Saturday, July 25, 2026

Lesson plan: Class 9 - Unit 4 Prose - Seventeen Oranges

Lesson Plan

Class : 9

Unit : 4 – Prose

Title : Seventeen Oranges

Author : Bill Naughton

Duration: 45–50 Minutes

1. Learning Objectives

The teacher expects the students to:

Understand the plot and theme of the story.
Identify the main characters and their roles.
Learn new vocabulary related to the lesson.
Develop reading, listening, speaking and writing skills.
Understand the importance of honesty and the consequences of stealing.
Appreciate the author's humorous style of narration.

2. Learning Outcomes

By the end of the lesson, the students will be able to:

901

listens to announcements, instructions, read aloud texts, audio and videos for information, gist and details; responds by answering questions accordingly.

906

reads aloud and recites poems/prose with proper stress, pause, tone, and intonation.

907

reads with comprehension the given text/materials employing strategies like skimming, scanning, predicting, previewing, reviewing, inferring, and summarising.

908

reads silently with comprehension and interprets layers of meaning.

909

writes short answers, paragraphs, reports using appropriate vocabulary and grammar on a given theme.

910

writes letters both formal and informal, invitations, advertisements, notices, slogans, messages, and e-mails.

921

reads literary texts for enjoyment/pleasure and compares, interprets and appreciates characters, themes, plots, and incidents and gives opinion.

920

understands and elicits meanings of the words in different contexts, and by using dictionary, thesaurus, and digital facilities.

Narrate the story in their own words.
Explain the importance of honesty in daily life.
Identify the sequence of events in the story.
Use new vocabulary appropriately in sentences.
Analyse the consequences of wrong actions.
Apply moral values like honesty, responsibility and self-control in real-life situations.

3. Introduction

The teacher introduces the lesson by asking:

Have you ever been tempted to take something that did not belong to you?
What would you do if you were caught doing something wrong?
Why should we always speak the truth?
What happens when we break rules?
Can cleverness save a person from the consequences of wrongdoing?

The teacher then introduces the title "Seventeen Oranges" and asks students to predict the story.

4. Reading and Understanding

Students read the lesson silently and aloud.

New Words and Meanings

Word	Meaning
Docks	Area where ships load and unload goods
Apron	Protective cloth worn over clothes
Concealed	Hidden
Red-handed	Caught while doing something wrong
Blabbing	Revealing secrets carelessly
Pips	Seeds of fruits
Chunks	Large thick pieces
Witness	A person who has seen an event
Evidence	Proof
Bulging	Swelling outward

Pronunciation Practice

Concealed
Evidence
Witness
Apron
Chunks
Red-handed
Oranges

5. Mind Map

                    SEVENTEEN ORANGES
                           │
      ┌──────────────┬──────────────┬──────────────┐
      │              │              │
 Main Character   Other Characters   Setting
      │              │              │
 Narrator        Pongo, Clem      Docks
      │
 Steals oranges
      │
 Caught red-handed
      │
 Locked in cabin
      │
 Eats 17 oranges
      │
 No evidence left
      │
 Released
      │
 Learns a painful lesson
      │
 Moral:
 Honesty is the best policy.

6. Consolidation and Presentation (Summary)

The narrator worked for the Swift Delivery Company and often stole fruits from the docks. One day, Policeman Pongo caught him with seventeen oranges hidden in his pockets. The narrator feared punishment and imprisonment. While locked inside a cabin, he decided to eat all the oranges, including the peels and seeds, to destroy the evidence. When Pongo returned, there was no proof against him. Though he escaped punishment, he became seriously sick for a week. The story teaches that dishonesty may sometimes escape immediate punishment, but it always brings suffering and regret.

7. Reinforcement

Additional Information

Author: Bill Naughton (1910–1992), an Irish-born British playwright and novelist.
The story is humorous but carries a strong moral message.
Ship's Cat: Cats were kept on ships to catch rats and mice.
Vitamin C: One orange provides the daily requirement of Vitamin C.
Oranges were first cultivated in India.
In Chinese culture, oranges symbolize friendship and prosperity.

Moral Values

Honesty is the best policy.
Wrong actions always have consequences.
Cleverness cannot replace good character.
Truthfulness earns respect.

8. Evaluation

A. Lower Order Thinking Questions (LOT)

Who wrote Seventeen Oranges?
How many oranges did the narrator steal?
Who caught the narrator?

B. Middle Order Thinking Questions (MOT)

Why did the narrator decide to eat the oranges?
How did Pongo realise that the oranges had disappeared?
Why could Pongo not send the narrator to prison?

C. Higher Order Thinking Questions (HOT)

Do you think the narrator really escaped punishment? Give reasons.
If you were in the narrator's place, what would you have done?
Explain how honesty is more valuable than cleverness.

9. Remedial Teaching

For slow learners, the teacher will:

Explain the lesson using simple language.
Narrate the story with pictures.
Teach difficult words using flashcards.
Conduct role-play between the narrator and Pongo.
Ask students to sequence picture cards based on the story.
Pair slow learners with advanced learners for peer learning.

10. Writing Activity

Choose any one:

Write a summary of Seventeen Oranges in about 120 words.
Write a diary entry as the narrator after eating the seventeen oranges.
Write five sentences on the importance of honesty.
Describe the character of Pongo in your own words.

11. Follow-up (Homework / Assignment / Activity)

Homework

Learn the meanings of the glossary words.
Read the lesson again and prepare the textbook questions.

Assignment

Collect information about Bill Naughton and write 10 sentences about him.
Find five English idioms related to honesty or stealing and write their meanings.

Classroom Activity

Role Play: Enact the conversation between Pongo and the narrator after the oranges disappear.

Creative Activity: Draw a comic strip showing the important events of Seventeen Oranges from stealing the oranges to the narrator's release.

Happy English