Teacher Kathy's Corner: June 2017

Monday, June 26, 2017

Welcome Back and Reassessment

International Day of Democracy

Class 1: Review Class Rules and introductions
Introduction and assessment: International Day of Peace

We will be continuing and building upon what we learned from last year (Units 1-5).

Learning Questions: What is poverty? Why is there poverty? Is there poverty in Taiwan?

Readings: Child Poverty Grows as Cities Expands (2012), Hunger Kills 6 Million Children a Year (2005), Girls and Women Worst Hit (2013)
Food Scarcity: Stealing Food Is Not a Crime (2016)Child Labor: Tobacco Children in Indonesia (2016)
Song: Pearls (Sade)

Part 2: Poverty in Taiwan: New Poverty Line, New Minimum Wage, Index Mundi

Part 3: Solutions: What can we do? What are other countries doing to battle inequality?

Readings on Girls' Literacy, Globalization and Fair Trade, Debt forgiveness (S. Korea) and UBI (Universal Basic Income).

Happy Chinese New Year

Unit 7: Genocide

Learning Questions: Why should we study genocide? Who was responsible? Are you responsible if you do not try to stop things like this?Why do people treat other human beings in ways like these?" Why after the Holocaust “never again” have genocides continued to happen?

Readings: Turkey and Armenia, Auschwitz, Remembrance Day, Cambodia's Killing Fields, Balkan Wars, Rwanda

Unit 8: The Drug War

I. Questions: What is supply and demand and how does this work in the illegal and legal drug trade? Are over-the-counter drugs safe? How do different countries handle addiction and controlling drugs?Does Taiwan have a drug abuse problem?

II. Readings

Over the Counter Medicine Effects

Study Says Alcohol More Harmful Than Marijuana, Uruguay to Legalize , Marijuana in the USA, Medical Marijuana for Pets, Arrested Because of Cannabis Oil , Nevada Makes Marijuana Legal

Planes With Drugs ,Police Take A Lot of Drugs, War on Drugs in Mexico , Drone with Drugs,

Duerete is Like Hitler

Unit 9: Education Reform

I. Questions: What are the biggest issues in education today? What are other countries doing to improve their education? How can Taiwan improve it's education system?

II. Readings: Education Reformers Recommend Outdoor Learning, 6 Critical Skills for Today’s Global Economy, Are Children Taking Too Many Tests?, Education Controversy in HK, Finland Reforms Education For the Digital Age

Wednesday, June 21, 2017

Democracy for Summer Break

International Day of Democracy 國際民主日 (September 15th)

Vocabulary: Use your dictionary and write the Chinese word. [Self Review here]

1. benefits

2. Common

3. Universal

4. Value

5. Economic

6. Participation

7. Advantage

8. Citizen

9. Basic

10. influence

Pre- Reading Discussion Questions:

1. What are some basic needs?
2.What are some universal values?
3. Why is it important to talk about democracy?
4. What are the benefits of a democracy?
5. What do you know about Taiwan's democracy?

6. If Taiwan is a democracy, why isn't it a member of the UN?
7. Who was Liu Xiaobo劉曉波? (VOA, PTSNews, Al Jazeera)

Reading PDF | Word | Quiz | audio :

The International Day of Democracy started in 2007. The United Nations General Assembly 聯合國大會 decided to have a special day to raise 提升 awareness 認知/覺醒 of living in a democracy. They chose September 15th as that day and invited every country and member organization to focus on the benefits of democracy. The U.N. declared (said) there was no single (one) model of democracy. A resolution said all democracies share common features 特性/特質 “and that democracy does not belong to any country or region”. The U.N. said: “Democracy is a universal value based on the freely-expressed will 意志 of people to determine (choose) their own political, economic, social and cultural systems, and their full (complete) participation in all aspects (areas) of life.”

The International Day of Democracy website claims (says) democracies can have many advantages for their citizens (people). The main one is to ensure 確保 people’s basic freedoms. “In a democracy, people are able to think, say and do what they wish (want) within the law and with respect for others, to practice their beliefs and to live the kinds of life they choose.” Another advantage is that a democracy meets 滿足 popular needs. The more influence ordinary 普通的 people have over their government, the more likely 很可能地 government will meet their basic needs. The website says democracies treat 對待 people equally and are free from (don't have any) discrimination 歧視. It does say many of the world’s democracies fall short of 未達到 /欠缺 achieving 達到 this. There is perhaps 或許 no country that has true (real) equality平等.

Comprehension Questions:
1. Why did the UN start the International Day of Democracy?
2. What are some common features of democracy?
3. How can governments meet people's needs?
4.If democracies treat對待 people equally, then why do so many have discrimination?

Write an acrostic poem （通常指每行詩第一個詞的首字母可組合成詞或片語的）藏頭詩，離合詩 for DEMOCRACY

EX: an acrostic poem for JULY 七月

Jubilee celebrations and much awaited vacations

Unforgettable sun-kissed afternoons

Leisurely lounging barefoot in the backyard

Youthful dreaming poolside or air-conditioned

Resources:
More Videos
Democracy Index
Democracy Ranking
Freedom in the World

Sidelined by the UN

台灣退出聯合國~~全彩實況 1971

Extra: How scared is Chinese government of political dissent?

Tuesday, June 20, 2017

Environmental Justice and Civil Disobedience

The 7th grade Social Studies are ending on all different places within the Civil Disobedience unit. Some classes were canceled more than others, plus their pace of learning is either faster or slower. For the kids who have finished their Final Project on Taiwanese Civil Disobedience, I still have one more lesson up my sleeve.

Reading: The North Dakota 南達科他州 Pipeline

review words: Climate change (from our refugee unit on Human Migration)
Video: Chinese Americans Protest Oil Pipeline, 川普撤銷油管停工令 UN力挺蘇族權益
Introduction: Who are the Sioux? Where do Native Americans Come from?

Listen and Write, then highlight the vocabulary and write the Chinese meaning.

Vocabulary: Pipeline管線, reservation (place)保留地, Sioux蘇族 , Native American美國原住民, sacred神聖, veteran退伍軍人, unarmed非武裝的

Protester vs Protector?

People in the U.S. state of North Dakota are angry because an oil company is building a giant pipe near their land. The oil company wants to build the multi-billion-dollar oil pipeline under a lake near the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation. The Sioux people are Native Americans who have been on the land for thousands of years. The Native Americans have been joined by many protesters. They are all trying to stop the $3.8 billion pipeline from passing near Sioux land. They say it will dirty their drinking water and make it undrinkable. They also say the pipeline will damage sacred Sioux sites. A Texas-based company, Energy Transfer Partners, owns the 1,885-km pipeline project. It is almost complete.

They were recently joined by veterans from the U.S. military. These are retired soldiers, sailors and members of the air force. The veterans have built the protesters shelters to keep warm in the freezing winter. There has been violence between the protesters and police. A North Dakota spokesman said some of the protesters were "frightening". He said: "It's time for them to go home." However, Coast Guard veteran Ashleigh Jennifer Parker said: "We will be unarmed, completely prepared for peaceful protest. We don't even like the word 'protest'. We're there to help the water protectors."

About which American state is this news article?
What is the name of the Native American people?
How much money did the pipeline cost?
What do people think will become dirty because of the pipeline?
How long is the pipeline?
For how long have the protesters been on the site? April 2016 – February 2017
What did veterans build for the protesters?
What has broken out between protesters and police?
What did Ashleigh Jennifer Parker use to belong to?
What word don't the protesters like?

PROTEST (Group Activity): How would you protest against these things? How angry would you be? Talk about this with your partner(s). Change partners often and share what you wrote.

Oil pipeline
Tax increases
Your country going to war
Religious intolerance 宗教上的不寬容
Racist government
Government corruption 腐敗

Curriculum During Breaks

It's that time again! Summer vacation is around the corner and I am planning what to teach those last 2 weeks in July. These are some of the past lessons I used during the two-week summer/winter breaks for middle school students.

Current Events Report

Social Justice Videos and Discussion

Class Debates

Class Plays and Drama

Mao in Color

Animal Farm
Nuclear Weapons
International Day of Peace and Democracy

Monday, June 19, 2017

7th Grade Social Studies Vocabulary Review

This is for the benefit of the students to review the words we learned, as I will have them again next semester. I am sure many of the words we used this year will be useful for the coming semester's materials.

How Well Does Your Country Speak English ?

Identity and Human Rights

London's Muslim Mayor

Human Migration I

Human Migration II

Refugees at Record Numbers

Christmas Around the World

Martin Luther King Jr.

Friday, June 16, 2017

ESL Vocabulary Review 2015-17

I taught the same students when they first came in 2015 as 7th graders and for their 8th grade year. For their benefit, I made a review page of their vocabulary.

In chronological order:

2015-16

Arctic Animals

The Treasure Map

Honey Bee

The 25 Most Common Verbs

Energy Sources

Giving Back

Dangerous Dogs

How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Set 2

The Old Witch and Nothing Gold Can Stay

2016-2017

Manatees, Crazy Horse

Festival of Lights (A Class)

Christmas Around the World

New Years

Microplastics

Greenpeace Resists Trump

Adidas New Show from Ocean Plastic (A Class)

Europe's First Top Female Referee

High School Changes Sexist Women's Study Course

Thursday, June 15, 2017

Phonics for Middle School ESL

I regret not beginning my ESL students right away on reviewing phonics. I assumed they already had mastered the alphabet sounds in elementary school. Unfortunately, that's not the case, and having shady phonics really hurts their spelling and pronunciation.

I am starting to think about the new semester and new ESL 7th graders I'll be teaching. I want to use the first few classes reviewing phonics and assessing their levels so we can divide the class according to ability for effective learning. I want to try and use different teaching methods to assess the kids' learning styles, using visuals, sounds (music) and dancing (kinetic learners).

1. Use an alphabet chant

2. Have students write for sound: Say a short sentence that includes one or more words that include the target phonics feature(s). Ask students to listen carefully and then write what they heard. This activity trains students to listen for the individual sounds in words and represent them phonetically in their writing. You can also have students use websites like Listen A Minute and Learn English For Free.

3.Use poetry, jazz chants, songs: Check out my songs page.

4. Integrate phonics instruction with word study: Teach students how to identify word parts, break words down into syllables, and use word families. Use content-area words for this exercise that students are likely to find in their academic work.

5. Writing samples
One of the best ways to assess students’ phonics proficiency is through examination of first-draft writing samples. Have students write for 3-5 minutes on a topic they are familiar with (favorite T.V. shows, favorite athlete, what clothes are in style). When you examine student writing, look for misspellings of high frequency words and confusions in the spelling patterns (nation/nasion; its/it’s). This will help you know which patterns students need to work on. Collect first-draft writing samples monthly to examine student progress with spelling patterns. For writing assignment topics, see this website:

6. Using Movement

Kinetic learners needs to move! Using brain breaks with movement is always fun.