Blending Stories in Performance with Teaching Proficiency through Reading and Storytelling

Kathryn Rump

Introduction

“Current language acquisition theory states that we acquire language in only one way, when we understand messages, that is, when we obtain ‘comprehensible input.’” – Stephen Krashen

Language acquisition is very different from learning about a language. In the World Language classroom of the more traditional era, students were taught in English about the grammar, syntax, phonetics, and structure of the target language.1 Vocabulary and grammar were subject to “drill” type methods in which endless repetition was achieved through worksheets and tasks that had little or no context for students to apply the language. To fully realize acquisition, a student must learn a language in a similar manner to that of how he learned his first language. That is achieved through listening to meaningful repetition of important vocabulary, grammar structures in context. By listening, eventually reading, writing, and speaking will emerge as the student acquires more and more of the language.

I am one of four Spanish teachers at Newark High School in Newark, Delaware. There are also two French teachers and one German teacher. In the department, members collaborate to stress the importance of learning a world language in the 21st century to be more able to communicate with others, apply to colleges, and be more competitive when looking for employment. For the 2014 - 2015 school year, we are endeavoring to implement a new method of teaching called Teaching Proficiency through Reading and Storytelling (TPRS). This method uses language acquisition for students to learn the target language, and has been used successfully by teachers throughout the world. By attending workshops, peer TPRS groups, and by doing peer observations, I believe we have successfully begun to implement this new method with our students to see more success in world language class, higher engagement, and acquisition of the language. In a world language class of the more traditional sense with textbooks, worksheets, and explanation of vocabulary and grammar in English, we see the majority of students struggle to stay engaged and to participate and succeed in class. This more hands on approach will hopefully involve students more.

I am a novice to TPRS, so I do have some trepidation as I begin this journey with my colleagues and students. However, I am using as many TPRS based activities as I am able

while continuing to educate myself on the use of this method. So far this year I am successfully incorporating methods for TPRS with both Spanish level I and Spanish level IV classes. In the level IV there are between 25 - 20 students. They meet on an alternating A/B block schedule for 80 minutes at a time. I will see each class 2 or 3 days a week for the full school year. Newark High School is a public school in a mixed suburban/urban community. The student population is over 1600. The student body is over 50% minority and over 43% low income. The students all have different educational goals which follow the career paths of business and technology, fine arts, agriculture, and family and career leadership. The state of Delaware requires 2 years of World Language to graduate and most colleges prefer 3 to 4 years. In a level IV class, the students are typically very motivated and planning to attend college after high school graduation. There is a mixture of juniors and seniors, with several sophomores who are heritage Spanish speakers.

Objectives and Rationale

The objectives of my unit will be to use TPRS to teach students about traditional culture and legends of Spanish speaking countries while having student actors perform the stories for class. Embedded within the story and the “spin - off” stories that we create in class are vocabulary words and grammatical structures that are important for the students to understand. By studying stories from both Mexico and Spain, students can compare and contrast the themes of life and death as told from a cross-Atlantic perspective.

The students will learn grammar within the context of story which helps give grammar a purpose. The reason is that when people learn their first language, they learn it by listening, not by studying structures in a book. TPRS takes that concept and applies it to learning a second, third, fourth language and beyond. That is why I think TPRS is so important to incorporate in the lesson as it will hold the students’ interests while they learn grammar through inference.

I will incorporate legends with TPRS as they include many cultural references and can be expanded upon through mini stories and “spin off” stories in class. There are ample resources for legends, their origins, and their uses in popular culture today. A “spin-off” story functions to give students many repetitions of key grammar in the form of verb structures, and key vocabulary. These stories usually have similar characters or similar plots, making only a few small changes to what happened in the original. Examples of a “spin-off” story will be elaborated upon in the Activities section of the unit.

The World Language Standards for the state of Delaware as well as the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) focus on three modes of communication – interpretive, interpersonal, and presentational. Interpretive communication shows what students understand from listening and reading, interpersonal communication is how students can speak or even text between two or more people, and

presentational communication shows what students can say or write. Within each of the three broader modes are standards that are referred to as the Five C’s. Two of the five that this unit will target are connections and cultures. Connections states that students will “connect with other disciplines and acquire information” while cultures says that students will “gain knowledge and understanding of other cultures.” The students will be exposed to the legends through stories told in class. There are actors who act out the story and everyone will have a chance to perform. Those that are not currently acting will be involved through other jobs such as drawing what is happening, retelling the story in the L1, retelling the story in Spanish, writing a summary of the story in Spanish, and creating quizzes for the class based on the story. More jobs are outlined in Appendix B. One idea for a final project will be that students will create a story that teaches a lesson similar to the stories that we tell and create together.

To begin the legends part of the unit, I will gather existing information from the students of legends they may already know. Once I have some information about what students know, I might ask them to draw a picture or simply write down their legend. We will also brainstorm a list of vocabulary that would be related to legends. Then, I would create comprehensible questions about their legend and circle the information with them. In my explanation of TPRS activities, I will further discuss the circling activity. We will build background knowledge about Spanish legends and tell two Mexican legends using the necessary grammatical structures. From these stories, we can develop our own personal mini stories in class. These mini stories usually incorporate personal information from the students such as featuring them as a main character or using familiar places and things. From the telling of the story, additional activities can include acting the story out, drawing the action, reading the written story, retelling the story, and watching videos related to the story. In this way, students are able to relate to the material and gain important knowledge of the uses of legends in Mexico and Central America.

Content (Background)

Dramatic Structure

Through discussion in the seminar with Leslie Reidel we have learned about the dramatic structure that can be found in each story whether it is a novel, a myth, a legend, or a comic strip. In Spanish class, we can discuss what makes a “good” story and the structure that each story follows. Students can then identify the important aspects of the story that we tell which will help them in their studies of literature in English Language Arts class. This will create a cross-curricular integration for World Languages and English Language Arts. That goal is always important as we strive towards connecting Spanish with other subjects and applications.

The study of dramatic structure can be traced to the times of Aristotle and William Shakespeare. In the most basic explanation of dramatic structure, it can be described as

the beginning, middle, and the end of the story with a conflict. However, each of the three broader terms can be further divided into smaller, more specific terms.

As discussed with Professor Reidel in the seminar, the dramatic structure of a story can be divided into the introduction, the inciting incident, the rising action, the crisis, the climax, and the resolution. Even the funny, short stories that the classes and I create together incorporate this dramatic structure. The main part of the story exists during rising action which builds tension between characters or between the situations in which the characters find themselves. It is only through a series of trials and adversity that the character can achieve resolution. The crisis occurs as tension rises throughout the story. The crisis signifies the need for change, whether the outcome is satisfactory or unsatisfactory. As a result of the rising action and finally the moment of crisis, the climax occurs, and the resolution usually follows quickly. As readers or audience members, we want to feel a sense of finality even if the ending is not happy.

Hero

What is a hero? As stated by Rob Cipriano in the Huffinton Post, a hero is “someone who we determine to have demonstrated behaviors and decisions that are ethically and emotionally worthy of our awe.”2 In each work of literature, a hero is present to face dangers and to overcome difficulties. They share many characteristics as they struggle to realize their goals which in the dramatic structure is the moment of resolution.

In Joseph Campbell’s influential work “The Hero with a Thousand Faces,” he discusses how the archetypal hero is found throughout every genre and faces the same journey in each piece.3 Even in the short stories that the students and I create together in class, we always see the main character need or want something, struggle to obtain it, and attain or fail to attain their goal in the end.

In Spanish class, the students and I will explore the role of the hero in stories and identify their defining characteristics. As they work to create stories in class, they can indentify the goals, the struggles, and the outcomes for each character.

TPRS and CI - What are They?

The method of TPRS focuses on three core skills: establishing meaning in the target language, asking a story, and reading a story. From these three skills, many other skills emanate which all incorporate the most important aspect of TPRS - comprehensible input. Comprehensible input (CI) is achieved when the students understand completely what is being said by the teacher in the target language. Many people are familiar with the image of the Charlie Brown teacher at the front of the class and if students do not comprehend when a world language is being used by the teacher, Charlie Brown’s teacher is the probable outcome.

By establishing meaning, the teacher makes the target language understandable to all students. Meaning can be established by simply telling students what the words mean in their primary language, sometimes referred to as L1. For the purpose of this paper, the L1 will be English. By showing pictures with the words, by acting out what is happening, or by using cognates.

The method of TPRS is sometimes confused with Total Physical Response (TPR). For some time, I did not understand the difference between the two; the confusion is only made more prominent by the fact that the initials are almost identical. TPR does have an important role in the TPRS classroom as it can help to build meaning for students as they learn to associate a certain movement with the meaning of the word. Some teachers encourage the students to make up their own motions, while others employ American Sign Language to teach meaning. Then, whenever students see, hear, and say the word, they also can visualize the action and help them remember what a word means.

Cognates are a wonderful way to quickly expand vocabulary without “teaching” an extensive amount of new words. Cognates are words that stem from a similar root word and are thus similar in sound and spelling. As a Spanish teacher, I often refer to cognates as English and Spanish share many. Some examples include accident = accidente, elephant = elefante, October = octubre. There are so many more that using cognate strategy to understand a text is something that can easily be incorporated into a TPRS lesson.

Once a teacher has established meaning through any process that he or she likes, it is time to “ask a story” to the class. During this activity, a teacher chooses 3 or 4 key structures to focus upon during the story. The structures are the verbs and verb tenses that the class is using. The object is to repeatedly use the structures in context throughout the story to maximize the number of opportunities that students are exposed to them. The teacher “asks” the story by looking for input from the class. I enjoy this step of storytelling as it personalizes the story for the students and keeps the class from becoming too monotonous for myself and for them. The teacher can make the basic dramatic structure of the story as strict or flexible as needed. Students can provide input for characters’ names, origins, appearance, and even where they are going or what their problem is. Or, the teacher can limit students’ input so as to keep the story moving in the direction that the teacher needs to maximize the verb structures.

The little stories that I create with the students do follow the dramatic structure and always feature a “hero” or main character. The elemental steps in all TPRS stories are as follows: introduce the character, introduce parallel characters as needed, introduce what the character needs or wants (the problem), the character travels to 3 locations trying to solve the problem and usually interacts with the parallel character(s), and at the third location the problem is final solved. The complexity of the story and the details can

depend on what the teacher’s goals are for the lesson, what level of language the students are studying, and how long the teacher wants to spend asking the story.

After the students have heard a story using all of the structures that the teacher wants to center on, the natural progression from listening and understand it to then read and understand. In TPRS, one way to introduce passages to students is through what is called “embedded reading.” This approach tells a similar story to the one that was asked by the teacher while embedding the target verb structures. From the simple embedded reading, a plethora of activities exist to keep the material interesting and novel to students. Much of TPRS focuses on personalizing the language for students as it is easier to learn than when grammar and vocabulary are drilled in activities that are out of context.

As a result of all of the variety of activities, TPRS is differentiated in all lessons and is suited for students with a range of learning strengths. I will discuss specific activities below in this unit. Students who enjoy listening, reading, writing, drawing, acting, speaking, and interring information will all find an activity that they enjoy in the TPRS classroom. One of the TPRS method’s strengths is the ease with which teachers can blend aspects of the Common Core. Listening, literacy, and reading are strongly used as well as writing and speaking.

Acting and Movement

One of the sub skills in “asking a story” involves student actors physically performing what is happening. During a story with action, students are called upon to serve several jobs in the class. A story requires several actors, a quiz writer, a story recorder, a timer, a structure counter, and an “English abuse” counter. Additional roles may include artists, cheerleaders, props manager, the “president”, and the “Vanna White.” All of these jobs get students involved and often result in an organized chaos of energy and activity in the classroom. Each job is further described in the appendix, while in this essay I will focus on the job of the actor.

The actor’s job is crucial as he or she provides the visual, three dimensional representation of the story, gives the story context to which the students can relate, and usually provides no small amount of comedic entertainment to the class. The actor must simultaneously act out what is happening as the teacher narrates the story. For example, if the teacher says the actor lays down to sleep, the actor must lay down and sleep in synchronicity with the words. This activity is sometimes called “Readers’ Theatre” and will be discussed further in the Activities section.

Legends/“La Llorona” and “Aloja (Dona d’aigua)”

Two legends that blend the themes of death, life, and water as a source of both are the Mexican “La Llorona” (The Weeping Women)4 and the Catalan “Aloja (Dona d’aigua)5.

These stories allow for a variety of discussion topics, as well as application to more contemporary stories. I am a fervid admirer of the Harry Potter series and two of the stories within that series that I think correlate with legends about death and water are “The Tale of Three Brothers” and “The Fountain of Fair Fortune.” After reading and analyzing the two texts from the Hispanic culture, the students and I could relate them to these modern texts.

In class, we will first focus on the story of La Llorona. La Llorona recounts the story of Maria, a beautiful but poor, woman from a Mexican village. She spurns all advances from local suitors until a handsome, wealthy stranger rides in to town. She gets his attention, but then plays “hard to get.” When he finally proposed, she accepted and they were married and had two children. However, Maria’s husband soon longed for his former life of wealth and extravagant parties. He eventually left her and returned with a different woman from the wealthy class. In a rage, Maria drowned her children. However, she immediately regretted her rash behavior and chased after them. She succumbed to exhaustion and was found dead by the river bank. Maria was buried, but her spirit can be heard crying for her children and came to be known as La Llorona. Children are warned now to stay inside at night so as not to be taken by La Llorona.

To continue our study of the theme of life, death, and water, we will then study about the Catalan legend of the water-women, called dona d’aigua in Catalan or damas de agua in Spanish. They favor nature and fertility and can be likened to water nymphs or sirens. The water-women are mortal, yet long lived often appearing in the form of a beautiful young woman with golden hair, sapphire or emerald eyes, and diaphanous clothing. These beings dwell in all types of still water such as ponds, fountains, or wells and have a tenuous relationship with humans. At times they are helpful, caring for local children and teaching them how to be heroic. At other times, they steal children to train them as they see fit. They are known to marry human men; however, a husband must maintain secrecy that his wife is a water-woman. If he reveals her identity, she will leave him and take his fortune.

One of the most famous water-women, María Enganxa, is very similar to María La Llorona. María Enganxa’s legend comes from Palma, Mallorca. She was accused of witch craft during the reign of the Spanish inquisition. After imprisonment, she escaped only two days later, baffling the town. She was chased with torches and pitchforks, and the townspeople found her standing on the end of a well. She swore that she would never be taken by them, but that she would abduct their children to teach them witch craft. After vowing this, she jumped into the well. The people thought her dead, but legend says if a child is passing the well at midnight, he or she can be lured by María Enganxa’s sweet song. She will then grab him or her, never to be seen again.

By comparing and contrasting these two stories, the students can discover connections between the Mexican and Spanish cultures. They can also discuss how the two legends

are related to fables or stories that children are told today in order to learn a lesson. Both of these legends warn of the dangers of wandering near water; even if one does not believe in La Llorona or María Enganxa, they might tell their child to stay away from water in order to keep from drowning.

Strategies

Comprehensible Input

Comprehensible input, as discussed before, is essential for the TPRS classroom. Students will be exposed to Spanish through a variety of tasks that include listening, reading, and viewing. Listening can be through teacher led stories, songs, or pod casts. Listening is the most important as that is the most immediate way in which students can access input in Spanish. After they are understanding 100% of what they hear, then they can move to reading and viewing texts or movies.

To make input comprehensible, the teacher needs to establish meaning. As I mentioned before, the teacher has several options for giving meaning to students. Acting out a word, showing pictures, or using props are three ways; yet these can sometimes be misinterpreted by students. What I think is a perfect picture of a toad may seem like a frog to students, thus leaving an error when students are asked to translate or otherwise use the vocabulary word. The most direct way to give students meaning of the target language is to tell them in English. This leaves no allowance for confusion. The teacher can write the two phrases on the board, once in the target language and once in English. During the class time being used for input, usually a story, the teacher can continually refer to each phrase by pointing and even repeating the English. Through meaningful repetitions, the students can acquire the phrases and eventually will not need to refer to the English at all. An example of establishing meaning:

From there, the teacher can tell or ask a story with the students. I used these exact phrases in a story about an irresponsible boy who went to the World Cup, but lost his ticket to the final match. The stories can be nonsense, but create repetition of the important phrases while being relatable and funny for the students. I will further explain the process of asking a story in the Activities section.

Reading Comprehension

Reading comprehension is an important strategy as it shows that students are comprehending the language and able to translate or interpret what is happening. TPRS

reading strategies usually require students to show comprehension by providing evidence from the text they have read, translating pieces of the text, or answering questions in English. Reading comprehension helps to build important literacy skills and provides students with access to more input. Evidence based reading in an important skill that students can use in all classes as they complete research based projects, read texts in English or Social Studies, or provide documentation for Science and Mathematics.

In TPRS, the teacher often creates a text referred to as Embedded Reading. Embedded reading is a teacher-adjusted text created for students that develops reading skills and deepens the understanding of the content of the text. It was originally designed to prepare students to comprehend text that the students perceive to be beyond their capability. Embedded reading tasks make reading comprehension more accessible to all students. The opposite of an embedded reading is an authentic text. Authentic texts are meant for native speakers of the language. Sources such as newspapers, books, television shows, or songs in the target language are all examples of authentic texts. A teacher can adjust authentic materials and make them embedded based on the level of comprehension that the students have.

Collaborative Endeavors

Students work in a variety of group settings, including pairs, small groups, collaborative groups, and groups lead by one student. These arrangements allow for me to move freely between groups to check in for formative assessments with each student, answer questions, and personalize instruction. It is also an important skill for students to have as they prepare for post high school education or work.

By working in small groups or pairs, the stress of using Spanish can sometimes be reduced for students. Many find it difficult to speak or read in front of a large group. I allow the students to choose their partners which also brings them a level of comfort when using Spanish. This provides students the opportunity to help one another. They are often able to answer their peers’ questions without having to consult the teacher.

Activities

The unit will take several weeks to complete, depending upon how in depth the students study each story, how many “spin off” stories are created, and what grammar and vocabulary are targeted. The activities described here can be used at any time in the unit, though they usually follow a pattern of providing comprehensible input, interpreting and understanding by students, and production of language by students. These activities are common practice among Comprehensible Input/TPRS teachers.

Comprehensible Input – Asking a Story

The process of asking a story involves providing students with comprehensible input, while prompting them to provide certain details of the story. This is how “spin-off” stories can be created or an original story that the teacher uses to introduce the key verb structures. The amount of direction given by students is entirely up to the teacher. They can provide simple input such as the names of characters or more complex details such as what was the problem or the conclusion of the story.

The key idea in asking a story is comprehensibility. For the story to allow students to acquire the necessary vocabulary and verb structures, students must be able to understand what is being said and asked. In addition to the key vocabulary, asking a story is an excellent way to review question words. Students respond to prompts such as what is the main characters name, where is he or she from, how old is he or she, and so forth.

Usually when a teacher asks a story, the student actors are required. However, it is up to the discretion of the teacher. The actors provide a dynamic aspect to the asking of a story, but they can at times cause an extra piece that is not needed. Sometimes when a teacher is first introducing new structures, it is necessary to keep the class seated so that everyone can focus on interpreting the new words and phrases. Then, as the students develop their understanding of the language, they can add the actors.

Readers’ Theatre

Readers’ Theatre incorporates reading comprehension as well as acting out a story. Readers’ Theatre is best employed when the students have become more familiar with the verb structures and key vocabulary. By reading an embedded reading text, students will be able to comprehend the text more confidently. As the teacher or a student reads the text aloud, student actors synchronize their actions with the story.

This shows that they understand what is being read and provides a context for the audience members. If there is dialogue within the text, students will translate the words and say them aloud in English.

The Key Word Challenge

At this point, students have been exposed to the essential nouns and verb phrases through multiple forms of input. They have heard stories told by the teacher, they have provided input to the teacher’s stories, they have read embedded and authentic texts, and they have acted out portions of the text. In addition to these activities, they may have seen movies or listened to songs that include the structures that the teacher wants the students to be able to use.

I created the activity called The Key Word Challenge which takes a selection of key phrases from previous readings and asks students to use them to create a parallel story.

This means that the students take the phrases and create a story with a similar plot to the ones that we have told or read already in class, but certain details, such as characters names or the location, are changed. In Appendix C there is a sample of an evidence based embedded reading activity connected with the Key Word Challenge activity.

Bibliography

"Alignment of the National Standards for Learning Languages." American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages. April 3, 2012. Accessed December 8, 2014. http://www.actfl.org/sites/default/files/pdfs/CrosswalkFinalAligningCCSSLanguageStandards.pdf .

Campbell, Joseph. The Hero with a Thousand Faces. 2d ed. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1972.

Cipriano, Rob. "What Is a Hero." The Huffington Post. July 8, 2014. Accessed December 8, 2014. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rob-cipriano/what-is-a-hero_b_5560441.html .

"El Mundo De Manu."La Leyenda De María Enganxa. August 15, 2012. Accessed December 8, 2014. http://el-mundodemanu.blogspot.com/2012/08/la-leyenda-de-maria-enganxa.html .

Hayes, Joe. "LA LLORONA - A HISPANIC LEGEND." LA LLORONA - A HISPANIC LEGEND. Accessed September 17, 2014. http://www.literacynet.org/lp/hperspectives/llorona.html

The version Legend of la Llorona as found on this site comes from a larger unit "Teaching from a Hispanic Perspective: A Handbook for Non-Hispanic Adult Educators."

Ray, Blaine, and Contee Seely. Fluency through TPR Storytelling: Achieving Real Language Acquisition in School. 6th ed. Berkeley, CA: Command Performance Language Institute, 2012.

Slavic, Ben. "Jobs For Kids." TPRS and Comprehensible Input Training. January 1, 2013. Accessed December 8, 2014. http://benslavic.com/jobs-for-kids.html.

Slavic, Ben. TPRS In a Year. 4th Edition ed. Dover, Colorado: Ben Slavic, 2008. Print.

Appendix A – Teaching Proficiency through Reading and Storytelling (TPRS) and Comprehensible Input (CI) and the Common Core

Each of the standards below are related to a TPRS based activity. All might be used in a TPRS/Comprehensible Input based classroom.

AUTHENTIC RESOURCES

MOVIE TALK

WRITING

Copyright © 2014, Martina Bex – MartinaBex.com – All rights reserved

Appendix B: Jobs for Kids

This abbreviated list from Ben Slavic highlights the key Jobs for Kids in the TPRS classroom. It is up to the teacher’s discretion for which jobs will be used at any one time. A comprehensive list may be found at www.benslavic.com PQA Structure Counters* (3) – The PQA counters do so much. They do things that we are not even aware of, functioning as a kind of social glue. They bring us together in pursuit of a common goal. Pure gold. Story Quiz Writer* - described in detail on this site but I'm not sure where. Story Writer* - described in detail on this site but I'm not sure where. Story Artist* - described in detail on this site but I'm not sure where. Profesor, Profesora (there can be two of these) - they quickly decide on things like if the house is red or blue so that the teacher doesn't have to take a side. Skill #36 in TPRS in a Year! Sound Effects Guru - either via a machine or actually produced by the kid, as per Nathan Black. Reader Leader. This is the kid who leads the class in the choral reading of texts. He or she reads slowly and loudly and literally brings the class along. Alarm clock/English Abuse – kid who can make the most annoying sound in class sounds off at the slightest sign that the teacher may be going into an English rant or when the class needs to take a quiz (sometimes we just need to stop the story and take the quiz. The kid sounds off and the teacher thanks her/him profusely and segues right back into Spanish. The message to the rest of the students is clear. We’re here to listen to Spanish, not to listen to the teacher talk about Spanish in English. Official Timer – this one is from Carla Butler. This kid times how long the class can go in the TL. Class times are written on the board. The kids get competitive and class pride is often on the line. Vanna White – he or she strolls along the word wall and points out words as the lesson unfolds, helping the teacher. Actors – will synchronize actions to teacher’s speaking or reading. It's a job in that we always like to use our best, least distractible actors. Capitán de Diccionario – the kid who looks up the (very few) new words that the kids bring in via cute answers, words like “squid”.

Appendix C

This embedded reading requires students to provide evidence from the text. Then, they use the Key Word challenge to write a parallel story.

Nombre: Fecha: Bloque:

Embedded Reading and Keyword Challenge

Vocabulario extra: merienda - snack, engordar - to gain weight, disponible - available, empleado - employee

Parte 1: Leer. Lee el cuento con un compañero (The Reading Train) y contesta las preguntas en inglés.

Había un perro que vivía en la casa de la familia Rump. Se llamaba Clove. Clove era pequeña, con el pelo blanco y café. Clove quería muchas cosas, especialmente meriendas. Le encantaba comer meriendas y su favorita era papas fritas. La “mamá” de Clove no quería que Clove comiera las papas fritas. Si Clove comiera muchas papas fritas, ella engordaría. Pero, Clove estaba muy determinada a encontrar y comer las papas fritas. Si ella pudiera, Clove comería papas fritas diariamente. Para Clove, era muy importante que tuviera las papas fritas. Era una obsesión.

Un día, Clove escapó de la casa y fue en busca de las papas fritas. La mamá estaba muy preocupada - si Clove no regresara a casa, ella estaría perdida. Clove no sabía el camino a casa. Clove estaba muy feliz. Ella podía buscar papas fritas y las encontraría eventualmente. Estaba muy determinada. Pero, había un problema - Clove no sabía un restaurante que tenía papas fritas. Después de buscar por unas horas, Clove dudaba que las papas fritas estuvieron disponibles. Clove quería regresar a casa, pero no sabía el camino. Ella se sentó delante de un edificio con la letra M de color amarillo. Clove no lo sabía, pero era un McDonald’s. Un empleado la vio, y llamó a la mamá. La mamá llegó para reunir con Clove. Y para un regalo, la mamá le compró las papas fritas para Clove. Clove tuvo una aventura y si pudiera, repetiría su viaje a McDonald’s para obtener más papas fritas.

1. How is Clove described? What words that are not in the story could be used to describe her as well? _______________________________________________________________________

2. What is Clove’s favorite snack? ________________________________________________________________________

3. What concerns does Clove’s “mom” have about her favorite snack? _______________________________________________________________________

4. How often would Clove eat her favorite snack? ________________________________________________________________________

5. Why is Clove’s mom worried when she escaped the house? ________________________________________________________________________

6. How did Clove feel at first about escaping the house? ________________________________________________________________________

7. How did Clove feel after some time after escaping the house? _______________________________________________________________________

8. Where did Clove finally stop to rest?___________________________________________________________________

9. What happened when she stopped there? ________________________________________________________________________

10. What does Clove want to do in the future? _______________________________________________________________________

Parte 2: Escribir. Usa el banco de palabras claves (key words), y escribe un cuento en español. Usa por los menos 8 de las palabras claves.

era quería si pudiera… era muy importante dudaba

un día diariamente regalo si tuviera… aventura

Parte 3: Dibujar. Dibuja una foto de la acción en tu cuento.

Notes