Lesson Plan Class VIII (The Tattered Blanket - Unit – I)

A. Reading: The Tattered Blanket

Reading provides one of the major inputs for the learners to develop
proficiency in language. How will you process a reading passage? At the outset
let us be clear about one thing. The ultimate aim is not to transmit the
information given in the reading passage, but to transact a reading experience
that will help the learners construct their own texts from the reading passage
by personalising and localising it. Therefore, we cannot be satisfied by checking
comprehension by asking information based questions. We have to help the
learners read the passage analytically and critically and reflect on their reading
experience. The module hopefully will help you translate this concept into
classroom practice.
These are to be as a trigger for interacting with the learners.

Pre – reading:

You many have noticed that each unit contains a face sheet with a
pictures and proverbs.

Objectives of interaction based on the picture.

The learners:
• Come out with their perception ( i.e what they think about the
pictures) of the picture.
• Talk about their understanding of the theme that is inbuilt in the
picture as well as in various components of the unit.
• Make intelligent predictions on the passage, they are going to read
a) Theme based picture interaction
Process:
• Show the pictures of families in page 2 of the reader and interact
with the learners by asking a few questions most of which are to be
analytical. Some questions are suggested below:
1. What do you observe in the pictures?
2. What kind of families do you observe?
3. What is a small family?
4. What is a large/ big family?
5. Which kind of families do we find in the present society? Small/
big families? Why?
6. Which family do you like to live in? Give reasons.
• Elicit the responses to the questions and write them on board/chart.
• Display the chart in the classroom.
Note:
a) Write the answers which are related to the theme.
b) The children are motivated to answer the questions in their own
way based on their own perceptions.
c) Do not interfere while responding.
b) Text based picture interaction.
• Elicit the responses at random from the picture.
1. Who do you see in the picture?
2. How are the characters related?
3. What is the old woman doing?
4. Do you think that the woman can walk?
5. Who is sitting beside her?
6. What do you know about her appearance?
7. Who is coming through the gate?
8. Who is he?
9. How was he?
• Elicit responses to the questions taking them one by one. You can
write some select responses on a chart.
• It is better to display all the questions on a chart
Note:
1. All responses need not be written on the chart; write only those
responses (consisting of key expressions and sentences) that are
directly relevant to the theme of the reading passage.
2. The children will be motivated to answer the questions in their own
way based on their own perceptions if we give them freedom to
respond to the questions in their own way.

Reading Segment – 1 (paragraphs 1 to 13)

The transaction module of reading needs elaborate treatment because
there are a few sub modules to be transacted. Let us begin with the objectives
of transacting this segment.

Objectives

1. Children make an effort to read individually and track their own
reading process.
2. They make sense of the reading passage using a number of strategies
such as
• Checking their predictions on the reading passage
• Locating information that they were able to pool from the
interaction that has taken place
• Guessing the meaning of words from the context and also using
familiar words as stepping stones.
• Using the glossary given to them, etc.
• Sharing ideas with others
1. They make sense of the reading passage through collaboration.
2. They reflect on the passage they have read.
3. They analyze the information given and link it with their personal
experience.
4. They generate their own texts from the given text.
Process

Individual reading

• Ask children to read individually. They can only read it at their own
pace. You may give the following directions to help them track their
own progress in reading.
1. Read the given passage ‘Tattered Blanket’ from paragraph 1to13
silently.
2. Use a pencil to put a ‘tick’ against the lines you are able to
understand.
3. You may put a question mark against the line that contains parts
you are not able to understand.
4. Pick out the important events in this part of the story.
5. Put a star against the lines that you liked the most.
• Move round the class to monitor whether they are tracking their
reading process.
• You may interact with them in between by asking questions like the
following:
o Don’ worry if you were not able to read and understand the whole
of the passage.
o Try to guess the meaning of the unfamiliar words with the help of
words you already know.
o Please do not consult with anyone at this point. You can put
question marks wherever you faced difficulties. Sometimes the
glossary may help you.
Addressing issues related to low proficient learners
If you think there are a few low proficient learners you need to work
out some strategies to help them get at least some ideas from the reading
passage. You can try the following:
• Ask specific questions;
1. Who are the people in the passage?
2. How are the characters related?
3. What are the main events in the story?
4. What are the descriptions involved in the story?
5. Who came home?
6. How did he arrive?
7. Where was the man coming from?
8. Why didn’t mother recognize Gopi?
9. Why didn’t he write a letter to his mother?
Note:
The objective of this type of interaction is to help the learners their
own sub texts from the reading passage. The sub texts can be in the form of
names of the (characters, objects, places, etc.) and events. These will provide
the learners good support in their efforts to make sense of the reading passage.

Possible sub text.
Mother-sister-Gopi- same family- Kamala, her eldest daughter , a
widow, who was sitting huddled up on the thinna on the veranda- Gopi camein
a office jeep- from his office work-because of old age –because with his
office work.

Collaborative Reading:

• Divide the learners into groups.
• Follow the process suggested earlier.
• Ask a few comprehension questions relevant to this part of the reading
passage:
1. How was the situation when the man arrived?
2. Why did the old woman loss memory
3. Why did Gopi travel all the way from Delhi to
Thiruvananthapuram ?
4. Whose school was closed for vacation?
5. Why didn’t Gopi visit his mother over the years?

Loud reading
Loud reading by the teacher

• Read the passage aloud with proper pauses, stress, tone and pitch.
Loud reading by the pupils
• Give the following instructions for loud reading.
1. Now you are going to read aloud in your groups.
2. Divide the reading passage into various parts according to the
number of members in your group.
3. Decide among yourselves who will read which part.
4. Each one of you can take turns and read aloud your part. Others
can offer suggestions to make loud reading better.
• Continue interaction as suggested in the earlier unit

Extrapolating the text

• Display a chart containing a set of analytical, reflective and
inferential questions to make the learners think, extrapolate the text
and construct their own texts from it.
• Ask these questions and elicit individual responses at random. Write
down select responses on the chart.
Elicit the responses at random.
1. What was the mother’s position?
2. Have you identified any noun phrases/ noun phrases in opposition
in the passage?
3. What are the consequences of not recognizing Gopi?
4. How did Gopi try to bring back her  memory?

Post Reading: Construction of a narrative

Objectives

1. Produce narratives suitable for a given context.
2. Learns to sequence.
3. Get sensitized to how to link different ideas using linkers.
Process:
Generate a discussion on writing a narrative using the following
instructions and questions.
• Read the passage again carefully.
1. Kamala’s brother Gopi was not writing letters to their mother for
long. How did Kamala feel about it?
2. What is the mood of Kamala now?
3. Do you think Gopi loves his mother?
4. What are her thoughts about Gopi?
• Write the responses of the children on a chart.
• Let the children note down the key points or events.
• Ask them to use those events to write a paragraph individually.

• Let them share in groups what they have written. You may ask the
following questions.
1. How did you begin the narrative?
2. Did you narrate the thoughts of Gopi?
3. How did you end the narrative?
• Ask the groups to present what they have worked out.
• Invite suggestion on refinement from the presenters and the others.
• Give your feedback. The questions you ask for giving feedback may
be written and displayed on a chart
Check your narrative:
1. How did you begin the narrative?
2. Are all the events in a proper order?
3. Did you use any linkers (then, suddenly, at last, finally etc.) to connect
the ideas/ events?
4. What other expressions did you use?
5. How did you end the paragraph?
6. Do you want to make any changes in your paragraph?
(Such as rephrasing the sentences/ re-ordering the ideas.)
Let them write the narrative individually based on the feedback.

Reading segment – 2 (Paragraphs 14 to 32)
Pre reading
Text based picture interaction:
1) What is the mother doing?
2) Why did Gopi bend down towards the mother?
Process:
Follow all the processes of reading such as individual reading,
collaborative reading, scaffolded reading and loud reading.
Ask specific questions to generate the possible sub – text.
1. Who are conversing in the passage? What is it about?
2. Why did mother ask, who did Gopi marry?
3. Did Kamala receive a letter from Gopi on that day?
4. Who was terribly upset if she didn’t get/receive a letter from Gopi?
5. Why did the old woman pose questions? Who is your amma?
6. Do you find any events/ descriptions in the passage?
Generating the subtext
Gopi, Kamala and mother-lost memory-Vimala-no-the mother-because
she didn’t recognize the man-Vimala District Collector Nambiar’s eldest
daughter-mother asked who is your amma?
Extrapolating the text
1. Do you think the passage refers to past situations? How can you
say?
2. How is it possible to bring back Amma’s memory?
Post Reading: Construction of a conversation
Objectives
1. Produce conversations suitable for a given context.
2. Gain confidence in oral communication through role-play.
3. Get sensitized on some articulation features (pause, stress, tone,
pitch)
4. Edit the written conversation.
5. Produce Big books compiling group products.
Process:
Interaction
• Initiate a discussion with the help of a few questions:
Look at the second part of the story which you have just completed
reading. There are three characters in it. Kamala, Gopi and Amma. They
must be saying something to each other. Can you guess the dialogues?
• Let the pupils plan the conversation individually and write them in
their notebooks.
• Now, let them sit in groups and refine their work.
• Ask any three individuals from a group to present the conversation
among the mother, daughter and son.
• Tell them they can present the idea even by mixing English and
mother tongue if they find it difficult to say only in English.
• Conduct a session for giving feedback in the following manner:
o What modifications will you make in the role-play if you have to
do again?
o What are the points that come to your mind?
• Elicit whatever indicators they think are appropriate (You should
not impose or prescribe any of them.)
• Come to an agreement in the whole class on each of the points they
make and write them on the chart (e.g., more ideas needed, some
sentences are to be changed, others can hear our reading, we must
stop at some points, some actions can be shown, etc. )
• Give necessary feedback as suggested for editing a conversation in
the earlier units.

Reading – Segment 3 (Paragraphs 33 to 48)

Follow all the process of reading
Ask specific questions;
1. Who are conversing in the passage? What is it about?
2. Why did mother ask, Who did Gopi marry?
3. Did Kamala receive a letter from Gopi on that day?
4. Who was terribly upset if she didn’t get/receive a letter from Gopi?
5. Why did the old woman pose questions? Who is your amma?
6. Do you find any events/ descriptions in the passage?
Developing sub text:
1. What did Gopi’s briefcase contain?
2. Did he bring anything for his mother? What did she want?
3. Why was the old woman asking for a blanket?
4. What are the events do you identify in the passage?
5. What are the descriptions do you identify in the passage

Possible sub – text:

Gopi’s briefcase – clothes, files and shaving set – mother wants a blanket
– cold mist – Amma did not recognize her son – Gopi was busy – he wanted to
sell his family property.
Extrapolating the text
• Analytical questions that may be asked
1. Why did Gopi want to sell his property?
2. Why did Kamala get irritated?
3. What is the central idea/main idea about “the tattered blanket”?

Post Reading: (Description of the character of Gopi)
Process:

• Interact with the pupils with the help of the following questions.
1. You have read the story completely now. Do you think Gopi
remembers his Amma?
2. Why do you think so?
3. What kind of a person is Gopi?
4. Why did he come to his village from Delhi? Did he really want to
meet his mother and sister?
5. What other features of Gopi could you identify from the story?
6. What made him behave like that?
7. Attempt a description of Gopi’s character?
• Let the children write the description in their notebooks individually.
Follow the process of writing a description and giving feedback as
suggested earlier.