Joe’s Story

This resource is based around an oft tried and tested animation – Joe’s
Story - which has been available online for many years and is unlikely
to disappear any time soon.

Before looking at the attached teaching ideas, why not enjoy Part 1 of Joe’s Story for
yourself? It’s available free from the site Ultralights (www.goultralights.go.com):
http://www.goultralightsgo.com/naoki/js2002/js01.html.
(Make sure you have your speakers on!)

Use Sheet 1 which exploits the animation as a prompt for writing. You could allow
students to complete this task in class time, writing the ending to their story for
homework or in a later lesson.

For a fun speaking and listening exercise, why not put students in pairs with one
of each pair with their back to the screen? Students facing the board can dictate what
is happening to those who can’t see. Students can change roles halfway through.
This could be extended to a piece of descriptive writing based on the dictations.

Students could practise their inferential and deductive skills by guessing what is
going to happen next. This could be consolidated with students continuing the story
based on what they think might be happening – writing or speaking practice. (Many
students think Joe is off to a fancy dress party and they get a surprise when they
watch the next parts of the animations!)

Sheet 2 gives a taster of how you can use the resource to practise almost any
grammar point, in this case comparatives. (This could easily be extended to
superlatives too.) Once students see Joe’s Story you’ll be amazed at how hooked
they are and the hoops they will jump through to see the next instalment, speaking of
which, here are the links for the remaining parts:

Part 2: http://www.goultralightsgo.com/naoki/js2002/js02.html
Part 3: http://www.goultralightsgo.com/naoki/js2002/js03.html
Part 4: http://www.goultralightsgo.com/naoki/js2002/js04.html
Part 5: http://www.goultralightsgo.com/naoki/js2002/js05.html

Use all the parts of the animation for a piece of speaking and listening or drama work
rather than written work. Give them a time limit to focus the activity.

Want something creative? Why not get students to continue the story (say from
the end of part 4), or ask them to give part 5 an ending. They could think about
whether the Gorilla Girl Gang get away with their almost-theft and who/what Bee Man
is. Alternatively, if you want to take a drama-based approach, get students to
create their own script or dialogue for each animation (would work well if you split the
class into 5 groups and gave each group one part of the animation to focus on).
Finally, you might want to focus on music and sound effects. Each part has a different
feel/tone to it, partly generated by the soundtrack. How effective is this strategy?

© 2008 www.teachit.co.uk 10514 Page 1 of 3

Joe’s Story

Sheet 1

1. The story starts with Joe having a dream. Choose 5 words to describe
his dream.
2. Joe’s alarm is set to go off in the evening, not the morning. Suggest a
reason for this.
3. Joe turns on the TV and sees a newsflash. What do you think the
newsreader is saying at this point?
4. What does Joe have in his wardrobe?
5. Where do you think Joe is off to now?

Using the answers from these questions, write the opening to ‘Joe’s
Story’. Continue on another sheet of paper/the back if you need to.

© 2008 www.teachit.co.uk 10514 Page 2 of 3

Joe’s Story

Sheet 2

Comparatives

Read these sentences and complete with a comparative (try to use some
interesting vocabulary choices). You can only use each word once.

For example:

Joe’s bed is bigger than mine.

1. Joe’s bathroom is ……………………………………………. than mine.

2. Joe is ……………………………………………. than me.

3. Joe’s kitchen is ……………………………………………….. than our kitchen.

4. Joe’s phone is ………………………………………… than my mobile phone.

5. Joe’s TV is …………………………………………. than the one in my house.

6. Joe’s Story is …………………………………………. than The Simpsons.

Now create five of your own comparative sentences using Joe’s Story as a
starting point.

When you’ve done this, swap with your partner and try to complete their
sentences.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

© 2008 www.teachit.co.uk 10514 Page 3 of 3