Unit 10 — A Novella in Class

Track E · Klasse 8 · Niveau E

Template: Activate → Input → Practise → Produce → Reflect.
Niveau: E. class test (“Klassenarbeit”) at Niveau E (45 BE).

Learning objectives Link to heading

  • I can read a chapter extract and identify protagonist, conflict, and theme.
  • I can use direct → reported speech (statements and questions).
  • I can write a 150-word reading-journal entry.

Bildungsplan alignment Link to heading

  • 3.2.1 Soziokulturelles Orientierungswissen / Themen
  • 3.2.3.2 Leseverstehen
  • 3.2.3.5 Schreiben
  • 3.2.3.8 Verfügen über sprachliche Mittel – Grammatik
  • 3.2.4 Text- und Medienkompetenz

(Source: https://www.bildungsplaene-bw.de/,Lde/LS/BP2016BW/ALLG/SEK1/E1)

Lead-in story Link to heading

Mr. Ade started the term with a thin novella: The Library of Almost-Found Things (an original — not a real-world title). Each chapter is six pages. The class is reading one chapter per week. The protagonist is a girl named June who keeps a notebook of things she almost found. Hawa says, “This is suspiciously specific. I think Mr. Ade has lost something.”

1. Activate Link to heading

Predict. First sentence on the slide: On the Tuesday June found the umbrella, she had already lost two other things. With your partner, predict three things the chapter will involve.

2. Input Link to heading

Reading — Chapter 1, opening Link to heading

On the Tuesday June found the umbrella, she had already lost two other things. The first was a library book she could no longer remember the title of. The second was the courage to ask Mr. Owen what had happened to her grandmother’s letters. The umbrella, by comparison, was small. But it had her grandmother’s initials on the handle, and June had looked for it for three years.

Grammar — direct → reported speech Link to heading

Statements — backshift the tense:

  • “I found it,” she said. → She said (that) she had found it.
  • “I’m tired.” → She said she was tired.

Questions — change to statement order, use if/whether for yes/no:

  • “Where is it?” → He asked where it was.
  • “Did you see it?” → He asked if I had seen it.

3. Practise Link to heading

Niveau E — controlled Link to heading

  1. Direct → reported (statement): “I found the umbrella,” she said. → ___ .
  2. Direct → reported (Q): “Where is the library?” → ___ .

Niveau E — productive Link to heading

  1. Build 4 reported sentences (2 statements + 2 questions) from a chapter scene.
Answer key

Controlled. 1. She said she had found the umbrella. 2. He asked where the library was.

Productive. 3. Open.

4. Produce Link to heading

Reading-journal entry, 150 words. After reading Chapter 1, write a journal entry: one quote, one question I have, one prediction, one personal connection. Use one direct quote and one reported version of a character’s question.

Sample Link to heading

One sentence in this chapter stays with me: “The umbrella, by comparison, was small.” June seems to compare every object to her bigger losses, which is both touching and a bit sad. I wonder why Mr. Owen kept her grandmother’s letters in the first place. He asked June if she remembered the title of the lost library book; she didn’t. I predict the title will return at the end of the book and explain everything. My personal connection: I once spent two weeks looking for a single sock and never found it.

5. Reflect Link to heading

  • I can identify protagonist, conflict, theme.
  • I can convert direct ↔ reported speech.
  • I can write a 150-word reading-journal entry.

One thing in your notebook: Write one sentence using something you learned in this Unit.

Exam example Link to heading

class test ("Klassenarbeit") — Niveau E (45 minutes)
Time. 45 minutes. Total. 45 points.

Task 1 — Listening (10 BE) Link to heading

Listen twice.

“After Chapter 1, the teacher said that June had lost two things. He explained that the umbrella was the smallest of her losses. He asked the class if they could remember the last thing they had lost.”

  1. Said: ___ . 2. Explained: ___ . 3. Asked: ___ . 4. Form of reported question: ___ .

Task 2 — Reading (12 BE) Link to heading

Read the Chapter 1, opening extract above.

  1. Two losses: ___ . 2. Why is the umbrella small by comparison? ___ . 3. What is on the handle? ___ . 4. How long has she looked? ___ .

Task 3 — Use of English (10 BE) Link to heading

Direct → reported.

  1. “I found the umbrella,” she said. → ___
  2. “Where is the library?” he asked. → ___
  3. “Did you see it?” she asked. → ___
  4. “I am tired,” June said. → ___

Task 4 — Writing (13 BE) Link to heading

Write 150 words: a reading-journal entry on Chapter 1 (quote, question, prediction, personal connection).

Answer key
T1. June had lost two things, the umbrella was the smallest, if they could remember the last thing they had lost, if + statement order with backshift. T2. the library book and the courage to ask Mr. Owen; because the other two losses are bigger; her grandmother’s initials; three years. T3. She said (that) she had found the umbrella. He asked where the library was. She asked if I had seen it. June said (that) she was tired. T4. Open.
Notenschlüssel (von 45)
| 42–45 | 1 | 36–41 | 2 | 30–35 | 3 | | 22–29 | 4 | 13–21 | 5 | 0–12 | 6 |

Downloads Link to heading

**Slide deck timing.** 45 minutes total. Lead-in 4 min · Activate 5 min · Input 14 min · Practise 8 min · Produce 11 min · Reflect 3 min.

Differentiation. Below Niveau E (mixed group): provide a support card with the key structure. Above Niveau E: extension question linking to the next Unit.

Common pitfalls Link to heading

  • Forgetting backshift: “I am tired” → He said he is tired → ✗ / was tired → ✓.
  • Question word order: He asked where was it → ✗ / where it was → ✓.
  • Pronoun shift: I → he/she/I depending on speaker.

Further reading / listening Link to heading

  • Project Gutenberg — short novellas at A2/B1 level.
  • BBC Bitesize — Reported speech practice.

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