15 WAYS OF DEVELOPING STUDENTS’ ENGLISH LANGUAGE COMPREHENSION USING FAIRY TALES CERNEI KRISTINA PETRU RARESH LYCEUM MASTER IN ENGLISH PHILOLOGY 2 ND DIDACTIC DEGREE

CINDERELLA, LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD, AND THE THREE BROTHERS. 1.Listening Comprehension. The teacher reads the story and the pupils are to guess which of the fairy tale it is 2. Direct Reading Comprehension. Each of the pupils receives a piece of paper. They all have a chance to read aloud and while they read they are to guess what fairy tale it is

3. Guess the Story Each of the pupils receives a piece of paper and while they read to themselves they are to guess the fairy tale and afterwards come in front of the classroom and mime the fairy tale so that the rest of the class guesses

4. Reading. The pupils get together in groups. It is to the teacher’s discretion to use the number of fairy tales at a classroom session. If the teacher decides to use one fairy tales then he/she forms the groups according to a certain developed method. If the teacher uses more fairy tales then the class may be divided into groups according to the parts of stories they have previously received while guessing the title of the fairy tale. While they are set in groups, they are to read the whole story thus practicing reading and the teacher developing and assessing students’ reading performance.

5. TEXT WORK. THROW THE DIE THIS ACTIVITY IS VERY INTERESTING TO USE AND IT IS EASY TO GET IT READY FOR THE CLASSROOM SESSION. IF YOU HAVE A THROW THE DIE SHEET FORM READY IN ADVANCE IT TAKES JUST A FEW MINUTES TO COMPLETE IT WITH QUESTIONS AND STUDENTS ENJOY ANSWERING THE QUESTIONS IN A LESS TRADITIONAL WAY.

6. REPRESENT THE STORY IN A DRAWING THIS ACTIVITY IS ADORED BY YOUNGER LEARNERS (2-6 TH GRADES). IT IS VERY EASY TO PERFORM THIS ACTIVITY; IT CAN ALSO BE GIVEN AS A HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT. THE MOMENT THEY FINISH THEIR DRAWING, OR GIVE IT IN THEY ARE TO RETELL THE STORY AS BEING BASED ON THE DRAWING ITSELF.

7. Story collage It takes a few minutes and the collage is ready. Take to the class old magazines, or commercial pamphlets or any other old issued newspapers, bring them to the classroom, give learners scissors, glue and a piece of paper the moment the collage is ready, ask pupils to retell the story according to it.

8. ROLE – PLAY ROLE - PLAY THE STORY AS IT IS; ROLE – PLAY THE STORY AND CHANGE OR MODERNIZE THE CHARACTERS; CHOOSE A CHARACTER AND ROLE-PLAY THE STORY 9. ESSAY VARIOUS TOPICS MIGHT BE CHOSEN FOR AN ESSAY. IMAGINE THAT YOU ARE A HOLLYWOOD DIRECTOR, CHANGE THE STORY, CAST THE CHARACTERS, MANAGE THE MONEY …ETC.

10. News broadcast/ Wanted by the police Imagine you are a reporter for a famous channel. Choose a moment from the story; now imagine that you are on air in direct transmission, you have 3 minutes to present the story and take an interview from an eyewitness, or from the main character, etc.

11. NEWSPAPER ARTICLE GIVE LEARNERS A SHEET OF PAPER, A MARKER AND FREEDOM TO EXPRESS IN WRITING FLASH NEWS OF THE STORY.

12. Write a book for kindergarten kids This activity is mostly for learners aged 8-14 as they find it most captivating. This activity might be considered as a homework assignment in form of a project. Learners are to imagine that they are the writers of this fairy tale and they are to represent the fairy tales using pictures and vocabulary understandable for kindergarten kids.

13. Spread a rumor You are the worst gossiper in the world. Spread a rumor using comparatives and superlatives to represent the fairy tale. Choose a character, or talk about one of the problems developed in the story itself.

14. POWER POINT PRESENTATION THIS ACTIVITY IS FOR LEARNERS OF HIGHER GRADES. THEY ARE TO REPRESENT THE STORY USING SLIDES. IT IS INTERESTING, IT IS ACTUAL AND IT IS MOTIVATING.

15. Creating a personal fairy tale using the characters in the story This activity is also more accepted by higher level learners. The main task is to combine the fairy tales discussed and come up with another fairy tale. This type of assessment develops originality, non - plagiarism and creativity

Thank you!