Map a Story

Second Grade Reading, ESL

by Beth Lemon August 2, 2018

This lesson will help your students summarize short stories and describe how characters respond to challenges
using a story map. Use this lesson as a stand-alone activity or a support lesson for the Story Mapping Group
Work lesson plan.

Objectives

Objectives

Academic

Students will be able to describe how characters respond to challenges in a story plot.

Language

Students will be able to summarize character reactions within a story using sentence frames.

Materials and preparation Key terms

Illustrated book, such as The Three Billy Goats
TIER 2
Gruff by Jerry Pinkney
Projector, smart board, or document camera character: a person in a story
Class set + teacher copy of the "Somebody
Wanted" Story Map worksheet main: most important
Vocabulary Cards
Glossary result: something caused by something else that
Six copies of Frayer Model worksheet happened
Teacher copy of the Teach Background
Knowledge Template TIER 3
Teacher copy of the Write Student-Facing
Language Objectives Reference prevent: to stop something from happening
Teacher copy of the Story Mountain worksheet
(optional additional example) story map: an organizer of parts of a story

summary: a short statement that gives the most

important information of a story

Attachments

"Somebody Wanted" Story Map (PDF)

Vocabulary Cards: Map a Story (PDF)
Glossary: Map a Story (PDF)
Teach Background Knowledge Template (PDF)
Write Student-Facing Language Objectives Reference (PDF)
Story Mountain (PDF)
Graphic Organizer Template: Frayer Model (PDF)

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Introduction (2 minutes)

Project the story map(s) and explain that today students will be using a story map to organize the parts
of a story.
Explain that many stories have a problem and solution that can be described simply with a "somebody
wanted, but, so, then" summary.
Access prior knowledge of the term summary by writing it on the board and asking for volunteers to
define it.
Complete a Frayer Model with the students for the term summary and check their comprehension
throughout by asking them to orally repeat the definition or provide examples.

Building Academic Language

Word (8 minutes)

Explain to students that they'll learn how to write a summary of a story that will be read aloud, but first
they'll learn new vocabulary terms. Present the vocabulary terms from the vocabulary cards. Use visuals
as you define each word and allow students to discuss how the visual relates to the new word.
Remind students of how to complete the Frayer Model worksheets.
Divide students into five groups, each of which is to complete a Frayer Model for an assigned vocabulary
word.
Allow students to create and share aloud their own sentences with the new vocabulary words. For
example: "Rain prevented outdoor recess."

Sentence (10 minutes)

Read aloud the story, Three Billy Goats Gruff by Jerry Pinkney.
Ask students to identify the main characters. Ask students to turn and tell a partner what the main
characters wanted.
Ask students to turn and tell a seat partner what prevented the main character from getting what they
wanted.

Discourse (10 minutes)

Distribute the "Somebody Wanted" Story Map worksheet, read it to the students, and ask them to circle
the new vocabulary words.
Ask students to write "The Three Billy Goats Gruff" at the top.
Ask them to discuss and complete the story map with a partner.

Additional EL adaptations

BEGINNING

Allow beginning EL students to form a group that reads aloud with you.

ADVANCED

Encourage students needing an extra challenge to use the story map with a book they read
independently.

Formative Assessment of Academic Language (2 minutes)

Get the whole group's attention to ask your students to show you their level of understanding of
"somebody wanted" summaries and/or story maps. Have students hold up one finger if they are still
unsure and need more information. Students who feel they have mastered the concept would hold up five
fingers, and so on.
Circulate the room during partner work time, informally assessing comprehension.
Collect the story maps to review for accuracy.
Review and closing (3 minutes)

Instruct students to turn to a partner to complete one of the following sentence stems:
A story map can help me ____.
A main character is ____.
My favorite part of the lesson was ____.
Name: Date:

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VOCABULARY CARDs
EL SUPPORT LEssON PLAN: MAP A STORY

character main
e Main Street
e

a person in a story most important

prevent result

to stop something something caused

from happening by something else
that happened
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 story map summary
Summary
This story is about...
conflict

plot resolution

characters setting

a short statement
an organizer of that gives the most
parts of a story important information
of a story
 GLOssARY FOR EL SUPPORT LEssON PLAN:

Word Definition Visual

character a person in a
e

story

Main Street
main
most important

prevent
to stop something
from happening

something caused
result by something else
that happened

conflict

story map an organizer of plot resolution

parts of a story
characters setting

summary a short statement that a story

gives the most
important information of
Summary This story is
about...

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 Teach Background Knowledge
Lesson Topic:
Choose a topic from the main content
lesson that will help ELs understand the
main content lesson. Your non-ELs will
already have knowledge about this topic.

Total Lesson Time:

(20 - 30 minutes)

Student-Facing Language
Objective:
Example: I can learn new vocabulary
using pictures and sentence frames.

Student ELP Level(s):

Consider each student’s ELP level and
their academic strengths when choosing
scaffolds for the lesson.

Groupings (pairs, small-groups, a teacher-led group)

Potential Scaffolds:
Choose some of these material supports
and instructional scaffolds based on each
EL’s individual strengths and needs.
Word banks, word wall, and bilingual glossaries
Sentence frames, sentence stems, and paragraph frames
Home language materials
Reduced linguistic load, repetition, rephrasing and modeling
Practice new academic skills with familiar topics

Materials & Resources List

List the materials you’ll use in the lesson.

Key Vocabulary Words (5-8 words)

List the words with student-friendly
definitions in English. Provide
definitions in student’s home
language when appropriate.

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Introduction
Access EL’s prior knowledge about the
lesson topic with a brief comprehension
check.

Potential activities:
Creating captions for images
Opinionnaires
Carousel brainstorming
Conversations with sentence starters
Time estimate for Introduction
(3 - 5 minutes)

Explicit Instruction of
Background Knowledge
Model a learning activity that embeds
the teaching of academic language
and background knowledge.

Potential activities:
Lunch brunch discussion
Teacher-created, adjusted text
and questions
Brief videos or visuals
Text-based instruction
Home-language connections
Pre-teach a small number of
vocabulary words
Show real-world objects
Complete word family or
bilingual glossaries
Word walls or word bank creation

Time Estimate for Explicit Instruction

(4 - 6 minutes)

Guided Practice
Provide an opportunity for students (in
pairs or small groups) to practice the
skill or information taught during
Explicit Instruction, offering appropriate
scaffolds as needed.

Time Estimate for Guided Practice

(5 - 7 minutes)

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 Formative Assessment
Ask students to show comprehension
of new background knowledge and
associated skills through an oral or
written task. Provide appropriate
scaffolds dependent on their ELP level.

Potential assessments:
Act out concepts
Hands on tasks
Drawings, models, or graphs
Graphic organizer completion
Captions of images
Reading response or content
area logs
Retellings
Role plays
Audio or video recordings
Oral interviews

Time estimate for Assessment

(5 - 7 minutes)

Review and Closing

Refer to the student objective and
relate information to future lessons.
Allow students to share thoughts
about whether they reached their
objective and/or mention lingering
questions.
Provide sentence stems or frames for their
discussion.

Time estimate for Review and Closing

(3 - 5 minutes)

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 Write Student-Facing Language Objectives
A student-facing language objective: A teacher-facing language objective:
begins with “I can...” begins with “Students will be able to...”
is designed to raise students' self-awareness of is designed to raise students' self-awareness of
and promote their language development. and promote their language development.
incorporates a language function, grammar structure, incorporates a language function, grammar structure,
and supports or scaRolds. and supports or scaRolds.
is easy to understand for students at all levels is intended to guide the teacher’s lesson
of English proficiency. planning and instruction.

Steps to convert a teacher-facing objective to a student-facing objective:

1. Replace “Students will be able to” with “I can.”
2. Simplify challenging words but maintain key vocabulary words you’ll address in the lesson.

Students will be able to describe a character with adjectives using graphic organizers.
Language Grammar Support/
Function Structure Sca$old

I can talk about a character with adjectives using graphic organizers.

Language Grammar Support/
Function Structure Sca$old

Language Functions Grammar Structures Supports/Sca olds

locate create identify nouns adverbs graphic organizers sentence starters
show describe infer modals academic vocabulary teacher modeling strategic grouping
sort ask questions interpret verb adjectives word banks/walls home language supports
tell brainstorm collect forms phrases
contrast classify compare conjunctions prepositions
sentence complex sentences
structure
pronouns
comparatives
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2007 -worksheets, games, lessons & more at
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2019 Education.com
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 Name: Date:

Story Mountain
After reading your story, fill in the beginning, problem, climax, solution, and ending.
Title: Author:

Climax
Problem Solution

Beginning End

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Name: Date:

Frayer Model Directions:

Write your
vocabulary
word in the
“Vocabulary
Term” oval.
Complete the
rest of the
sections for the
vocabulary
term in your
own words.

Definition:

Vocabulary Term:

Examples:

Image Representation:
 Reserved More worksheets at
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workshe
ets,
games,
lessons
& more
at
educati
on.com
/resour
ces
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