Life 4, Unit 8: Weird News
- Ning'ou Qu
- May 8, 2019
- 12 min read
Theme: Weird News
Materials & Technology:
● Textbook: Life 4 Unit 8 pp. 98-99
● Other materials: PowerPoint, worksheet, poster
Teacher/s: Ningou Qu & Haoyue Dong
Level: Intermediate 2
Date/Time: Apr 10, 9-11am
Goal:
Read some weird news about unsolved mysteries and find possible explanations
Distinguish opinions and facts
Speaking activity for reviewing grammar
Do a fluency line activity
Objectives (SWBAT):
Students Will Be Able To…
1. read five weird news about five unsolved mysteries and provide possible explanations
2. distinguish opinions and facts and provide their own opinions towards some facts
3. practice using modal verbs to make speculation in speaking
4. become fluent in talking about one topic students are interested in
ACTIVITY/PROCEDURE/STAGE – INTERACTION TYPES
Warm up
Review what was learned last time
Interaction: T-Ss, then S-S
● Show a picture of the Nazca lines on the screen and ask students questions
“Do you still remember what we’ve learned last time? What is in the picture?”
“What does it look like?”
“Do you remember some possible explanations for the creation of those mysterious patterns?”
Linking & Transitioning to rest of lesson:
Alright! Today we are still going to look at weird news and unsolved mysteries, and you will need to find possible explanations to them.
Activity 1: Meaningful input & Language focus– Reading Comprehension & Facts or Opinions (Ning'ou)
1.1 Pre-Stage:
Interaction: T-Ss, T-S, S-Ss, S-S, S-T
● Divide the class into 3 groups, each group will have 3-4 people depending on the number of students in the class
● Give one copy of Worksheet A (mysteries that are cut up into small pieces of paper) to each group of students, and ask each of them to take one section. There is a title for each section: the Mothman, the Missing Pilot (an excerpt from the textbook), the Footprint, and the Explosion.
“I have several pieces of weird news and have printed them out on these small pieces of paper. Each of you will be the reporter for one piece of news. So, you need to pick one piece of paper in your group.”
● Give students 2 mins to read through the unsolved mystery they have, and take notes. Show an example on the screen.
“Now that you all have your own news to report, I’ll give you one minute to read it through. While you are reading, you need to take notes on the first column of this Worksheet B. Your notes will help you report the news in your group.”
● Give modeling
“For example, if my mysterious news is Nazca lines, I will write down key information (who, when, where, what, how is it weird) here. Just jot down key words. Don’t copy sentences.”
● Give students 10 minutes to (1) take turns to retell the story to their group members, and (2) work in their group to provide at least 2 possible accounts for each of the mysteries. Then, they need to fill in the last column of Worksheet B.
“Now, you are going to report your story based on your notes. After all of you have reported your news, the whole group will need to come up with at least 2 possible explanations for each mystery, and you write them down in the last column under ‘why’.”
● Ask CCQs, “So, what should you do first? Report your news. How many possible explanations should you write down on the worksheet? At least two.”
1.2. During Stage:
Interaction: T-Ss, T-S, S-Ss, S-S, S-T
● Give each group some slips of paper with sentences on them. The sentences are either about the truth in the news or about the explanations which were not included in the original text. Give instruction and modeling.
“First, you need to spread your pieces of news on the desk. Next, you read the sentences one by one and decide which weird news each sentence is referring to. Then, try to decide whether the sentence is stating a truth, or is making a guess. If it is a truth, it must be related to the content of the original text, and you’ll put it above the news card. If it looks like a possible explanation to the myth, you put it below the news card.”
“For example, if you see a sentence like ‘The strange thing is that these patterns can only be seen from the air.’ Where should you put the slip? Right, put it above the myth of Nazca line because that is the truth.”
● Check answers in order to check students’ comprehension of the reading and the nature of the sentences. After that, give further explanation and elicit the difference between facts and opinions.
“Look at these sentences of explanation, what similarities can you find?”
“Yes. They all have opinion markers such as ‘according to’, ‘some people believe that’, etc. So, these kinds of statements are people’s opinions, in other words, they are not the facts or the truth.”
“However, when you look at these sentences, are they still opinions or? Yes. Those are the facts, something we can observe and has been proved to be true.”
● Draw students’ attention back to the article of Amelia Earhart on the textbook and hand out the KWL chart for students to fill in. Write down facts and guesses on the board.
“Let’s find out the facts and opinions about the missing pilot Amelia Earhart. After the previous discussion, what do you know about this woman? Write down something you know about her in the first column of the worksheet. Could be facts, could be speculations.” (the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean, disappeared during her round-the-world flight, her plane might have crashed on an island, researchers spent millions of dollars investigating the case, etc.)
● Show the title of the article “Lost and found? The missing pilot” on the screen and tell students that they are going to read about the investigation in Amelia’s case.
“Now, on the second column, write down things you want to know about Amelia. Or things you want to read about in the research.”
● Show words on the screen and ask students to look up the ones they are not sure about in the dictionary. (saliva, correspondence, longstanding mystery, fragments, aviator/aviation, verifiable items)
“Before we investigate the case, let’s look at some words and see if you are all clear. You may use your dictionary to check the meaning of the words. After that, you need to guess the connection between the words/phrases and the mystery of Amelia. For example, researchers might have found something in Amelia’s saliva to identify her bone.”
Ask CCQs, “So, what should you do first? Look up the words. How can you make connections between the words and the mystery of Amelia? Make speculations.”
● Ask students to read the article and underline information which they think is (1) helpful to reveal the mystery, (2) challenging to the research
“I’ll give you 4 minutes to read through the article. While you are reading, try not to use your dictionary. Circle the words you have questions with. Also, I want you to underline the information which you think is helpful to reveal the mystery or is challenging to the success of the research. If you think it’s helpful, draw a smiling face next to the lines. If you think it’s a difficulty, draw a exclamation mark.”
Ask CCQs, “Are you allowed to use your dictionary? No. What should you do if you don’t know the meaning of a word? Circle it.”
● After reading, check students’ understanding of the content first.
“What are the three theories of Amelia’s disappearance? Which of the three theories is this article concerned about?”
1.3 Post-Stage:
Interaction: T-Ss, T-S, S-Ss, S-S, S-T
● Ask students to share the important information they have found and explain why they think it’s important.
“Well, who would like to share one piece of information that is helpful to solve the mystery of Amelia?”
● Ask students if the sentences they have underlined are stating the facts or expressing opinions.
“Do you think this is a fact or an opinion? How do you tell?”
● Ask students to summarize the definitions of facts and opinions
“Right. So basically, opinions are what people believe to be true, they can be a person’s point of view or something that many people believe. Facts are information that can be observed and can be proved or disproved.”
Tangible Outcome & T. feedback/peer feedback:
Students will complete a worksheet during the activity and they will finish their KWL charts after the activity. Students will be able to distinguish facts and opinions.
Peer feedback is encouraged during their group work.
The teacher will give immediate feedback during students’ discussion as well as their report in class. Delayed feedback will be given during the answer checking stage.
Transition to #2: Language focus
Now that we have known the distinction between opinions and facts, it is your turn to give opinions!
Activity 2: Meaningful output– Speaking (Haoyue)
2.1 Pre-Stage:
Interaction: T-Ss, T-S, S-Ss, S-T
● Give students the background of this activity
“From now on, you are all new members of Manhattan Community Board who is trying to improve the conditions of the area. Last year the former community board received a generous donation totaling $45,000, and they divided the funds for different investments, as you can see from your handout and this slide. For example, the first row shows that the former board spent ten thousand dollars in hiring more part-time teachers for the public schools.”
● Give instructions (tell students to speculate on the results of each investment)
“So now, as new board members, you have a task from your boss, which is to speculate on the results of each investment for last year so that you can make
future improvements.”
“Do you still remember how we can make speculation or guesses about the past?” “Yes, we use modal verbs + have + past participle to make guesses about the past.”
“So I want you to use at least three different modal verbs while giving your speculation about the possible results of last year’s allocation. You do not need to write them down, but you can use the chart on you handouts to take some notes.”
● Give modeling
“For example, for the first investment-spending $10,000 in hiring part-time teachers for public schools, I think giving much money to hire more teachers must have improved the quality of education in Manhattan. Investing ten thousand dollars in hiring teachers may have caused objection from other fields. This investment can’t have been sufficient in solving the problem that there is a lack of teachers in public schools.”
● Ask CCQs
“What are you gonna do?” “Speculate on the results of last year’s investment” “What should you use for you guesses?” “modal verbs + have + past participle”
“How many modal verbs should you use?” “At least three”
● Divide the class into pairs and have students get started
“Now I’m gonna put you in pairs randomly.”
● Have students get started
“I will give 4 mins and you can get started”
● Walk around and tell early finishers to think of another sentence using a different modal verb
“You are so good at this! While waiting for other groups, can you think of another result using a different modal verb?”
● Have several groups report back to the class
“Let’s come back together and share your thoughts! Since we have x pairs here, I will have each pair report one of those investments. (For the last x, let’s do it together.)”
“xx and xxx, what do you think about the results of spending $1,500 in buying books for libraries?”
2.2. During Stage:
Interaction: T-Ss, T-S, S-S
● Tell students now they have just received another donation
“I believe this discussion about last year’ allocation can help you make better decisions this year! Good news! Our Manhattan Community Board has just received another donation of $45,000! Now it’s your right to decide how to use the money. ”
● Tell students that they are gonna work in two big groups to compete with each other about their allocation of the donation
“Now, as members of this board, you have different opinions about how to divide the money. So you are supposed to compete with others to make your allocation adopted.”
● Tell students that they are supposed to give group presentations for their business proposal
“So I will divide the board into two teams, and each team will discuss how to divide the donation as well as the reasons for that. Then you are supposed to design a poster to help you show that. Finally, after your preparation, each group will give a 4-minute presentation to the whole board.”
● Give presentation and poster requirements (how to divide the money and give reasons)
“For your presentation, I have several requirements. First, everyone in you team is supposed to join, that is, each member is supposed to say something during your presentation. Then, about the reasons you give, you are supposed to speculate on the results of each investment. So do you still remember what we should use to make speculation about the present or future?” “Yes, we use modal verbs + base form of verbs.”
“As for the poster, you can write down whatever you want. But remember, the poster is only to help your presentation so it would be better to just write down several bullet points. You do not need to write down all the whole sentences.”
● Give modeling
“Let me give you an example about how to give reasons for your allocation or how to speculate on the results. For instance, our team decides to invest $10,000 in buying books for libraries, because we think this might attract more children to reading.”
● Ask CCQs
“What are the two necessary components of your presentation?” “Allocation of the donation and reasons” “What are you supposed to use for the reasons?” “Modal verbs”
● Divide the class into two groups and give each group a poster and a marker
● Set the timer and have students get started
“I’ll give you eight minutes for the poster and presentation and you can get started now!”
2.3 Post-Stage:
Interaction: T-Ss, T-S, S-S, S-Ss
● Stop students and give presentation instructions “Alright now it’s time for your competition! Each presentation will last 4 minutes and then there will be a two-minute question time. While one team is giving presentation, the other team is supposed to listen carefully and ask questions or give comments to them.”
● Have students give group presentations
“Now which team wants to be the first one?”
● After each group’s presentation, have the rest of students ask questions or give comments
● Brief comments
“You guys are all so good at this and I believe you can actually become governors, right?”
Tangible Outcome & T. feedback/peer feedback:
In the pre-activity stage, students will practice using modal verbs to make speculation about the past. In the post-activity stage, students will give a presentation of their proposals with a focus on the use of modal verbs to speculate.
Teacher will give corrective feedback during and after their pair/group discussion; peer feedback will occur during their group discussion and presentation
Transition to Activity 3
You must be tired after this serious thing, so now let’s talk about something that you have interested in for relaxation.
Activity 3: Fluency Development – Fluency line (Haoyue)
3.1 Pre-Stage:
Interaction: T-Ss, T-S, S-S, S-Ss
● Give each student a blank card and have students write down a topic on it
“Now I want you to write down a topic you are interested in on this card. It can be just a word, a phrase or a short sentence.”
● Give an example
“For example, I really love snacks. So I can write ‘weird snacks’ on my card.”
● Collect the cards and redistribute them
“Now that you have finished, I’ll collect those cards and give your card to another person”
● Give students two mins to think about the topic on the card
“Now you have a new topic in which one of your classmates is interested. I will give you two minutes to think about this topic and what you want to say about it. Try to think as much as you can.”
3.2. During Stage:
Interaction: T-Ss, T-S, S-S, S-Ss
● Have students stand up and form two lines in front of the class.
“I want all of you to stand up and come up here, in front of your desks. Form two lines that face each other. “
● Have each line of students give their speech in two and a half minutes and set the timer
“This line will start first and give your speech to your partner. This time, I will set a timer for two and a half minutes during which you can not stop talking. Are you ready now? Let’s begin!”
● Set the timer and have the other line begin their speech and
“Now, it’s your turn. You’ll have two and a half minutes and you can begin now!”
● Have students change partners and give the speech in two minutes
“Good job! Now xxx please come here, and the rest of you, please move one step to your left(or right). This time, you’ll only have two minutes to finish your previous speech. This line will go first, and you can begin now!”
● Set the timer and have the other line begin their speech
“Now, it’s your turn. You’ll have two minutes and you can begin now!”
● Have students change partners and give the speech in 90 seconds
“Now xxx please come here, and the rest of you, please move one step to your left (or right) . This time, you’ll only have 90 seconds to finish your previous speech. This line will go first, you can begin now!”
● Have the other line begin their speech
“Now, it’s your turn. You’ll have 90 seconds and you can begin now!”
3.3 Post-Stage:
Interaction: T-Ss, T-S, S-S, S-Ss
● Have students come back together
“Now you can go back to your seats.”
● Have students share their findings about their classmates
“I believe now you all have some interesting findings about your classmates, why not share with us? So who has found something interesting about xxx? What is her topic? What did she say?”
Tangible Outcome & T. feedback/peer feedback:
Students will be able to gain fluency in talking about one topic;
Teacher will give feedback regarding both what they said during the fluency line and their report back to the class;
Peer feedback will occur while they are talking to each other
Transition to Wrap-up
So today we really did a lot of things, right? We read something about unsolved mysteries. We learned how to distinguish between opinions and facts. We even became community board members today!
Wrap-up
Lesson Evaluation Procedures:
Since we will have our final test next wednesday, we won’t give you other homework. What you need to do is to review what we have learned the whole semester.
Anticipated Problems & Suggested Solutions:
1. Problem: It might be difficult to divide students into groups of the same number
Solution: Try to make groups of three or four so that every students in the group will have the chance to talk and it won’t take too much time for group discussion. Prepare more pieces of news for students to read in case the number for each group is different.
2. Problem: Students might find it hard to make posters
Solution: Walk around and give students some thoughts on how to make their posters such as what bullet points they can write on the poster or where to put those titles
Contingency Plans:
If we finish early, we will do an exit ticket. We will have students take out a piece of paper and write down what they have learned and what they are still confused for this whole semester.
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