Bicol State College of Applied Sciences and Technology

College of Education
Naga City

Name: Bequillo, Stefanie O.

Year and Section: BSED - English 3B

Lesson Plan in Survey of Philippine Literature in English

I. OBJECTIVES
At the end of the lesson, students should be able to:
a. understand the literary piece by skimming;
b. cite evidences to support their analysis of the story;
c. and synthesize information to build their own understanding of the literary text.
II. SUBJECT MATTER
Topic: “The Laughter of My Father” (1944) by Carlos Bulosan
Instructional Materials: PowerPoint Presentation, printed text
References: The Laughter of My Father by Carlos Bulosan (1944 edition), The Laughter
of My Father by Carlos Bulosan (2018 edition) online document
Values Integration: Able to form judgments, understanding
Strategies: 4 A’s Approach (Activity, Analysis, Abstraction, Application)

Teaching Procedure Teacher’s Activity Student’s Activity

I. Preliminaries
a. Greetings Good morning, class! Good morning, ma’am!
b. Prayer Kindly stand for the opening
prayer. Can anyone please
lead the prayer? (A student raises a hand and
leads the prayer.)
c. Checking of Let us now check the class
attendance attendance for any absentee.

(The teacher roll calls the

name of the students.)
d. Checking of
assignment Did I give you an assignment
yesterday? No, ma’am.
e. Motivation Before we proceed to our
discussion for today, let us
first have a short game.
The game will be called
“Continue the Story!”. What
will happen is that five among
all of you will be picked to
read the given half-sentences
out loud, then finish it with
 whatever they like to continue
the sentence.

Is that clear?
Yes, ma’am.
(The teacher will present the
sentences on the screen.)

“My father goes to court…”

Can anyone finish that

statement?

Very good! (A student answers.)

“The soldiers came

marching…”

How about for this

statement?

Very good. (A student answers.)

“The song of my father…”

How about this statement?

Nice!
(A student answers.)
“My father goes to church…”

How about for this one?

Good!
(A student answers.)
“The laughter of my father…”

How about for the last one?

Very good!
(A student answers.)

II. LESSON PROPER

a. Activity Now, I will flash pages of a

short story entitled “My
Father Goes to Court”. I want
all of you to read it silently. I
will also be handing out print-
outs of it for those who
cannot properly read it by the
screen. After reading it, you
will be answering some
questions regarding the story.
Are we clear? Yes, ma’am.

(The teacher will be

presenting the story of “My
Father Goes to Court”
through the projector and
hands out the print-outs to
students.)

You only have 20 minutes to

read and analyze the text.
Afterwards, I will be
presenting the questions that
you have to answer. Do you
understand? Yes, ma’am.

Okay, you may now start. (The students will read the
story silently.)

All right. Time’s up! Now, get

a one whole sheet of paper
and answer the following
questions.

(The teachers will present the

questions on the screen.)

1. Where and when

does this story take
place?
2. Who are the
characters in the
story?
3. What’s the author
trying to tell you in the
book? (The students will answer the
questions on their papers.)

All right. Now, let us check

your answers.

Can anyone give an answer

to the first question? (A student raises a hand and
answers.)

The story doesn't explicitly

 name a specific location, but
it seems to be in a rural area,
likely in the province of
Pangasinan, where the
author was from.
Very good answer! How
about an answer for the
second question? (A student raises a hand and
answers.)

The characters in the story

are the narrator, the father,
the rich neighbor and his
family, the judge, and the
lawyer.
Very good again! How about
for the last question, anyone? (A student raises a hand and
answers.)

The author used the story to

expose the unjust realities of
colonialism. He highlighted
the need for Filipinos to fight
for their rights and to
challenge the injustices that
they face in an equal and just
way.

Through the father's struggle,

the story becomes a powerful
testament to the enduring
spirit of the Filipino people in
the face of oppression and
injustice.
Wow! Very good! I am so
glad that you were able to
give the best answers. It
seems that you are ready for
the lesson.

C. Abstraction Does anyone here have an No, ma’am.

idea about what you have
read?

What you have read is one of

the short stories in Carlos
Bulosan’s 1944 collection
“The Laughter of My Father”
which will be our topic for
today.
First, let us know what the
topic is all about. Can anyone (A student raises a hand and
please read the description reads.)
on the screen?

Thank you.

To further understand the

topic, "The Laughter of My
Father" by Carlos Bulosan is
a collection of short stories
that delve into the
experiences of a Filipino
family living in poverty in the
Philippines during the early
20th century. The stories are
narrated from the perspective
of a young boy, Carlos, who
fondly remembers his father's
resilience and humor in the
face of adversity.

The story that I let you read is

the first story among the 24
stories in the author’s
collection. Now, based on
what you have understand,
what do you think the father (A student raises a hand and
represents that reflects the answers.)
whole collection?
The story explored the deep
love and wisdom of the
narrator's father. He is
portrayed as a
compassionate and
resourceful figure who
teaches his children valuable
life lessons through his
actions and words. The
stories showcase his ability to
find humor in everyday
situations, his unwavering
commitment to his family, and
his unwavering belief in the
power of laughter to
overcome obstacles.
Wow! Very good! Thank you
for such a good answer.

That is right. “My Father

Goes to Court” and the rest of
the stories in "The Laughter
of My Father" provides a
unique glimpse into Filipino
culture and values. The
stories showcase the
importance of family,
community, and resilience in
the face of adversity. They
also highlight the inherent
humor and warmth that
characterize Filipino culture,
emphasizing the power of
laughter to bring people
together.

Now, let us know more about

the author. Can anyone read
what is on the screen?

(The teacher flashes the slide (A student raises a hand and

on the screen.) reads.)

Thank you.

Carlos Bulosan's literary

career blossomed in the
1930s and 1940s. He
published numerous short
stories, essays, and poems
that explored themes of
poverty, labor, racism, and
the search for identity. His
work was widely acclaimed
for its raw honesty, lyrical
prose, and unwavering
commitment to social justice.
Besides his collection of short
stories entitled "The Laughter
of My Father", he is also
known for writing "America Is
In The Heart" in 1946, an
autobiographical novel which
is a powerful testament to the
struggles and triumphs of
Filipino immigrants in the
United States.

Now, let us have a little

glimpse about the rest of the
stories in the collection.

(The teacher presents the

slide containing the list of
stories in the collection.)

As you can see, the story I let

you read is the first story in
the collection.

The stories explore the deep

love and wisdom of the
narrator's father, who teaches
his children valuable life
lessons.

Do you now understand what Yes, ma’am.

the collection is all about?

Now, let us focus on the story

that you read earlier. Are you Yes, ma’am.
still with me?

All right. First, let us list the

characters in the story.

(The teacher presents a

slide.)

So, here are the characters in

the story. Who do you think
are the most important
characters among them and (A student raises a hand and
why? answers.)

I think that the most important

characters in the story are the
father and the rich neighbor
because they represent the
themes of the story.

That is right. Thank you.

Now, let us talk about the

setting of the story.
(The teacher presents a
slide.)

It says here that the story

took place in a town or city in
the Philippines. Although the
story's precise setting was
not mentioned, it is obvious
that the family lives close to a
wealthy neighbor in a rural
area.

Now, let us talk about the plot

of the story and we will begin
with the exposition. Can
anyone read what is on the (A student raises a hand and
screen? reads.)

(The teacher presents a

slide.)

Thank you.

So, the story starts off with a

young boy who acts as the
story's narrator starts by
talking about his big,
impoverished, but happy
family. However, their rich
neighbor keeps his kids
indoors, and even though
they eat a lot of nutritious
food, they are underweight
and sickly.

How about the rising action of (A student raises a hand and

the story? reads.)

(The teacher presents a

slide.)

Thank you.

The rising action is about the

rich neighbor accusing the
narrator's family of taking the
"spirit" of his food and
fortune, which made them
weaker, and he filed a case
against them. For a trial, they
were called to court.

How about the climax?

(The teacher presents a (A student raises a hand and

slide.) reads.)

Thank you.

So, the climax is now about

how even without a lawyer,
the father stood up for
himself. He exposes the silly
nature of the case with wit
and comedy, claiming that his
family only relished the food's
aroma and that their joy and
laughter were earned via
hard effort rather than stolen,
unlike the rich man's family.
By gathering coins from the
courtroom audience and
shaking them in front of the
wealthy man, the father is
even open to pay him for the
"spirit" of food, asserting,
however, that the sound of
the coins symbolizes the
"spirit of money.”

How about the resolution?

(The teacher presents a (A student raises a hand and

slide.) reads.)

Thank you.

The resolution talks about the

rich man losing and leaving
the courtroom with nothing.
The judge urges the
narrator's family to laugh by
telling a story about his uncle
who passed away laughing.
The judge joins in the family's
outburst of laughter,
symbolizing the victory of
happiness and fortitude over
riches and pride.
 Now, let us talk about the last
element of the story which is
the theme.

(The teacher presents a

slide.)

The concept of societal status

and how it affects how others
treat people gets looked at in
the narrative. It also looks at
the assumption that leading a
simple, healthy life is
preferable to one that is rich
and complex. The story also
made clear that having
money does not give one the
right to subjugate others.

So, now, did you understand

more about the story as well
as how it is a part of the
collection?
Yes, ma’am.
Do you have any more
clarifications or questions?
None, ma’am.
Now that we are done with
our discussion, I know that
d. Application
you are already capable of
applying what you have
learned to the activity that I
have prepared. So, I want
you to get a piece of paper
and write down any takeaway
from what we have talked
about.

I will give you 10 minutes to

do this activity. Are we clear?
Yes, ma’am.

(The students do the activity.)

IV. EVALUATION
Directions: Provide the best answer for each question or statement.

1. Who is the author of “The Laughter of My Father”? Carlos Bulosan

2. How many stories are in “The Laughter of My Father”? 24
3. What is the first story in the collection? My Father Goes to Court
4. How is the narrator of “My Father Goes to Court” related to the father in the story? The
narrator is the son of the father in the story
5. Which country colonized the Philippines during the making of “The Laughter of My
Father”? United States of America

VI. ASSIGNMENT

Write down unfamiliar words from the story. After doing so, construct sentences out of the words
that you have found.

Prepared by:

Stefanie O. Bequillo
BSED - English 3B