I
T MUST HAVE been just over 18 years ago when I
was into my first week of teaching. That particular day I had a lesson with a class of elementary 12-year-olds and I was teaching the questions “What’s this?” and “What’s that?” Everything was going according to plan until I spotted a shy boy at the back of the classroom. So I boldly asked him to come out in front of the class and practise the questions with me. Never did I suspect what a mistake that could be. The boy obediently started repeating my questions and then responding …but this is when things went wrong. Instead of saying /wɒts/, he pronounced /wɒtʃ/. At first, I thought he could not understand me but after the whole class started laughing, I realised that the student had some speech problems. Admittedly, I panicked, the young lad was crying and there I was, standing in the middle of the class and wondering what I should do. At that particular moment, my gut feeling was telling me that I should hug and console the pupil and that is what I did. But what I also realised was that we teachers should be the ones who not only talk the talk but also walk the walk. Not only do we have to teach about compassion but also be compassionate with our students and colleagues.
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Hundreds of moons have passed since that English lesson and I have had the chance to show my compassionate side many a time. But what also became my mission was to raise my students’ awareness and understanding of compassion. In order to fulfil that ongoing goal, I have used my personal story, books, and poems to name but a few. So this issue I am including a couple of lesson plans on the theme of COMPASSION as well as some useful articles and tips that you could apply in class. What resources do you use with your pupils to delve into the topic of compassion?
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How compassionate should we be? Raising a bilingual child Inspired by Pollyanna Compassion it Joy and Heron FCE/CAE- Talking about photographs 6 questions on Compassion Hope Hero
37 Josie's poems 41 Easy English 46 Crossword 47 Kids' corner 48 Inspiring teachers 49 Fun with English
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Bobby Price My students keep a COMPASSIONATE diary where they note down every act of COMPASSION they see or perform.
Dario Mendez I often use visualisations in class and I’ve seen some incredible changes in my students’ behaviour. They’ve become more compassionate, caring and generous.
Bonnie Garrison They learn compassion in their families. It is not the job of English teachers to teach compassion, though that trait should be promoted by teachers. If it is not taught in the family, no English teacher is going to compensate for that.
Norma Jarina-Daganasol Songahid Teaching my students has made me feel very happy and complete. Teaching them to become compassionate is just so simple. I just need to be one in thoughts, words and deeds and they instantly become compassionate like me. We cannot share a thing that we don't have. So, if you want to teach your students something, just make sure you have it.
If you want to have your views published in “Inspirational English”, answer our next issue's question:
What is more important “playing to your strengths” or “focusing on your weaknesses”?
Send your answer to: info@englishwithrussie.co.uk
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A
s the world and all its inhabitants become more and more compressed into a like identity by corporate and political mismanagement, the question of how compassionate we should be is a question that comes up, not only as a thought inside our heads, but is a very common subject matter at work, at mealtimes as well as when we are out socialising. I have an extremely strong connection to the world of music, an industry that led the way in compassion in 1985 when the Live Aid concert at Wembley Stadium laid down a benchmark as to, not only how compassionate we should be, but how compassionate we should feel. The simple but very direct message put out by Boomtown Rats singer and main television presenter Bob Geldof was that as human beings we have an individual responsibility to help feed the thousands and thousands of people in the continent of Africa who were dying of hunger because of a terrible famine there, and it worked to a quite remarkable degree. When you reach down to the deep rooted feeling of wanting to be there for another person, or indeed any living thing, this becomes a defining moment in your understanding of compassion and all its relative issues. Returning to more every day situations, it is actually possible to show, or conversely not to show how compassionate we are as we go about our daily routines like for example, shopping, sitting in traffic, standing in a queue in the bank or indeed queuing anywhere. I’ve mentioned queuing as this is a very good example of where the need to be compassionate can pop up out of nowhere ‌ let me set the scene. 6
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Your life is spinning out of control at somewhere in the region of a hundred miles an hour, the clock is ticking, you have no signal on your mobile and when you walk into the bank to attend to an unpaid bill, the queue is a mile long. Internalising is in position one as stress starts to take hold of all of your senses, something that is then quadrupled in force when you look to the front of the queue and see the person at the counter digging in their bag for more and more paperwork.
The chances are most of you have been there and got the tee-shirt, I know I have, and I have to confess that as a younger man I dealt with such a scenario very poorly, but that was then and this is now, and I am pleased to say that my awareness of every human being having the right to live their life as they choose is now my first port of call.
Columnist, song-writer and playwright
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Hi Bea, would you tell us what started your fascination with studying languages? Apart from your mother tongue, you also speak Mandarin, Russian German and fluent English. I remember my dad speaking some German, and my mum singing Frère Jacques, and it was so interesting and kind of exotic, exciting! Then, I learnt Russian in primary school (as we all did at that time), and I enjoyed it. I had two pen pals, one from Russia and one from Germany, with whom I wrote letters (real letters, not emails!), I also had a chance to visit Russia and it was such a great experience. Everything was different but people were nice and friendly and that’s what mattered the most. I think I have always been curious about other countries and people living there and my interest in languages came as its natural consequence. Then, in college (which in my country of origin, Poland, is called lyceum) in the class with a specialisation in humanities, I learnt German, English and Latin, and I continued my adventure with these languages later, at the university. Somehow, I felt the most about English and after uni occasionally I would attend some courses to improve my language skills. And then I came here, to the UK and quite astonished I found out that most of the time I learnt
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American English rather than British! My
with Mandarin started all these years ago,
pronunciation sometimes could be quite
when my son was born, even though at that
different and it shocked me a bit!
time I didn’t even dream about learning this
So, as you can see, until this point languages
language, not to mention teaching it! Being
in my life would come to me as a part of my
Polish and living in the UK, it was my priority to
academic life and I don’t think there was
make sure that my son, who was born in
anything extraordinary about it. Perhaps I
Dorset, would be able to speak right from the
learnt more languages than some people but
start both his parent’s mother tongue and the
this was related to me studying humanities.
language of the country where he was born.
With Mandarin, though, it’s a completely
That’s why I developed my own idea to raise
different story, because this language came to
him bilingual. Also, I knew that children up to
me rather unexpectedly. Just to make it clear,
nine months were able to recognise and
though, I don’t speak Mandarin. I know some
remember all the sounds in the world. Can you
words and phrases but no more than that,
imagine that? A baby is able to hear and
sadly. Yet, for the last year I have been
repeat any, literally any sound in the world.
teaching my son Mandarin and I’m proud to
How incredible is that? And, it’s also
say he’s doing really well.
interesting that by the end of their first year, a baby brain cleverly eliminates the sounds that
That’s fascinating, Bea. Would you tell us
people around are not using. So, if a child is
more about it, please?
born into a monolingual family and in a monolingual community, by their first birthday
As every parent, I love to support my child as
the child will stop recognising all the sounds
much as I can. I always feel that our adventure
that are not typical to his or her language.
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constantly tell him how amazing it is to speak more languages, how it enables us to connect with more people in the world, get to know them better and so on. Still, it came to me as a surprise when one day my six-year-old child officially informed that he would like to learn Japanese and Chinese. You see, his headteacher last year organised a Japanese club and Ka was clearly fascinated with Taiko drummers and samurais. At the same time, I just like to think that it helped that all his life he’s always heard about other countries, cultures and languages and how exciting it could be to get to know them. Anyway, going back to Mandarin, I liked my son’s bold idea although it scared me quite a bit. To a six-year-old most things in life are still I really didn’t want my little boy to lose this ability,
quite simple and can be done “just like that”. I
though. Just in case. You never know what you may
knew, however, that both languages are said
need one day in the future. So, in addition to Polish
to be some of the most difficult languages in
and English I sang to my boy in Russian and German,
the world.
hoping that somehow deep inside he would
To start things up, I did some research and
remember these different sounds. I would also recite
decided that if we were to do anything about
some Latin quotes that I remembered back from
my son’s idea, we would have to start with
school and I spoke to my son in Italian, French and
Mandarin. Even though I read quite a lot about
Spanish. Speaking, actually, is a word abuse because
what’s going on in the today’s world, only
ays then did I become aware of how powerful have alw I “ imitated then the original accents and with to China is becoming. Right now it’s already wanted lots of joy and emphasis, I would speak out y support m the second largest economy in the world anything I knew (no matter if it made sense or and by 2030 it’s going to become the child in d n a not): “good morning”, “good night”, “beautiful”, g first. Considering the number of people learnin d n fi “please”, “thank you” etc. It was fun, I can who speak Mandarin Chinese all over help him it in t n assure you, especially with our Italian sessions exciteme the world (1.2 billion), the size of this n a h t r e h t because I didn’t mind mixing in the names of ra st country and their impressive economic ju im h e Italian actors or… dishes. As long as I thought it mak expansion worldwide the decision I listen.” sounded Italian, it was fine! My little boy enjoyed sit and had to take was rather obvious. I don’t really know these languages. I
getting his mad introduction to other languages, we
However, living in a small village in lovely
enjoyed it (and so did others, who listened to us) and
Dorset it was quite challenging to find a
nothing else mattered.
Mandarin language school for my young son.
When Ka became older, I was worried that being the
Days and weeks passed, and Ka was still
only bilingual child at school (as he still is) my son
waiting to start learning his new language.
would feel different, so from the start I would
Time was running, and I knew that if I didn’t
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Time was running, and I knew that if I didn’t
a teacher, the children learn through role
find the school soon enough, my six-year-old’s
playing, funny dialogues, 3-D materials and
enthusiasm may run out. I didn’t feel I really
movement, as much as the Skype meetings
had any other option, so I decided to start
allow. That way, the girl from China can learn
teaching my little son by myself, hoping that in
English from Ka, a native English speaker and
the following few weeks I would find a place for
he can learn Mandarin directly from his
Ka to learn Chinese. I said to myself that after
Mandarin-speaking friend.
all, with a master’s degree in Polish Studies,
In an ideal world, if you learn a new language,
specialty Literary Studies and Linguistics, I
you should be able to speak it for at least an
knew how to teach… I just didn’t speak
hour a day. To me as a non-Mandarin speaker
Mandarin!
it was unachievable, and I still really wanted to
It was over a year ago. During this time, Ka
find someone locally who would be able to
has been learning from books, DVDs,
teach my son. Private tuition was too
language learning apps and YouTube. That
expensive, though and anyway, I would need
was not enough, though. I was aware that to
to drive between 30 and 60 minutes one way
learn another language a child not only needs
to get to our tutor. Besides, there was more
to hear the words and repeat them but first and
than that. I believe that children learn best
foremost, he or she needs to actively
when they are having fun and are truly
communicate in this language. I couldn’t offer
engaged in the lessons. I also knew that
this to my boy because I already knew that he
Chinese teaching methods differ considerably
was able to repeat the Mandarin tones much
to those used in the Western countries.
better than me. This is why, through social
Memorisation is in China regarded as one of
media I found a native Mandarin-speaking
the most important ways to succeed and
family in China, who wanted their daughters to
lessons are teacher-led rather than focused on
learn English. Since then, every week I
pupils. I’m not the kind of a tiger mum and I
prepare a lesson plan and with my support as
have always wanted to support my child in learning and help him find excitement in it rather than make him just sit and listen. It’s been a year since Ka started to learn Mandarin and I wanted him to continue. I could see he enjoyed learning this language and to me, it was a joy to see it. But, a year later, there was still no place for my little boy where he could learn. At the same time, I already knew that in other parts of the UK modern Mandarin language schools were growing rapidly. Somehow, there was still no place like that here, in Dorset. So, I decided to start it up by myself. It’s called MAD Chinese Language School. MAD it’s actually short for Mandarin (in) Dorset and you can read about us here: www.madchineselanguageschool.co.uk. Ka says that children would love the idea of going
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to a MAD (mad) school and I hope we can
used to handling two languages at the same
offer them some positively mad language
time, which helps in maths and cognitive skills
learning experience.
in general. Ka loves maths and reading but I cannot really say whether his bilingualism
What a brilliant idea, Bea. Another project
helps here or it’s just my son and the way he
you are working on is the blog
is. I know for sure, though that if a child is
https://bornbilingual.org where we can find
bilingual, learning additional languages later in
your ideas on raising a bilingual child.
life might be easier and quicker for them and
Would you share some of the benefits of
for my son it works perfectly.
multilingualism based on your personal
We all know that bilingualism allows to
experience?
communicate with more people in the world. Thanks to Ka’s ability to speak two languages,
That’s an interesting question, thank you for asking it. My son is only 7, so I’m sure
even though he was born in the UK and has spent all his life here, he can fluently
ts “Scientis there’s still a lot for me to find out about at communicate with his family back in ggest th u s him. Certainly, as a child who from the brains Poland. Now, in addition, over the Internet bilingual to he met new friends in China and this start was being raised bilingual and in are used o tw relationship is still growing stronger, addition, was surrounded by even more handling e th t a s which is something I love and I’m truly languages than just Polish and English, language which , e m ti e amazed with. it’s much easier for him to pick up new sam maths in s lp e languages and new accents. Of course, he h nitive When travelling, bilingualism helps you and cog is still at the age when it’s easy for a child eneral.” feel like a local, which my son already skills in g to learn new things but it seems that his
tested in Poland and next year,
bilingualism helps him even more. I strongly
hopefully he will be able to test his language
believe that this is the reason why he decided
skills in China. I promised that if he learns the
to learn Mandarin Chinese.
language well enough to become my
Scientists suggest that bilingual brains are
interpreter, I’ll take him there and he’s very
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excited about this possibility. The brains of bilingual speakers are more active in the left hemisphere, which is responsible for language processing, which is great because we all need to exercise our brains as much as possible. In addition, though, recent studies have shown that the brains of tonal language speakers like Mandarin show activation in the right hemisphere in an area important for processing music. I don’t know how this all works for my son, but I just had to share this news with you because I find it incredibly exciting. I have always been interested in linguistics and bilingualism but neuroscience is a completely new area for me and it fascinates me.
important for me is, anyway at this stage, it’s the fact that bilingual children, just as bilingual adults are more open-minded and easier adapt to other cultures. I love my 7-year-old’s curiosity about other countries and other cultures. He’s proud of being bilingual, happy to learn his third language and always keen to pick up at least a few words from other languages. Recently, he surprised me by telling me a few phases from the Thai language, because accidentally, he found a Thai song while listening to a Japanese song on YouTube. Life can be really interesting with bilingual children!
What else could I tell you that would be based on my personal experience… Bilingualism does not
I believe you are right. However, what
confuse a child and my son definitely proves it. He’s
challenges could parents face when
never been confused, even though for the first three
bringing up a bilingual/multilingual child?
years of his life I spoke to him in both languages, depending on the day and time. Children are
Mixing languages comes to my mind as the
amazing in their ability to adapt to new
biggest and still ongoing challenge. For my
circumstances. Bilingualism also does not cause a
son, English is his stronger language because
language delay. If there is a problem with a
this is the language he speaks for many hours
language development, the problem will exist no
a day at school, this is also how he
matter if the child is monolingual or exposed to
communicates with his friends. Furthermore,
more languages.
being such an avid reader and swallowing books one by one (not literally but…), Ka
I can also confirm that bilingual children are able to
reads more in English than in Polish and
pay attention to things for up to 20% longer than
sometimes, he uses English grammar in Polish
monolinguals. Again, I don’t really know how this
sentences.
works for my son in particular and I wasn’t able to check how much this “20%” is but from the start, he
It’s also very common for bilingual children to
would surprise me with how much he could focus
use interchangeably words from one language
on looking at and later, reading books. This ability to
when talking in the other language. This is
concentrate could also help him to teach himself to
usually caused by the constant development of
read when he was three. By the way, a
each language. Sometimes, the child just
simultaneous introduction of two languages in early
doesn’t know the word in the other language
years does benefit children’s reading abilities.
and his or her parent needs to remember to
Speaking more than one language improves our
translate or suggest the proper word. It is very
memory. Bilingual people are better at remembering
important for a parent not to get upset or
names, directions or shopping lists, so this also
impatient in such situations because
ticks a point on my son’s list. But what’s really
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language learning needs to be enjoyable and that’s
especially, it helps to form socially aware,
crucial at any stage of a language development.
openminded human beings.
Sometimes, it also happens that bilingual children
Research studies suggest that bilingual
prefer using one language and will not hesitate to
children or even children who were just
let their parents know it. Usually, it’s
exposed to another language (but weren’t
ou “When y their stronger language and I fluent) are better at understanding other a n r a le personally know many parents who people’s intentions, even if their words are age of u g n la have struggled in such situations, with tion,imprecise. For thousands of years, a n r e h t o various results. I believe that if a parent an ou multilingual exposure has been the norm y ly n o t no shows their perseverance and and it can be that bilingual people may be et to their g n a c consistently reminds the child what t also social in origin. “To understand a speaker’s u b s d in language they should be speaking at the m intention, one must take the speaker’s to their particular moment, the problem will perspective”, the researchers said. hearts.” disappear quickly. I know this can happen
“Multilingual exposure may promote
at different stages in life, often when a child
effective communication by enhancing
becomes a teenager; this is why I always remember
perspective taking.”
how important it is to engrain in them the pride of
(http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/
being bilingual and being able to communicate in
0956797615574699)
more languages.
Being bilingual or multilingual opens us to the world and teaches about diversity. When you
Finally, I would like to ask you how learning a
learn a language of another nation, not only
language helps a person to become more
you can get to their minds but also to their
compassionate.
hearts. This ability to really understand the other culture and other people comes only
Language learning helps understand and
when you learn their native language. It just
sympathise with other people’s mistakes when they
cannot be overestimated.
speak a foreign language. My son laughs sometimes when he hears some language errors that his friend from China makes in English and she laughs the same at his errors. It’s very clear, however, that they well understand that such errors
! a e B , u o Thank y
could happen anytime and to anyone and it’s easy for them to put themselves in the other person’s shoes. First, they talk in Mandarin and as soon as they finish, they start speaking in English, so each of them is being constantly reminded that what’s easy in one language doesn’t necessarily have to be easy in another language. Language learning teaches you humility and helps develop empathy, it’s like stepping into a new world where we have to learn things all over again. It’s a
“Language learning teaches you humility and helps develop empathy, it’s like stepping into a new world where we have to learn things all over again.”
valuable experience at any age but for children
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Last month I was talking to one of my students about a book he was reading. The teenager was eager to tell me about the wonderful adventures of a little girl who was able to change the energy in a whole town. Feeling excited, I wanted to hear more about it… sorry, that’s not exactly true... I knew that reading the book was a MUST. This is how I found out about Pollyanna, the best-selling 1913 novel by Eleanor H. Porter. How could I have missed such a treasure? For those of you who are not familiar with the book, it tells the story about a young orphan, called Pollyanna, who goes to live with her wealthy but stern Aunt Polly. The little girl’s positive outlook helps the local people to find the GOOD in life and become better and more positive.
After reading this powerful novel, I couldn’t help sharing it with my other students. I have to admit that while enjoying this heart-warming book, I was journaling a lot. I knew I had to share Pollyanna’s insights, so here’s what my students and I have learnt from this cheerful little girl: 17
Life should NOT be wasted One of the characters whose life Pollyanna transforms is Mrs Snow. When the little girl visits the sick and grumpy woman for the first time, Mrs Snow complains that she was not able to sleep the previous night. To which Pollyanna responds: “O dear, I wish I didn’t,” sighed Pollyanna, placing the jelly on the little stand and seating herself comfortably in the nearest chair. “You lose such a lot of time just sleeping! Don’t you think so?” “Lose time—sleeping!” exclaimed the sick woman. “Yes, when you might be just living, you know. It seems such a pity we can’t live nights, too.”
Later on, the reader is told that “Mrs. Snow had lived forty years, and for fifteen of those years she had been too busy wishing things were different to find much time to enjoy things as they were.”
Let’s play THE GLAD GAME When Pollyanna moves to the town of Beldingsville, she finds out that most of the local people are quite sad and ungrateful. It is then that we are introduced to her GLAD GAME. At the beginning of the book Aunt Polly punishes Pollyanna for being late by giving her only bread and milk for dinner. However, Pollyanna does not seem to be bothered and tells the servant Nancy: “I don’t see any trouble about being glad about that.”
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Intrigued, Nancy wants to find out more about the GLAD GAME, to which Pollyanna explains: “Well, that’s the game, you know, anyway.” “The—GAME?” “Yes; the ‘just being glad’ game.”…“ Father told it to me, and it’s lovely,” said Pollyanna. “We’ve played it always, ever since I was a little, little girl..” “What is it? I ain’t much on games, though.” Pollyanna laughed again, but she sighed, too; and in the gathering twilight her face looked thin and wistful. “Why, we began it on some crutches that came in a missionary barrel.” “CRUTCHES!” “Yes. You see I’d wanted a doll, and father had written them so; but when the barrel came the lady wrote that there hadn’t any dolls come in, but the little crutches had. So she sent ‘em along as they might come in handy for some child, sometime. And that’s when we began it.” “Well, I must say I can’t see any game about that, about that,” declared Nancy, almost irritably. “Oh, yes; the game was to just find something about everything to be glad about—no matter what ‘twas,” Pollyanna said, earnestly. “And we began right then—on the crutches.” “Well, goodness me! I can’t see anythin’ ter be glad about—gettin’ a pair of crutches when you wanted a doll!” Pollyanna clapped her hands. “There is—there is,” she crowed. “But I couldn’t see it, either, Nancy, at first,” she added, with quick honesty. “Father had to tell it to me.” “Well, then, suppose YOU tell ME,” almost snapped Nancy. “Goosey! Why, just be glad because you don’t—NEED—‘EM!” exulted Pollyanna, triumphantly. “You see it’s just as easy—when you know how!”
So did Pollyanna convince you to play the GLAD GAME with your students? My pupils love it and admittedly they look forward to telling me what they are glad about.
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We should help the underprivileged One of Pollyanna’s friends is the orphan Jimmy Bean who is threatened with being thrown out from the local orphanage. Pollyanna desperately tries to find someone to adopt him because she believes that nobody should live on the streets. She bravely addresses her wealthy aunt as well as the Ladies’ Aiders, a local women’s organisation, to find some help. Despite her unfruitful attempts, she was not undeterred to help the underprivileged boy. How the case is resolved, you and your students will find at the end of the book. �
Be compassionate As mentioned beforehand, Pollyanna helps many people in the town. For instance, she helps grumpy people find joy in their daily lives, a quarrelling couple discover a way to save their marriage and the Reverend fill his sermons with hope and love. The girl with the heart of gold brings joy wherever she goes because she has the time and patience to listen to people, help them and bring hope. Pollyanna’s compassionate nature turns life around in the small town.
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What comes around goes around At the end of the book, Pollyanna is run over by a car. Unfortunately, her legs are badly damaged and for once, the “GLAD girl” becomes depressed. The sad news quickly spreads around and a throng of thankful local people head to Aunt Polly’s house to see the injured girl. The readers see a remarkable outpouring of love, compassion and gratitude. Everyone whose life has been changed by Pollyanna wants to restore her faith and bring the smiles back.
Inspirational English
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Lesson Plan The lesson plan has been kindly provided by Sara Schairer, Founder of the movement Compassion it, https://compassionit.com
Overview: This lesson introduces students to the global social movement COMPASSION IT and encourages them to act with compassion EVERY day.
Student Objectives: * Discuss compassion and how it differs from empathy * Learn about COMPASSION IT * Understand that by wearing the reversible wristbands, students are a part of something much bigger than themselves * Learn ways that they can bring compassionate actions into their daily lives
Materials: * COMPASSION IT wristbands ( www.compassionit.com/products ) * Survey for students before COMPASSION IT introduction and for one month post-COMPASSION IT introduction (final page of this document) * YouTube video “Act of sportsmanship gives Texas high schooler shot at glory” http://www.cbsnews.com/news/act-of-sportsmanship-gives-texas-high-schooler-shot-at-g lory * YouTube video “Would you give your jacket to Johannes?” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9O8j9QPZc8 * YouTube video of Carrie Hope Fletcher (fast-forward to 2 min 47 secs) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLtvonKE6Fk * Map of COMPASSION IT movement www.compassionit.com/impact * 1 blank 8x10 paper (colored paper if possible) per student * Markers * Camera phone with Instagram
Vocabulary: * Compassion * Empathy * Social Movement
Compassionate Skills: * Taking compassionate action 23
Survey Please hand out COMPASSION IT survey to evaluate students’ understanding of compassion, empathy, and bullying. One month after your COMPASSION IT wristbands are introduced, please ask students to retake the survey. Review the answers to see what kind of impact the program has had on the students’ understanding of compassion, empathy and bullying. What is EMPATHY, and what is COMPASSION? (5 minutes) Working definition of compassion: sympathetic consciousness of others ' distress together with a desire to alleviate it. http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/compassion )
Hand out survey and ask them to fill it out. No names required. If they don’t know the answer, that’s okay! They can leave it blank.
Introduce yourself and inform students that you are here to teach them about compassion and a social movement called COMPASSION IT.
Ask “Does anyone know what empathy means?” Listen to answers, then explain: When you have empathy, you feel what that person feels. Ex: If you see a spider crawl up my arm, you might feel like it’s crawling up yours. Ex: If I see someone crying, I might feel sad, too. Empathy also means putting ourselves in someone else’s shoes. We must use our imagination and imagine what it might feel like to be that person. Ex: A homeless person standing on the street corner asking for food. I have never been in that situation, but I can imagine what it might be like to be that person. * Question to confirm comprehension: “Can anyone give me an example of empathy?”
Ask “Does anyone know what compassion means?” Listen to answers, then explain: When you are compassionate, you notice the suffering of another and you do something to help them. It includes empathy, because when you see someone suffering, you can feel it and then be motivated to help him. Compassion is empathy plus ACTION. Ex: When you see someone fall down, you can help her up. Ex: When you see someone that looks lonely, you can go sit with him.
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Questions to ask for comprehension: “Does someone have to be sad to be suffering?” (Answer is no. Sometimes grownups are worried about things and they may not look like they’re suffering. But, you can still smile at them and make their day brighter. It’s good to assume that EVERYONE we meet could use some compassion even if they look like they’re not suffering.) “What are some examples of compassion?”
To show examples of compassion, play YouTube video “Act of sportsmanship gives Texas high schooler shot at glory” http://www.cbsnews.com/news/act-of-sportsmanship-gives-texas-high-schooler-shot-at-glory and/or play YouTube video “Would you give your jacket to Johannes?” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9O8j9QPZc8 * After these videos, ask “Who was being compassionate? What did they do?”
Facilitate brief discussion to explain social movements. Ask questions such as: * Does anyone know…what is a social movement? * Can you think of any examples of social movements? * Why are social movements so powerful? Share definition of social movement (from Wikipedia): “Social movements are a type of group action . They are large, sometimes informal, groupings of individuals or organizations which focus on specific political or social issues . In other words, they carry out, resist or undo a social change .” Share examples of social movements (if they are old enough to understand): ALS Bucket Challenge Civil rights movement Movember Fair Trade movement Arab Spring For younger students – Rainbow Loom bracelets or something else that has ‘caught on’
Show YouTube video of Carrie Hope Fletcher explaining COMPASSION IT (British YouTube personality whose video about COMPASSION IT has had over 190,000 hits): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLtvonKE6Fk *She shares COMPASSION IT at 2 min 47 secs. 25
Share COMPASSION IT’s mission: to inspire daily compassionate actions and attitudes. Point out that we made compassion a verb - an ACTION.
Show map of COMPASSION IT’s reach (from www.compassionit.com/impact ) and emphasize that the students are now part of something MUCH bigger than themselves. There are THOUSANDS of people in the world committed to daily compassionate actions, and now THEY are a part of that, too.
Pass out wristbands, and explain how they work. Explain that they get to WEAR ONE and SHARE ONE, so they can flip their wristbands when they give one wristband away.
Activity - ‘Flipping’ Brainstorming (10-20 minutes) 1 – Facilitate brainstorming session on ways to ‘compassion it’ every day. Ask questions such as: * Can anyone think of examples of things they can do to ‘compassion it’ (and flip their Wristbands)? 2 – Ask students to each come up with ONE way they can compassion it/flip their wristbands. Have each write down one idea with marker in large letters on a piece of paper. * Students are welcome to draw pictures along with their statements if there is time. Share examples if students need help: a. Noticing someone lonely at lunch and sitting next to him/her. b. Picking up something the teacher has dropped c. Helping parents with chores without being asked d. Smiling at a stranger to brighten his/her day e. Compassionately listening 3 - Take a photo of each student holding his/her paper and post to Instagram using the hashtag #compassionit (with school/parents permission to post pictures online) * Explain that social media (like Instagram) helps social movements grow If possible, take pictures during school of kids caught in the act of compassion! 4 – Be sure all students heard their classmates’ ideas. [For younger students: You can brainstorm on ways to ‘compassion it’. If the students are unable to write their sentences, the teachers can write them down on the piece of paper for the students.]
Have feedback regarding COMPASSION IT's curriculum? The team of COMPASSION IT would love to hear from you! Email COMPASSION IT: education@compassionit.com 26
Follow-up questions for the following days/weeks. These can be journaling activities or class discussions: * Did you share your extra wristband? Who would like to tell us about that? Who received it? What was that like? How did it make you feel? How do you think it made him/her feel? * Did the wristband help remind you to treat people a certain way or do something you normally wouldn’t have done? Please tell us! * Even after you flipped your wristband for the day, did seeing it remind you to COMPASSION IT again? * Just because you chose to be compassionate once in a day, did you decide to do it again? Why or why not?
COMPASSION IT Survey Teacher: Date:
School:
What is bullying?
What is compassion?
What is empathy?
How often do you help others? Circle one: Every month Every other week Once a week A few times a week Every day
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Compassion It is a nonprofit organization and global movement whose mission is to inspire daily compassionate actions and attitudes. The team envisions a world where compassion is practised by everyone and believes that we all deserve happiness and compassion. They prepare educational programs and substantial tools to empower individuals.
One of the tools the team takes pride in is the wristband which encourages people to become more compassionate. You can find more information about the wristband here: https://compassionit.com/sho p-wristband/
Show the word cloud to your students and explain that the words come from a short video they are about to see. Put the pupils in small groups and ask them to predict what the story is about.
Play the video so that the students can check their ideas. . Link to the video: http://thekidshouldseethis.com/post/joy-and-heron
After watching the video, ask the students why the dog decides to give the worms to the heron. Then tell them to think about the message of the video. Hopefully they will come up with ideas such as being compassionate and kind.
29
Put the students in groups of three. This time they have to write a script for the video. Each student has to choose a character from the film and write down their words- the fisherman, the dog or the heron. Monitor their work and help out with unfamiliar vocabulary and grammar.
The students act out their script in front of the class. Optional- Students vote for the best performance. Make sure you explain they need to pay attention to their intonation, diction and pronunciation.
The students write a story about an occasion when they were compassionate to someone or witnessed an act of compassion.
"The less you open your heart to others,the more your heart suffers."
Deepak Chopra 30
FCE/CAETalking about Compassion
s h p a r g o P ho t
Look at these two photographs. They show a mother with her child. Compare the photographs and say how important the role of the mother could be in these situations.
: When your partner has finished, share a special moment you’ve had with one of your parents. ( 20 seconds)
Look at these photographs. They show people helping someone. Compare the photos and say what could have happened in each one.
Once your partner has finished, explain a situation when you helped someone. ( 20 seconds)
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g n i w n o o i h s S s a p m co
"I want people to be more open and tolerant. I want them to know that behind every stranger is a backstory that is the common denominator- for we all share in the human experience: pain, sadness, grief, lack of love, and then, with hope and help, step by step achievements."
36 34
&
are looking for
Do you know any inspiring children,
and we will share their story. Just send
who are making a difference in your
us the story of your nominee (letter,
school or community? Nominate
video, artwork, poem, etc.) and why
someone to become a Hope Hero
they are inspiring to you!
Send your entries to: kaitlin@kidsunite4hope.org info@englishwithrussie.co.uk 35
D
id
y
o u
k n o w t h
a t
...
?
Welcome to
Josie’s Poems
37
We all share a world that should be enjoyed But our peace and security can be destroyed By those who’re uncaring and those who are cruel. I’m sure that you’ve met them outside and in school.
And enjoy seeing others then take the blame. The ones who cause fear, anguish, distress, And seem to get pleasure from other folks’ stress.
Those who’re self-centred, those who’re unkind; Those who wreak havoc on the rest of mankind. The ones who cause death by dangerous driving, And those selling drugs in a business that’s thriving.
by Josie Whitehead
Those who like bullying and think it a game,
Those who lure others to lives full of shame, Or scorn people’s cultures, as part of a game; The ones who drink alcohol far in excess Or think drugs and tobacco are sure to impress.
38
No Way!
Bullying others? No way my dear friend Your bullying days must come to their end. Those in our school - we all clearly say Bullying others? That isn’t our way!
Bullying others? We’re not on your side. Our kindness to others is something we pride. There’s no strength of character in picking on others And we’re united in this - true sisters and brothers.
Bullying? No way! It’s shallow; it’s cruel. Bullies are not welcome by us at our school. If you want to feel welcome by me and my friends It’s here, at this moment that your bullying ends!
by Josie Whitehead 39
Chapter 14 Hi everyone, Did you enjoy our visit to the Forbidden City? ______1______But today we are on the train to Shanghai because we are going to celebrate the Lantern Festival with my family tonight. Russie turns to me and asks: “Frank, why is this festival celebrated in China?” “It is the last day of the Spring Festival and it is another reason for families to reunite.” I explain. “But where does its name come from?” my teacher wants to know. Then I remember a legend that my grandfather told me a while ago:
“Mum, why don´t we make rice balls at home this year? In this way, Russie will be able to learn how to make them herself.” I see my teacher staring at me . _____2______To my surprise, she says: “ What a great idea! How about if we have a competition as to who will make the best rice balls?”
Over 200 years ago Emperor Ming was an advocate of Buddhism and he noticed that Buddhist monks would light lanterns in temples on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. Consequently, the Emperor ordered all households, temples and the imperial palace to light lanterns on that evening.
“ That sounds good” my father butts in. “ Frank, you and Russie can compete against me and your mum. None of us have made tang yuan before so it will all be fair.”
An hour later we arrive at my house and I notice that my parents are getting ready to go out and buy some traditional rice balls or tang yuan as we call them in China. Then I get an idea:
Then my mum suggests taking a look at a recipe book to check if we´ve got all the ingredients. _____3_____She easily finds the right recipe and reads out what we need. *tang yuan- rice balls ( from Chinese) 41
Continued from previous page
“Here we go. This is what is necessary:"
Frank and Russie’s Little Big Adventures
after I bring it to the boil, the ginger and sugar are added. I let it simmer for 15 min and then remove the ginger. Soon our
240g glutinous rice flour
special soup is ready. Not too long to go
170ml water
before the competition is over.
1 tbsp sugar (brown or caster)
Meanwhile Russie takes another saucepan
Red food colouring for the balls
and boils the rice balls for 10 min. ____6_______We are nearly there. I can feel
And for the ginger soup:: 1 l water 200 g sugar (brown or rock sugar) 1 tbsp ginger, peeled and minced
the pressure. I hear banging coming from my parents´work surface but I try to pay it no attention. I take two small bowls, pour a little bit of the ginger soup and then put in three rice balls. “ We are ready, “ I shout excitedly.
Fortunately, after a quick examination of
At that moment our parents join us with
our cupboard, we realise that we´ve got all
their tang yuans. _____7_______Suddenly
the ingredients, so we decide to start as
the door bell chimes and I run to find out
soon as possible.
who´s arrived. I am happy to see it is my
We split the products into two, roll up our
cousin Gabriela, who usually spends the
sleeves and the two teams start.
weekends with us. Gabriela comes into the
____4______
kitchen and exclaims:
Russie reads the instructions carefully and
“Wow, are we going to have a feast
asks me to find a big bowl. I place the
tonight? I didn´t know that you can make
glutinous rice flour and sugar in it, add the
tang yuans, auntie?”
water and mix it until the dough is even. I try not to be distracted by my parents´work and focus on our task. _____5______We have decided to make red tang yuan whereas our opponents will make plain ones. Then I roll the dough into small balls with my hands and place them in the fridge for 15 min. While they are resting there, I get a big saucepan, pour a litre of water and
42
Continued from previous page
Frank and Russie’s Little Big Adventures
“That sounds great. I can´t wait to taste them.” My teacher says excitedly. After enjoying our special treat, my father informs us that he´s got a surprise for everyone. ____9_____. “Oh, I almost forgot. Russie, this is a very popular tradition we have on this day. “ Russie replies, “I think I´ve read about it. People go out and light these lanterns, don´t they?” My mum smiles and explains that we have
My cousin jumps in and explains that first
all made them. Then she suggests that my
we need to guess the riddles attached to
cousin could choose the winner. I look at
the lanterns. Then she offers to translate
her and hope that she will choose ours.
them into English.
Gabriela agrees to be the judge and tastes
We all get very excited. I know they are
the rice balls from my parents´bowl first.
quite difficult because they refer to the
“Oh, yummy!” she exclaims. I keep my
Chinese culture, for example they could be
fingers crossed.. it´s our turn now. I see
about our literature, cities or traditions. So
my cousin making a grumpy face after
I secretly hope Russie doesn´t get
having a bite. Oh, no. We´ve messed them
disappointed.
up. ____8_____She seems to have a
Gabriela reads the first riddle:
disappointing look on her face, too. Finally our judge announces: “Sorry, Frank and Russie, but your rice balls are undercooked. So I am afraid my aunt and uncle are the winners.” “Oh, it´s a pity. Never mind, Frank. We tried and I am sure next time we´ll do a better job.”
We look at each other. It seems hard but
My father tries to cheer us up and says:
soon my father says:
“Don´t worry. There´re plenty of delicious
“I know the answer! It´s a silkworm.”
rice balls so let´s enjoy them before they
Oh, my dad is very clever. I think he will win
get cold.”
this game. But I don´t give up so I ask my 43
Continued from previous page
Frank and Russie’s Little Big Adventures
cousin to read another one:
Oh, it´s another tough riddle.
I see my teacher´s face light up. She
“ Is it your name?” Russie asks.
jumps eagerly and says: “It´s the clock.”
My cousin shakes her head. ”No, sorry.”
I turn to her and say “Wow, teacher, I am
Time is running out so we all give up and
proud of you.” I hope I will be able to solve
we check the answer:
the next one. Unfortunately, my cousin tells us we have
The face of the moon, which
run out of riddles so we decide to go out
“disappears” before it is a month old
and light the lanterns._____10______. My
and has been around for a long
teacher asks if she can make a wish, to
time.
which I reply that we don´t usually do this in China but if she wants, she could do it.
The game seems to be quite challenging
Soon four lanterns fly off in the sky. They
so I hope the next riddle is easier. Gabriela
join dozens of other “sky candles” which
reads it slowly:
have been set-off by our neighbours. It´s spectacular and I am so happy to share this moment with my teacher. “Frank, how long have these lanterns been used in China?” Russie wants to know. “I remember my history teacher telling us that the “fire balloons”, as we often call them here, were initially used during the wars in ancient times to send messages.” I
“I know the answer. “my teacher shouts,
explain.
“It´s your name!”
It´s getting cold so we all go inside where
“Well done, it´s a point for you!” my mum
my mother has just brewed some
congratulates us.
traditional herbal tea. While enjoying the
It´s time for the fourth riddle.
hot refreshing drink, we are discussing what our next destination will be. I suggest
44
Continued from previous page
Frank and Russie’s Little Big Adventures
we go to Nanjing where I can show Russie our national symbol- the cute pandas. I know she´s been dreaming of seeing them. We´ll leave you with this last riddle:
You´ll find the answer in the next chapter.
SEE YOU 10 sentences have been removed from the story. Can you find the right gap for them? a) She goes to the kitchen and comes back with an old book whose pages have turned yellow. b) After they are ready, she transfers them into a bowl with cold water for a minute. c) He brings in a big box and when he opens it we see lots of colourful paper lanterns. d) It was great to find out more about the Chinese history and see some splendid artefacts. e) My mum gives one to each of us and shows Russie how to light hers. f) I frown and look at Russie´s face. g) We set the timer and off we start. h) It´s time to find out who the winner is. i) Russie helps me divide the dough into two and add the food colouring carefully. j) I think I should have discussed this with her beforehand. CH ECK
O U T
T H E CRO S S WO RD PAG E
O N
TEACHING TIP
4 6 ,
WH I CH PRACT I S ES VO CABU L ARY FRO M
T H E
S T O RY
45
Crossword Across 5. to cook something by keeping it almost at boiling point 6. at the beginning 7. having or causing problems or difficulties 9. parts of a piece of clothing that covers all or part of your arm 10. to show the time by making a ringing sound 11. by good luck 12. a mixture of flour, water, etc. that is made into bread and pastry
Down 1. bad-tempered 2. people that you are playing or fighting against in a game, competition, argument, etc. 3. to make a hot drink of tea or coffee 4. unable to pay attention to somebody/something because you are worried or thinking about something else 5. a caterpillar that produces silk thread 8. all the people living together in a house or flat/apartment
46
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Across: 5- prosperous, 7-crawling, 9-permission, 10-preserved Down: 1-opportunities, 2-outskirts, 3-predominant, 4-obstruct, 6-enchanted, 8-artefact
A stamp
Image credit: pages 3,41 - Inspirational English page 7 - Peter Taylor pages 9-13- Bea Sieradzka pages 23, 28 Sara Schairer Pages 37- Josie Whitehead pages 42, 45- Frank Wang Pages- 2, 6, 7, 8, 16,22, 31-36, 49, front and back cover https://spark.adobe.com
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See you in September, 2018!
Contact details: info@englishwithrussie.co.uk
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