A Detailed Lesson Plan in English – Grade 8

I. Objectives
At the end of the lesson, the students will be able to:
a. identify the elements of a short story
b. discuss the importance of love and unselfishness
c. value the roles played by mothers in our lives

II.Topic
Listening Text: The Story of the Aged Mother
Reference: Serrano, J.B. and Lapid, M.G. (2001), English Communication Arts and Skills
through Afro-Asian Literature, Quezon City, Pheonix Publishing House, Inc.
Materials: PowerPoint presentation, pictures, group sheets, cartolina, chalkboard
Skills: Listening: Remembering facts and sequence of the story
Reading: Analyzing a vocabulary word using context clues
Speaking: Discussing of ideas and pronouncing words correctly
Writing: Discussing a concept or entity
Values: Cooperation, self-confidence, collaboration, love, unselfishness

III. Procedures

Teacher’s Activity Students’ Activity

a. Preliminaries
i. Prayer
ii. Greeting the Class
iii. Checking of Attendance
iv. Passing of Assignments
b. Developmental Activities
i. Pre-listening Activity
a. Motivation

Before we start our interesting lesson for today, I

want you to try a Relational Psychology Test. It is
called “A Walk in the Woods”. You can close your
eyes and imagine the scenes I will provide while
answering simple questions. You may write your
answers in any paper after every question or just
keep them In your mind. There is no right or wrong
answer. Are you ready? Yes, Ma’am.

1. Picture yourself walking through a

beautiful forest. The sun is out. There’s a
perfect breeze. It’s just beautiful. Who are
you walking with?

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 2. As you continue on in your walk through
the forest, you come across an animal.
What kind of animal is it?
3. You come up to the animal. What
interaction takes place between you and
the animal?
4. You’re walking deeper into the forest then
you come to a clearing. There’s a house in
the middle of the clearing. How big is it? Is
it fenced in or not?
5. You walk up to the door of the house and
you see that it’s open. You enter and see a
table. What’s on the table?
6. You finish looking around the house and
leave out the back door. There’s a huge
lawn and in the center is a garden. In the
garden, you find a cup. What is the cup
made out of? What do you do with the
cup?

Okay. The test is done. How did you feel while

answering the questions? (Answers vary)

Now, are you ready to know the meaning of your

answers? Yes, Ma’am.

1. The person you are walking with is the

most important person in your life.
2. The size of the animal you come across is a
representation of the size of your
problems.
3. If your action towards the animal was
more severe, you tend to be more
aggressive. If it was peaceful, then more
passive.
4. The size of the house represents the size
of your ambition.
5. If there was no fence around the house, it
means you tend to be more open.
6. If what you saw on the table wasn’t food,
people, or flowers, it indicates some
unhappiness.
7. How durable the cup you found was is
representative of how strong your
relationship is with the person in the first
part of the story. What you do with it
represents your attitude towards that
person.

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How do you feel about your answers and their
interpretations? Do you feel like they really
represent you? Can you share some of your
answers? I would especially want to know your
answer to the first question: Who is the most
important person in your life? Why? The students will share their answers.
Answers vary.
Today, we will read a story. Based from your
answers, what do you think will the story be
about? I think the story will be about an important person
in our lives.
That’s correct!

But before that, let us first have the vocabulary

terms that we will encounter in the story.

b. Unlocking of Difficulties
Identify the meaning of the underlined words
based from the given choices below.

1. Shining was governed by a despotic leader. dictatorial

2. The poor farmer loved his aged mother
with tender reverence. respect
3. No one thought twice about obeying the
mandate of the governor. order
4. Weary and heart sick, the youth gently
release his burden. tired
5. When the blaze died down, there upon the
stones, lays a rope of ashes. fire

Choices:
- fire
- respect
- order
- knowledge
- dictatorial
- tired

Now let’s have a short story entitled “The Story of

the Aged Mother”. Before that, let me introduce
the author, Matsuo Basho.

Matsuo Basho (Matsuo Munefusa)

- 1644 – November 28, 1694
- the supreme Japanese Haiku poet who
greatly enriched the 17-syllable haiku form
and made it an accepted medium of

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 expression
- Nationality: Japanese

Now that you know some things about the author,

I am going to present to you the guide questions
that you will answer at the end of the story.

Guide Questions:
1. What filled the heart of the poor farmer
with sorrow?
2. What was considered the kindest mode of
death during that time?
3. Why did the mother drop piles of twigs
while they are on the mountain path?
4. What made the aged mother’s son change
his mind about leaving his mother in
Obatsuyama?
5. How did the son hide his mother?
6. What was the governor’s second order?
7. How was the governor’s cruel order
performed?
8. What did the governor mean when he said
“with the crown of snow, there cometh
wisdom!”?

Here are the characters that make up the story:

 The poor farmer
 The aged mother
 The governor

You will be the one to identify their roles and

contributions to the story as you listen to it. I need
3 volunteers here in front to act as the characters
in The Story of the Aged Mother. The students volunteer to play the assigned roles.

Are you now ready to listen as you watch your

classmates’ great performance in acting? Yes, Ma’am.

ii. Listening Activity

(The teacher will read the story to the entire class

while the volunteer students act the scenes out.)

Did you understand the story? Yes, Ma’am.

Post Listening Activity

Before answering the guide questions, let me

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group you into 5. Let us have a story telling chain. I
will hold this picture of a mother. I will start the
story then pass this picture to anyone from each
group then you have to continue telling it. Are you
ready? Yes, Ma’am.
The students will do the activity.
Let’s now answer the guide questions. Each group
that gets the correct answer will get a point. Who
wants to answer number 1? The poor farmer’s heart was filled with sorrow by
the governor’s order of putting to death all aged
people.

That’s correct! Next number. The kindest mode of death considered during that
time was abandoning aged people in Obatsuyama.

Very good! Let’s answer number 3. The mother dropped piles of twigs to prevent his
son from getting lost on his way back.

Good! Number 4. His mother’s actions made him realize how

unselfish and kind she is that’s why he decided to
not leave her.

Bravo! Next, number 5. He hid his mother in a walled closet for food
beneath the kitchen floor.

That’s right. Let’s move on to number 6. The leader of Shining wants to be presented with a
rope of ashes.

Excellent! Number 7. The mother though of a way to make a rope of

ashes by making a rope of twisted straw and
burning it on a windless night.

Correct! How about the last number? The governor realized that with age, comes
wisdom.

As an additional question, how do you relate to

the story? Would you do the same for your
mothers? Why or why not? Students will share about how they feel.

Very good class! Now, remain in your groups as we

will do another activity.

In understanding a short story, we have elements

that will guide us to make it comprehensive and
clear. I will let you watch a video about. Feel free
to jot down notes about the facts presented in the
video. Are you now ready?

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(Teacher plays the video)

Since the video has helped you understand the 5

elements of a story, your groups will be the one to
provide definition to the following terms I will post
on the board.

iii. Lesson Proper

Elements of a Short Story

1. Setting - when and where the story take place
2. Characters - people that make up the story; could also be in
the form of things, animals, etc.
3. Plot - what happens in a story
4. Conflict - creates drama in the story
5. Theme - the central idea of the story

Do you have any question regarding the elements

of a story? None, Ma’am.

IV. Application

Now, for your next activity, you will be given

sheets of paper that are labeled with the 5
elements of a short story. You will be given 5
minutes to dissect the story according to
elements. Remember to work as a group. We will
check altogether after the time is up.
The students will do the activity.
Setting: at the foot of a mountain
Characters: the poor farmer, his aged mother, the
despotic leader
Plot: A despotic leader asked all aged people to be
put to death. The poor farmer took his mother to
the mountain to leave her there but changed his
mind when his mother showed how much she is
willing to sacrifice for him. The farmer hid his
mother but soon was freed again after the leader
recognized her wisdom.
Conflict: The leader wanted the aged people killed.
Theme: a mother’s love

V. Generalization

What lesson have you learned from the story? We have learned that a mother’s love is
unconditional. We should value all their sacrifices
for us. Also, we should recognize that they are full
of wisdom and they only want what’s best for us.

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What are the five elements of a short story, again? The five elements of a short story are setting,
characters, conflict, plot, and theme.
Excellent, class!

VI. Evaluation
Now, for your individual work today, I will be
showing you a short film. After watching it, you
have to provide the setting, characters, plot,
conflict, and theme of the story. You will write
your answers on a one whole sheet of paper. The students will watch the video and dissect the
story according to the 5 Elements of a short story.

VII. Assignment
For your assignment, I want you to write a short
story about a day in your life when you felt your
mother’s love for you. Make sure to have all the 5
elements present in it. Write it on a one whole
sheet of paper, to be passed tomorrow.

Do you have any question? None, Ma’am.

If that’s so, let us call it a day. Good day, class. Good day, Ma’am. Thank you for teaching us!

Prepared by:

Mary Joy D. Reyes