The Little Match Girl

Strategy: Dyads (pairs)

Objectives: 1. The students will learn about a Danish author. 2. The students will learn a famous Western story. 3. The students will practice using their listening skills as the Teacher tells the story. 4. Students will be encouraged to practice their English by memorizing “chunks of English” so that they will begin to have the language in their minds and therefore able to use it more efficiently and correctly in daily encounters. 5. The students will learn correct pronunciation. 6. The students will develop poise and confidence by reciting the story before the class. 7. The students will gain in fluency. 8. The students will increase their vocabulary.

ESL Objectives: Pronunciation - result of producing the sounds of speech, including articulation, stress, and intonation, often with reference to the English standard of correctness or acceptability. Pronunciation drills on the following sounds are included: /th/ /l/ /v/ /w/ /short e/ Diction - usually implies a high level of usage; it refers chiefly to the choice of words and their arrangement. This is encouraged when the students make substitutions, vary their tales, or create their own skits. We want to encourage the students to use their English! Vocabulary - learning new words of a foreign language. This includes idiomatic expressions. Fluency - able to speak smoothly, easily, gracefully, and readily. All ESL methods seek to increase fluency. Intonation - the sound pattern of phrases and sentences produced by pitch variation in the voice which distinguishes kinds of sentences of different language cultures. Jazz chants are for the purpose of working on intonation. Confidence – levels increase the more students speak in front of their classmates, when the students are encouraged to vary their stories and make substitutions, through stating their own arguments and opinions, through skits, and in reciting dialogues. Vocabulary: matches sell Christmas strike earn cozy tree holiday snow shelter feast nook freezing glow hungry grandmother afraid several kindness fairy tale beat visions decease

FIRST SESSION: 45 minutes

I. Review: A. Review vocabulary from previous lesson by pointing to a word on your Word Wall and calling on a specific student for its meaning. Chinese students typically to not volunteer so the teacher needs to call in the students. B. Review idiom in the same way. C. Sing a song learned in class or in music, or do a TPR. This is a “warm-up” to refresh them prior to learning the new vocabulary for the day.

II. Introduce the students to the Danish author, Hans Christian Anderson A. Point out Denmark on the World Map in your classroom. B. Hans Christian Andersen (1805-1875), Danish author and poet, wrote many poems, plays, stories and travel essays, but is best known for his fairy tales of which there are over one hundred and fifty, still very popular today.

III. Teach new vocabulary found in the story. A. Use pictures where you can or act out conceptual vocabulary. B. Review several times in various ways: 1. Give word, they give definition. 2. Give definition, they give word. 3. Check pronunciation.

IV. Pronunciation Exercises: A. Have the students watch your mouth as you demonstrate the movement of the tongue in pronouncing the following words: B. Practice the following words 1. glow – tongue on roof of mouth [l] 2. grandmother – [th] – tongue between teeth, no breath 3. several – [v] – top teeth on bottom lip 4. visions – [v] – same 5. feast – [f] – same as [v] with a slight blow of breath

SECOND SESSION: 45 minutes

I. Review Vocabulary of Story – call on individual students

II. Tell the Story - A. Tell it 3 times, very slowly, using the 11 pictures that go along with this lesson. (We suggest you laminate the pictures.) Ask the students to keep their workbooks closed for the story, as this becomes a listening exercise as well.

[If you do not wish to use the attached pictures, you may want to purchase the book. Find one with excellent colored pictures (garage sales, library sales, Good Will, Dollar Store, etc.), and remove the spine and laminate the pictures. If you can find copies of this book cheaply from the Dollar Store, it would make an excellent gift for your students.]

“On a cold winter’s night, a poor girl tries to sell matches to the people in the town to earn some money for her family. It is snowing, and she is freezing. She is afraid to go home because her father will beat her for not selling any matches. She watches a family eating together, so warm and cozy. She takes shelter in a nook and lights the matches to warm herself. In their glow, she sees several lovely visions including a Christmas tree and a holiday feast. She is so hungry! As she lights her next match, she sees a vision of her grandmother, the only person to have ever treated her with love and kindness. But her grandmother is deceased. She strikes one match after another to keep the vision of her grandmother near for as long as she can. Soon there are no matches left. The child dies in the freezing cold. She is with her grandmother. The next morning the people of the town find the dead child.”

B. Put the pictures, in order, on her chalk board tray when finished.

III. Ask Who, What, Where, When, Why questions to ascertain how much the students understand the story. You will need to call on the students because typically the Chinese students will not volunteer to answer questions. A second option is to start the story and ask, “What happened next? Repeat this question to the end of the story. This will let the teacher know how much they really understand.

IV. Pair Work: A. Work in pairs. One option is for the student to select his partner. However, this is not always a good idea. B. An excellent option is to give half the class numbers (1-12), and the other half the same numbers (1-12). The student must find the person with the same number and partners are formed. (If you work in pairs a lot, this will ensure the students working with a different student every day as they get new numbers every day.) C. Another option for selecting pairs is to have the teacher pair up a strong student with a weaker student. You will need to have the students several days before you can make this assessment. This is an excellent option for use during the second week of camp for lessons requiring working in pairs.

V. The students now practice telling the story to each other. They may use their workbooks. Encourage students to help each other with vocabulary, pronunciation, and the order of the story. In addition, all Teaching Assistants will be going from pair to pair, listening, encouraging, and correcting where needed. “Repetition is the mother of all learning.” The students need to practice this over and over and get to the point where they can “read and look up,” where they can have “chunks of language” in their minds, and where there is general fluency and principles of elocution.

The students will be told that they will “tell” the story during session three without the use of their books (however, they may use your pictures). They do not need to memorize the story, they are asked to tell it in their own words, but definitely use their new vocabulary words.

This should take the entire session two. If you have time, and if some are able, ask the students to come up with a different ending to the story.

THIRD SESSION: 45 minutes

I. Pairs recite in front of the class. A. The pairs can decide how they want to tell the story; i.e., each tells half, or line by line. Encourage them to use the pictures. B. Important Note for Teachers: The students must receive encouragement whenever they speak English in front of their classmates. Always give a very specific, positive comment at the end of each one’s speaking turn. Examples: “I like the way Alice pronounced her /v/ sounds.” “I like the way Joseph projected his voice.” “I like the way Mary put so much feeling into this story.”

Options: If you have strong students, ask them to put a different ending on the story prior to their recitations. All the students will keep attention on those reciting and they will focus better in order to hear what ending will be substituted for the “death of the child” ending. It is ok if you only have one or two pairs attaching a new ending.

Video: Here is a link to a youtube video of this story. Many of the same pictures can be found in Google Images, “The Little Match Girl.” It would be great for the teacher to put this on a USB key and show it at some point in the lesson. There is no talking, just great pictures and music. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkoaFT-Oc-U

The Little Match Girl

Vocabulary:

fairy tale freezing glow kindness Holiday afraid several decease Christmas beat visions strike matches sell Christmas tree nook earn cozy feast grandmother snow shelter hungry

Story:

She watches a family eating together, so warm and cozy. She takes shelter in a nook and lights the matches to warm herself. In their glow, she sees several lovely visions including a Christmas tree and a holiday feast. She is so hungry!

As she lights her next match, she sees a vision of her grandmother, the only person to have ever treated her with love and kindness. But her grandmother is deceased. She strikes one match after another to keep the vision of her grandmother near for as long as she can. Soon there are no matches left.

The child dies in the freezing cold. She is with her grandmother. The next morning the people of the town find the dead child.”

Songs: Deck The Halls

Deck the halls with boughs of holly. Fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la ‘Tis the season to be jolly. Fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la Don we now our gay apparel. Fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la Troll the ancient Yule-tide carol. Fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la

See the blazing Yule before us. The Christmas Song Fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la Strike the harp and join the chorus. Chestnuts roasting on an open fire, Fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la Jack Frost nipping at your nose, Follow me in merry measure. Yuletide carols being sung by a choir, Fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la And folks dressed up like Eskimos. While I tell of Yule-tide treasure. Fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la Everybody knows a turkey and some mistletoe, Help to make the season bright, Fast away the old year passes. Tiny tots with their eyes all a-glow, Fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la Will find it hard to sleep tonight. Hail the new year, lads and lasses. Fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la They know that Santa’s on his way Sing we joyous , all together. He’s loaded lots of toys and goodies on his sleigh, Fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la And ev’ry mother’s child is gonna spy, Heedless of the wind and weather. To see if reindeer really know how to fly. Fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la

And so I’m offering this simple phrase, To kids from one to ninety-two, Although it’s been said Many times, Many ways, Merry Christmas to you.

We Wish You a Merry Christmas

We wish you a merry Christmas, We wish you a merry Christmas, We wish you a merry Christmas, And a Happy New Year! Good tidings we bring for you and your kin; We wish you a merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!