Primary English KS1

The lesson we are deconstructing is a Year 2 English lesson, taught near the start of the academic year.

To Tell a Story from Memory

English

﻿Hello everyone! My name is Miss Barron and this is Marcel, and we both love stories, don't we? We love listening to stories, we love telling stories, and we love writing stories. In this unit, we are learning to become fantastic storytellers and story writers. And we're also learning how to describe things clearly. Now, do you remember in lesson one, Marcel and I taught you a song about description? Well you know it's Marcel's favourite song, don't you? He's only gone and taken the same tune and used it to write another song to describe fire. Now we know that fire is really important in our story, don't we? Because Coyote has to bring a piece of fire down from the sky world to save the humans on Earth. So shall we sing our song about fire for you? And then we're going to teach it to you later today. So the song goes like this. ♪ Describe fire describe fire ♪ ♪ How shall we do it ♪ ♪ Describe fire describe fire ♪ ♪ How shall we do it ♪ ♪ I see bright gold lights ♪ ♪ I hear crackling twigs ♪ ♪ I smell dusty smoke ♪ ♪ I feel the warmth on my skin ♪ ♪ That's how you do it. ♪ So that is the song that Marcel wrote all about how to describe fire. Did you notice that we used the senses in our song? Did you notice that we described fire by saying what it looks like, what it sounds like, what it smells like, and what it feels like? That's really important when we're describing things, isn't it? Now we're going to do more of that in this unit. But for now, let's get on with today's learning. And you are going to learn to tell the story, "How Coyote Brought Fire to Earth" from memory. You are going to become the storyteller yourself today, you're going to learn to tell that story in your own words so you can tell it to who ever you like. So let's get on with that. So as you know, in today's lesson, you are going to become the storyteller yourself. You are going to learn to tell the story, "How Coyote Brought Fire to Earth" from memory in your own way. So let's look at how we're going to do that. First, we are going to recap what happens in the story. Then we are going to map and step the story to help you remember it really well. And finally, you are going to speak the story. So you are going to tell it in your own way. In today's lesson, you will need an exercise book or a piece of paper to write on and a pencil to write with. So pause the video now and go and get those things if you need to. Fantastic, you are back with everything you need to start the learning today. So let's begin by recapping the story. We're going to recap it so that we can remember what happens. Hmm, good points. Yes definitely, we can absolutely do that. So Marcel has just come up with a really good idea. He was telling me how much he loved listening to the story, "How Coyote Brought Fire to Earth" in lesson one, but that he would like to recap the story so he feels really sure about what happens. So this is a recap of the story, Marcel. In the beginning, humans were really cold. They were suffering because they had no warmth at night. So Coyote went up into the sky world to steal a piece of the sun's fire for them. But the fire guardians chased him and he had to throw his piece of fire to White Crow, who threw it to White Squirrel, who threw it to Singing Frog. Singing Frog threw it to Tree, who kept it safe inside her trunk. And so, that is how humans survived on Earth, that is how they got fire to keep them warm at night. And that is why fire lives in wood, frogs only croak, crows are black, squirrels are grey, and thunder comes from fire giants. So that is a quick recap of the story. Now, why not have a go at recapping the story yourself in the same way to one of your toys or somebody else in your household? I think that would be a good idea. So pause the video now and do that. So now that we have recapped the story, we are ready to draw a story map to help us remember the key events in order. Okay, so now I'm going to show you how to create a story map, and this is going to be a quick simple story map using pictures and arrows to help us remember the key events of the story in order. So let's begin with the problem in the story. What's the problem for the humans? The problem is that humans are cold. They are suffering and shivering at nighttime because they are too cold. So brave Coyote offers to help them. He offers to go up into the sky world and steal a piece of the sun's fire. But the sun is guarded by mean fierce fire guardians. So let's make them look mean. They can have fire for hair too. So the sun is guarded by mean fierce fire guardians, making it really difficult for Coyote to steal a piece of its fire. Coyote goes back to the forest and asks for help. Whites Crow, Grey Squirrel and Singing Fog all offer to help Coyote. So Coyote goes back into the sky world and steals a piece of the sun's fire. The fire guardians are angry and chase him. So Coyote has to throw the fire to white Crow, who catches the fire in her beak, but she is also chased by the fire guardians, and so White Crow has to throw it to White Squirrel. And White Squirrel catches the fire in his paws, doesn't he? But he too is chased by the evil fire guardians and so he has to throw the fire to Singing Frog. And do you remember where Singing Frog catches the fire? She catches it in her throat, doesn't she? She swallows it. Singing Frog hops through the forest, chased by the fire guardians, and so Singing Frog has to throw it to Tree, who catches the fire in her trunk, keeping it safe. And so from that day forth, the fire guardians could no longer get their hands on that missing piece of fire. And the humans had warmth at night. They were safe and happy. And that is why fire lives in wood, that is why crows are black, that is why squirrels are grey, and that is why frogs can only croak, they can't sing. So I'm going to draw musical notes and put a cross through it. And that is why we have thunder, isn't it? Thunder comes from the fire guardians up in the sky grumbling about Coyote stealing their fire. So that is my story map. So now that you've seen me draw my story map, it's your turn to create your own. Now, your drawings don't need to be the same as mine but you do need a drawing for each of those key moments in the story. Keep your drawing simple, and use arrows to make sure that you order them clearly. So pause the video now and create your own story map. So now I'm going to talk my map using the pictures to help me retell the story of Coyote in a very basic, simple way, so we remember exactly what happens in the right order. So watch me do it first. Humans on Earth were suffering because they were so cold. Coyote offered to help. He went to the sky world to get some of the sun's fire to keep them warm. But the sun was guarded by mean fierce fire guardians. Coyote asked for help. White Crow, White Squirrel and Singing Frog all offered to help him. Coyote went back into the sky world and stole a piece of the sun's fire. He was chased by a fire guardian. So Coyote threw the fire to White Crow. White Crow threw the fire to White Squirrel. White Squirrel threw the fire to Singing Frog, Singing Frog threw the fire to Tree, who opened up her trunk to keep it safe inside. And from that day forth, humans were safe on Earth. They were happy because they had warmth. They had fire at night, and the fire was kept safe from the fire guardians. And that is why fire lives in wood, why crows are black, why squirrels are grey, why frogs only croak, they can't sing, and why we get thunder. So that is me retelling the story in very basic detail. So now you've seen me talk the map in basic detail, I would like you to do the same thing using your story map. So pause the video now and do that. Now we are going to step the story to help us remember it using actions. So we are going to take a step for every picture on our story map, and with each step, we are going to do a clear action to show what's happening. Now we're going to do it in mime first, which means we're going to do it just with actions and no words. So watch me step through the story in mime first, and then you're going to join in with me. Okay. So those were my steps, stepping out the story of Coyote bringing fire to Earth. Now then, we are going to have a go at doing that together. So I'd like you to join in with me. I wonder when you watched me if you could work out what was happening with each of my actions. So let's do it together, ready? Are you joining in with me? Next step. Who do you think this is? Which character is this? Next step. Join in with me, remember. Well done. Brilliant job. So that is stepping the story in mime. So now it's your turn to have a go at stepping the story in mime all the way through on your own. So pause the video now and have a go at that. Brilliant job stepping your story out in mime. Now we're going to step the story out again, but this time we are going to put a word or phrase with each action. Now this is going to help you make sense of any actions you did with your mime that you may not have been sure about. And it's also going to help us build our language. So watch me step first, and then you're going to join in with me. Shivering. Brave, clever Coyote. Blazing fire. "Give me back my fire!" White Crow flying. White Squirrel running. Singing Frog Hopping. Tree opens her trunk. Humans warm and safe. So we have put a word or phrase with each action there to make it really clear what's happening at each key moment. So I would like you to do that with me now. So let's go one step at a time. You can step on the spot like I did, or you might like to take a step forward for each action. Up to you. So standing up. Brilliant job, let's go. Shivering, do that with me. Shivering. Brilliant. Brave, clever Coyote, do that with me. Brave, clever Coyote. Next step, blazing fire. Do that with me. Blazing fire. Next step. "Give me back my fire!" Do that with me. "Give me back my fire." Brilliant, next step. White Crow flying. Do that with me. White Crow flying. Next step. White Squirrel running, do that with me. White Squirrel running. Brilliant, next step. Singing Frog hopping. Do that with me. Singing Frog hopping. Fantastic. Next step. Tree opens her trunk. Do that with me. Tree opens her trunk. Brilliant. And the last step, humans warm and safe, do that with me. Humans warm and safe. Brilliant job, you have now stepped out the story, putting a word or phrase with each action. Brilliant. So now that we've done it together, I would like you to have a go at stepping the story all the way through with a word or phrase with each action. Do it with your map to help you first and then see if you can do it without looking at your map. See if you can step the story all the way through without looking at the map to help you. Pause the video and have a go at that. So now that we've recapped the story, we've mapped it, and we've stepped it, we are ready to have a go at speaking the story now. We know what happened well enough to be able to have a go at telling it in our own words. So I'm going to do that for you now, and I've got my map behind me to help me. So I would like you to have the map on you when you do it. So this is the story of "How Coyote Brought fire to Earth." In the beginning, the world and all its creatures were made. Most of the animals were made with fur to keep them warm at night. But humans were made with hardly any fur at all. At night they huddled and shivered, oh it was so cold. Many of their children died from the cold. The humans called an emergency meeting and invited all of the animals from the forest. All of the birds and animals turned up and listened to what they had to say. The human chief stood and proclaimed, "We must have fire at night. "If not, we will surely die. "The nights are getting colder and colder "and we have no fur to keep us warm. "The sun warms us by day but at night we have nothing. "Can anyone bring us a piece of the sun to save us?" Most of the animals turned to look at each other. "As if he were mad. "What a question," they thought. But brave and clever Coyote stepped up. "Let me try," he said. "I think I can do it, leave it to me." And so Coyote trotted out of the forest, through the meadows, up through the mountains and into the sky. When he got to the sky, he went through the sky door and into the sky world. There, slowly, carefully he crept towards the blazing sun. When he got there, he saw that the blazing sun was this huge scorching ball of fire guarded closely by mean fire guardians. They were huge giants with hands as big as mountains and legs as long as rivers. Never blinking, always watching, eyes blazing, they guarded the sun to make sure no thief ever tried to steal a piece of its fire. And Coyote hid behind a bush and watched and waited. Nothing happened for a long time. But then after a while, one of the fire guardians stood up. "I'm hungry," he boomed. "Brother, come and take my place." And he left his place by the sun and walked off to the hut. Moments later, a second fire guardian came out. Even larger, even more ferocious than the first and he went to take his brother's place. Coyote carried on watching. He realised that for a few moments when these guardians traded places to go and eat the sun was left unguarded. He thought and came up with a clever plan. And just as he turned to go back to the forest, his claw caught on a leaf, which rustled softly. The fire giants had huge ears and heard everything. "Who comes to steal my fire?" One of them bellowed. "I will not allow it. "Show yourself and I may spare your life. "Run, and I will burn you with my fire breath." Now Coyote did not wait around to find out, he bolted out of the sky through the sky door, and back towards the forest. When he got there, he told the others that he could help but he needed help. And so White Crow, White Squirrel and Singing Frog all offered to help him. He told them his plan and off they went into the forest. Now Coyote went back up into the sky world. He hid behind a bush once again and he waited for those fire guardians to trade places. When the first fire guardian went back to the hut, he seized his chance. He nipped out from behind the bush and grabbed a piece of the sun's fire in his mouth. Then he crept carefully back to the sky door. But when that second fire guardian realised a piece of his sun had been stolen, he stood up and shouted, "Who has stolen my fire? "Where is the thief?" He sniffed the air, he could smell the burning fire and knew where Coyote was. He chased Coyote with huge giant strides. Coyote rocketed through the sky. He could feel his mouth burning, and then his fur burning, and before long, he was completely on fire. But the fire guardian was closing in on him, getting closer and closer. By the time Coyote reached the mountain, he was completely black and burnt. The fire guardian was just about to reach out and grab Coyote when there was White Crow waiting. Coyote shouted, "Here White Crow, catch!" And White Crow caught the fire in her beak. She flew as fast as she could down the mountain, chased by the fire guardian. And as she flew, she could feel her white feathers burning, but she carried on. The fire giant was getting closer and closer and was just about to reach out and grab White Crow when there was White Squirrel waiting. White Crow threw the fire to White Squirrel. "White Squirrel," she shouted, "Here catch, it's your turn." And White Squirrel caught the fire in his paws. He ran and ran through the meadows as fast as he could chased by the fire guardian. And he could feel his paws burning and his fur burning until it was completely ash grey. The fire guardian was just about to reach out and grab White Squirrel when there was Singing Frog. And White Squirrel threw the fire to Singing Frog who caught it in her throat. She swallowed the fire and kept hopping, hopping, hopping all the way through the forest. The fire giant was just behind her, closing in on her and was just about to reach out and grab her when Singing Frog threw the fire to Tree. Tree opened up her trunk and let fire inside. When the fire was safe inside, she closed up her trunk so it was safe from the fire guardians forever. And that is why humans are safe on earth and warm because Coyote brought fire from the sun. And that is why fire lives in wood. That is why crows are black, that is why squirrels are grey, that is why frogs cannot sing, they can only croak, and that is also why we have thunder because the fire giants still sit up in the sky guarding the sun and every now and then they look down at the fires that humans make and they remember the time that Coyote stole a piece of their fire and they grumble. And that is when you have thunder. And that is the story of how Coyote brought fire to Earth. So I would like you to have a go at telling that story now in as much detail as you can, in your own words like I just did. Use your story map to help you. So pause the video and have a go at that. And that brings us to the end of today's lesson. Marcel and I would like to say a big well done for working so hard to tell the story from memory. Now, we would love it if you could keep practising telling the story before we see each other again in lesson three. So you might want to tell it to one of your toys, or maybe somebody else in your household. You might even want to teach them how to step the story. Now at the beginning of the lesson, we sang our description song to describe fire, didn't we? So let's sing it again now to finish. So are you ready? Join in with us when you can. ♪ Describe fire describe fire ♪ ♪ How shall we do it ♪ ♪ Describe fire describe fire ♪ ♪ How shall we do it ♪ Okay, now the second verse, let's do two lines at a time. ♪ I see bright gold lights ♪ ♪ I hear crackling twigs ♪ Sign this with us. ♪ I see bright gold lights ♪ ♪ I hear crackling twigs ♪ Fantastic, next two lines. ♪ I smell dusty smoke ♪ ♪ Feel the warmth on my skin. ♪ You're turn, sing with us. ♪ I smell dusty smoke ♪ ♪ Feel the warmth on my skin. ♪ Brilliant, and then the final line. ♪ That's how we do it. ♪ Join in with us. ♪ That's how we do it. ♪ Fantastic, now let's sing it all the way through, shall we? So are you ready? Let's go. ♪ Describe fire describe fire ♪ ♪ How Shall we do it ♪ ♪ Describe fire describe fire ♪ ♪ How shall we do it ♪ ♪ I see bright gold light ♪ ♪ I hear crackling twigs ♪ ♪ I smell dusty smoke ♪ ♪ Feel the warm on my skin ♪ ♪ That's how we do it. ♪ Brilliant, well done. So that is our description song to describe fire today. Now then, Marcel and I look forward to seeing you in lesson three. Until then, keep singing songs and keep telling your story. Bye!

In this lesson, we will learn to tell the story from memory using a process called 'Map, Step, Speak'.

ITT: To Tell a Story from Memory

Primary English KS1

1. Original Oak Lesson