DOT S A ND L E T T E RS

DOTS AND LETTERS T O L E A R N T O G E T H E R

K IMBER L Y GUT I É RREZ

CARO L I NA SUÁREZ

A LAN F LÓREZ

5 0 W O R D S T O R I E S

A W O R K B O O K M A D E B Y :

Creativity is Intelligence having fun -Einstein

DOTS AND LETTERS T O L E A R N T O G E T H E R

2

Content

Welcome adventures! ........................5

Activities 1 (Pre-reading) ................6-7

What's an alien?..................................8

Activities 1 (Post-reading) ............9-10-11

Activities 2 (Pre-reading) ...............11-12

True Intelligence? ...........................13-14

Activities 2 (Post-reading) ..........15-16-17

What´s a Mini-saga?........................18-19

How to write a fifty-word story? ….20-21

How to make your story more interesting?

…......……………………………….22

Micro-test ………...…………...…. 23-24

Activities 3 (Pre-reading) ...............25-26

3

Computer Dating……......................27

Activities 3 (Post-reading) ........ 28-29-30

Activities 4 (Pre-reading) .............31-32

I wish you were here.……................33

Activities 4 (Post-reading) ............34-35

Activities 5 (Pre-reading) …....….…35

That Damned Door ….......................36

Activities 5 (Post-reading) ............37-38

Congratulations adventures!.............39

Grammar Banks ..............................40

● Adjectives …………………….40

● Wish + past simple ……………41

● Third conditional ……………...42

● Past simple …………………43-44

● Adverbs of frequency………45- 46

4

Glossary ………………………….46

● A-B………………………46

● B-C-D-E………………....47

● F-G-H-I………………....48

● I-J-M-N…………….……49

● O-P-R-S………………...50

● T-W…………………….51

Drawings Description …………52

● Drawing # 1……………………52

● Drawing #2- #3- #4 …………...53

● Drawings # 5-#6 ………………54

● Drawings #7-#8 ………………55

● Drawings # 9-#10- # 11……….56

QR code, Dots and Letters to Learn

Together Playlist….…………………57

Bibliography…………………...58-59

References……………………….60

5

Welcome Adventurers!

You are about to start a new journey

through five incredible paths, each one

made of an amazing 50-word-story that

will make your imagination fly to another

world!

Have you ever thought what would you

do if you ever met an alien? Or what would

happen if computers acted like humans?

Well, you’re about to find it out!

What’s your mission? Just to be as creative

as you want! There are no limits for the

power of your imagination!

6

We hope you enjoy this book and

overall, that you have fun!

See you at the end of this adventure!

Ready... set ...GO!

Activities 1 (Pre-reading)

1.1 BRAINSTORMING

Base on the title "What is an Alien?",

discuss with your classmates about what

do you think the story is going to be

about. Share your thoughts!

7

1.2 TIME TO GET CREATIVE! WHAT

IS AN ALIEN FOR YOU?

Write a short paragraph giving detailed

information about how you imagine aliens

in real life, including behavior, physical

appearance, habits etc.

1.3 LET'S WRITE

Create a short story using the following

words; (creature alien, planet, and human

being) be as creative as possible. (No more

than 1 or 2 paragraphs).

8

1.4 READING PART.

What's an Alien?

An aggressive alien creature visited our

planet. It was ugly, with a big nose, soft

hairy skin, and feet that smelled.

It was afraid of us for no

reason. It disliked

our differences.

It wanted to

conquer our planet.

This strange alien

was an Earth human.

It called me

"alien”.

9

Activities 1 (Post-reading)

1.5 COMPLEMENTING THE STORY

Answer the following questions;

a) Why did the Aliens call the human

an alien?

b) Why was the human aggressive to

the aliens?

c) What was the message of the story?

1.6 TRUE (T) OR FALSE (F)?

Read the following statements carefully

and identify whether they are Truth or

False.

10

a) The human of the Earth was

handsome and wanted to make new

friends. (T / F)

b) The aliens were wondering about

why the human of the Earth called them

aliens. (T / F)

c) When the alien arrived at the Earth

Planet, the humans were afraid of them.

(T / F)

1.7 ORGANIZE THE EVENTS

According to the story, choose the correct

order for the following events.

a. The human was scared of the aliens.

b. The human went to the space.

c. The alien though the human was an

alien.

11

1___

2___

3___

1.8 CREATE AN ALTERNATIVE

ENDING

By pairs in one paragraph write an

alternative ending to this story, be as

creative as possible!


2.1 LET'S DISCUSS

Read and answer the following questions,

then share your answers with your

classmates.

12

a. What do you understand by

Intelligence?

b. Who is the most intelligent person you

know and why do you consider she or he is

intelligent?

2.2 WRITE ABOUT YOUR BEST

FRIEND

Answer the following questions and then

write a short paragraph about your best

friend.

a. Where did you meet your best friend?

b. How did you meet him or her?

c. How did you become friends?

13

2.3 READING PART.

True Intelligence?

An intelligent man spent his life studying,

learning everything about everything. A

stupid man spent his life giving love,

learning nothing.

14

The intelligent man died rich, famous and

alone. The stupid man died surrounded by

friends.

The intelligent man knew nothing that

mattered. The stupid man knew all that

mattered.

15


2.4 DESCRIBE THE CHARACTERS

According to the story decide what

characteristics better match with each

character.

a) The intelligent man.

b) The stupid man.

✔ Rich

✔ Poor

✔ Sad

✔ Happy

✔ Loved

✔ Abhorred

✔ Friendly

✔ Unfriendly

16

2.5 PUT YOURSELF IN ANOTHER'S

SHOES

If you could be a character of this story to

be, which one would you choose? and

why? Write a short answer to share with

your classmates.

2.6 GUESS WHO

Read the following text and guess from

whom this short autobiography is.

“To be or not to be, that is the

question”

I was born in Stratford in 1554 and died in

1616 when I was 52 years old. I was

considered as the best writer in the English

Language.

17

In 1582, when I was

18, I married an older

woman named Anne.

My only son Hamnet

died aged just 11.

My most famous

creations have been

translated into

numerous languages.

2.7 AUTOBIOGRAPHY

If you could be anyone in the world (e.g. A

famous actor, a superhero, a writer, a

politician, a family member, etc.), who

would you be? Create a short

autobiography of that character.

18

What is a Fifty-word-story?

Stop there, curious investigator, it is time

to explore!

Have you noticed anything different in

these stories? Exactly! They are all made

of 50 words! Yes, a whole story can fit in

that! Isn’t it great?

50 word stories (also known as mini-sagas)

are short stories made of EXACTLY 50

words (not one more, not one less!), and all

of them have a beginning, a development

and an ending, just like your favorite books

and movies!

19

Here are some fun facts you need to know

about mini sagas:

● The stories must make sense and the

sentences have to be connected

between each other, not just words

flying around!

● If you want to, you can let an open

ending, let the readers think about the

possibilities of your story!

● It is all about your creativity and

imagination.

50 words stories are great because they’re

short and incredibly fun, also, they are

usually very easy to read, you can be sure

you won’t be bored.

20

How to write a Fifty-word-

story?

Want to know something great? You can

write your own fifty-word story too! Read

carefully and pay attention to the following

steps, you will need them later!

● First, choose a topic. Do you like horror

stories? or do you prefer romantic

ones? no problem! you can select any

topic.

● In a different paper write the main

ideas you want your story to include,

this will help you to organize your text.

21

● Draft! start writing your story and try to

count the words as you go, do not

extend! remember it has to be short.

● Don’t include a lot of characters, the

less, the better.

● To reduce the amount of words, try to

use contractions such as HE’S instead

of HE IS, or DON’T instead of DO

NOT.

● Punctuation is important, use commas,

dots or any necessary punctuation to

make your story clearer.

● As soon as you finish, read it more

than once, so you can make any

changes if is necessary.

22

How to make your story

more interesting?

● Try to briefly describe the actions of

the character(s), this will help the

readers picture the scene.

● Describe the stage and the senses.

● Allow the reader to infer and create!

● Make it exciting, play with the events.

● Make the character(s) interesting to the

reader.

Now that you know what a min saga is, you

are ready to continue with the adventure,

let’s keep reading!

23

Micro-test

LET´S DO YOUR BEST!

Choose the answer for the following

questions;

1. How many words does a Mini-saga

have?

a) 50

b) 200

c) 30

2. How is the ending of a mini-saga?

a) Opened

b) Closed

c) All of the above

d) None of the above

24

3. Mini-sagas have restricted topic.

a) True

b) False

4. When writing a mini-saga, the first step

is;

a) Write the final version.

b) Make a draft.

c) Read.

d) Choose a topic.

e) Make corrections.

5. When writing a mini-saga, the last step

is;

a) Write the final version.

b) Make a draft.

c) Choose a topic.

25


3.1 LET’S HAVE A CONVERSATION!

Answer the following questions

considering your own experience with

technology.

a. Is it important the use of technology

for you? yes/no, why?

b. How much time do you spend using

your computer or cellphone per day?

c. For what purposes do you use the

internet? (to do homework, to play, to

read, social networks, etc.)

26

3.2 LET YOUR IMAGINATION FLY!

Imagine that your computer or phone

could turn into a person. Answer the

following questions;

a) How do you think that it would be

named?

b) Would it be a woman or a man?

c) How do you think their personality

would be? (grumpy, funny, boring,

smart, etc.). Use all the adjectives that

you want!

d) Do you think you could be friends?

27

3.3 READING PART

Computer Dating Charlie loved his computer

and loved internet dating.

Very meticulous and logical,

he spent months scoring

every person out of

one thousand,

highlighting virtues

and failings; writing

hundreds of emails,

analyzing their replies.

Sadly, he never

had time to go out and

meet anyone, so he

married his computer instead.

28


3.4 LET'S GO A LITTLE DEEPER INTO

THE STORY

Pretend that you are Charlie and write

down a love letter (or in this case, an email)

to your computer or phone, asking him/her

to marry you. Be as creative as possible.

3.5 THINK ABOUT THE

POSSIBILITIES

What do you think that happened after

Charlie married his computer? How was

his life? Do you think he was happy or not?

Explain.

29

3.6 READ AND ANSWER THE

QUESTIONS.

In 2017, a Chinese man named Zheng,

created a real-life size robot woman that a

few months later turned into his wife.

Tired of waiting for a woman he liked, he

decided to create one himself and then, he

invited his family and friends to the

wedding.

Even though this sounds crazy, this is a

real-life story!

30

a) How do you imagine the

technology will be in 50 years?

b) Do you believe that in the future

people will be able to marry robots?

Why?

3.7 GET CREATIVE!

Let's pretend that Charlie found the love of

his life through internet dating. Write a

short paragraph describing the moment

they met each other, and the first

impression he had of his lover.

31


4.1 LET'S DISCUSS

According to your own experience, write a

short answer to the following questions

and then share them with you classmates.

a) Are you an active participant of any

social network? e.g. (Facebook,

Twitter, Instagram, messenger, etc.)

Which ones?

b) How long have you been using

them?

c) What is the use you give to each of

them?

d) Why do you consider is it important

to be connected nowadays?

32

4.2 COMPLETE THE STATEMENTS

Explain how is the interaction you have

with your Friends, family, classmates, etc.,

through the use of social networks.

e.g. With my classmates I usually use

Facebook to talk about homework.

a) With my Friends I regularly...

b) With my Family I rarely...

c) With my Classmates I never...

4.3 WHAT DO YOU THINK?

What are the advantages and

disadvantages of communicating through

social networks? Write a short answer.

33

4.4 READING PART.

I wish you were here

The wife suspected that

her husband was cheating

on her with a friend.

One day when she was at her

parents ́ house, she received

a message on her phone,

"I wish you were her".

She immediately asked

for divorce.

(The message the husband

intended to send:

"I wish you were here").

34


4.5 LET'S IMAGINE

You are a detective and you were hired by

the wife of the man to know if he cheated

on her.

Answer the following questions, then

describe the results of your investigation in

one paragraph.

a) Is he guilty of innocent? Why?

b) Why do you think the woman

suspected that her husband was

cheating on her with a friend?

4.6 TELL US YOUR STORY!

Have you ever had a misunderstanding

with someone because you sent a wrong

message? In one paragraph tell us how it

was and how did you solve that

35

misunderstanding. In case you haven´t

make up a story!


5.1 LET’S DISCUSS


share your answers with your classmates.

a) Do you follow your feelings or your

sense when you must take a decision?

Why?

b) Have you ever regretted for

something you did, or you said? Tell us

about it.

c) Are you afraid of something; e.g.

(death, insects, exams, speak in

public)? Tell us your experience with

that fear.

36

5.2 READING PART.

That Damned Door

I think what they say about listening to your heart is

a total disaster.

It was a bad idea.

I hadn´t regretted

anything, but now

is different.

My overconfidence

affected me.

If only I hadn’t opened

that door, if only I hadn’t

let the curiosity gets me,

if only I...

37


5.3 WHICH ONE FITS BETTER?

Choose the affirmation that fits better with

the story.

a) I don’t know why I listened to what

they had to say about that. I was totally

wrong. Now even if I regret. All is

done.

b) They were totally insane, my

overconfidence helped me to discover

what they wanted to hide. But I am one-

foot forwards.

5.4 COMPLEMENTING THE STORY


share your answers.

38

a) What do you think that was behind

that door?

b) What is the reason why the main

character of this story regrets about his

decision?

c) Why do you think he followed his

feelings instead of his sense?

5. 5 LET’S IMAGINE

If you were the character of this story, what

decision would you had taken? Why?

39

Congratulations adventurer,

you made it!

You did a great job and got this far!

Now is your turn to create your own

adventure...

Taking into account all the things you’ve

learn it’s now time for you to write your

own 50-word story.

Good luck, Don’t forget all the tips we

gave you!

For sure it’s going to be fun to read your

story and the stories of your peers!

Keep on discovering the world and see you

next time!

40

Grammar Bank If you feel lost at the sea, this section may

be helpful! Use it when you need it!

Adjectives:

Adjectives are words we generally use to

describe people, objects or animals.

Words like colors, shapes, sizes, ages,

materials, nationalities, opinions and

characteristics are adjectives we use

every day.

These are some ways you can locate

adjectives in a sentence:

adjective +noun: a beautiful house.

noun + verb to be + adjective: The house

is beautiful.

41

Wish + past simple

We can use wish + past simple to talk

about things we would like to change in

the present. (things we would like to be

different).

I wish I had more time (I don't have

enough time)

I wish you were here (she is not here)

I wish you could see you are the only girl

I’ve ever dreamed off. (she can’t see it)

42

Third conditional - unreal conditional

This conditional is used to talk about past

situations which didn’t occur, and we are

imagining the results it would have had.

Past perfect (unreal situation) + would

have (imaginary consequences)

If I had studied medicine, I would have

been a great doctor.

I would have gone on vacations, if i had

saved money.

If I had known your reaction, I wouldn't

have told you.

43

Past Simple

Past simple can be used to talk about

events that happened and completed in

the past.

There are two kinds of verbs you need to

use, regular verbs

(-ed) and irregular verbs (they vary

depending on the case)

Affirmative form:

-I played soccer yesterday

-He ate pasta this morning.

Negative:

I didn’t play soccer

He didn’t eat pasta.

44

Questions:

Did you play soccer? Yes, I did/ No, I

didn’t

Did he eat pasta? Yes, I did/ No, I didn’t

Wh- questions:

What did you do yesterday?

When did he eat pasta?

Adverbs of frequency

Adverbs of frequency show you how

often something happens. This can be

always = 100% or never = 0%, (always,

usually, regularly, normally, often,

sometimes, occasionally, rarely,

seldom, never).

45

These adverbs can go:

● Before the main verb. I always get up

at 5 o'clock in the morning.

● After a form of to be (am, are, is) -

(was, were). Robert is always late.

● The adverbs often, usually,

sometimes and occasionally can go at

the beginning of a sentence.

Sometimes we eat out at the Italian

restaurant.

● Adverbs of frequency can go at the

end of a sentence. We watch scary

movies rarely.

46

Glossary

Don’t understand some words? Don’t

worry, we got you! Here you have some

vocabulary that can help you along the

way!

A

Advantage: A condition or circumstance

that puts one in a favorable or superior

position.

Amazing: Very impressive; excellent.

Afraid: Feeling fear or anxiety; being

scared.

B

Believe: Accept that (something) is true,

especially without proof

47

Behavior: The way in which one acts or

conducts.

Boring: Not Interesting.

Brainstorming: Group discussion to

produce ideas or solve problems.

C

Cheat on: Have more than one sentimental

partner.

D

Damned: Cursed.

Deep: at the bottom of something, very

down.

Development: the second stage in a story.

E

Endless: Without end.

48

F

Flying Around: Something that is not

concrete.

Forward: In front, ahead.

G

Grumpy: Angry.

H

Hairy: With more hair than the usual.

Hire: Employment.

Highlight: Draw special attention to

something.

I

Internet Dating: look for a girlfriend or

boyfriend on the internet.

Intend: One’s purpose or intention.

49

Instead: Alternative option.

J

Journey: Travelling from one place to

another.

M

Marry: Become someone’s wife or

husband.

Matter: A subject or situation under

consideration.

Make sense: Be intelligible, justifiable, or

practicable.

Misunderstanding: A failure to understand

something correctly.

N

Nowadays: In the present.

50

O

Overall: Taking everything into account.

P

Path: A course of action or way of

achieving a specified result.

R

Regarding: In respect of; concerning.

Regret: A feeling of sadness or

disappointment.

S

Surrounded: Have something or someone

around him or her.

51

T

Thoughts: An idea or opinion produced by

thinking

Turn into: become, be transformed into.

W

Wedding: A marriage ceremony.

Wonder: having doubts or questions about

something or someone.

52

Drawings Description Want to understand a little bit better the

stories! Please don´t hesitate and let’s have

a look at this workbook drawings

description.

Cover page

Drawing # 1 (Dots and letters to learn

together)

The cover of this workbook has an

illustration which relies the type of

population to whom this material aims.

In it, there are five characters, who dress as

detectives and read together imagining

thousands of possible worlds.

53

Page 7

Drawing #2 (What is an alien?)

There is a spaceship on a planet different

from the Earth.

Inside the spaceship there is an astronaut

with a scare expression on his face.

Around the spaceship there are three

strange beings, with a curiosity expression

of on their faces.

Page 12 & 13

Drawings #3 & 4 (True Intelligence)

There are two characters in contrast;

In the first drawing we find a rich man full

of luxuries, who dresses well, but looks

sad. He is under a gray cloud, because it is

about to rain.

54

The next image corresponds to the other

character; who is cheerful and surrounded

by people who love him. His day is sunny.

Page 16

Drawing # 5 (“To be or not to be, that is

the question”)

There is a hand holding a skull.

This image is allusive to the most famous

phrase in Shakespeare's plays. It is the

introductory phrase of Hamlet's

monologue and is in scene 1 of Act 3 of the

play Hamlet, the Prince of Denmark.

Page 26

Drawing # 6 (Computer Dating)

55

There is a guy hugging his computer. On

his desk, he has a glass of coffee. His

computer is full of hearts, and in the screen

there is written “FOREVER” as screen

protector. This guy looks haggard and tired

but very in love.

Page 28

Drawing # 7 (Activity # 3.6)

There are two dragons who illustrate the

Chinese culture.

Page 29

Drawing # 8 (Activity #3.7)

There is a couple who look each other with

love.

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Page 32

Drawings # 9 & 10 (“I wish you were

here”)

The first drawing is of an angry woman,

who receives a message on her cellphone

saying; (I wish you were her).

The next drawing is about a sad man, who

is thinking about his wife, and with a sigh

says (I wish you were here).

Page 35

Drawing # 11 (That damned door)

There is a character who is looking inside

a very scared door. The door looks creepy

but it cannot be seeing inside by the reader.

57

QR code Dots and letters to learn

together playlist

58

Datos de catalogación bibliográfica:

Kimberly Gutiérrez, Carolina Suárez & Alan

Florez (Authors)

Dots and letters to learn together

UNIVERSDAD DISTRITAL FRACISCO JOSÉ

DE CALDAS, BOGOTÁ, 2019

Páginas: 60

Todos los derechos reservados

Queda prohibida, salvo excepción prevista en la

Ley, cualquier forma de reproducción

distribución, comunicación pública y

transformación de esta obra sin contar con

autorización de los titulares de propiedad

intelectual. La infracción de los derechos

mencionados puede ser constitutiva de delito

contra la propiedad intelectual. (art. 270 y Código

penal).

59

ELABORACIÓN Y ADAPTACIONES:

● Kimberly Gutiérrez

● Carolina Suárez

● Alan Florez

ILUSTRACIONES:

● Ricardo Scioville

● Canva.com

AUDIOS:

● Carly Peterson

● Colin Francis

IMPRESIÓN:

● Instituto Nacional para Ciegos (INCI)

● Biblioteca Luis Ángel Arango

● Bogotá, Colombia 2019

MINI SAGAS:

● “What is an alien?”, “Computer

Dating” & “True Intelligence”

(Hubs, 2011)

● “I wish you were here” (Sebastian, 2015)

● “That Damned door” (QUORA, 2015)

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REFERENCIAS

● Hubs, G. (2011). LetterPile. Obtenido de

https://letterpile.com/creative-writing/50-

Word-Mini-Stories-Creative-Writing-

Exercise

● QUORA. (2015). Obtenido de

https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-

best-50-word-story-you-can-write

● Sebastian, L. (May, 2015). QUORA.

Obtenido de

https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-

shortest-100-word-story

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