64 minute read
Setting up for success
Our aim is to support better learning in the classroom with resources that allow for increased learner autonomy while supporting teachers to facilitate student learning. Through an active learning approach of enquiry-led tasks, open-ended questions and opportunities to externalise thinking in a variety of ways, learners will develop analysis, evaluation and problem-solving skills. Some ideas to consider to encourage an active learning environment are as follows: • Set up seating to make group work easy. • Create classroom routines to help learners to transition between different types of activity efficiently – for example, move from pair work to listening to the teacher to independent work. • Source mini-whiteboards, which allow you to get feedback from all learners rapidly. • Start a portfolio for each learner, keeping key pieces of work to show progress at parent–teacher days. • Have a display area with learner work and vocab flashcards.
Planning for active learning
We recommend the following approach to planning. 1 Plan learning intentions and success criteria: these are the most important feature of the lesson.
Teachers and learners need to know where they are going in order to plan a route to get there. 2 Plan language support: think about strategies to help learners overcome the language demands of the lesson so that language doesn't present a barrier to learning. 3 Plan starter activities: include a ‘hook’ or starter to engage learners using imaginative strategies.
This should be an activity in which all learners are active from the start of the lesson. 4 Plan main activities: during the lesson, try to: give clear instructions, with modelling and written support; coordinate logical and orderly transitions between activities; make sure that learning is active and all learners are engaged; create opportunities for discussion around key concepts. 5 Plan assessment for learning and differentiation: use a wide range of Assessment for Learning techniques and adapt activities to a wide range of abilities. Address misconceptions at appropriate points and give meaningful oral and written feedback which learners can act on. 6 Plan reflection and plenary: at the end of each activity and at the end of each lesson, try to: ask learners to reflect on what they have learnt compared to the beginning of the lesson; build on and extend this learning.
7 Plan homework: if setting homework, it can be used to consolidate learning from the previous lesson or to prepare for the next lesson
To help planning using this approach, a blank Lesson plan template is available to download from Cambridge GO (as part of this Teacher’s Resource). For more guidance on setting up for success and planning, please explore the Professional Development pages of our website www.cambridge.org/education/PD
1 Nature and humans
Unit plan
Session Approximate number of learning hours Outline of learning content Resources
1.1 The leopard 2 hours, 30 minutes Learners look at verbs in descriptions and explore structural and language techniques.
1.2 The mysterious figure 1.3 The wildness of eagles 1.4 The poetry of Tu Fu
1.5 Destroying the planet 2 hours, 30 minutes
2 hours, 30 minutes
2 hours, 30 minutes
2 hours, 30 minutes
1.6 Creating suspense 2 hours, 30 minutes Learners study and act out a drama script as well as create an audio drama script.
Learners analyse imagery in poetry, compare the language of poems and articles, and engage with debates and discussions. Learners examine poetic language and themes, and write a response to poetry. Learners detect bias and explore text structure, including connectives.
Learners practise techniques for understanding unfamiliar words and analyse how a writer creates effects through word choice and grammatical structure. Learner’s Book Session 1.1 Workbook Session 1.1 Language worksheet 1.1 Learner’s Book Session 1.2 Workbook Session 1.2
Learner’s Book Session 1.3 Workbook Session 1.3
Learner’s Book Session 1.4 Workbook Session 1.4 Learner’s Book Session 1.5 Workbook Session 1.5 Differentiated worksheets 1A, 1B and 1C Learner’s Book Session 1.6 Workbook Session 1.6 Language worksheet 1.2
BACKGROUND KNOWLEDGE
For the teacher This unit examines poetry, prose, drama and articles, so you will find it useful to note some key language differences between these text types. • Poetry: uses sound through rhythm and rhyme; uses figurative language; uses stanzas and layout to create effects • Drama: sets out the speakers’ dialogue on separate lines; uses stage directions and other notes to indicate physical action or sound effects • Articles: use paragraphing and layout to create effects; often make a series of points in an argument; may use language that reflects the bias of the writer • Prose: uses figurative language; novels and stories describe characters and settings in vivid ways. In addition, this unit examines past and present, main and auxiliary verbs, so familiarity with these terms and concepts may be helpful.
CONTINUED
For the learner Learners are asked to closely examine individual words, phrases and sentences in ways such as: • study an individual word (Is it a verb? What tense? What synonyms are there?) • examine a phrase (Can it be expanded, reduced or moved?) • analyse a sentence (Is it simple, compound or complex? Can clauses be reordered?). So, background knowledge of the following concepts may be useful: • word classes: nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, pronouns, conjunctions • phrases: noun phrases, verb phrases, prepositional phrases; pre- and post-modification • sentences: single and multi-clause sentences; main and subordinate clauses • clause elements: subject, verb, object, adverbial.
TEACHING SKILLS FOCUS
Language awareness You can use your own language awareness to explain language input to learners – by filtering, mediating, reinterpreting, explaining or clarifying language (see diagram). The language being filtered may come from your teaching materials, other learners or directly from you. This way of understanding language awareness in the classroom allows you to take either a passive or an active role in filtering language for learners. However, an active role is more likely to increase learning opportunities. Actively filtering language may mean you need to modify materials before lessons to ensure they will be clear to learners. Make sure you clarify language used in the classroom at the moment it is heard or read – perhaps by rephrasing sentences, using synonyms to help learners understand unfamiliar words, or annotating language examples on the board to explain them.
Language contained in teaching materials
Language produced by other learners Teacher’s language awareness
Unfiltered
Language produced by the teacher Filtered
Unaware language ~ not re-interpreted or explained by teacher Aware language ~ re-interpreted and explained by teacher
Learning input in the classroom
1.1 The leopard
LEARNING PLAN
Learning objectives 8Rv.02, 8Rg.03, 8Rs.01, 8Rs.02, 8Ri.01, 8Ri.10, 8SLg.03 Learning intentions Learners will: • look at how structural features can be used for effect • consider how verbs can be used in descriptions • explore how a writer combines structural and language techniques • discuss what might happen next in a story. Learners can: • understand how a writer structures a story to create specific effects • explain how verbs can be used to bring descriptions to life • analyse the effect of language and structural choices in a text • develop a discussion, sharing and listening to ideas.
Success criteria
LANGUAGE SUPPORT
When exploring how verbs can be used in descriptions, it is useful to distinguish between main and auxiliary verbs: • Main verbs contain key meanings: walk, talk, dream, think, eat, sleep. • Main verbs change their form to indicate tense, singular/plural (number) and first/ second/third person: walk/walks/walked, eat/ eats/eaten. • Auxiliary verbs ‘help’ the main verb to express tense: I was walking to school. They have been sleeping all day. • Auxiliary verbs are used at the start of sentences to form questions: Did you dream last night?
Have you eaten your lunch? • Auxiliary verbs are also used in negative statements:
She doesn’t like running. I didn’t sleep well. Language worksheet 1.1 offers more practice on identifying auxiliary verbs.
Common misconception
Misconception Nouns do not name actions – only verbs name actions. Write the following sentences on the board: The run for the bus was exhausting. All the studying helped the students. Ask learners to find a word in each sentence that looks like it could be a verb but is in fact a noun. After learners have given their answers, underline the words: The run for the bus was exhausting. All the studying helped the students. Explain that nouns can also name actions.
How to identify How to overcome
Starter idea
Using verbs (10 minutes)
Resources: Learner’s Book, Session 1.1, Getting started activity Description: Organise learners into pairs and ask them to briefly discuss verbs as in the Getting started activity. Come back together as a class and ask several pairs for their definition of a verb. Write the following sentences on the board: • After school, I will drink a fizzy drink. • The cook can’t cook lunch today. Ask learners to find the following words in the sentences: ‘drink’ as a noun; ‘cook’ as a noun; ‘drink’ as a verb; ‘cook’ as a verb. Ask learners to write a sentence of their own in which the same word is used as both a noun and a verb. Share these sentences as a class.
Main teaching ideas
1 Story scenes and the writer’s use of language (45 minutes)
Learning intentions: Look at how structural features can be used for effect. Explore how a writer combines structural and language techniques. Resources: Learner’s Book, Session 1.1, When the Mountains Roared Extract 1, Activities 1 and 2 Description: Ask learners to read the first extract from When the Mountains Roared, including the introductory paragraph that explains the novel’s context. Afterwards, read through Activities 1 and 2 as a class. Explain that writers use language in particular ways to help readers understand a situation and how it changes. They also communicate their attitudes and feelings through their use of language – this is the tone of a piece of writing. Read out the definition of tone in the Learner’s Book. Ask learners if they can identify a similarity in what they are asked to analyse in part a of Activity 1 and part b of Activity 2. Use wait time after you have asked this question (count at least three seconds in your head). Briefly discuss learners’ responses, then point out that answers to both part a of Activity 1 and part b of Activity 2 require readers to reflect on the writer’s attitude about setting, character or events. Both are linked to tone. Learners should then complete Activities 1 and 2 in pairs, making notes on specific words, phrases,
sentences and figurative language that show: how the writer describes the opening setting and situation, including characters; and how the writer uses language to dramatise the changing situation.
Differentiation ideas:
• Support: Ask learners to examine carefully the paragraph that starts Suddenly, a shot . . . Explain that this will help them focus their answers to part a of Activity 1 and parts b and c of Activity 2. • Challenge: Ask learners to write a paragraph explaining how the first-person point of view helps the writer to dramatise the scene. Assessment ideas: Ask learners to share their answers to part c of Activity 2 with the class. Assess how well they have commented on effect – could they have given more detail? 2 Past and present in story time (40 minutes)
Learning intention: Explore how a writer combines different techniques. Resources: Learner’s Book, Session 1.1, Activity 3 Description: Read the Language focus information as a class. Then write the following on the board: • Past: She walked over and grasped my hand. • Present: She walks over and grasps my hand. • Past: He threw the glass. It splintered against the wall. • Present: He throws the glass. It splinters against the wall. Put learners into small groups and ask them to discuss the following questions:
1 Which words have changed their form or spelling? 2 Which sentences describe events that are happening now? 3 Which version of each sentence makes the reader feel closer to the story being told? After 15 minutes of discussion, ask groups to share their answers with the class. Write the following on the board: • Now (telling the story) then (when the story events happened)
There I was on the pitch when she ran over and grabbed the ball.
• Now (telling the story) then seems like now (when the story events are happening) Here I am on the pitch as she runs over and grabs the ball.
Explain that the second example uses a similar technique to a sports commentary, which narrates events as they are happening – for example: Ronaldo dodges the last defender and strikes . . . it’s in the goal!
Ask learners to read Extract 1 again several times, focusing on the writer’s use of verbs in the present tense. Before they write their paragraph for Activity 3, remind them that they need to comment on the effect of these present tense verbs on the reader.
Differentiation ideas:
• Support: To help learners focus on the effect of the present tense verbs, encourage them to ask themselves what the difference in effect might be if the past tense had been used instead – for example: Praveen spotted the remains of a camp fire instead of Praveen spots the remains of a camp fire. • Challenge: Ask learners to write three or four sentences of their own in the past/present format with a focus on choosing powerful verbs for a specific effect. Assessment ideas: As learners are sharing their answers as a class, assess whether they have identified the words that change form and that change a reader’s sense of the story time. 3 Using language and structure for effect (45 minutes)
Learning intentions: Explore how a writer combines structural and language techniques. Discuss what might happen next in a story. Resources: Learner’s Book, Session 1.1, When the Mountains Roared Extract 2, Activities 4 and 5 Description: Explain that, in a story, structure can refer to how the plot and events are linked and how characters are portrayed to create drama or conflict. For example, a villain might be set up to oppose a hero, or a detective might be set up to oppose a criminal. Point out that plots are linked by cause and effect – for example: The boy missed the bus so was late for school and then missed an exam so became frustrated and then . . . Events can also be linked by theme – the main topic of a book or film. Point out that one of the themes of When the Mountains Roared is how human actions can harm the natural world. Write the following words from the extract on the board: cornered, stained with blood, limp. Ask: What do these words show about the animal they are describing? Get several responses – learners should suggest that the words show the animal is wounded and in danger. Emphasise that the writer has chosen these words deliberately to express this. Now, ask learners to read Extract 2 of When the Mountains Roared carefully, including the introductory paragraph. Allow time for them to read the extract several times, then direct them to Activity 4. For each bullet point, they should explain: • how it helps the writer to tell the story • how it helps the writer to dramatise the opposition between figures or characters • how it effects the reader. When they have finished writing, direct learners to Activity 5. Remind them that in their discussion they should take turns to speak and be polite, explore and build on each other’s points and explore where they agree or disagree so they learn something from the discussion.
Differentiation ideas:
• Support: Prompt learners to see a connection between the meaning of victims and villains and hunters and the hunted by pointing out that these could be paired as victims/hunted and villains/hunters. In exploring the link between the narrator (Ruby) and the leopard, ask learners to think about who and what is hiding, and from whom. • Challenge: Ask learners to write one or two sentences explaining both the literal and potentially symbolic meaning of the leopard’s
‘black rosettes’ (Possible answer: black rosettes are sometimes worn by people in mourning). Assessment ideas: Read learners’ answers to Activity 4 and look for evidence they have identified words from the extract that show the beauty of the leopard.
Plenary idea
Commenting on text structure and language (10 minutes)
Resources: Answers to Activity 4 Description: Tell learners to look back at their answers to Activity 4. Direct them to the Reflection questions and allow five minutes for learners to make notes in response. Finish with a class discussion. Ask learners: How might you improve your skills at writing about structure and language? Assess whether learners’ answers show they can think of ways to improve the quality of their work or set goals for their learning activities. CROSS-CURRICULAR LINK
Biology (habitats and ecosystems, populations and factors affecting populations): When the Mountains Roared is set in India, home to the Indian leopard subspecies. The habitat and population of Indian leopards has reduced in recent years. Learners could research why this is.
Homework idea
Learners should complete Workbook Session 1.1.
1.2 The mysterious figure
LEARNING PLAN
Learning objectives 8Rv.01, 8Rs.01, 8Ri.01, 8Ri.04, 8Ri.08, 8Ra.01, 8Ra.02, 8Ws.02, 8Wc.01, 8Wc.03, 8SLm.04, 8SLp.01, 8SLp.03 Learning intentions Learners will: • perform a section of dialogue from a story • write an audioscript based on a prose text • work out the meaning of unfamiliar words • give a reasoned response to a text using references. Learners can: • use voice and gesture to convey a character in dialogue • write an audioscript based on a prose text, incorporating information from the narrative • use context to work out the meaning of unfamiliar words • respond to a task, giving their own view and using references to support it.
Success criteria
LANGUAGE SUPPORT
In this session, learners write an audioscript. Scripts like this often contain abbreviations — such as FX, meaning special effects. Learners will also come across abbreviations in many other text types, including dictionaries, letters, formal invitations and textbooks. Point out to learners that some abbreviations are considered informal, such as those used in internet slang or in text messaging. Emphasise that in formal writing they should avoid abbreviations unless they are well established, such as etc. or i.e. If an abbreviation is well established then these can be used in formal writing. Common abbreviations in English include: • etc. – et cetera (Latin) meaning ‘and the rest’ • e.g. – exempli gratia (Latin) meaning ‘for example’ • i.e. – id est (Latin) meaning ‘that is’
CONTINUED
• Mr – Mister • Dr – Doctor • UK – United Kingdom • EU – European Union • UAE – United Arab Emirates • cm – centimetres • km – kilometres • kg – kilograms • RSVP – répondez, s’il vous plait (French) meaning ‘please reply’ • FAQ – frequently asked questions (often used on websites).
Starter idea
Comparing prose and drama texts (10 minutes)
Resources: Learner’s Book, Session 1.2, Getting started activity Description: Write the following example on the board. Point out that it shows the same scene in two different forms: prose and drama script. Ask learners to use this as a guide during their discussion in response to the Getting started activity.
Prose
Anya frowned in concern and looked at John, ‘What’s so fascinating out there today?
‘I’ve decided to stop studying for my degree,’ he replied.
Anya stretched herself out on the sofa and sighed. Drama script
AnyA is lying on a sofa and John is standing in front of a window. AnyA: (With concern) What’s so fascinating out there today? John: I’ve decided to stop studying for my degree. AnyA: (Sighs)
Main teaching ideas
1 Acting out a dramatic scene (40 minutes)
Learning intention: Perform a section of dialogue from a story. Resources: Learner’s Book, Session 1.2, When the Mountains Roared Extract 3, Activity 1 Note: This extract and the extract used in the endof-unit test contain some violence and relates to the topic of poaching which some learners may find distressing. Please review the content to check it is appropriate for your learners before sharing it with your class Description: Organise learners into groups of three and read through the instructions for Activity 1 as a class. Read the Speaking tip and make sure everyone understands how to identify the context of their character. In their groups, learners should then allocate parts and rehearse the scene. After rehearsals, groups should perform their dramatic scene to the class. When everyone has performed, have a class discussion on how tone of voice, facial expressions and gestures helped to communicate the emotions of different characters as well as the drama of the scene.
Differentiation ideas:
• Support: Spend time directing learners as they rehearse. Demonstrate how they can use different tones of voice by saying some of the lines yourself in different ways – for example, by saying You killed it. You coward. in an angry tone and then in a sad tone.
• Challenge: Ask learners to rehearse the scene in two different ways. First, they should emphasise the strong emotions and tensions in the scene with loud voices and dramatic physical action. Second, learners should underplay or understate the emotions and actions with quieter voices and smaller, more subtle physical actions. Afterwards, ask learners which they thought was best and why. Assessment ideas: Assess how well learners adapt their tone of voice when performing dialogue and how confidently they comment on tone of voice in the class discussion. Use both of these to determine how well learners have understood that character can be expressed through tone of voice in a dramatic scene. 2 Write an audio drama (45 minutes)
Learning intention: Write an audioscript based on a prose text. Resources: Learner’s Book, Session 1.2, When the Mountains Roared Extract 3, Activity 2 Description: Working in small groups, ask learners to write a list of problems a writer might face when adapting a film script into a radio script or podcast. Suggest action and science fiction films to help learners imagine the problems and how they could be solved. For example, an action film might show car chases and explosions, and a science fiction film might show a rocket taking off. How would learners communicate these actions when their audience can only hear, not see, what is going on? When learners have written their lists, come together and share both problems and solutions as a class. Read Activity 2 with the class and explain that they are now going to turn the extract into an audioscript. Remind them that they can add dialogue or include sound effects to dramatise the action for listeners. Tell learners they can indicate sounds effects in the script by using the FX (special effects) abbreviation. Write the following example on the board: FX A soothing pop song plays from a portable radio then it fades out Ruby I’m glad we brought this with us. Praveen Why? Ruby Makes me feel less lonely out here.
Differentiation ideas:
• Support: Tell learners to first write out all the lines of dialogue from Extract 3 in the correct sequence and against the correct character – for
example, Ruby: Get back, etc. – leaving spaces between the lines of dialogue. Then, ask them to fill in the spaces with either descriptions of sound effects or new dialogue. Emphasise that the sound effects or new dialogue should express what is happening to the listening audience. • Challenge: If learners are confident writing this audioscript, extend the activity by asking them to turn Extract 2 of the story (in Session 1.1) into an audioscript too.
Assessment ideas: Ask learners to complete the
Peer assessment in the Learner’s Book. Note whether learners mention the use of sound effects and additional dialogue to communicate key actions or the thoughts and feelings of characters to enable their listening audience to follow the action. 3 Context, meaning and themes (40 minutes)
Learning intentions: Work out the meaning of unfamiliar words. Give a reasoned response to a text using references. Resources: Learner’s Book, Session 1.2, When the Mountains Roared Extract 4, Activities 3 and 4; dictionaries Description: Organise learners into pairs and ask them to read Extract 4 of the story twice through. Then read the explanation in Activity 3 about working out unfamiliar words using context and ensure that all learners understand this method. Learners should then reread the two paragraphs containing the words foliage and cradle and complete the activity. If possible, give them access to dictionaries to check their definitions. Ask learners to move on to Activity 4. They will need to reread Extract 2 of the story in Session 1.1. Remind them to use their scanning skills to search for the key words that will help them answer this question (mountain, roar) in the extracts. When they have found the references, they should discuss the two bullet points. Encourage them to explain how the references align with the two ideas mentioned in the bullet points for Activity 4.
Differentiation ideas:
• Support: Prompt learners to look for specific references containing the words mountain and roar in Extracts 2 and 4, but suggest they also look for synonyms and antonyms (words with opposite meanings). When they have found these, ask learners: How does the writer describe
the narrator’s feelings towards the tiny cub? How does the writer describe nature’s response to the death of the leopard? What are the effects of both of these on the reader? • Challenge: Ask learners to write a paragraph explaining the main points of their discussion from Activity 4. They should explain how the writer has used references to the title to suggest themes such as those in the bullet points. Assessment ideas: Listen to the pairs’ discussions and assess whether learners are able to explain how the textual references (and title) suggest the novel’s themes.
Plenary idea
Dialogue and verbs in prose (15 minutes)
Resources: Workbook, Session 1.2, Focus and Practice sections Description: Ask learners to read the instructions for the first two sections of the Workbook and check if they have any questions. Point out that the Focus section is getting them to closely examine the punctuation rules for prose dialogue, and that the Practice section is about verbs used in describing how dialogue is spoken. Emphasise that ‘he said’ and ‘she said’ are common and acceptable, but that there are many more descriptive alternatives they can use, such as shouted, whispered, moaned, squealed.
Homework ideas
Ask learners to complete Activity 5 in the Learner’s Book and the Challenge section from Workbook Session 1.2. Remind learners that in completing Activity 5 they should reflect on whether the story ‘shows the worst of human attitudes to the natural world’. Remind them to use short quotations from and references to Extracts 1–4 of When the Mountains Roared to support their views.
1.3 The wildness of eagles
LEARNING PLAN
Learning objectives 8Rv.02, 8Rv.03, 8Ri.01, 8Ri.02, 8Ri.06, 8Ri.08, 8Ri.09, 8Ri.11, 8Ra.01, 8Ra.02, 8Ra.03, 8Ra.04, 8SLm.02, 8SLm.03, 8SLs.01, 8SLg.01, 8SLg.02, 8SLg.03, 8SLg.04, 8SLr.011 Learning intentions Learners will: • identify figurative language in a poem • summarise information from two texts
• explore the ways language is used in different texts on a similar topic • organise and take part in a group discussion. Learners can: • identify and explore the effects of figurative language in a poem • summarise information from two texts concisely and accurately • compare the language used in fiction and non-fiction texts on a similar theme
• work well in a group, taking turns and listening effectively.
Success criteria
LANGUAGE SUPPORT
In this session, learners examine figurative language and explore how language is used across very different kinds of texts: poetry and non-fiction articles. One way of clarifying uses of figurative language is to compare plain and decorated (ornate) styles of writing. For example: • Plain style: I have on my favourite old coat, which I wear every day. • Decorated (ornate) style: Scruffy but loved, my coat cuddles and shields my body as I travel from place to place. The ornate style makes use of the figurative language techniques of personification (cuddles), metaphor (shields). It also makes use of rhythm and alliteration (as I travel from place to place; coat cuddles). Remind learners of the definitions of different figurative language techniques: • Metaphors and similes both compare two things, but similes use ‘like’ or ‘as’. • Personification describes an object as if it has human characteristics. • Alliteration is the use of the same sound, especially consonants, at the beginning of several close-together words. Learners should understand that poetry and fiction use a wide range of figurative techniques, but even non-fiction texts often contain figurative language.
Common misconceptions
Misconception An argument only refers to people having a disagreement. How to identify Write these two sentences on the board: My brother and sister had an argument and are not speaking to each other now. I listened to each side of the debate and then voted for the argument that persuaded me the most. Ask learners to explain the meaning of argument in each of the sentences. Discuss explanations of argument in the second sentence. How to overcome
Explain that the second meaning of argument is to give reasons for someone to believe something that they do not already believe. If someone does not already agree with an idea, they may need to be persuaded with reasons to change their view. Those reasons are the arguments. Finish by pointing out that arguments can be good or bad, which refers to whether the reasons make sense rather than whether the reader or listener ends up changing their viewpoint.
Starter idea
Figurative language game (10–15 minutes)
Description: This activity could be used as an alternative to the Getting started activity if there is not time for both. Write the following words in a circle on the board (or use your own words): book, car, tree, chair, heart, desolate, lonely, frightening, wise, intelligent. Organise learners into pairs and ask them to make as many figurative phrases as they can by combining any of the words in the circle. Encourage them to try unusual or poetic combinations – for example, instead of an intelligent book (predictable) they could write a lonely book (interesting) or the wise car (strange idea), or a frightening, desolate tree (poetic image). Learners could also create their own list of ten random words and write their combinations from these. Share the figurative expressions as a class if there is time.
Main teaching ideas
1 Patterns of imagery in a poem (30 minutes)
Learning intention: Identify figurative language in a poem. Resources: Learner’s Book, Session 1.3, ‘The Eagle’, Activities 1 and 2 Description: Read the figurative language definitions in the Learner’s Book and ensure that all learners understand them. Then ask for a volunteer to read the poem ‘The Eagle’ aloud, or read it yourself. What rhymes do learners notice? They may identify the end-rhyme hands-lands-stands and crawls-wallsfalls (a-a-a-b-b-b) and the alliteration clasps-cragcrooked. Point out that alliteration is a type of rhyme – the repetition of the sound at the beginning of words. Explain that the rhyme and rhythm of the poem create a regular beat that might reflect the ordered picture of nature that the poet presents – the eagle fulfilling its role as a top predator in the natural world. Move on to explain that when reading poetry, we can also look for patterns in the use of figurative language to help work out its meaning. For example, Activity 1 asks ‘What impression of the eagle does the poet create?’ This ‘impression’ will be created from the pattern of the figurative language in the poem – for example, the alliteration in the line He clasps the crag with crooked hands draws the reader’s attention to words with important connotations for the eagle’s claws: clasps emphasises a powerful grip; crag gives an impression of the harsh, rocky setting; and crooked hands creates the image of the eagle’s curled, clawed and grabbing feet. Learners should work on their own to complete Activities 1 and 2. Remind them that in part b of Activity 2 they need to consider the effect of the language on the reader.
Differentiation ideas:
• Support: Help learners with Activity 2 by pointing out the use of natural images in the poem: azure world, wrinkled sea, like a thunderbolt, etc. Ask learners: What is ‘like a thunderbolt’? (the eagle) and What do you think the thunderbolt falls on and what does that mean?
Encourage learners to write down their thoughts about how these images help the writer create an impression of the eagle. • Challenge: Ask learners to write an additional paragraph that comments on the poet’s use of rhyme and the effects this has on the reader.
Assessment ideas: Read through learners’ responses to Activity 2 to assess whether they have been able to identify figurative language in the poem and whether they have commented effectively on its effect on the reader.
2 Comparing texts (45 minutes)
Learning intention: Explore the ways language is used in different texts on a similar topic. Resources: Learner’s Book, Session 1.3, ‘The Eagle’, Higher into the Hills Extracts 1 and 2, Activities 3–5 Description: Draw the following table on the board and ask learners to copy it. The boxes should be large enough for them to add their own notes.
Text Language used to describe appearance Language used to describe movement or action
‘The Eagle’
Higher into the Hills
Organise learners into pairs and ask them to read the first extract of Higher into the Hills several times. They should then reread their answers to Activities 1 and 2 and make notes in the table in response to Activity 3. If necessary, give an example of the type of information they should record in each column – for example: • language used to describe appearance: twometre wingspan, crooked hands • language used to describe movement or action: can fly at speeds of 180 kilometres per hour, like a thunderbolt he falls. When learners have completed the table, they should use the examples they have collected to help them write their paragraph for Activity 4 individually. Explain that when they have finished their paragraphs, they should read Extract 2 of the article and then discuss Activity 5 with the same
partner, deciding which of the texts they would read for different purposes.
Differentiation ideas:
• Support: Fill in some additional information in the table. For example, point out that the article focuses the reader’s attention on the eagle’s claws – as the poem does – but with less figurative language – razor-sharp talons (article) compared to clasps the crag with crooked hands (poem). • Challenge: Ask learners to write a longer analysis (two or three paragraphs) of the two texts, based on the notes from their tables. Assessment ideas: Activity 5 asks learners to consider different purposes of texts, and their own and others’ reading preferences. You could develop this into a whole-class activity and ask learners which text they preferred and why. As you listen to learners’ answers, follow up by asking for two reasons that support their choice. Assess whether learners are able to use some criteria or principles in deciding which texts could be read for different reasons. 3 Holding a formal debate (45 minutes)
Learning intention: Organise and take part in a group discussion. Resources: Learner’s Book, Session 1.3, Activity 6 Description: Here is an alternative way of doing Activity 6, by setting it up as a formal debate on one motion instead of a group discussion on two views. Choose which set-up works best for your class. Use the Common misconception feature at the start of the session to explain debate arguments to learners. Create two teams of 3–5 learners; the rest of the class will be the audience who will listen to the debate and vote for the winner. Explain the following procedure: • There is one motion: Humans should never try to control, tame or kill animals at all. • One debate team will argue for the motion and the other will argue against it. • Each speaker gets three minutes to give their argument (depending on the size of teams, this means each team will have 9–15 minutes in total). • The debate begins with the first speaker arguing for the motion. This is followed by the first speaker arguing against the motion. Then the for and against speakers on each team keep alternating until they have all spoken. • One speaker from each team then has two minutes to summarise the key arguments. • The rest of the class votes on which team’s argument was most convincing. Allow 15–20 minutes for each team to prepare their arguments (they can make notes and use them in the debate). While the debate teams are preparing, ask the rest of the class to write down any arguments they can think of for and against the motion. After the debate, all learners should write a paragraph evaluating the most persuasive arguments.
Differentiation ideas:
• Support: Prepare a list of 3–5 arguments, each for and against the motion. Give one of the arguments on your list to any speaker who needs help preparing to speak in the debate. • Challenge: Before the debate, find out if any learners already know if they are for or against the motion, then put them on the team that is the opposite of their current view.
Assessment ideas: After the debate, ask learners to remain in their groups to complete the Peer assessment exercise.
Plenary idea
Discuss rather than debate (10–15 minutes)
Description: Have a class discussion on the same view: Humans should never try to control, tame or kill animals at all. Encourage as many learners as possible to contribute. In the last five minutes, ask learners to explain specifically how the discussion was different from the debate. Point out that there is no right answer – both discussion and debate can be useful and enjoyable! They may come up with some of the following ideas: • In a formal debate there are two opposing sides of a motion or issue, whereas in a discussion there can be many sides, and speakers do not have to stick to a side (or team). • In a formal debate there is a winner, whereas in a discussion it may not be clear if there is a winner or even if ‘winning’ is relevant. • We can learn from both, but a debate is more of a contest whereas a discussion is often more about sharing views. Finish by pointing out that oral debates and discussions have their equivalents in writing, such as in writing
to argue and to discuss. The techniques for these are slightly different. Writing to argue means to write either for or against a topic or issue; writing to discuss involves considering multiple views of a topic or issue. Homework idea
Learners should complete Workbook Session 1.3. CROSS-CURRICULAR LINK
Maths (speed, distance and time): In Extract 1 of Higher into the Hills, the writer explains how fast an eagle can fly. Learners could be asked to find the formula for doing this (speed = distance ÷ time). Learners could then be given specific calculations and be asked to use the formula to calculate the answer, for example A car travels 100 miles in 2 hours. What is its average speed?
1.4 The poetry of Tu Fu
LEARNING PLAN
Learning objectives
8Rv.02, 8Rv.04, 8Rg.01, 8Rs.01, 8Ri.01, 8Ri.04, 8Ri.06, 8Ri.07, 8Ri.08, 8Ri.09, 8Ri.11, 8Wg.04, 8Wp.01, 8SLs.01, 8SLg.03, 8SLp.01 Learning intentions
Learners will:
• identify the main and subsidiary points in an audio text • explore the structural features of poetry • consider how a theme is presented in a range of poems • analyse how a poet uses language to present theme. Learners can:
• make clear notes identifying a range of points from an audio text • understand some key structural features of poetry and comment on their effect • explain how a poet presents a particular theme in a range of poems • analyse how a poet uses language techniques to present theme.
Success criteria
LANGUAGE SUPPORT
The Language focus in this session deals with punctuation unique to poetry: end-stopping, enjambment and caesura. It is worth noting, however, that traditional punctuation is also used in all writing to create different meanings and effects. Commas have many uses but one of their most important is in joining and separating words and phrases. This helps in clarifying meaning and removing ambiguity: I had chocolate cake and sweets.
I had chocolate, cake and sweets.
He liked Mr Smith, who played violin better than Mr Brown.
He liked Mr Smith, who played violin, better than Mr Brown. Semi-colons also have several uses, but one of their important functions is to provide a pause and a contrast.
CONTINUED
For example, these two sentences express a similar idea but the use of a semi-colon in the second adds emphasis to the contrast: I thought his speech was good but his joke was a bit rude. I liked the speech; shame about the joke.
Starter idea
From simple to complex (10 minutes)
Description: Explain that many poems take nature as their theme. They may start with something easy and simple for the reader to imagine, such as snow on trees, raindrops on a window, or a bird flying. These poems may go on to express a more complex idea or feeling by their end. Ask learners to write one sentence describing a simple, natural thing, then to write a few more lines that develop their poem into something different from the original scene. To inspire their first sentence, learners could imagine seeing something natural out of a window at home, school or elsewhere.
Main teaching ideas
1 Tu Fu podcast (30 minutes)
Learning intention: Identify the main and subsidiary points in an audio text. Resources: Learner’s Book, Session 1.4, Activity 1
Download the audioscript for Activity 1 from Cambridge GO (Track 08).
Description: Explain that you are going to play learners a podcast and that they will need to make notes as they listen to it. Good note-taking means: • writing down key words, headings, subheadings or sentences • using visual methods such as spider diagrams (mind maps), columns or outline numbering. Tell learners they should experiment with the different forms until they find one that helps them recall the information most accurately. Draw some quick examples on the board to illustrate the different approaches. Read through Activity 1 and remind learners to focus their note-taking on significant dates and events. Then, play the podcast and ask learners to use one of the suggested three methods to take notes.
Differentiation ideas:
• Support: Ensure that learners understand the difference between the three note-taking methods. Ask what the advantages and disadvantages of each method might be, then establish which method they will use in Activity 1 and why. • Challenge: As soon as you have finished playing the podcast, ask learners to create two more sets of notes using the two note-taking methods they did not use the first time around. When they have tried all three methods, ask if they would use a different one next time and why.
Assessment ideas: Look at learners’ notes and assess whether the method they have used has allowed them to clearly indicate key dates and events.
Also, assess whether learners’ notes show why key dates and events are significant. For example, the activity asks learners to divide their notes into main and subsidiary points, so check if learners have listed significant events under main headings and subheadings – and whether less significant events are listed under minor headings and subheadings. 2 Exploring the poems ‘Loneliness’ and
Learning intentions: Explore the structural features of poetry. Consider how theme is presented in a range of poems. Resources: Learner’s Book, Session 1.4, ‘Loneliness’, ‘Visitors’, Activities 2–4 Description: Explain that poems can be explored using the STEMS approach: • Story: Does the poem tell a story? • Themes: What ideas or feelings are expressed? • Emotions: What emotional uses of language are there? • Metaphors: How is figurative language used? • Sounds: How does rhyme or rhythm create effects and patterns?
Learners can begin their exploration of the two poems using the STEMS approach and then move on to a closer focus on themes and punctuation as follows. Read through Activities 2 and 3 to the class. Point out that Activity 2 asks them to comment on individual lines in ‘Loneliness’ and Activity 3 requires comment on symbolism. Explain that when exploring the features of a poem, they need to discuss the meaning of lines, figurative language and symbols, as well as explaining how they as the reader are affected by the poem. Remind learners that a symbol is a thing that represents or stands for something else, so when they write their answers to Activity 3 they should explain how nature can symbolise human behaviour and what this means to them. For example, point out that the poem ‘Loneliness’ describes the behaviour of birds and spiders and then compares this with humans – they are being asked what these comparisons mean to them. When learners have completed Activities 2 and 3, come back together as a class and go through the Language focus information and Activity 4. Explain that when reading poems, there will be parts where the sound of the language flows continuously and places where there are pauses. The parts that flow may be within lines but also across lines (enjambment). Pauses may be at the end of lines (end-stopping) or within lines, and it is the pauses within lines where the poet may have used punctuation such as a full stop or comma. Emphasise that when analysing features such as end-stopping or enjambment, they should try and explain how the structure/punctuation affects meaning and the effect on the reader. As examples, suggest that a poem about a waterfall could use enjambment across all its lines to suggest flowing water and a poem about someone hammering could use lots of punctuation to suggest the disconnected sounds of banging. The poem ‘Visitors’ uses both enjambment and punctuation to create pauses. Learners should read the poem several times alone, then complete Activity 4 in pairs.
Differentiation ideas:
• Support: For part a of Activity 2, ask learners to think of some synonyms for foolishly, such as stupidly, thoughtlessly, unwisely. Then ask them to write about what the poet might mean by that line of poetry. • Challenge: After learners have discussed Activity 4 in pairs, ask them to write a paragraph summarising the points of their discussion.
Assessment ideas: Read learners’ answers to
Activity 3. Look for sentences that explain the poet’s comparison of birds and spiders with humans. Assess whether learners explain links between the writer’s use of language to an intended meaning. For example, do they explain the metaphorical comparison of the predatory behaviour of spiders with greed or aggression in humans? Or do they explain the metaphoric comparison of Birds who foolishly drift with the current to people who behave like everybody else around them instead of being an individual? 3 Comparing poems (30 minutes)
Learning intention: Consider how a theme is presented in a range of poems. Resources: Learner’s Book, Session 1.4, Activities 5 and 6 Description: Tell learners they will be working in pairs to compare and contrast two poems. Poems can be compared by following three key steps: 1. Find examples of key words, phrases or figurative language that stand out in both poems (learners can note these down, underline or circle them). 2. Compare the examples and think about both similarities and differences in the language. 3. Explore how the reader is affected by the language examples from both poems. Activities 5 and 6 ask learners to consider nature as a theme, so for step 1 they should find examples that are relevant to the theme of nature. They are also asked to consider the voice of the poems. Explain that the concepts of voice, tone and mood are related, but there are some distinctions: • Voice: the personality of the writer, expressed through their overall use of language. • Tone: the writer’s attitude towards a subject, communicated through word choices, etc. • Mood: the atmosphere created in a text – for example, descriptions that create the sense of a happy, sad or scary scene. Organise learners into pairs and ask them to complete Activities 5 and 6 together. Remind them to read each poem several times.
Differentiation ideas:
• Support: Read out (or write on the board) some suggested short quotations from both poems as language examples that could be compared as part of step 1. Then, ask learners to focus on these for steps 2 and 3 and as they compare how nature and the poet’s voice is presented through these examples. Quotations might include: • ‘Loneliness’: hawk hovers; gulls float on the stream; Birds . . . foolishly drift with the current; dew sparkles in the grass; spider’s web waits for its prey; nature resembles the business of men; I stand alone with ten thousand sorrows. • ‘Visitors’: asthma for a Long time; house by the river . . . is quiet; No crowds Bother me; I am brighter / And more rested; I am happy; my thatched hut; my straw hat; fresh vegetables; given in friendship. • Challenge: Ask learners to write two paragraphs explaining how nature is presented in both poems. They should use short quotations to support the points they make in the explanations.
Assessment ideas: Poetry can be enjoyable to read, but analysing it can demand a lot of mental effort from learners. When they have completed Activities 5 and 6, ask learners to spend five minutes thinking about the questions in the Reflection box and then write one or two sentences about what they found challenging and how they would advise someone facing those challenges. 4 Written response to a poem (30 minutes)
Learning intention: Analyse how a poet uses language to present theme. Resources: Learner’s Book, Session 1.4, ‘Written on the Wall at Chang’s Hermitage’, Activity 7 Description: Explain that when commenting on voice, tone or mood, learners should find specific examples of language and explain their effects. Emphasise that mood is about the atmosphere in the text and how the reader responds to the language. Go through the instructions for Activity 7, then read the definitions of aural, tactile and visual images from the Learner’s Book and make sure everyone understands what these forms of imagery are: images that appeal to the senses of sight, touch and sound. Suggest to learners that they focus on the natural objects or sights mentioned in the poem and examine how the language used appeals to one of these senses. Give some examples, such as chopping wood (sound), streams are still icy (touch/sight) and sunset (sight). Learners should link the sensory imagery in the poem to its mood, showing how the imagery appeals to the reader’s senses and creates the impression and atmosphere of a natural setting. Learners should then complete the activity on their own.
Differentiation ideas:
• Support: Ask learners to underline words such as sound, see and others suggesting movement or touch in the poem, and comment on whether these are the parts of the poem that use aural, tactile or visual images. What effects do these have on them as readers? • Challenge: Ask learners to write another 150 words (around 300 in total) in their analysis. They should support their points with short quotations. Assessment ideas: Some of the sensory imagery in the poem is clear (chopping wood, for example). However, some imagery is more complex and needs further interpretation – for example: You can see the aura of gold / And silver ore all around you. Assess whether learners have attempted to explain more challenging imagery in their writing.
Plenary idea
What do I like about poetry? (10 minutes)
Description: Explain to learners that the poet Billy Collins describes several pleasures of poetry: • the pleasure of dance (the rhythm of a poem) • the pleasure of sound (the sounds of the words) • the pleasure of using your imagination (allowing a poem to transport us to different places) • the pleasure of metaphor (surprises, and new ideas and feelings the poem gives us). In pairs, ask learners to discuss the four pleasures Billy Collins describes and which of them they enjoy when they read poems. Homework idea
Learners should complete Workbook Session 1.4.
1.5 Destroying the planet
LEARNING PLAN
Learning objectives
8Rv.02, 8Rg.02, 8Rg.05, 8Rs.03, 8Ri.02, 8Ri.03, 8Ri.06, 8Ri.11, 8Wv.01, 8Wg.01, 8Wg.02, 8Wg.05, 8Ws.01, 8Ws.02, 8Ws.03, 8Wc.03, 8Wp.02 Learning intentions
Learners will:
• summarise information from two argument texts • compare how two texts are structured and developed • explore how writers use connectives • identify and use formal and informal language. Learners can: • identify and summarise the main points in more than one text • compare how two texts are structured and developed • explain the purpose of connectives at the start of sentences • understand and use the features of formal and informal language.
Success criteria
LANGUAGE SUPPORT
Texts that develop an argument link ideas both within and across sentences and paragraphs using connectives. Connectives is a general term for words that join other words, phrases and clauses together. Connectives are also sometimes called ‘linking words’. More specifically, connectives can be defined as: • coordinating conjunctions (for example: and, but) • subordinating conjunctions (for example: that, whether) • linking adverbials (for example: however, moreover, nevertheless, in addition, meanwhile). The two ideas in a compound sentence are equal in importance and emphasis. They are formed when two equal clauses are joined with a conjunction. The main coordinating conjunctions are: • and: adds another clause • but: introduces a contradiction • or: introduces a choice or alternative • so: gives a reason (the first clause is a reason for the second – for example, The rope snapped so I fell). The ideas in a complex sentence are unequal in importance and emphasis. They are formed when a main clause is joined to a subordinate clause using a subordinating conjunction. There are many subordinating conjunctions, but some common ones are: • because: explains a cause (He jumped because there was a loud noise) • when: expresses a relationship of time (I played football when I got home) • where: expresses a relationship of place (The gym is where she trains) • if: states a condition (I will do well if I work hard) • although: expresses a contrast (His speech was good although it went on too long). Compound-complex sentences are just compound and complex sentence joined together with another conjunction.
Starter idea
Using formal and informal language (10 minutes)
Resources: Learner’s Book, Session 1.5, Getting started activity Description: Ask learners to imagine how they would use language differently in the following situations: • texting a friend • writing a letter to apply for a job • giving a televised speech to the United Nations
General Assembly • chatting to their best friend. Organise learners into pairs and ask them to discuss the Getting started activity. Remind them to focus on the specific factors that would make them speak or write formally, informally or somewhere in between.
Main teaching ideas
1 Analysing structure in information texts (60 minutes)
Learning intention: Summarise information from two argument texts. Resources: Learner’s Book, Session 1.5, ‘Climate change: a natural process’, ‘We’re destroying our home’, Activities 1 and 2 Description: Ask learners to read the two articles (allow enough time for them to read each article twice). Then, remind them of the different note-taking methods they looked at in Session 1.4 and ask them to choose one to make notes in response to Activity 1, identifying the explicit information in the articles. After 30–40 minutes, ask learners to examine their notes on both articles. Next, read Activity 2 to learners. Point out that the three bullet points can be phrased as three questions about both articles: 1 Where are the main ideas expressed in each article? 2 How do the two articles use headings, subheadings and bullet points differently? 3 Which text did you find more appealing and why? Then, ask learners to write answers to these three questions for Activity 2 on their own.
Differentiation ideas:
• Support: Read through the articles with learners before they start making their notes. Pause occasionally to ask if they would include what you have just read in their notes. Ask them to explain why – is it a main point or subsidiary information? What makes it a main point? • Challenge: Ask learners to make two sets of notes using two different note-taking methods. Which note-taking method did they find most effective for this activity? Assessment ideas: Ask learners to swap their notes with a partner. Ask: If you had to rely on your partner’s notes, what would you find helpful and what could be improved? Learners should then give each other feedback. 2 Exploring sentence structures (30 minutes)
Learning intention: Explore how writers use connectives. Resources: Learner’s Book, Session 1.5, Activity 3; Differentiated worksheets 1A, 1B and 1C Description: Start by explaining that a text containing a written argument is not like having a disagreement with a friend or relative. The purpose of a written argument is to provide points and views for or against an issue. An effective technique is to present several points of view in a logical sequence as you try to convince the reader why the side you favour is the best one. Key features of written arguments include (write these on the board): • a first paragraph explaining what the argument is and whether you are for or against it • a series of paragraphs that present different arguments but which lead to why your argument is the most convincing • connectives that show links between ideas in the paragraphs • a convincing concluding paragraph that states the strongest point from each side of the argument, but which restates your own view as the best argument. Write some examples of connectives on the board (however, although, alternatively, in contrast, whereas, on the other hand, similarly, equally) and ask learners to copy them down. Emphasise that connectives can be single words or phrases and have different purposes (introducing a new part of the argument, making a contrasting point, concluding the argument). Now ask learners to copy the table from
Activity 3. Ask: How do these connective phrases help the writer to make the arguments in the text? Get several responses and discuss learners’ answers. They then complete the table.
To consolidate their learning here, ask learners to complete one of the Differentiated worksheets.
Differentiation ideas:
• Support: Give learners additional examples of connectives matched to explanations of how they help develop a written argument. For example: • new part of argument: first, secondly, further, furthermore, finally • contrasting point: although, rather, however, instead, alternatively • conclusion: therefore, as a result • Challenge: Ask learners to think of more connectives to add to their notes. For example, they could come up with words used for summarising points (overall, to sum up) or for expressing the same meaning (namely, for instance).
Assessment ideas: Examine learners’ completed tables and assess whether they have identified the purposes of the connectives correctly. Also, ask learners to compare their completed tables in groups of three. Ask them to check if they identified the same purposes for the examples and to discuss any differences if they have not. 3 Formal and informal language (60 minutes)
Learning intention: Identify and use formal and informal language. Resources: Learner’s Book, Session 1.5, Activities 4 and 5 Description: Draw the following diagram on the board and remind learners that formal and informal uses of language exist on a scale. On a different part of the board, create two columns: Formal and Informal. Ask learners to list the differences in formality between an exam essay and a text message to a friend. Write key words from learners’ answers on the board in the relevant column. You might end up with something like: Read through the Language focus information and all the key word definitions in the Learner’s Book and resolve any uncertainty learners may have about vocabulary, sentence types and punctuation. Explain that they should consider all these language features when analysing the formality of the two texts in Activity 4. Remind learners to use connectives to structure their writing in Activity 5. They should then complete these activities on their own.
Talking with peers Speaking with a teacher Politician’s speech
informal
Mobile phone text to a friend Letter to a relative
formal
Exam essay Formal (for example, exam essay) Informal (for example, text to a friend) correct punctuation incorrect or no punctuation correct spelling misspellings and abbreviations standard English vocabulary (i.e. words in an English dictionary) a variety of grammatically correct sentences (simple, compound, complex, compound-complex) colloquial (slang) words
minor sentences (for example, Hello. Hey! Aww. Great!)
Differentiation ideas:
• Support: Read the article ‘We’re destroying our home’ to learners. As you read, pause and point out language features that show more informal language use. For example, colloquial (slang) words (OK, Wow!) and frequent use of minor sentences (repeated uses and capitalisation of
FACT). Explain that learners could copy some of these techniques in their writing for Activity 5. • Challenge: After completing Activity 5, ask learners to also rewrite the article ‘We’re destroying our home’ in a more formal style.
Assessment ideas: Read learners’ answers to Activity 5. Assess whether they have used connectives and whether they have written in a more informal style than the original article.
Specific points to consider include: • Have learners changed ‘although’ to ‘but’? • Have learners changed ‘the result of’ to
‘because’? • Have learners used a full stop instead of a semi-colon in first paragraph?
Plenary idea
Formal speech and writing (10 minutes)
Description: Point out that formal speech and writing: • has more complicated grammar – for example: frequent subordination • has unusual, foreign or ‘difficult’ vocabulary – for example: domicile instead of home • avoids using contractions – for example: can’t, won’t • avoids using colloquialisms (slang) – for example: I ain’t doing that. Emphasise that formal and informal language is on a scale and that a particular example of language will not always have obvious features that show it is formal or informal. Next, write these examples on the board: • Formal: Patrons are requested to refrain from antagonising the animals. • Informal: Please don’t tease the animals. Organise learners into pairs and ask them to discuss what changes have been made to the formal sentence to make it sound less formal.
CROSS-CURRICULAR LINK
Science (respiration – the enhanced greenhouse effect): This session discusses climate change, so learners could be asked to research the details of the greenhouse effect. For example, they could draw and label a diagram that shows the main gases and interactions that make up the greenhouse effect.
Homework idea
Learners should complete Workbook Session 1.5.
1.6 Creating suspense
LEARNING PLAN
Learning objectives
8Rv.01, 8Rg.03, 8Rs.01, 8Ri.02, 8Ri.07, 8Wv.01, 8Wv.02, 8Wv.03, 8Wg.01, 8Wg.03, 8Wp.04 Learning intentions
Learners will:
• use different strategies to work out the meaning of unfamiliar words • use sources to extend vocabulary about feelings and emotions • consider how a writer makes grammatical choices for effect • choose language, grammar and punctuation to create different effects. Learners can:
• use a variety of strategies effectively to work out the meaning of unfamiliar words • use precise vocabulary to describe feelings and emotions related to events • comment on how a writer creates detail and effects through grammatical choices • create different meanings through choice of language, grammar and punctuation.
Success criteria
LANGUAGE SUPPORT
This session focuses on words in a variety of ways, including strategies to understand unfamiliar words, the use of emotive words and achieving effects through specific word choices. As background to this, learners may find it useful to understand that words can be related to each other in various ways. Write the following four definitions and examples on the board: • synonyms: words that have the same or nearly the same meaning (annoy, irritate, bother) • antonyms: words with opposite meanings (big/small, awake/asleep, buying/selling) • homonyms (homophones): different words that are pronounced in the same way (tale/tail, flower/flour, to/two/too) • metonyms: words used in place of others to express the same meaning (heart is a metonym
for love or emotion – I give my heart to you; crown is a metonym for the monarchy – the crown was displeased with the newspaper reports). These definitions all relate to words and their meanings (semantics) and that they can help in understanding new words and in selecting specific words to achieve effects. For example: • knowledge of synonyms can help if you need to replace a word with one with a similar meaning • knowledge of antonyms can help in understanding new words that are opposites of words you already know • knowledge of homonyms can help with finding rhymes for poetry or in making jokes • knowledge of metonyms can help in understanding or writing figurative language.
Starter idea
Resources: Learner’s Book, Session 1.6, Getting started activity Description: Write the following text on the board: The climate research conference is a biennial event. There will be a seminal paper delivered by one of the many luminaries present. (Keep this on the board for Main teaching idea 1.) Organise learners into pairs and ask them to look at the Getting started activity. They should discuss their ideas for working out unfamiliar words, then try out some of these methods to work out the difficult words in the example text. Finish by using a dictionary to read out (or write on the board) the definitions of pandemic, biennial, seminal, luminaries.
Main teaching ideas
1 Context versus morphology versus etymology (35 minutes)
Learning intention: Use different strategies to work out the meaning of unfamiliar words. Resources: Learner’s Book, Session 1.6, ‘Tsunami witness’, Activity 1 Description: Read the Language focus information to learners. As you do, write the words context, etymology and morphology on the board to remind them of these key points as they work through this session. Refer learners to the example on the board from the Starter idea. Ask: How did you work out the meanings of the words in the example? Get several responses and encourage learners to explain how they did this. Learners may use either context, morphology or etymology, or a mixture of these strategies (or their own strategies), to understand the unfamiliar words. Encourage them to explain their methods. Emphasise that all the strategies listed in the Language focus are useful and that learners should try to use them when figuring out new and unfamiliar words. Point out that some English words do not offer many clues to their meaning in their spelling and that in these cases, learners should focus on context as a way of working them out. If necessary, use the following diagram to consolidate learners’ understanding of the different strategies.
Morphology Prefix. ‘bi’ means ‘two’ Suffix. ‘ennial’ means ‘years’
The pandemic research conference is a biennial event. There will be a seminal paper delivered by one of the many luminaries present.
Etymology French. luminarie Latin. lumen, lumin – ‘light’
Ask learners to read the ‘Tsunami witness’ article and complete Activity 1 on their own.
Differentiation ideas:
• Support: Give learners 20 minutes to write as many definitions as they can for their glossary. Then allow them to use dictionaries to check their glossaries and to fill in the definitions for any words they struggled with. • Challenge: Ask learners to draw an annotated diagram, like the one provided, to illustrate the strategies that could be used to understand the words in the following extract: And then we evacuated the house on foot to the community’s designated secure zone – a hill less than a kilometre from the town that’s about 20 metres above sea level.
Assessment ideas: Ask learners to swap their glossaries with a partner and assess which definitions in their partner’s glossary are the most useful and why, and which definitions are less useful and how they could be improved. 2 Creating an ‘emotive’ timeline (40 minutes)
Learning intention: Use sources to extend vocabulary about feelings and emotions. Resources: Learner’s Book, Session 1.6, ‘Tsunami witness’, Activities 2 and 3; dictionaries, thesauruses and internet access Description: Direct learners to Activity 2. Explain that they could use a linear timeline or a vertical list with columns for this activity.
Context
Conference/event– happens at regular times e.g. annually so ‘biennial’ could be two-yearly
Why single out a paper? Could ‘seminal’ mean
‘important’?
People attend conferences … also, the paper is delivered by a ‘luminary’ so this must be a certain kind of person … if the paper is important maybe the luminary is well-known or famous for their pandemic research
For example:
7.55 pm at home
7.55 pm at home
Ask learners to reread the article and then work in pairs to complete their timelines. After 15 minutes, read Activity 3 to the class and ask learners to discuss in pairs the narrator’s emotions at different points in the timeline. They should write key words describing these emotions on their timelines. Hand out dictionaries and thesauruses and allow access to the internet if possible. Ask learners to look up the key words they have written and to add any new descriptive words they find to their timelines in a different colour.
Differentiation ideas:
• Support: Write down the six basic emotions on the board: anger, disgust, fear, happiness, sadness, surprise. Ask learners to note down one or two synonyms for each of these words.
Next, ask learners to use a thesaurus to find further synonyms for each of these new words they have written down. They can then use any of these words on their timelines if appropriate. • Challenge: After learners have finished Activity 2, ask them to write a list of antonyms for each of the words they used on their timeline.
They should then use a thesaurus to research a further list of antonyms for each of those words.
Assessment ideas: Examine the timelines learners have created. Assess whether they have added at least one newly researched word for each of their own key words they added. If they have not found any new words, prompt learners to identify a word on their timeline to look up in a thesaurus. Then, ask them to add one or two synonyms for that word next to it on their timelines. 3 Achieving effects through word choice and grammar (50 minutes)
Learning intentions: Consider how a writer makes grammatical choices for effect. Choose language, grammar and punctuation to create different effects. Resources: Learner’s Book, Session 1.6, Activities 4–6; Language worksheet 1.2 Description: Explain that a writer achieves specific effects by choosing or changing words in four main ways: 1 choosing words to start with, including using figurative language, when writing a first draft of a sentence, paragraph or page 2 changing, adding or removing words to expand or reduce phrases and clauses 3 changing the order of phrases and clauses, including changing punctuation 4 completely rewriting if needed to change the style of what was originally written, or adding new sentences and paragraphs to an original draft. Write the following examples on the board:
A Her hair was black. / Her hair was dark. / Her hair was black as ebony.
B The house stood on the hill. / The old, abandoned house stood on the lonely hill. The excited man ran quickly to his car. / The man ran to his car.
C As he spent much time alone, he was not missed, nobody worried when he didn’t arrive at the town. He was not missed when he didn’t arrive at the town; as he spent much time alone nobody worried. Nobody worried, as he spent much time alone, when he didn’t arrive at the town. He was not missed. When he didn’t arrive at the town he was not missed as he spent much time alone. Nobody worried.
D It was cold and dark after the power cut. When the power was cut the house was plunged into a malevolent, cold darkness. The shadows seemed alive with menace and crept over my skin like freezing water. Explain that in A, individual words are changed or figurative language added. In B, noun and verb phrases are expanded or reduced. In C, the same words are used but phrases and clauses are reordered with different punctuation. In D, the second sentence completely rewrites the first. For each example, ask learners how they would describe the different effects created. Point out that some differences are easy to notice (A, B and D), whereas the changes in C are more subtle. Ask learners which of the sentences in C they would find most interesting and why. To consolidate learners’ understanding of the effect of changing the position of clauses in sentences, they could complete Language worksheet 1.2 before moving on to the Learner’s Book activities. Organise learners into pairs and ask them to complete Activities 4 and 5 together. They should then complete Activity 6 on their own. Emphasise they should create new sentences or paragraphs to completely rewrite the final paragraph of the article.
Differentiation ideas:
• Support: For Activity 6, tell learners to first spend a few minutes imagining they are
Jocelyn from the article – awake at night in a town with no electricity and crumbling buildings. • Challenge: Ask learners to completely rewrite the article and create more fear and tension by experimenting with word choice, use of punctuation and grammar.
Assessment ideas: Read the paragraphs learners wrote for Activity 6. Assess whether they have added new sentences or paragraphs and if these changes have created more tension or fear for the reader by word choice, use of punctuation and grammar.
Plenary idea
Best words in the best order (15 minutes)
Description: Write the following quotation by Samuel Taylor Coleridge on the board: Prose = words in their best order; poetry = the best words in the best order. Ask learners if they agree with this statement and discuss their thoughts for a few minutes. Then, ask learners to
PROJECT GUIDANCE
You could follow this sequence to support learners in this project: 1 you – inspire learners with the idea 2 learners – thinking and reflecting 3 learners – collecting, collating and arranging 4 learners – preparing to present 5 learners – presenting. You – inspire learners with the idea Remind learners of the poetry of Tu Fu and Ruby’s adventure with the leopard, as well as other stimulating texts they read in this unit. Inspire learners with the idea that humans have a profound relationship with nature – in good and bad ways – and that learners can dramatise this with a presentation. Learners – thinking and reflecting Tell learners to spend some time reflecting on the unit and also reading (books, poems, articles) about nature and the environment, as well as watching films, TV or news that cover environmental themes. During this stage, learners could make some rough notes to capture their ideas for their presentation. Learners – collecting, collating and arranging Explain that learners can cut out or write down interesting bits of text for their presentation. When writing down text, learners can also use colour as well as font size and style to present the text in a visually appealing way. Tell learners to also collect images that they can cut out from newspapers or magazines or print out from the internet. They can also draw images themselves. Explain that learners can experiment with arranging these images into a collage or other type of presentation such as a scrapbook, poster, or within presentation software on a computer. After experimenting for some time learners will then need to commit to a final layout. Learners – preparing to present With their final layout completed, learners should then prepare a short talk of up to five minutes in which they can explain the ideas behind their presentation. This could be written up as a script or just be a series of notes they will use when giving their talk. Learners – presenting Ask learners to bring their presentations to class and give their talks. They should use gestures and vary their tone of voice to engage their listeners and create enthusiasm. Remind them to use eye contact with their audience and to not just read looking down at their script if they have one.
work on their own completing the Self-assessment task relating to Activity 6 in the Learner’s Book.
Assessment ideas: Read learners’ re-drafted paragraphs and assess whether the changes they have made have created more fear or tension for the reader.
Homework idea
Learners should complete Workbook Session 1.6.
