by some theories and methodologies adapted to this strategy and complement it, making the most of it. 2. THEORIES AND METHODOLOGIES 2.1 Natural Approach According to Krashen & Terrell's (1998) in their Natural Approach theory, when we are young we acquire the language skills of our first language or mother tongue involuntarily, we are able to do the same with a second language. It is based on using real or natural situations of communication to develop the language skill of English as a vehicular language. ~ 18 ~ Krashen and Terrel distinguish between two fundamental concepts: acquisition and learning. Acquisition starts from what the learner hears or reads and is done subconsciously, i.e., implicit knowledge is accessed unconsciously by knowing how to use the language correctly without knowing or being aware of the rules. Learning, on the other hand, is the explicit knowledge of language rules which acts by making corrections to the implicit system before speaking or writing. According to this theory, the mechanism of a second language acquisition consists of, among others, three elements: the input, the organiser and the affective filter. The input is the set of oral or written texts from the language that the individual wants to acquire and which he or she listens to or reads. The organiser is the part of the brain that memorises and structures, subconsciously, the system of the new language and constructs the linguistic rules (grammatical, semantic, etc.) that each learner will use to produce texts that have not been memorised. It uses logical and analytical criteria to organise and produce knowledge. The affective filter is the part of the learner's brain that selects the information (input) that will reach the organiser and is based on affective factors, such as motivation or distress. The theory of the Natural Approach is very present in storytelling. First of all, the teaching of a foreign language in the early years is based on how children acquire the language, not on how they learn it. Moreover, as seen above, storytelling lowers the affective filter of children, which makes them develop positive attitudes towards the foreign language. Finally, storytelling creates a real learning situation (telling / listening a story) in which they use the foreign language, English, in this case, as a vehicular language to tell and understand the story. 2.2 Total Physical Response TPR (Total Physical Response) is a method of language teaching created by Dr. James Asher. This method consists of teaching language through physical activity. It is based on the way we learn our mother tongue. In the first period of our life we do not speak, we do not produce language, but we still understand the commands or instructions given to us by our parents (Asher, 1977). ~ 19 ~ In TPR, children carry out the actions and orders given by the teacher or by other pupils (in the more advanced stages). At the beginning, the commands, phrases or instructions are very simple but will become more complex as the method progresses. Children’s role is to listen to the teacher and act out the given command. The child will speak in the foreign language when he or she feels ready to do so. It is important to respect this "silent period" and give the child time to speak. On the other hand, the teacher's role would be similar to the role of parents: to give these prompts and to provide children with learning opportunities. This methodology becomes part of the classroom routines, so that children get involved. In addition, it is easy for younger children to follow the TPR activities because they only have to be focused and attentive to one thing: performing the action they have heard. Moreover, as they become more familiar with this methodology, children find that they understand a lot of what the teacher says, which makes them feel more confident and comfortable with the foreign language. This is related to the Krasen & Terrell’s Natural Approach theory and the affective filter, as children feel successful because of the positive learning experience, which lowers the affective filter. One of the most relevant aspects to bear in mind is that this methodology takes into account the different ways in which children learn. Most of children's own learning comes through their hands, eyes or ears. TPR activities have visual inputs for visual learners. By integrating TPR with songs or rhymes, auditory learners can arrive at knowledge in a meaningful way. Finally, it is interesting to underline that TPR activities are full of movement and play which help kinaesthetic learners. Teaching Proficiency Through Reading and Stories The TPR methodology is closely linked to storytelling, to the point that Blaine Ray (1998) has developed another methodology from it called TPRS (Teaching Proficiency Through Reading and Stories) joining both terms (Slavic, 2008). Blaine Ray is a high school Spanish teacher in California who developed this methodology while trying to improve his classes and make them attractive to his students. ~ 20 ~ TPRS is a physical and emotional methodology. Bay points out that in order to acquire a new language the brain needs a great amount of "comprehensible input", which is achieved through the deep understanding of a story and what it requires. Another significant aspect of this methodology is that it uses the interaction between teacher and students to create opportunities for learning and speaking (Kariuki & Bush, 2008). TPRS is strongly influenced by two theories previously seen: o TPR by James Asher: TPRS was originally called Total Physical Response - Storytelling, as it had arisen from putting this methodology into practice in the classroom. TPRS changes the imperative form of the TPR methodology to third person narrative storytelling. Bay supports the principle of a stress-free classroom environment, where children speak when they feel ready. The motor part of TPR is shorter in TPRS, as this methodology focuses on the value of reading. o Natural Approach by Krashen & Terrell: The TPRS methodology focuses on several aspects of Krashen & Terrell's theory: language acquisition, input, and affective filtering. Bay specifies that the process of language acquisition is an unconscious process and that it develops thanks to a meaningful input for the child and a stress-free environment that favours the lowering of the affective filter. Storytelling fits very well in these three terms as it introduces information in a meaningful and graded way in a given context and is a fun activity that gets children involved and interested, developing positive attitudes towards the foreign language. In the TPRS methodology three steps can be identified: 1. Establish meaning: In this first stage the teacher, through the comprehensible input, uses TPR and personal questions to introduce the key words and structures of the topic to be worked on (Brune, 2004). At the beginning, introducing key words through TPRs was a fundamental part of this methodology, but it has become less and less important, as some words are difficult to turn into gestures. Some authors point to the use of sign language. Personal questions are questions that lead to the construction of the story and can make it change. The teacher tells the story while pausing to ask questions to the ~ 21 ~ students. The stories that are used are characterised by being stories with a lot of fantasy and madness, where anything can happen. 2. Story practice: This part is subdivided into three moments. First, the teacher retells the story, without acting, asking questions about the key words and the comprehension of the story. Then, the students retell the story in pairs or groups. This usually lasts only a short time because this methodology does not focus on language production but on comprehension (Honorat, 2003). And finally, an aspect of the story is changed. The teacher provides visual elements of the story (images, words...) and something changes: the time or place where the story takes place, the number or gender of the protagonist... then they retell the story with these modifications. 3. Literacy: Students tell the story of their choice: the original story, with the modifications seen or with others they make; and they answer the questions orally or in writing. In order to respect the stress-free environment, this part can be done voluntarily, freely or in groups. Although it was created to work in Spanish with high school students, it has been adapted to an infinite number of languages and school levels. This methodology is still somewhat new and is still being refined. Moreover, it is also closely related to the New London Group's Multiliteracies theory, Serafini, F., & Gee, E. (2017), which argues that there are different ways of communicating, representing knowledge and producing language. All these ways are related to each other, but each child has a different one which must be respected and understood. Therefore, it is essential to incorporate different visual, written and auditory inputs. 2.3 Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) Marsh & Marsh's (2012) Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) involves teaching both subject content and foreign language in an integrated way. The foreign language, in this case English, is used to teach content and vice versa. This methodology follows three basic principles: ~ 22 ~ • The language, English, is used for learning the contents of other subjects, but also for understanding and communicating. • The content is what determines the type of language needed in each situation (story, poem, song, rhyme, tongue-twitters, riddles, conundrums…) • Interaction is given more attention than grammatical accuracy. This methodology is based on guiding principles, the 4 C's of Coyle, (2005): o Content: This is the centre of the learning process. It is about students not only acquiring knowledge of the topic or subject being worked on, but also creating their own knowledge, skills and understanding. o Cognition: This methodology challenges students to think, review and reflect on the knowledge they have acquired. Learners are motivated and encouraged to develop increasingly higher thinking skills. It aims to develop learners' ability to analyse linguistic commands so that they can create their own interpretation of the content. o Culture: CLIL methodology celebrates pluriculture and plurilingualism. That is why it is based on transmitting tolerance and knowledge of foreign cultures, because it is basic for learning a foreign language to promote international understanding. o Communication: Language is the way for communication and learning. Interaction between teacher and students is fundamental to learning. The language used should be related and suitable for the learning context. Three different types of languages can be identified: ➢ Language of learning: this is the specific key words that need to be learned about the subject being worked on. ➢ Language for learning: the specific structures that need to be learned to work on the subject. ➢ Language through learning: all those words and structures that we use to make ourselves understood, independently of the theme we are working on. CLIL methodology is closely related to storytelling at early years, since at this age the foreign language is not worked on directly but is used as a vehicle to work on ~ 23 ~ familiar and interesting topics to children, such as stories. The communication aspect mentioned above is intimately connected with storytelling, when a story is told, ‘language of learning’ and ‘language for learning’ but mainly ‘language through learning’ are worked, trying to make children interact and understand the full meaning of the story. DESIGN OF THE PROPOSAL 1. CONTEXT This design proposal is aimed at a state two-form entry school, for 3-, 4- and 5-year-old children. The number of children per class depends on the level: in the 3-year-old and 5- year-old class there are 18 children per class; but in the 4-year-old class there are 10 children in each class. This state infant and primary school is located in the city centre of Palencia. It does not have a bilingual programme or a bilingual section and there is only one specialist English teacher. However, it is important to point out that the children, whom the proposal will be carried out, are not very used to storytelling or working with stories, so it is something new and unfamiliar to them and really challenging for this teacher. This proposal is designed for English, as a second language, subject. This school dedicates a total of one and a half hours of English per week, divided into three 30-minute sessions. The proposal will be designed for the 4-year-old class, which is the intermediate year, and then, the necessary adaptations will be performed for the upper and lower years. Moreover, I was assigned to the 4-year-old class for my internship, so I had a better knowledge of this class and a wider perspective of the different standards. 2. METHODOLOGY The proposal follows a methodology based on the theories developed previously. ~ 24 ~ According to the BOCyL, DECRETO 122/2007, de 27 de diciembre; por el que se establece el currículo del segundo ciclo de la Educación Infantil en la Comunidad de Castilla y León, the methodology should consider the characteristics of each child, adapt the level to their development, pace of learning and favour and enhance a meaningful learning. Students will be encouraged to be the protagonists of their own learning, to discover from experience by working together. The teacher will be the guide or facilitator of their knowledge, trying to create situations that foster student learning. Also, the teacher will use English as a vehicular language to perform routines, play games, sing songs and work on the story. Thinking Skills strategies will be used as educational tools to facilitate meaningful learning by prompting a critical reflection on the students. 3. THE BOOK The selected book is The Picnic written by Ned Jensen and illustrated by Signe Nordin (annex 1). In order to provide a complete analysis of the book and its parts, Lukens, Smith and Miller’s (2013) premises will be followed. In this respect, the plot of the story explores the probable friendship or brother/sisterhood between two children, Ted and Peg, who decide to go on a picnic. They prepare the things they need and put food in the basket (cheese, sandwiches, crisps, lemonade, apples and cookies). Finally, a mouse sneaks into the basket and the children receive a funny surprise. As it can be observed, there is a chronological order in the story, a technique that lets young and beginner readers follow the story without complications. Moreover, as it has been already mentioned, there are two characters, both are the protagonists and they are children; therefore, readers can identify with them through their personality and physical traits and the actions they develop along the story. Apart from that, the narrator point of view is the traditional third person one, the so-called ‘omniscient’, who knows every single aspect of the story. Taking into account the format, we can underline that this book is not a physical one, in the sense that we cannot buy it at a book shop, but a book that is available to download at Reading A-Z website. This format makes stories and storytelling accessible to everyone at no extra cost. The website gives the opportunity to project it on screen, download it in colour or in black and white and different formats. ~ 25 ~ 3.1 Criteria for the selection of the book The choice of the book is essential to the proposal, so the following criteria have been considered, based on the criteria described in the theory: o As said before, the fact that the book is available online gives you the possibility to print it in the size of your choice. In this case, this teacher will print it in A3 size, as a big book 2 , so that the children could see it perfectly as they are sat on the carpet in assembly. o The book is about food as it’s the unit developed by the English class teacher. o Analysing the level of the children whom this teacher will perform the storytelling, the story should have simple and repetitive structures, so that the children could understand easily and later produce them. Pictures were clear, plain and explicit. o It is essential that both genders (male and female) are identified and depicted in the book. Also, the characters should not meet any stereotypical or discriminatory attitudes. o Likewise, taking into account the characteristics of the different classes where the storytelling will be developed, it is important to include cultural diversity in the characters. o As mentioned before, the website gives you the possibility to download the story in colour or black and white. Considering the experience with the group, it was decided to use the colour version to raise children’s motivation and attention. Pictures has soft colours and a familiar background for children. 4. OBJECTIVES The following general objectives will be worked through this proposal: • To arise interest, love and pleasure for literature and stories in pupils while sitting comfortably and paying attention. • To engage students through the creation of aesthetic reading experiences. • To encourage children to participate in reading the story or parts of the story with the teacher. 2 The words are underline according to the criteria explained in the theory part. ~ 32 ~ Lesson 6. Text level: Make a pocket-story. o 5 minutes → Routines. o 25 minutes → Children will colour and build their own mini book. The teacher will provide them with a small and black and white version of the story, so they can colour the important elements of each page (annex 7). 3rd week: Lesson 7. Sentence level: Capital letter and full stop o 5 minutes → Routines. o 9 minutes → Play ‘Who took the cookies from the cookie jar?’ (From lesson 2). o 16 minutes → Children will identify capital letters in the sentences of the story and write the missing full stops (annex 8) Lesson 8. Sentence level: Identify actions and nouns. o 5 minutes → Routines. o 10 minutes → Sing and perform a version of the song ‘Hokey Pokey’ (from lesson 3) o 15 minutes → Children will recognise different types of words: actions (verbs) and nouns. Nouns, flashcards, from the story (Ted, Peg, mouse, picnic) will be displayed around the classroom. Actions from the story (go, get, put, eat) will be linked to a gesture. The teacher will say nouns and verbs, the children will do the action of the verb or touch the flashcards if it is a noun (annex 9). Lesson 9. Word level: Build the words o 5 minutes → Routines. o 25 minutes → Class will be split in two. ▪ Group 1: They will build words from the story (Ted, Peg, picnic, mouse, go, get, put and eat) using sticks and pegs (annex 10). ▪ Group 2: Children will match the word with the picture (annex 11). ~ 33 ~ 4th week: Lesson 10. Word level: Alphabet in your mouth: sound /p/ o 5 minutes → Routines. o 5 minutes → Sing and perform the song ‘Alphabet in my mouth.’ First, the teacher will sing and make the gestures. And then, children will follow the teacher: I have the whole alphabet in my mouth x3 And I like to read I have the P, p-p in my mouth x3 And I like to read o 5 minutes → Children will practise the sound /p/ from the story: Peg, picnic, put, crisps and apples. o 15 minutes → To work on the /p/ sound, children will do an interactive activity (annex 12). They will distinguish whether the words the teacher pronounces have the /p/ sound and where it is at the beginning or at the end of the word. Lesson 11. Innovating the text: changing junk food for healthy food o 5 minutes → Routines. o 5 minutes → Perform fruits TPR (from lesson 3). o 7 minutes → Retell and reread the story, emphasize that it is good or bad for them. o 13 minutes → Children will replace junk food for healthy food in the story. They will paste some stickers in the big book and at the end they will tell the story together, only with the healthy food changed (annex 13). Lesson 12. Final task: Dramatization o 5 minutes → Retell and reread the story. o 20 minutes → The teacher will bring different foods, those that appear in the book and others that have been worked on. Children will go on a picnic to the playground, following the structure of the story. First, some children will put the food one by one into the picnic basket. Then, they will go out to the playground with the teacher and other children will take the food out. Finally, the teacher will unexpectedly take the mouse out of the basket. ~ 34 ~ o 5 minutes → Once in the classroom, the assessment will be carried out. The children will be asked different questions related to reading comprehension. They will be given several options, each corresponding to a basket, and the children will show the A or B sign if they think it is the right one (annex 14). 6. ADAPTATION FOR 3-YEAR-OLD CLASS In order to adapt this proposal to the 3-year-old class, several tasks will be modified or changed to reduce complexity. In addition, the teacher will enhance even more her verbal and non-verbal discourse. The activities to be modified are as follows: o Lesson 2: Replace ‘Who took the cookies from the cookie jar?’ for ‘Family Cookie’ Sing and perform the song using a glove with all the cookie members of the family (annex 15): Daddy cookie, daddy cookie Where are you? Here I am, Here I am How are you? Same with mummy, brother, sister and baby. The teacher sings and performs each verse, and the children follow the teacher and try to sing along. Then, we sing again, showing one cookie at a time until they are all done. o Lesson 5: Children will sequence the story in order using flashcards of the story. To help them, the flashcards will be numbered, and sentences will be removed to pay attention to the pictures, so that the children can also use the numbers to sequence the story (annex 16). o Lesson 7: Children will identify capital letters in the sentences of the story and write the full stops missing. During this activity, the teacher will guide them with yes and no questions or by giving them two options about where to put the full stop and then, they will choose. ~ 35 ~ o Lesson 9: As a whole class, 3-year-olds will do the matching activity, using the interactive smartboard. o Lesson 10: The 3-year-olds will identify the /p/ sound in different words or not and they will classify them according to the sound. 7. ADAPTATION FOR 5-YEAR-OLD CLASS Furthermore, the teacher will be modified or changed to go one step forward towards reading and writing and turning task more challenging for the age. The activities to be modified are as follows: o Lesson 2: Replace 'Three little oranges 1, 2, 3…” for the song ‘Hot potato’ Sing and perform: Hot potato, hot potato x3 Potato, potato, potato Mashed banana, mashed banana x3 Banana, banana, banana Cold spaghetti, cold spaghetti x3 Spaghetti, spaghetti, spaghetti Hot potato, hot potato Mashed banana, mashed banana Cold spaghetti, cold spaghetti Spaghetti, spaghetti, spaghetti o Lesson 5: Children will sequence the story in order using more pictures of the story to increase difficulty (annex 17). We will read every sentence slowly pointing in the picture what the sentence says. o Lesson 7: Children will identify capital letters in the sentences of the story and write the missing full stops. In addition, 5-year-olds will rewrite complete sentences correctly, using capital letters and full stops (annex 18). ~ 36 ~ o Lesson 10: To work on the /p/ sound, children will make an interactive worksheet. They will distinguish whether the words the teacher pronounces have the /p/ sound and if it is at the beginning or at the end of the word. Some more words out of the story will be added (pencil, cap, pig and lip). 8. ASSESSMENT The assessment of the proposal will be divided into two parts: • Teacher assessment: The teacher will systematically observe the children during the whole unit and will also use an assessment activity in lesson 12. With all the data collected through observation and the assessment activity, an assessment rubric (annex 19) will be filled in. • Self-assessment: Self-assessment will take place at the end of the unit, to give the children time to reflect on and assimilate the feelings they experienced during the Final Task. This activity will be developed using stickers of faces. The teacher will ask the following questions and the children will be given a template (annex 20) to answer to the extent that they feel they can. 1. I like the story, or I don’t like. 2. I participated in the activities, songs, games, TPRs and role play. 3. I remember the tittle of the story. 4. I can name two characters of the story. 5. I can name three healthy food. The 4-year-olds will only answer questions 1 to 4. The 3-year-olds will answer questions 1, 3 and 4. ~ 37 ~ RESULTS Original design and changes During the design of this proposal, this teacher was in her internship period, so it was partially implemented. It could not be fully implemented due to several circumstances. One of the difficulties found in applying the proposal was the available time: o Firstly, it was implemented in two weeks to meet the unit of food. So, it could not be extended any longer because the next unit about clothes started. o The English teacher devoted great part of the sessions to routines. So, the activities related to the book could not be very long. o Finally, following the teacher recommendation, the introduction to the story was longer than expected, which resulted in reducing the number of activities during and after the story. In addition, children were not used to storytelling in English. Therefore, the proposal was really challenging because it was a way to introduce children to stories. Having said that, the proposal had a duration of only three weeks, two of them for the approach working on the food contents about healthy and junk food. Only one week was devoted to the storytelling: the activity of changing junk food for healthy food and, in the last session, the final task, the dramatization. Considering this experience, some changes are made to present a more extended proposal. First of all, the time set to the routines per session will be reduced, selecting those that are considered essential. In addition, the approach to the story is shortened to one week, to work less on the contents of the story but to favour the knowledge of those contents through the story thanks to reading strategies: prediction and guessing. Also, the proposal has more linguistic approach to work on the three levels (text level, sentence level and word level) in more deeply. Finally, phonics arre included from story. ~ 38 ~ Children motivation The children demonstrated great interest and got involved in the story. They listened very attentively, answered questions correctly showing understanding. They participated actively, giving feedback through comments and non-verbal language. Originally, the big book was printed in black and white, only some important elements (food and characters) of the story were coloured to drop children attention. However, children felt a bit disappointed and did not find it attractive enough: “Hay que colorearlo.” “Está sin terminar” were some of their comments. As they were not used to stories, they were not familiar to all kind of stories specially this one in black and white. Consequently, a colourful version has been provided for this proposal. Due to the fact of not been used to stories, the children were not pleased with the end of the story ether with rereading and revisiting the story every session: “Este cuento ya lo hemos leído.” “Ya lo trajiste ayer”. Nevertheless, they loved to dramatize the story and had a great fun with the unexpected mouse, even though they knew the end of the story, they wanted to do it again and again. CONCLUSIONS FINAL CONSIDERATIONS The methodologies and theories previously mentioned have been applied in the design of the proposal: Storytelling is the core subject of this Final Degree Work. Therefore, all the distinguishing elements of storytelling as well as its advantages and possibilities for children in early years have been taken into account: o On the one hand, the criteria mentioned in the theory (size, structures, theme, gender perspective, cultural aspects...) were followed for the selection of the story: simple and repetitive structures, plain and explicit pictures; both genders are present without stereotypical or discriminatory attitudes so is cultural diversity. o On the other hand, a story is told (The Picnic) about two children who decide to go on a picnic and prepare the food they want to take with them. Before telling this story, a series of questions about the front cover are asked, thus they can ~ 39 ~ predict what the story will be about. During the story, the children answered questions about what they see in every page of the story. Pre-reading and reading strategies are being developed. The children participate actively by answering verbally or with yes or no signs. There is a constant interaction between the children and the teacher in a closed context situation. • The teacher is aware of the importance of verbal and non-verbal language, both written but specially spoken. To tell the story: Ted and Peg go on a picnic nonverbal language, such as facial expressions, illustrators, emblems, gestures, actions; intonation, pace, volume are used to enhance meaning and emphasise key language. • Reading the story The Picnic is a social experience where children interact with each other, empathise with the characters, recognise the familiar setting of the story, express their feelings (‘surprised’ when the mouse appears) with their classmates. • Children are introduced to an experience that may not have had, going on a picnic. They become familiar with this activity while working on food, healthy and unhealthy food in a foreign language. The Natural Approach theory has also been integrated into the proposal. Storytelling creates a real, concrete communication situation, with a very specific context and a clear instructional language. English is used as a vehicular language to work with and through the story on aspects related to food and language skills. Also, there is a clear difference between the activities designed for language acquisition (storytelling, flashcards games, identify the characters…) and those designed for language learning (identify the capital letters, the full stops, differentiate between actions and nouns and sounds). Likewise, the Total Physical Response is present in this proposal. There are some activities and tasks in which gestures or actions are linked to a clear instruction or key language Fruits TPR: banana, apple, melon, orange and fruits salad, linked with different positions of arms and hands). In addition, aspects of the new Teaching Proficiency Through Reading and Stories (TPRS) methodology, which integrates TPR and Natural Approach, have also been integrated: ~ 40 ~ • Establish meaning: Before the storytelling, some of the most relevant words of the story are introduced during the approach week through songs, games and TPRs. Later, when the teacher reads the story, children are asked questions (question activity with yes or no signs). • Story practise: An activity in which students have to change elements of the story (change junk food for healthy food) and then tell the story with these changes. Besides, children will act the story out which will foster imagination and creativity. • Literacy: Different levels of language are considered: text, sentence, word and phonic are worked through different tasks and their adaptations. Moreover, the children make a mini book, which they take home to read or try to read the story to themselves and tell their families which will reinforce reading habits. The whole proposal is designed following the three basic principles of CLIL methodology: • English is used to learn other contents in the subject of knowledge and understanding of the world (food and healthy habits) and language (characters, plot order, capital letters, full stops and different parts of speech, words, sounds). • It is the content that determines the type of text used: description of the characters and instructions for the picnic. • More importance is given to fluency than to grammatical accuracy. The teacher will provide structures so that the students will try to express themselves. Finally, the three types of language can also be identified according to one of Coyle's C's: Communication: • Language of learning: linked to the specific topic of food using flashcards, songs and TPRs activities that work on key food language. • Language for learning: linked to orders and instructions given to play games, songs, carry out routines and tasks. • Language through learning: Linked to the new language that will emerge through learning. Children will change elements from the story and will dramatize the story.. ~ 41 ~ REFLECTIONS To conclude my Final Degree Work, I would like to reflect on some aspects that arose during the design of the project. I believe that it was a great advantage my internship as I took into account the results from my implementation to design this proposal which has the potential to be expanded and complemented with other class activities or projects. Therefore, from my point of view, it would be essential to develop an approach to reading through Phonics as a parallel method to Storytelling. Children would start learning some letters and sounds through chants and gestures and would build words from sounds and letters by putting them together to make simple words. Something else that came to my mind was to create a ’story box’ in the classroom to revisit and recall the stories told in class. We could have a box for each story that will be part of the ‘Reading Corner’. Children can do the activities again. As a future Infant teacher, specialised in English, I would like to be able to implement this proposal once more, improve it and extend some of my ideas. In addition, thanks to this work I have been able to deepen in storytelling techniques in a foreign language. In my opinion, now I am able to design a unit based on a story, take advantage of the techniques and anticipate some difficulties. I really would like to work and use stories to teach children in Early years through a foreign language, English. I would like to finish my Final Degree Work with a quote by Roald Dahl: “If you are going to get anywhere in life you have to read a lot of books.” Roald Dahl. ~ 48 ~ ~ 49 ~ ANNEX 2: FRUTIES GLOVE ~ 50 ~ ANNEX 3: FOOD FLASHCARDS ~ 51 ~ ANNEX 4: COOKIE JAR ~ 52 ~ ANNEX 5: CHARACTER’S INTERACTIVE ACTIVITY ~ 53 ~ ANNEX 6: SEQUENCE ACTIVITY CARDS (4-YEAR-OLDS) ~ 54 ~ ~ 55 ~ ANNEX 7: POCKET-STORY ~ 56 ~ ANNEX 8: IDENTIFY CAPITAL LETTERS AND FULL STOP. (4- YEAR-OLDS) ~ 57 ~ ANNEX 9: NOUNS FLASHCARDS ~ 64 ~ ANNEX 14: ASSESSMENT ~ 65 ~ ANNEX 15: FAMILY COOKIE GLOVE ~ 66 ~ ANNEX 16: SEQUENCE ACTIVITY CARDS (3-YEAR-OLDS) 1 2 3 ~ 67 ~ 4 ~ 68 ~ ANNEX 17: SEQUENCE ACTIVITY CARDS (5-YEAR-OLDS) ~ 69 ~ ~ 70 ~ ~ 71 ~ ANNEX 18: IDENTIFY CAPITAL LETTERS AND FULL STOP. (5- YEAR-OLDS) ~ 72 ~ ANNEX 19: ASSESSMENT RUBRIC 1 2 3 Participation and enjoyment The student barely participates in the activities and does not show to enjoy The student participates in most of the activities and enjoy most of them The student participates actively in all the activities and show enthusiasm while enjoying Listening The student barely understands instructions or oral texts The student understands most of the instructions or oral texts The student understands all the instructions or oral texts Speaking The student barely reproduces sounds, rhythm of L2 The student reproduces most of the sounds, rhythm of L2 The student reproduces all the sounds, rhythm of L2 Pre-reading The student understands very little of the story The student understands most of the story The student understands the whole the story Writing The student doesn’t punctuate correctly The student sometimes punctuates correctly The student always punctuates correctly Dramatization The student barely performs the role play The student performs most of the role play The student performs the complete role play ~ 73 ~ ANNEX 20: SELF-ASSESSMENT TEMPLATE