Class Profile: 30 Primary 5 pupils; Mixed Ability

Duration: 1 hour

Topic: Readers Role in Coherence: Intertextuality Across Stories

Prior Knowledge:
1) Pupils are familiar with the definitions coherence and intertextuality.
2) Pupils are familiar with the linguistic and structural features that contribute to
textual coherence.
3) Pupils are familiar with the terms orientation, complication, climax and
resolution.

Learning Objectives:
1) The Primary 5 pupil will be able to identify the intertextual references of three
selected texts through the narrative structure (orientation, complication,
resolution).
2) The Primary 5 pupil will be able to state that a reader is able to create
coherence of a story through his understanding of structures of other stories.

Key concepts:
Intertextuality
how texts are influenced by/have referenced to/ have relationship
to other texts (Hewings & Hewings, 2005)
Coherence
relationships that link the ideas in a text to create meaning for the
readers (Lee, 2002, p.32)

Duration

Lesson Plan
Activating Prior Knowledge

Rationale

Bring the pupils to the computer lab.

Inform pupils to sit in their groups and to switch on at least
two computers per group.
Using the ICT tool, Linoit, ask the pupils to define
intertextuality in a short phrase or a sentence:
http://en.linoit.com/
Copy and paste their responses over to the ICT tool,
Wordle:
http://www.wordle.net/
Discuss the definition of the intertextuality using the
prominent phrases or words identified by the groups.
Inform the class that they will do a short exercise on
intertextuality.
Show the LEGO Movie the trailer:
10 minutes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZ_JOBCLF-I
Then, inform pupils to note as many intertextual references
as they could find in the trailer in Linoit.
Show the trailer again and give the groups 2 minutes to
compile their answers.
Copy and paste their responses over to the ICT tool,
Wordle:
http://www.wordle.net/
Reveal the prominent examples given through Wordle. Get a
group or two to show how these were intertextual
references.
Using Linoit, get pupils to define coherence and cite one or
two examples how a writer can create coherence. Go
through the groups definitions and examples.
Delineate the learning objectives of the day.
40 minutes Lesson Development

The movie
trailer and
key questions
are in place
to activate
their prior
knowledge
and build
interest. By
doing so,
pupils tend to
learn more
effectively
(Mazer,
2013).

Get pupils to click on their respective group folders.

Explain to pupils that they will be given 5 minutes to read the
three stories given to them (See Appendices A, B and C for
the stories).
After that, get pupils to refer to the Story Structure Mountain
worksheet in their respective group folders (See Appendix
D).
Instruct pupils to extract the story structures, if possible, of
the three stories and display them on the worksheet.
Remind them to use line numbers and different colours
differentiate the stories within each story component.
Give the groups 15 minutes to complete this task.
At the end of the task, go through the answer with the class.
Ask the follow questions:

Key
questioning
has shown
not only to
engage
pupils but
help
construct
learning of
the task and
content at
hand
(Johnson,
1992).

What kind of intertextual inferences exist between

these stories?
Guide pupils to refer to the common story structures
Do you think such intertextual inferences are
common in stories?
Allow pupils to discuss this in the class: It is common as
most simple episode stories contain similar story structures.
However, stories can differ as they can include complex
plots that contain more than one complications and
resolutions.
Guide pupils back to agree that conventional structures can
exist within texts like stories.
Now I am going to bring in coherence. We know
what makes a coherent text. In regards to of
structure, what is an incoherent text?
Allow time for pupils to express that an incoherent text is
one that is ill-structured.
How do you know that it is ill-structured?
Get them to refer back to the intertextual references that can

Intertextuality
is brought in
at this
juncture so
that pupils
are able to
see that the
texts of the
same genre
may contain
conventional
structures.

exist among stories.

What about this text? Does it mean that it is illstructured if it does not follow the story structure?
Flash Appendix E. Guide pupils to discuss that they are
dealing with intertextual references from the same genre.
Since the text is from another genre, it does not mean that is
incoherent but the reader draws from intertextual references
from other texts of the same genre.
In that case, as a reader, what do you expect to see
in terms of structure, when you pick up a simple
story?
Refer to their composition writing as a simple story.
Imagine a reader is going to read a new story written
by you. How do you think a reader then can
construct coherence of your story? Explain this using
what we learned earlier with intertextuality and
structure.
Flash the question on the SMARTboard or whiteboard and
leave it there during the discussion.
Give pupils 10 minutes to discuss among their groups. Go
around and assist groups that struggle with the question.
Get groups to share their answers. Write down key words,
phrases and sentences.

The link from

intertextuality
to the
readers role
in coherence
is made here.

As mentioned
in the essay,
the reader
may be able
to make
sense of the
text because
of prior
experience
with texts of
the same
genre
(Ahmadian &
Yazdani,
2013; Hylen,
2005).

Pick up details like: Stories have relationships with one

another/or are referenced/influenced by with one another
through similar story structures. Other stories have the same
structure
Hence using this experience with other stories and knowing
that they tend be related by similar structures, the reader
can construct coherence a new story written by me.
Now that you know how this is one way a reader
construct coherence of your story, how does it impact
you as a writer?
Allow pupils to see that creating a structure reflective of that
genre is important so that the reader can construct
coherence of their stories.
10 minutes Consolidation

Consolidation

Create a new Linoit page.

Inform pupils that they are going consolidate their learning
by stating two things they learned.
Get the pupils to post their answers individually.
Pick a few pupils to share what they have learned.
Bring pupils attention back to learning objectives and
reiterate what was achieved.

reinforces
new learnings
(Calderon,
2007).

References:
Ahmadian, M., & Yazdani, H. (2013). A Study of the Effects of Intertextuality
Awareness on Reading Literary Texts: The Case of Short Stories. Journal of
Educational and Social Research, 3(2), 155.
Calderon, M. (Ed.). (2007). Teaching reading to English language learners, grades
6-12: A framework for improving achievement in the content areas. SAGE
Hylen, S. (2005). Allusion and meaning in John 6. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter.
Johnson, N. L. (1992). Thinking is the key: Questioning makes the difference.
Creative Learning Consultants.
Mazer, J. P. (2013). Associations among teacher communication behaviors, student
interest, and engagement: A validity test. Communication Education, 62(1), 86-96.
doi: 10.1080/03634523.2012.731513