Transforming a familiar story into a simple picture sequence for Primary 1

Class: Primary 1
Term: Third Term
Week: 9
Age: 6 years
Duration: 45 minutes
Subject: English Studies
Curriculum Theme: Listening and Speaking
Focal competence: Telling and retelling stories
Key competencies/values: Communication; Collaboration; Respect; Creativity and Innovation; ICT and Digital Competencies
Skills:

• Storytelling skills

Previous Lesson: Reading own and peers’ short texts aloud
Topic: Retelling Stories
Subject Matter: Transforming a familiar story into a simple picture sequence

Specific Objectives

By the end of the lesson, pupils/students should be able to:

Cognitive Domain

• Retell the main events of a suitable short story in simple English.
• Identify and link a familiar picture or object to its written word.

Affective Domain

• Show interest in listening to and retelling stories.
• Appreciate the fun of creating picture sequences for stories.

Psychomotor Domain

• Draw simple pictures to represent the beginning, middle, and end of a story.
• Orally retell a story using simple sentences.

Social Domain

• Collaborate with classmates during pair work and role-play activities.

Reference Materials

The following resources were used in planning this lesson:

• 2025 Revised 9 Years Basic Education Curriculum
• Relevant State Unified Scheme of Work
• Macmillan Primary English for Primary 1
• The HeadTeacher Scheme of work

Instructional Materials

The teacher will teach this lesson with the aid of:

• Approved publisher-neutral text (e.g., a simple storybook like “The Tortoise and the Hare”)
• Letter, word and picture cards
• Exercise books and pencils
• Picture books and storytelling props (e.g., puppets, cut-outs)
• Whiteboard or chalkboard
• Markers or chalk

Rationale for the Lesson

This lesson helps pupils develop their comprehension and communication skills by actively engaging with stories. Learning to transform stories into picture sequences strengthens their understanding of plot structure and sequence. Retelling stories builds confidence in oral expression and improves vocabulary and sentence construction in English.

Prerequisite/Previous Knowledge

Pupils are familiar with listening to simple stories and identifying common objects and pictures. They can also recognize some basic words and letters.

Lesson Content/Board Summary

Retelling Stories

What is a Story?

A story tells us about something that happened. It has characters (the people or animals in the story) and events (what happens).

Parts of a Story

Every simple story has three main parts:

1. Beginning: This part tells us who the story is about and where it takes place. It introduces the characters and the setting.
2. Middle: This part tells us what happens in the story. It shows the main events and problems the characters face.
3. End: This part tells us how the story finishes. It shows how the problems are solved and what happens to the characters.

How to Turn a Story into Pictures

We can draw simple pictures to show the main events of a story. This helps us remember the story in the correct order.

1. Listen carefully to the story.
2. Think about the most important thing that happened at the beginning.
3. Think about the most important things that happened in the middle.
4. Think about how the story ended.
5. Draw one simple picture for the beginning, one or two for the middle, and one for the end.

How to Retell a Story

To retell a story, we use our own words to tell what happened, following the correct order of events.

1. Look at your picture sequence.
2. Start by telling the beginning of the story.
3. Then, tell what happened in the middle, step by step.
4. Finally, tell how the story ended.
5. Use simple, complete sentences.

Teaching Methods/Instructional Techniques

Discussion, Demonstration, Guided Practice, Question and Answer, Explanation, Role-play, Pair Work, Individual Practice

Instructional Procedures

Step 1: Introduction

Time: 5 minutes

Teaching Skill: Storytelling/Engaging

Teacher’s Activity: The teacher greets the pupils and reminds them of a familiar short story they have heard before (e.g., “The Boy Who Cried Wolf”). The teacher asks pupils what they remember about the story.

Pupils’ Activity: Pupils greet the teacher and share what they remember about the story.

Learning Point: Recalling familiar stories

Step 2: Understanding Story Parts

Time: 7 minutes

Teaching Skill: Explanation/Illustration

Teacher’s Activity: The teacher explains that every story has a beginning, a middle, and an end. Using a very simple story, the teacher points out what happens at each part. The teacher uses picture cards to illustrate these parts.

Pupils’ Activity: Pupils listen attentively and identify the beginning, middle, and end of the story as explained by the teacher.

Learning Point: Story structure identification

Step 3: Identifying Main Events

Time: 7 minutes

Teaching Skill: Guided Analysis

Teacher’s Activity: The teacher tells another short, familiar story (e.g., “The Tortoise and the Hare”). After telling it, the teacher guides pupils to identify the main events in the beginning, middle, and end of the story, writing key phrases on the board.

Pupils’ Activity: Pupils listen to the story and help the teacher identify the main events for each part of the story.

Learning Point: Main story events

Step 4: Picture Sequence Demonstration

Time: 6 minutes

Teaching Skill: Modelling/Demonstration

Teacher’s Activity: The teacher demonstrates how to draw very simple pictures on the board to represent the main events of “The Tortoise and the Hare” (e.g., Tortoise and Hare at starting line, Hare sleeping, Tortoise crossing finish line). The teacher links each picture to a written word or phrase.

Pupils’ Activity: Pupils observe the teacher drawing and linking pictures to words, understanding how to visualize story events.

Learning Point: Visualizing story events

Step 5: Guided Picture Sequencing

Time: 6 minutes

Teaching Skill: Guided Practice

Teacher’s Activity: The teacher distributes exercise books and pencils. The teacher instructs pupils to draw their own simple picture sequence for “The Tortoise and the Hare” in their books, focusing on the beginning, middle, and end.

Pupils’ Activity: Pupils draw simple pictures representing the main events of the story in their exercise books.

Learning Point: Creating picture sequences

Step 6: Retelling Practice

Time: 5 minutes

Teaching Skill: Oral Practice/Feedback

Teacher’s Activity: The teacher asks pupils to work in pairs or small groups. Using their picture sequences, pupils take turns retelling the story to each other in simple, complete sentences. The teacher moves around, listening and providing support.

Pupils’ Activity: Pupils practice retelling the story to their partners using their drawn picture sequences.

Learning Point: Oral story retelling

Step 7: Evaluation/Review

Time: 5 minutes

Teaching Skill: Questioning/Assessment

Teacher’s Activity: The teacher evaluates the learning by asking the following questions:

1. What are the three main parts of a story?
2. Can you retell the beginning of “The Tortoise and the Hare”?
3. Can you retell the end of “The Tortoise and the Hare”?
4. Show your picture sequence and tell us what the first picture means.

Pupils’ Activity: Pupils answer orally and in writing.

Learning Point: Story retelling assessment

Step 8: Note-Taking

Time: 4 minutes

Teaching Skill: Guided Writing

Teacher’s Activity: The teacher guides pupils to copy the essential Board Summary notes about the parts of a story and how to transform/retell it into their notebooks.

Pupils’ Activity: Pupils copy the notes carefully into their notebooks.

Learning Point: Recording lesson notes

Step 9: Conclusion

Time: 1 minute

Teaching Skill: Consolidation

Teacher’s Activity: The teacher praises the pupils for their participation and effort in retelling stories and creating picture sequences. The teacher reminds them that practicing this helps them understand and tell stories better.

Pupils’ Activity: Pupils listen and acknowledge the teacher’s conclusion.

Learning Point: Lesson summary

Continuous Assessment/Further Study

Type: Homework

Instruction: Listen to a short story from your parents or guardians at home. Then, draw three simple pictures in your exercise book to show the beginning, middle, and end of that story. Be ready to tell the story in class next time.

1. Ask an adult to tell you a simple story.
2. Draw one picture for the beginning of the story.
3. Draw one picture for the middle of the story.
4. Draw one picture for the end of the story.
5. Bring your drawings to class next time.

Lesson Keywords

• Story – A tale of events and characters.
• Retell – To tell a story again in your own words.
• Beginning – The start of something.
• Middle – The part between the beginning and the end.
• End – The finish or conclusion.
• Sequence – The order in which things happen.
• Picture – A drawing or image.

Differentiation

For weaker learners, the teacher can provide pre-drawn simple picture cards for a story and ask them to arrange them in the correct order before retelling. For faster learners, they can be encouraged to add more details to their pictures or retell a slightly longer story, or even create a new simple story with a picture sequence.

Suggested Lesson Videos

For further visual learning, search on YouTube for: Primary 1 retelling stories picture sequence

Teacher Guide for Using This Lesson Plan

Before the lesson, select a very familiar and simple story that is appropriate for Primary 1 pupils. Prepare simple picture cards for the chosen story to aid in demonstration and engagement. During the lesson, model clearly how to identify story parts and draw simple representations. Encourage all pupils to participate, especially in the oral retelling activities. Provide positive reinforcement and correct errors gently. Guide pupils to copy the Board Summary notes during the designated note-taking time to ensure they have accurate records for revision. Pay attention to pupils who might struggle with sequencing or expressing themselves in complete sentences, offering individual support.