Wednesday, July 26, 2017

International Day of Peace 國際和平日


(International Day of Peace 國際和平日 September 21st)
I will begin the new semester with teaching about peace and then give a small test to determine who will be the new A and B class students (in cooperation with their writing teacher who will also give them an assessment.) This is important to give the kids in B class an opportunity to move up if they can, as well as not keep the A class kids too complacent. Its helpful for teaching and learning if the kids are grouped according to their English ability. Also there are several new students. 

After this Unit all subsequent readings will be divided into beginner and intermediate level readings.

Introduction: Students survey their peers and John Lennon's "Imagine" (bilingual lyrics, fill in the blanks).



Vocabulary: Self study/Review here
  1. Global (adj)
  2. Workshop (n.) 研討會,討論會
  3. Speech (n.) 演說;發言;談話
  4. Celebrate (v.)
  5. Support (n.)
  6. Colleague (n.)
  7. seriously (adv.)
  8. something devoted to something: 將…貢獻給,把…奉獻給 EX: September 21st is devoted to peace.
  9. war torn: 飽經戰亂的;受戰爭蹂躪的
    EX:It is a long-term task to rebuild the infrastructure of a war-torn country such as Angola.重建像安哥拉這樣飽受戰爭蹂躪的國家的基礎設施是一項長期的任務。
13. prayer: 禱文,禱詞

EX: a prayer of thanks 表示感謝的禱文

She always says her prayers (= prays) before she goes to sleep她睡前總要念禱文。



The International Day of Peace should be one of the most important days of the year. It occurs annually [every year] on September 21st. It is dedicated to peace as well as the absence [不存在;缺乏]of war. This day also serves as a global ceasefire [停火協定] day. Many countries, political groups and military groups observe [obey a custom] it. The day starts when the U.N. rings the “Peace Bell” at its New York headquarters. This bell was a gift from the people of Japan. There is a message on the side of the bell that says: "Long live absolute [total] world peace." The U.N. said: "Peace Day should be devoted to commemorating [officially respect] and strengthening the ideals[理想;標準極高的原則] of peace [and] that our permanent [長久的;永久的commitment, above all interests [利益,好處] or differences of any kind, is to peace."

Thousands of Peace Day events take place around the world every year. These include concerts involving rock superstars to football tournaments [錦標賽] for peace and baking cakes for peace. Many organizations hold educational workshops in schools, especially those in war-torn countries. Nobel Peace Prize laureates [諾貝爾獎得獎者] also make speeches to show the world their work has not finished. Anyone can celebrate Peace Day. It can be a simple, individual act such as lighting a candle and saying a prayer. For those who want to be more active, it can involve getting the support of friends and colleagues to plan a large event. Hopefully, this day will take off and people will think about peace more seriously.



ART:
1. Origami Dove,
2. Hand Chain with peaceful word haiku
Haiku 俳句 (5-7-5)

EXAMPLE:
Composure

Stop in your distress
Quiet the discomposure
Be tranquility


3. An acrostic poem "PEACE"
acrostic: (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

People living together in harmony
Educate the children
Accords signed by all of society
Ceasefires forever
Exit all suffering and strife

EXTRA: Dalai Lama Hopes Trump, Putin Will Work together for Global Peace 達賴喇嘛希望川普、普廷為全球和平攜手合作


Resources:

Wednesday, July 19, 2017

Unit 1: Level Assessment and Phonics Review


I. Phonics Review
The Alphabet
Pronunciation: Blackalicious A-Z, lyrics, KK pronounciation

II. Reading 1: A Map (short a)
Vocabulary: van, Dan, map, gas, at, cap, can, tank, glad, bank

[More Short a videos: 1, 2]

III. Writing: “My Favorite Food”
Do they know what a complete sentence is or the parts of a paragraph? Since they are new, I am having them write right off the bat to asses their writing level. It will help me to know what sort of skills they already have mastered and those they need to improve on.

TOPIC SENTENCE: MAIN IDEA
DETAILS: SUPPORTS MAIN IDEA
CLOSING SENTENCE: RESTATES MAIN IDEA, SUMMARIZES THE PARAGRAPH


IV. Grammar: Parts of Speech

Nouns 名詞 (More Practice, Plural, Many/Much)



people
places
things
the teacher/s
my mother
John
a doctor
the classroom
the park
England
a department store
a pencil
a car
a cat
a house

50 Most Common Nouns           EX:  want to go to the department store.

++ Countable and Non Countable NOUNS:
Uncountable List
A few/ a Little


I
You
We
They
run
eat
write
walk
go
play
(in the park.)
(pizza.)
(my homework.)
(to my house.)
(to school.)
(with my friend.)

++ With HeShe, and It, you have to add –s (or –es) to the verb:
He
She
It
runs
eats
writes
walks
goes
plays
(in the park.)
(pizza.)
(my homework.)
(to my house.)
(to school.)
(with my friend.)

Adjectives 形容詞 
EX: A bird -> A big red beautiful bird
My car -> My old, dirty car
This story -> This story is short and funny.

V. Reading 2: Mixed Gender Events Added 2020 Olympics

2020年夏季奧林匹克運動會

Vocabulary: Review Game
1. Mixed (adj.)
2.Gender (n.)
3.Archery (n.)
4.Sailing (n./v.)
5.Triathlon (n.)
6.Urban (adj.)
7.traditional (adj.)




8a. event: 項目, EX: The women's 200 metre event will be followed by the men's 100 metres女子200公尺賽跑之後是男子100公尺賽跑項目。

8b. event:事情,事件 
EX: This year's Olympic Games will be the biggest ever sporting event. 今年的奧林匹克運動會將是歷史上規模最大的體育盛事。


BMX freestyle




There will be more mixed-gender events [項目] at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. They will be in archery, sailing, triathlon and other sports. There will be mixed relays [接力賽] in athletics [田徑運動] and swimming. A swimming champion said: "It's something that would make things a little bit more fun…[Mixed events] are great to watch."

There will also be more urban sports and more women in Tokyo. Not everyone wants urban sports, like skateboarding, 3-on-3 basketball, and BMX freestyle. These are to get more young people interested in the Games. There will be fewer athletes for traditional events like weightlifting and wrestling.




VI. Group Work: Role Play 角色扮演
Get into four groups. You believe your sport is the most fun. Present to the class why the other sports are not as interesting.

Role  A – The Marathon 馬拉松賽跑
You think the marathon is the best Olympics event. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their events. Also, tell the others which is the least interesting of these (and why): wrestling, skateboarding or swimming.

Role  B – Wrestling 摔跤運動
You think wrestling is the best Olympics event. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their events. Also, tell the others which is the least interesting of these (and why): the marathon, skateboarding or swimming.



Role  C – Skateboarding 滑板運動
You think skateboarding is the best Olympics event. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their events. Also, tell the others which is the least interesting of these (and why): wrestling, the marathon or swimming.

Role  D – Swimming 游泳
You think swimming is the best Olympics event. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their events. Also, tell the others which is the least interesting of these (and why):  wrestling, skateboarding or the marathon.




Partner Work: How can we make the Olympics more interesting?我們如何使奧運更有趣?Complete this table with your partner.

How?
Why?
Opening ceremony 開幕式


Stadiums 體育場


Medals 獎牌 ceremony


Athletics 田徑運動


Cycling 騎單車/腳踏車


Closing ceremony 閉幕儀式





VII. Assessment Test

7th Grade ESL 2017-2018

First Class: Introductions and Class Rules
Level Assessment and Phonics Review
The Alphabet and Phonics Review
Reading 1: A Map (short a)
Vocabulary: van, Dan, map, gas, at, cap, can, tank, glad, bank
Writing: “My Favorite Food”
Write a paragraph with complete sentences!
Reading 2: Mixed Gender Events Added 2020 Olympics
Pronunciation: Blackalicious A-Z, lyrics

The ESL program is much bigger this year and instead of just me being the sole foreign teacher, two more of my colleagues are teaching. Many of the incoming 7th graders have such poor English, that the writing teachers came up with a list of grammar lessons they want the students to know by the time they reach their class in 9th grade.

My A classes will use reading excerpts from their magazines the school provides them (A+ English and ABC). My corresponding ppt is here. Its a fun opportunity for me to be more creative (grammar is no fun really) and teach the kids a bit of literature too. It's important to read stories to reinforce grammar.

Occasionally, I will begin a warm-up listening exercise using music. The following is our course outline. The larger font is what my class has completed.


                 ESL I Grammar Outline


Unit 1: Nouns
A. Qualities
  •  Lesson 1: Number (singular, plural)+ "The Everywhere Food Truck" (A+, October 2017)
B. Types
November Mid Term Testing
Autumn for ESL
Lesson 6: Parts of a Sentence and Subject-Verb Agreement
Christmas for ESL

Unit 3: Pronouns (Lesson 7)

Unit 4 Verbs:

  • Lesson 8: Present/Present Continuous
  • Lesson 9: Future Tense
  • Lesson 10: Simple Past (Regular and Irregular)

Chinese New Year Vacation
Unit 5: Modal Verbs
Unit 6: Adjectives
Unit 7: Adverbs
Unit 8: Conjunctions
Unit 9: Prepositions