Stortytelling Newspaper Headlines Sloth Meltdown So and Using

Stortytelling Newspaper Headlines Sloth Meltdown “So” and Using the Present Tense to Describe the Past Discussion Activity

Sloth Meltdown

Sloth Meltdown

Sloth Meltdown

Present Tense and Activity Simple Present Continuous VERB, VERBs am/is/are VERBing I walk We walk I am walking We are walking You walk You (all) walk You are walking You (all) are walking He/she/it walks They walk He/she/it is walking They are walking Directions: 1. Underline present tense verbs. 2. Look at “so” (bolded). What are its functions? .

“So…” How does it function here? ★To begin telling a story again after interruptions/questions ○ [E] Oh my god. ○ [K] So I was having a birthday party. . . ★To transition to a new part of the story ○ [K] And I was confused and thought okay. So the day of my birthday we’re sitting in the living room… ★To begin a question to check understanding ○ [K] I’m too sad, I’m crying if I’m too excited. . . ○ [E] So between 3 and 7 is– you’re fine. ○ [K] It’s a good zone.

“So…” ★To give reason for something ○ [K] Right now I’m like at a 6. 97 so we’re lucky that I’m not crying right now cause I’m excited to be here. ★ To intensify an adjective ○ [K] I just crawl up on the bed and I’m crying so hard.

Using the Present Tense to Describe the Past When? ★Don’t overuse ★Start the story with past tenseand/or context (e. g. yesterday, last week, etc. ) ★Introduce with “And here I am. . . ” “There he is…” “And I’m/she’s (just) VERBing” ○ “And here I am, waiting in line, and here comes Barack Obama…”

Using the Present Tense to Describe the Past Why? ★to talk about an important event ★for clarity ★to create drama ★for jokes ★in informal conversation

Discussion Activity

Context (Box #1) So I turned 31 this past summer and Dax said, “I’m gonna get you a present that no one else will ever get in their lifetime. ” And I was confused and thought “Okay. ” Conclusion (Box #3) Action (Box #2) So the day of my birthday we’re sitting in the living room and I hear a knock at the door. And he says “Your present’s here, why don’t you go grab the dogs and go in the back room. ” And I had no context for knowing what it was. But I grab the dogs, walk into the back room in the house, and I immediately was overcome and thought, “There’s a sloth near. There’s a sloth here. It’s close, it’s gonna happen. ” And I didn’t know how to process that because my entire life had been waiting for this moment where I would get to interact – I’m serious – with a sloth. So I was having a birthday party later that evening. And they had set up a little habitat of, like, it’s essentially a little jungle gym and he – she just hung out on the jungle gym for like 3 hours. There she is– her name was Melon. I mean, I needed to be sedated clearly.

Discussion Activity Describe a surprising and/or funnymoment in your life.