Course Profile
Beginning Communications in English, ESL Level 1, open, Public
Unit #2: A Time For All Seasons
Activity 1 | Activity
2 | Activity 3 | Activity 4 | Activity 5 | Activity 6
Time: 20 hours
Unit Developers: Jane Campbell, Hazel Excell,
Denise Gordon, Jane Hill, Elaine Iannuzziello, Paula Markus, Eleanor Minuk,
Jane Sims, Ero Siouga, Betty Ann Taylor.
Development Date: April,
1999
Unit Description
In this unit, students will
acquire essential English language structures to describe the passage of time,
the seasons, and celebrations in Canada. Students will be able to locate and
extract information in reference materials and from media works. Through
studying Canada’s common customs and holidays, students will demonstrate the
ability to use simple English sentences in oral and written communication,
including personal likes and dislikes.
Strands and Expectations:
Strand:
Oral and Visual Communication
Overall Expectations: AORV.01X, AORV.02X,
AORV.04X
Specific Expectations: AOR1.01X, AOR1.02X, AOR1.04X, AOR1.05X, AOR2.01X,
AOR2.02X, AOR2.03X, AOR3.06X, AOR4.01X, AOR4.03X
Strand: Reading
Overall Expectations: AREV.01X, AREV.02X,
AREV.03X, AREV.04X
Specific Expectations: ARE1.04X, ARE2.01X,
ARE3.04X, ARE3.05X, ARE4.02X
Strand: Writing
Overall Expectations: AWRV.01X, AWRV.02X
Specific Expectations: AWR1.01X, AWR1.02X, AWR1.04X, AWR2.01X, AWR2.04X,
AWR2.05X, AWR2.06X, AWR2.07X
Strand: Social and Cultural
Competence
Overall Expectations: ASCV. 01X, ASCV.02X
Specific Expectations: ASC1.01X, ASC1.03X,
ASC2.04X, ASC2.05X, ASC2.07X
Activity Titles ( Time + Sequence )
|
Activity 1 |
What is the Date? |
4 hours |
|
Activity 2 |
What Time is It? |
3 hours |
|
Activity 3 |
Weather and Seasons |
4 hours |
|
Activity 4 |
The International Weather
Scene |
3 hours |
|
Activity 5 |
What are you Wearing? |
2 hours |
|
Activity 6 |
Celebrations |
4 hours |
Prior Knowledge Required
• knowledge of the English alphabet and ability
to copy English words and phrases
• familiarity with the school and school
routine
• an initial vocabulary of words related to
identity, the classroom, the school, the family, the home and some methods of
transportation
• awareness of the question and answer
language pattern and a beginning comprehension of simple verb tenses and
personal pronouns
Unit Planning Notes
Most students will have
mastered the critical skills
required for this unit such as telling time, filling in a calendar, and
discussing celebrations in their first language. To enhance cognitive
development students should be given opportunities to use their first language
and then explain their ideas in English. In this unit, using their first
language, students will make a birthday or greeting card, write about a
celebration in their country of origin and contribute to the creation of a
picture dictionary of clothing. To make the picture dictionary more meaningful
for the students, arrangements could be made ahead of time to have
representatives from the class present this book to a much younger class at a
nearby elementary school.
Teachers will wish to make
arrangements for the class to have access to computers; students will be
creating spread sheets and entering information from the Internet into selected
fields.
For practice in listening to
other voices, teachers may wish to ask friends or colleagues to tape scripted
weather reports. In the resources there are listed many picture and simple
story books. These books are available at many public libraries. Reading
stories to beginning language learners is an important teaching strategy to
foster literacy skills in English.
Teaching and Learning Strategies
Think/Pair/Share, language
experience stories, worksheets (fill in the blanks, matching, word search,
cloze, scrambled words, modelling language patterns), small group work, use of
overhead projector, guided writing, pre reading and post reading exercises, guest
visits, audio tapes, visual materials, information technology, word processing,
Internet searches, activity centres, teacher read-alouds, silent reading,
viewing videos, community surveys, making a collage, language games, student
created books, journals, sharing languages and cultures.
Assessment/Evaluation Techniques
Activity Type Tool Categories
|
Activity 1 |
Formative Summative |
Class Birthday Chart Vocabulary Quiz |
Comm/Application Knowledge |
|
Activity 2 |
Formative Summative |
Dictation Morning Routine Time Vocabulary Quiz |
Know/Thinking Knowledge |
|
Activity 3 |
Formative Summative |
Seasons Collage Dates/Time/Weather Test |
Think/Comm/App Know/Thinking |
|
Activity 4 |
Summative Formative Summative |
Postcard Task Computer Skills Mastery Weather Spread Sheet |
Know/Think/Comm/App Know/Think/App Know/Think/App |
|
Activity 5 |
Summative Summative Formative |
Multilingual Book Pages Clothing Poster Self-Evaluation of Group
Work Skills |
Know/Think/Comm Know/Comm/App Comm/Thinking |
|
Activity 6 |
Formative Summative |
First Language Paragraph Graphic Organizer |
Know/Comm Know/Think/Comm/App |
Expectations which are
assessed through the assessment tools for each activity are denoted by the
iconic symbol < in the activity expectation lists.
Resources
Acosta, Joan. Canada,
Coast to Coast, Second Edition. Toronto: ITP Nelson Canada, 1999.
Acosta, Joan. Coast to
Coast Reader. Vancouver: Douglas and McIntyre, 1987.
Bailey, Cindy. Start up
Multiculturalism. Markham: Pembroke Press, 1991.
Berish, Lynda, and
Thibaudeau, Sandra. Canadian Concepts Books 1 and 2. Toronto: Prentice
Hall Allyn and Bacon, 1997.
Berish, Lynda;
Thibandeau,Sandra; and Wilson, Maria De Rosa. Grammar Connections 1. Toronto:
Prentice Hall Regents, 1995.
Carver, Tina Kasloff;
Fotinos, Sandra Douglas; and Cooper, Clarice. A Canadian Conversation Book
One. 2nd ed. Toronto: Prentice Hall Allyn and Bacon,1997.
Carver, Tina Kasloff;
Fotinos, Sandra Douglas; and Olson, C.K. A Writing Book, English in Everyday
Life. New Jersey: Prentice Hall Regent 1998.
Chabot, John. 101
Illustrated Crossword Puzzles. Virgil, Ontario: Full Blast Productions,
1994. (These materials are reproducible)
Chabot, John. Thematic
Activities for Beginners in English. Virgil, Ontario: Full Blast
Productions.
Grennan, Maggie. The Canadian Oxford Picture Dictionary,
Beginner’s Workbook, Toronto: Oxford University Press, 1997.
Hadfield, Jill. Elementary
Communication Games. England: Addison Wesley Longman, 1984.
Langevin, D., Macchia, J.P.,
Ladner, T., and Offenhim, S. When’s the Next Holiday? 2nd ed. Toronto:
Canadian Resources for ESL, 1996. (These materials are reproducible)
Lipszyc, Carol. People
Express. Don Mills: Oxford University Press, 1996.
Metropolitan Toronto School
Board. Great Beginnings: ESL in the Junior Division, Suggestions for
Classroom Teachers, 1990. (Now the Toronto District School Board)
Molinsky , Steven, and
Bliss, Bill. Line By Line Book 1 . Toronto: Prentice Hall, 1983.
Molinsky , Steven, and
Bliss, Bill. Side by Side Secondary School Edition, Book 1. Toronto:
Prentice Hall, 1997.
Nishio, Yvonne Wong. Longman
ESL Literacy, Second Edition. White
Plains, NY: Addison Wesley Longman, 1998.
O’Malley, J. Michael and
Lorraine Valdez Pierce. Authentic Assessment for English Language Learners:
Practical Approaches for Teachers.
Addison Wesley, 1997.
Parnwell, E.C. and Grennan,
Maggie. The Canadian Oxford
Picture Dictionary, New York: Oxford University Press, 1998.
Multicultural Calendars
Multicultural Calendar. Creative Cultural
Communications, 99 Harbour Square, Suite 2108, Toronto, M5J 2H2. (Website :
www.multicultural calendar.com)
Multifaith Calendar Distributed by Unity Arts,
1-800-465-3287
Video
Seasons. Dan Gibson Productions.
Solitudes, 1131A Leslie Street, Suite 500, Toronto, M3C 3L8. (416 510-2800).
Websites
www.multicultural
calendar.com
HHTP://www.oise.utoronto.ca/~aweinrib/sle/esl.httml. This website provides links to ESL professional
development sites while offering
interestimg activities for
students. Highlights include: Canadian
Language Benchmark Literacy Assessments, Centre for Canadian Language
Benchmarks, Computer Resources for ESL, TESL Ontario, TESL Canada, and Dave’s
ESL Cafe.
Activity
#1: What is the date?
Time: 240 minutes
Description: The calendar, personal and national celebrations
will be the vehicles for English language development in this activity.
Students will practise simple questions and answers. They will create a
birthday or greeting card for a friend using their first language. They will
read short passages and be introduced to two national holidays in Canada. The
grammatical focus will be reviewing the question and answer pattern and learning
to use the simple past of the verb to be.
Strands and Expectations
Strand: Oral and Visual Communication
Overall Expectations: AORV.01X*, AORV.02X*,
Specific Expectations: AOR1.01X, AOR1.02X, AOR1.04X*, AOR1.05X,
AOR2.01X,
AOR2.02X, AOR3.06X
Strand: Reading
Overall Expectations: AREV.01X*
Specific Expectations: ARE3.05X*
Strand: Writing
Overall Expectations: AWRV.02X<
Specific Expectations: AWR1.02X, AWR1.04X*,
AWR2.01X, AWR2.05X*, AWR2.06X,
AWR2.07X
Strand: Social and Cultural
Competence
Overall Expectations: ASCV.01X*
Specific Expectations: ASC1.01X*, ASC1.03X*
Planning Notes
• Materials required for this activity
include a calendar, student agendas, a template of a calendar month on an
overhead, an overhead projector, flash cards, construction paper, markers and a
draw program on a computer.
• Prepare
a set of flash cards of the names of the months.
• Complementary language practice activities
can be found in Canadian Concepts 1, Grammar Connections 1, A
Canadian Conversation Book, Elementary Communication Games, Great
Beginnings, Word by Word Beginning Workbook, Canadian Oxford
Picture Dictionary Beginner’s Workbook.
• This activity includes reference to
students’ birthdays. Occasionally, some
students may be uncomfortable with revealing or talking about their birthdays.
In some cultures, the concept of celebrating a birthday is viewed differently.
Teachers will need to be aware of and sensitive to these possibilities.
Prior Knowledge Required
• names of the days of the week and numbers
• simple sentences and questions using the
verb to be
• reading headings and filling in a chart
Teaching/Learning Strategies
1. Provide students with a blank master of a
calendar month. Using an overhead fill in the names of days of the week, number
the squares consecutively and place the name of the month at the top. Review
the names of the days of the week and review numbers for students who are still
not familiar with this vocabulary. Teach the names of the twelve months. Select
listening and speaking activities from a selection of beginner ESL texts to
practice this vocabulary. Also introduce the words, yesterday, today and tomorrow
and teach the simple past of the verb to
be. Model: Yesterday was Tuesday.
Friday I was sick. etc. Students will do a short vocabulary quiz to show
their mastery of the vocabulary of the calendar.
2. Using a calendar for the year, record
students’ birth dates. Review the ordinal
numbers taught during orientation to the timetable and teach the rest of the
ordinal numbers to thirty-first. Have
students form sentences stating their month and day of birth. In small groups
have students complete a chart listing the names and birth dates of each member
in the group in calendar order, January to December. Model the question forms: When
is your birthday? and How old are
you? This chart will be assessed
for accuracy and completeness. Students might write a simple journal entry describing
their last birthday celebration. Once again, be aware of cultural differences
in valuing the celebration of birthdays.
3. To reinforce the continuing validity of the students’ first
languages, have students make a birthday or other type of greeting card for a
fellow student or friend. If there is a computer in the room, some students
might like to use a draw program to complete this task.
4. Using the concept of personal birthdays,
present the concept of a national birthday. Give students a short passage about
Canada’s birthday; such a passage can be found in beginner ESL reading texts.
(Refer to Unit 4, Canada Coast to Coast
Read the passage aloud while the students follow silently. Ask
students to identify words they do not understand and try to infer the meaning
from the text. Have the class read the
passage together and then ask for individual volunteers. Next, ask specific
concrete questions about the passage such as : When did Canada become a country? How many colonies joined together to
form Canada? etc.
After the students have read
the passage several times and can answer the content questions accurately, convert the passage to a cloze activity to
reinforce vocabulary.
5. See Appendix #1: Queen Victoria’s Birthday. This passage may be used to reinforce
the reading strategies taught through Canada’s Birthday. To convert this to a
cloze exercise take out key words and provide students with a list of
vocabulary to choose from. The passage could also be used as a quiz.
Assessment/ Evaluation Techniques
1. Chart listing names and birth dates for
completeness and accuracy (Formative)
2. Vocabulary quiz relating to reading passages (Summative)
Accommodations/Special Needs
• have a supply of picture dictionaries to
assist visual learners
• scribe for individual students as necessary
• underwriting, overwriting, copying words for literacy students
• tape Canada’s
Birthday and Queen Victoria’s
Birthday passages for listening centre
• Appendix 1 may be used for either
remediation or enrichment
• students might wish to make monthly
templates on the classroom computer
• Longman ESL Literacy, Unit 4
contains literacy activities based on the calendar.
Resources
Acosta, Joan. Canada,
Coast to Coast, Toronto: ITP Nelson Canada, 1999
Activity
#2
: What
Time is It?
Time: 180 minutes
Description: Students will learn to express time in English; they
will learn language associated with daily routines and write a teacher-directed
paragraph. Students will be guided through stages such as finding appropriate
words, writing sentences and then linking them to produce a complete text. They
will also practice listening to times or schedules in recorded messages. The
grammatical focus will be reviewing the third person singular form of common
verbs.
Strands and Expectations
Strand: Oral and Visual
Communication
Overall Expectations: AORV.01X, AORV.02X*,
AORV.04X
Specific Expectations: AOR1.04X, AOR1.05X*,
AOR2.01X, AOR2.02X
Strand: Reading
Overall Expectations: AREV.02X*
Specific Expectations: ARE1.04X*, ARE2.01X
Strand: Writing
Overall Expectations: AWRV.02X<
Specific Expectations: AWR1.01X, AWR1.02X*,
AWR2.01X, AWR2.05X, AWR2.06X,
AWR2.07X
Strand: Social and Cultural
Competence
Overall Expectations: ASCV.02X
Specific Expectations: ASC2.04X
Planning Notes
• It is possible to purchase a rubber stamp
of a blank clock face from suppliers of educational materials.
• To reinforce listening skills, students will be calling locations which offer a prerecorded message. Many cities now have access to Talking Yellow Pages which provide a wealth of amusing or practical information. However, any source that would have a prerecorded message may be used. Choose a site, phone ahead and transcribe the message. Make a modified cloze exercise based on this script. Select other sites for students to call.
• Complementary language practice activities
on telling time can be found in Canadian Concepts 1, Canadian
Concepts 2, Grammar Connections 1, A Canadian Conversation Book,
Elementary Communication Games, Word by Word Beginning Workbook, Canadian
Oxford Picture Dictionary Beginner’s Workbook.
• Materials required for this activity
include a clock or a demonstration clock with movable hands (a reproducible one
is available in Longman ESL Literacy), a variety of pictures of people
performing daily tasks in the home, file cards, multiple drawings of clock
faces, telephone books or newspapers which list places in the community.
Pictures used for the daily routine task should represent the cultural
diversity of Canadian society.
Prior Knowledge Required
• knowledge of numbers in English
• recognize verbs used in daily routines
Teaching/Learning Strategies
1. Teach students how to tell time in English including time
vocabulary: o’clock, morning, noon, afternoon, evening, night, midnight,
dawn, alarm clock, wake up, sleep, etc. Using a variety of oral and written
activities and language games from beginner ESL texts, have students practice
this vocabulary. To assess acquisition of time vocabulary, give a short quiz
matching times to pictures, telling the time on clock faces, etc.
2. Move on to daily routines and reintroduce
simple action verbs, present tense, which were used in Unit 1, Activity #5. Divide students into small groups and
have students match pictures to written sentences; then students write the
sentences in the correct order. Cloze passages, fill in the blanks, matching
times in column A with appropriate verbs in column B; there are many ways to
practise these skills.
3. Read The Day of Ahmed’s Secret aloud to the class. Discuss
how each day he had a set routine. Brainstorm the morning routine of the
students. Teacher will record the routines on the board in point form. Have
students number the entries in chronological order. Demonstrate a time line
visual, using the steps in the morning routine.
Students then compose
sentences in the third person using the points on the board. The class then
puts the sentences in paragraph form using such words as first, next, after, then,
finally, to establish chronological order. Students then copy the paragraph
into their notebooks and prepare for a short dictation of a routine. This will
be written in the next class.
4. Once students are familiar with telling time,
discuss Daylight Savings Time, Standard
Time and time zones. Students can practise this concept by playing games
devised by the teacher or using exercises found in beginner ESL texts. An
excellent story book to read to students at this time is Nine O’clock
Lullaby by Marilyn Singer. This book depicts what various people are doing
at one moment in real time across the time zones of the globe.
5. Introduce this next strategy by reading a transcribed phone
message to the class. Then distribute the modified cloze exercise of the
transcribed message. After students have listened to the message read again and
have them complete the cloze exercise. Choose one site in the Talking Yellow
Pages section of the telephone book under Entertainment. Explain to the students
how to use the phone to reach the site and ask students to listen for the
specific starting times of a film or television program, etc. Have all students
phone the same site and compare information in class the next day. To practice
this listening activity, students could phone different sites during the next
week or so. Information gathered may be added to the Community Directory begun
in Unit 1, Activity # 6.
Assessment / Evaluation Techniques
• dictation of passage describing morning
routine of a student (Formative)
• quiz on time vocabulary (Summative)
Accommodations/Special Needs
• as enrichment, students could call other
locations in the community to discover opening and closing hours, times of
theatre showings etc.
• scribe personal routines of students who
are not yet able to write in English
• tape the two story books for practice at
the listening centre
• literacy learners could complete a teacher
made pattern book with the pattern At
seven o’clock I...At nine o’clock I...
• Longman
ESL Literacy, Unit 3, contains literacy activities related
to numbers and telling time.
Resources
Anno, Mitsumasa, et al. All
in a Day. New York: Philomel Books, 1986. Another good read aloud.
Heide, Florence, and
Gilliland, Judith. The Day of Ahmed’s Secret. New York: Lothrop, Lee and
Shepard Books.
Singer, Marilyn. Nine
O’clock Lullaby. Harper Trophy, 1991.
Activity
#3: Weather and Seasons
Time: 240 minutes
Description: Students will focus on
weather as a vehicle for English language learning. They will view a video,
practise listening to weather announcements from the radio and gather
information from a short televised weather report. They will learn to transfer
and record information on a graph. They will review the material at activity
centres to prepare for a major class test. The grammatical focus will be
teaching present continuous verbs
and adjectives associated with weather and seasons.
Strands and Expectations
Strand: Oral and Visual
Communication
Overall Expectations: AORV.01X, AORV.02X*,
AORV.04X*
Specific Expectations: AOR1.05X, AOR2.01X*,
AOR2.02X, AOR4.01X*, AOR4.03X
Strand: Reading
Overall Expectations: AREV.04X*
Specific Expectations: ARE1.04X, ARE2.01X,
ARE4.02X*
Strand: Writing
Overall Expectations: AWRV.01X*
Specific Expectations: AWR1.04X*
Strand: Social and Cultural
Competence
Overall Expectations: ASCV.02X*
Specific Expectations: ASC2.05X*
Planning Notes
• Preview a video such as Seasons
which depicts the four seasons in Canada and has very little narration.
• Prepare several audio tapes of weather
forecasts. To help students get used to listening to a variety of voices, ask
colleagues or friends to tape one or two of these.
• Arrange to have access to a television to view
the weather forecasts for several days.
• The materials required for this activity
include a template of a temperature grid, a selection of pictures depicting the
four seasons, and a collection of graphics depicting weather terminology such
as sunny, partly cloudy, etc. These
can be obtained from newspaper weather maps.
• An outdoor thermometer could be a useful
aid in this activity.
• Complementary language practice activities
on weather and seasons can be found in Canadian Concepts 1, Canadian Concepts
2, Grammar Connections 1, Great Beginnings, 101
Illustrated Crossword Puzzles, Word by Word Beginning Workbook, Oxford
Canadian Picture Dictionary Beginner’s Workbook, A Canadian Conversation
Book.
Prior Knowledge Required
• vocabulary associated with telling time and
daily routines
• mastery of the vocabulary of numbers
Teaching/Learning Strategies
1. Prepare students for a video showing how the
weather in Canada changes during the year. Introduce the concept of seasons.
Watch a video showing the four seasons in Canada. Divide the class in four
groups and have each group create and label a collage of their drawings and
illustrations on one page depicting a season for the picture dictionary.
Provide samples of collages from other subject areas to model expectations for
the students.
2. Teach the vocabulary and graphics associated with weather and
seasons: temperature, sunny, cloudy,
snow, rainfall, partly sunny, winds, windchill, freezing, Fahrenheit, Celsius, degrees, etc. Have students match graphics to adjectives describing the weather. Such exercises are found in
many beginning level ESL texts. For the next week or two record the daily
temperature on a classroom graph.
Students should have their own copy in their notebooks. Also record the daily
weather on a calendar each day.
3. Using prerecorded audio tapes of weather
reports, have students practise answering questions based on these
presentations. View a televised weather report with students; elicit key
information orally after the report. The following day provide students with a
chart to be completed while they watch the program again.
4. To practise the vocabulary and skills in this section of the unit
and to prepare for a test, have
students complete the following six activities at centres set up around the
classroom:
• answer
questions based on audio-recorded weather reports
• complete
a cloze exercise on a passage of writing about the weather
• accurately
record ten temperatures on a grid
• draw
faces on clocks to record listed times
• match
weather graphics to appropriate vocabulary
• place
sentences about a daily routine in order
5. The day before the actual test, give a mock
test to the class. Review the kinds of questions that will be included and
provide samples of all questions and what the assessment criteria will be.
Accommodations/Special Needs
• for more advanced students, rotate a globe
to explain how seasons are determined and teach scientific terms such as: equinox, winter and summer solstice
• in small groups, have students write and
tape a weather forecast for the next day
• have
a written script of the prerecorded audio tapes at the listening centre
• use a beginner literacy text such as People
Express , Unit 7 to reinforce language structures
Assessment / Evaluation Techniques
1. Test on dates, time and weather (Summative)
2. Seasons collage (Formative)
Resources
Dillon, Leo and Diane. To
Everything There is a Season. Toronto: The Blue Sky Press (a division of
Scholastic), 1998. An illustrated read-aloud of the biblical verse.
Lipszyc, Carol. People
Express. Don Mills: Oxford University Press, 1996.
Rucki, Ani. When the
Earth Wakes. Toronto: Scholastic, 1998.
A simple and poetic passage through the seasons.
Video
Seasons. Dan Gibson Productions.
Solitudes, 1131A Leslie Street, Suite 500, Toronto, M3C 3L8. (416 510-2800).
Activity
#4: The
International Weather Scene
Time: 240 minutes
Description: Students will learn to describe the weather, read
weather maps and locate information in lists. They will become familiar with
terms such as air quality, UV readings
and precipitation. They will write a short message about the weather to a friend in another country
and begin to edit their own compositions.
Using a spreadsheet students
will record information located on the Internet. Students will also begin a
list of careers associated with weather. The grammatical focus will be
reviewing adjectives, learning to use the comparative and superlative forms of
adjectives and beginning to learn to use the future tense.
Strands and Expectations
Strand: Oral and Visual
Communication
Overall Expectations: AORV.04X*
Specific Expectations: AOR1.04X, AOR2.02X*, AOR2.03X*,
AOR4.01X*
Strand: Reading
Overall Expectations: AREV.04X*
Specific Expectations: ARE4.04X*
Strand: Writing
Overall Expectations: AWRV.01X<
Specific Expectations: AWR1.02X*, AWR1.04X,
AWR2.05X*
Strand: Social and Cultural
Competence
Overall Expectations: ASCV.01X*, ASCV.02X
Specific Expectations: ASC1.03X*, ASC2.02X
Planning Notes
• Make arrangements to use computers with
access to the Internet during this activity; since specific web sites tend to change
from day to day, check a source such as the periodical Classroom Connect or
use a search engine to locate a site before starting the lesson.
• Become familiar with making spreadsheets
using three or four fields.
• Materials required for this activity
include file cards for recording short messages, a copy of an international
weather report (such as that found in a national paper), copies of Appendix 2.
Composition Checklist and a spreadsheet program.
• Complementary language practice activities
on weather and seasons are the same as in planning notes for Activity #3.
Prior Knowledge Required
• vocabulary of weather, numbers and temperatures
Teaching/Learning Strategies
1. Photocopy an
international weather map and a list of temperatures in major cities
around the world. Teach the vocabulary of the headings on the weather report, e.g. precipitation, almanac, UV readings, air
quality, etc. Review listening skills What
is the temperature in ______? Introduce comparatives and superlatives: Where is the hottest place? Which is hotter?
Model answers, hotter than and colder than.
2. Give class a word search, crossword puzzle or other language game
using weather vocabulary. Students will add to their Career List, begun in Unit
1, Activity #3, occupations pertaining to weather such as cartographer,
meteorologist, announcer, forecaster, snowplow operator, Hydro repair person,
etc.
3. Using file cards, have students write a postcard
to a friend describing the weather to-day. This card should then be addressed
fully and correctly, using the skills learned in Unit 1, Activity #5. After the
teacher models the text of a postcard, students must write a paragraph in
complete sentences to describe the weather to their friends. This description
should include their personal opinion of the weather. Before handing their
postcards to the teacher, students should use the Composition checklist to edit
their work. See Appendix 2.
4. Introduce the future tense of the verb to be. Model: The temperature in Halifax will be ..... Give
students a worksheet with questions such as: What will the temperature be in Halifax on Monday? A possible
journal topic may be a prediction of what the weather will be the next day.
5. Select
one of the Weather web sites and begin by researching the temperatures in
Canada and moving on to temperatures in students’ countries of origin. Using a
spreadsheet, set up fields for city, days of the week, average /mean temperature
or other additional details. Students must record information in the correct
field for several days.
Assessment / Evaluation Techniques
1. Assessment of postcard task. See rubric in Appendix 3. (Summative)
2. Mastery of spread sheet and skills associated
with online literacy. (Formative)
3. Assess spreadsheet (Summative)
Accommodations/Special Needs
• Students
who are more computer literate should assist students with limited computer
skills.
• Scribe for individual students as needed.
• For literacy students, bring in samples of
written postcards to use as models.
• Literacy students can practice word
recognition with large word cards and visuals.
Resources
Internet Sites
Weather Website:
www.theweathernetwork.com
Activity
#5: What
Are You Wearing?
Time: 120 minutes
Description: Students will develop language structures pertaining
to clothing, especially seasonal clothing. They will become familiar with
seasonal clothing safety issues such as frostbite, sunstroke, etc. Students
will create a multilingual picture book and will practise descriptive writing.
The grammatical focus will be on learning descriptive adjectives associated
with clothing, and reviewing present
continuous verbs.
Strands and Expectations
Strand: Oral and Visual
Communication
Overall Expectations: AORV.02X*
Specific Expectations: AOR1.04X*, AOR1.05X,
AOR2.01X
Strand: Reading
Overall Expectations: AREV.02X
Specific Expectations: ARE2.01X
Strand: Writing
Overall Expectations: AWRV.01X*, AWRV.02X
Specific Expectations: AWR1.02X*, AWR2.07Xv<
Strand: Social and Cultural
Competence
Overall Expectations: ASCV.01X, ASCV.02X*
Specific Expectations: ASC1.02X*, ASC2.07X*
Planning Notes
• Materials required for this activity include:
a Polaroid camera, clothing advertisements and catalogues, a scrap book, glue
sticks and coloured pens.
• Some students may want to draw a picture of themselves rather than have their picture taken.
• Complementary language practice
activities on clothing can be found in Canadian Concepts 1, Canadian
Concepts 2, A Canadian Conversation Book, 101 Illustrated
Crossword Puzzles, Word by Word Beginning Workbook, Oxford
Canadian Picture Dictionary Beginners Workbook.
• A simple clothing related reading selection is in Canada, Coast to Coast, Unit 27: Teens Love These T-Shirts.
Prior Knowledge Required
• Use of present continuous
• Question and answer patterns
• Comparative and superlative forms of
adjectives
Teaching/Learning Strategies
1. Have students make a multilingual clothing
picture book. On each page there should be a picture of an article of clothing,
its English name, and corresponding name(s) in the students’ first languages.
This book could be a gift for the local elementary school.
2. Using the Polaroid camera take a picture of the students in the
room. Discuss descriptive words such as: colours,
textures, materials etc. Use a matching exercise to reinforce descriptive
adjectives, e.g. big, small, dark, light.
Have each student compose a paragraph entitled: I Am Wearing... When
complete these paragraphs should be shared with writing partners. Collect the
pictures, shuffle them and redistribute among the class. This time students
will write a new paragraph in the third person, describing what a classmate is wearing. When everyone
is finished writing, students can make a poster which includes their own
photograph or illustration, their paragraph and their classmate’s paragraph.
3. Using two pictures, one of summer clothing
and the other of winter attire, introduce the concepts of: sunstroke and frostbite. Have students label the necessary clothing
and other items e.g. sun hats,
sunglasses, sun screen, sandals, gloves, scarves, boots etc. to prevent
these measures. Use exercises such
as: Who Wears What at Work, and add
professions to the list of careers.
4. Divide students into small groups and provide a supposed budget of
$100.00 to purchase winter clothing. The group must decide by negotiating on
one set list of clothes. Before the activity begins, model polite forms of
disagreement and the language of negotiation.
For example: I think. . . , Could
we. . . . , How about . . . ? Students may also be reminded of the
comparative and superlative forms of adjectives. Have students evaluate their
performance by filling in a checklist of criteria that have been established
beforehand in a class discussion. (See Appendix 4)
Assessment / Evaluation Techniques
1. Pages in the multilingual picture book.
(Summative)
2. Posters: I Am Wearing .
. . (Summative)
3. Student evaluation of negotiating and group
work skills. (Formative) (See Appendix 4)
Accommodation/Special Needs
• Do information gap activities and games to
reinforce learning of clothing vocabulary such as a “Concentration” game with
word cards of various clothing items.
• Do a TPR listening activity where students
colour in line drawings of clothing items with different colours according to
the teacher’s or a partner’s instructions.
• Scribe for individual students as needed.
• Literacy students practise word recognition
with word cards and visuals.
• Create a “living Venn diagram” on the floor
with 2 hula hoops. Students place visuals of actual items of clothing in the
circles by classifying according to winter/summer, male/female, and other
distinctions.
Resources
Duvall, Jill D. Ms. Moja
Makes Beautiful Clothes. New York: Children’s Press, 1997. Read aloud.
Feder, Jane. Table, Chair, Bear: A Book in Many
Languages. Boston: Houghton
Mifflin, 1995. Colourful example of a
multilingual picture book.
Gilman, Phoebe. Something
from Nothing. Toronto: Scholastic, 1992.
Patterned read aloud.
Hoban, Tana. Colors
Everywhere. New York: Greenwillow Books, 1995. Read aloud.
Lipszyc, Carol. People
Express. Don Mills: Oxford University Press, 1996. Unit 10.
Activity
#6: Celebrations
Time: 240 minutes
Description: In this activity students will learn about Canadian
celebrations and share information about celebrations in their countries of
origin. They will review the language of time and dates. They will write in
their first language and explain their writing in English. Additional time will
be spent on this activity throughout the year as holidays occur.
Strands and Expectations
Strand: Oral and Visual Communication
Overall Expectations: AORV.01X*
Specific Expectations: AOR1.04X*, AOR1.05X
Strand: Reading
Overall Expectations: AREV.03X*
Specific Expectations: ARE3.02X*
Strand: Writing
Overall Expectations: AWRV.01X*
Specific Expectations: AWR1.02X*
Strand: Social and Cultural
Competence
Overall
Expectations: ASCV.01X*
Specific
Expectations: ASC1.01X*, ASC1.03X*
Planning Notes
• Materials required for this activity
include: having a calendar to record annual Canadian celebrations, multicultural
calendars and translation dictionaries. The
Multifaith Calendar, is available from Unity Arts, phone: 1-800-465-3287
• Collect and display resources relating to
holidays and celebrations around the world. (See resources.)
• A month by month generic calendar template
can be found in Great Beginnings.
• Complementary language practice activities
can be found in Canadian Concepts 1, Canadian Concepts 2, A
Canadian Conversation Book, When’s The Next Holiday?
Prior Knowledge Required
• Vocabulary
of time and dates
• Familiarity with paragraph format
Teaching/Learning Strategies
1. Mark Canadian celebrations on the calendar
beginning with New Year’ s Day and ending with Boxing Day. Include non
statutory holidays such as June 21: First Nations Day, October 31: Hallowe’en,
etc. Choose the next approaching holiday and discuss: date, symbols, clothes, customs, special foods, gifts
etc. that may be a part of this celebration. With the class develop a
graphic organizer using these headings which students may then use with other
celebrations.
2. Using a variety of exercises such as those found in beginner ESL
texts, have students list holiday names, match pictures to dates, and discuss in
pairs the specific features of a number of Canadian holidays. Have students
volunteer how national birthdays are celebrated in their country of origin or
select the Canadian New Year and ask how and when the new year is celebrated
around the world. Remember to ask what year is currently being celebrated.
Record this information on a class poster.
3. Post multicultural calendars on the wall and
allow students time to look at them. Ask students to select a special day which
is celebrated in their country. Give students two blank graphic organizers.
Have them complete the organizer for the celebration of their choice in their
first language. Using this organizer students can write a paragraph about the
celebration in their first language. Let them know they will be asked to
explain this celebration the next day in English. They will fill in a second graphic organizer using English words
this time. Assess the composition written in the first language simply as done
or not done.
4. In pairs, using the graphic organizer, have students explain their
selected celebrations to each other. After they have explained to their
partners ask for volunteers to explain their celebrations to the whole class.
Assessment / Evaluation Techniques
• Passage written in first language
(Summative)
• Graphic organizer (Summative)
Accommodations/Special Needs
• Pair students who speak the same language.
• Provide scribing assistance as required.
• The inclusion of a written first language
description of a national holiday will validate students’ experience.
• Encourage the use of translation
dictionaries to tell about their holidays in English.
• Collect and display visual resources
depicting celebrations in other cultures.
• Students may wish to bring pictures or other
materials associated with their celebration to show the class.
Resources
Chandler, Clare. Festivals: Harvest. Wayland Publishers, East Sussex, England,
1997. (Other titles in this series by
various authors include Carnival, Chinese New Year, Christmas, Divali,
Easter, Id-ul-Fitr, Passover.
Jackson, Alison. I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Pie.
New York: Dutton Children’s Books, 1995. Patterned read aloud for the
Thanksgiving holiday or any feasting occasion.
Kadodwala, Dilip. A World of Holidays: Divali. Austin,
Texas: Steck-Vaughn, 1998.
(Other titles in this series
by various authors include: All Saints, All Souls and Halloween; Carnival;
Chinese New Year; Christmas; Easter; Hanukkah; Holi, Id-ul-Fitr; Passover;
Thanksgiving.
Kindersley, Barnabas, and
Kindersley, Anabel. Celebrations! Bolton, Ontario: Fenn Publishing and
UNICEF, 1997.
Langevin, D.; Macchia, J.P.;
Ladner, T.; and Offenhim, S. When’s the Next Holiday? 2nd ed. Toronto:
Canadian Resources for ESL, 1996.
Parry, Caroline. Let’s Celebrate.
Toronto: Kids Can Press, 1987.
Viesti, Joe and Hall,
Diane. Celebrate in South Asia. N.Y.: Lothrop, Lee and Shepard, 1996.
Multicultural Calendar: Creative Cultural Communications 99 Harbour
Square, Suite 2108, Toronto, Ontario. M5J 2H2.
Multifaith Calendar, Unity
Arts, 1-800-465-3287
Websites www.multicultural
calendar.com
Appendix #1
ESLAO: Unit #2, Activity 1:
What is the Date?
Queen Victoria’s Birthday
Before 1867 there were four colonies in Canada. Queen Victoria was the queen of
Great Britain and the four colonies. Her birthday was May 24th. People in Britain and Canada celebrated her birthday.
In 1901 this celebration became a national holiday. Today we celebrate this holiday on the first Monday before May 25th. Many places in Ontario have fireworks, picnics and parades. This holiday is the first long weekend of the summer season.
1. Who was the Queen of Great Britain and the four colonies?
2. When was her birthday?
3. When do Canadians celebrate her birthday now?
4. How
do Canadians celebrate this holiday?
Modified Cloze Passage:
Queen Victoria’s Birthday
Before 1867 there were________ colonies in Canada. Queen Victoria was the queen of ___________________ and the four colonies. Her birthday was May _____. People in Britain and Canada celebrated her birthday.
In 1901 this celebration became a national ____________. Today we celebrate this holiday on the first _____________ before May 25th. Many places in Ontario have fireworks, picnics and parades. This holiday is the________long weekend of the summer season.
Words:
first, holiday, four, 24th, Monday, Great Britain
Appendix 2
ESLAO: Unit #2, Activity 4: The International Weather Scene
Composition Checklist
a)
Mechanics
Capitalizes letters correctly
Uses appropriate punctuation
Spells words without errors
Uses correct verb forms
Writes address completely in the correct form
b)
Form
Indents first word of paragraph
Uses margins
Uses appropriate capital letters
Writes one sentence after another
Spaces correctly between words
Writes legibly
c) Content
Includes content appropriate to the topic
Uses vocabulary about weather
Expresses personal opinion
Appendix 3
ESLAO: Unit #2, Activity 4 - International Weather
|
RUBRIC FOR ASSESSING POST CARD TO A FRIEND |
||||
|
Categories |
50-59% |
60-69% |
70-79% |
80-100% |
|
Knowledge/ Understanding -uses vocabulary
associated with the weather: seasons, precipitation, temperature |
The student demonstrates: limited use of weather
vocabulary |
some use of weather
vocabulary |
considerable use of
weather vocabulary |
thorough use of weather
vocabulary |
|
Thinking/ Inquiry -expresses personal
opinion on weather |
The student demonstrates: limited expression of
personal opinion |
some expression of
personal opinion |
considerable expression of personal
opinion |
thorough expression of
personal opinion |
|
Communication -uses correct form of
addressing mail -uses writing conventions:
simple present tense, periods, capitals, spelling, indents |
The student demonstrates: limited use of correct
form of addressing mail limited use of writing
conventions |
some use of correct form
of addressing mail some use of writing
conventions |
considerable use of
correct form of addressing mail considerable use of
writing conventions |
thorough use of correct
form of addressing mail thorough use of writing
conventions |
|
Application -addresses postcard
completely and accurately -applies understanding of
topic to content of postcard |
The student demonstrates: limited completion and
accuracy with address limited understanding of
topic to content of postcard |
some completion and
accuracy with address some understanding of topic
to content of postcard |
considerable completion
and accuracy with address considerable understanding
of topic to content of postcard |
thorough completion and
accuracy with address thorough understanding of
topic to content of postcard |
Appendix 4
ESLAO: Unit #2, Activity 5: What Are You Wearing?
Student Evaluation: Group Working Skills
Name:______________________________ Today’s Date:_____________________
Names of Students in the
Group:_________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
How often did you do the following things in your group today?
Circle the word yes, no or sometimes for each:
Task
Personal Opinion
Comment
|
1. I listened to others in my
group. |
A Lot |
Never |
Sometimes |
|
|
2. I asked for information. |
A Lot |
Never |
Sometimes |
|
|
3. I gave information. |
A Lot |
Never |
Sometimes |
|
|
4. I gave my opinion
politely. |
A Lot |
Never |
Sometimes |
|
|
5. I disagreed with others
politely. |
A Lot |
Never |
Sometimes |
|
Complete these sentences:
1. I like to work in groups
because:__________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________.
2. I can_________________________________________________________________.
3. I want to
improve_____________________________________________________.
4. I need help
with________________________________________________________.