Showing posts with label children's literature. Show all posts
Showing posts with label children's literature. Show all posts

Sunday, November 27, 2022

Animal Farm 동물 농장

Animal Farm follows a simple structure. It is written in 10 chapters that can be divided into three sections: I the Dream. II  the Rebellion. III Napoleon’s regime.


Animal Farm

 (online text/ 1954 Movie with Korean Subtitles)


Read along:

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chap.5 (Vocabulary Ch. 5-6) (Ch. 5 Comprehension)

Chapter 6, (Chapter 6 Comprehension)

Chapter 7 (Vocabulary) (Comprehension)

Chapter 8 (Vocabulary) (Comprehension)

Chapter 9 (Vocabulary) (Comprehension)

Chapter 10 (Vocabulary)
(Comprehension)

Tuesday, March 13, 2018

Wrinkle In Time時間的皺摺

Ab honesto virum bonum nihil deterret. Nothing deters a good man from doing what is honorable. (Seneca)




It seemed like our elementary school showed it (read it?) in class every Easter.
Many of the same themes, like defeating Darkness (through the leadership and
inspiration of great figures like Jesus) is similar to Easter.  
The author herself was a liberal Christian and
official writer in residence in NYC's Episcopal Cathedral of St. John.
The similar themes of Goodness defeating
Evil through the Light, comes from the book of John.

Fun fact, this book has been one of the most banned books of all time
because of its Universalist message, which conservatives thought were un-Christian.
Fight the censorship of free thought.

You can read it online for free via OverDrive, Google Books, as an Epub or



The reading level for a native speaker is 9-12 years old and for a ESL intermediate level student.
The movie is coming out in Taiwan in a couple of days, but I really hope this inspires my students
to read the book, the way it did for me.

audio books on YouTube for free


Book Vocabulary Words (Quizlet)



Pre-Reading Brainstorm:

  • Have you ever felt "different" from everyone else?
  • Genres體裁: What is the difference between fantasy魔幻故事;奇幻文學 and science fiction科幻小說?
  • What are the science concepts of Einstein's theory of relativity相對論 and Quantum Physics量子物理學?
  • What is a Tesseract四維超正方體?

Loki洛基 holds a Tesseract, a 4 dimensional cube


Book Summary:
A Wrinkle in Time is the first in a series of four book that follow the adventures of Meg Murry and Calvin O'Keefe.
The science fantasy novel begins with Meg's personal struggles at school and her inability to fit in with the crowd.
This is also a problem for her younger brother Charles Wallace. Everyone thinks he is dumb, though both children
are intelligent. Charles Wallace could easily be a genius. He can also read the minds of others.
Charles Wallace befriends a strange group of  neighbors - Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who, and Mrs. Which.
These three ladies take the children on a strange journey, promising to help them find and rescue their
father who has been missing for two years. They travel to three planets by wrinkling space and time.
The first planet is Uriel.
On Uriel, the children see the Dark Thing, a massive blackness that threatens to overtake the universe
and that is threatening Earth. It is only through the work of great people such as Jesus, Buddha and
Gandhi, as well as other great artists and scientists, that keeps the Dark Thing from swallowing the earth.
The ladies tell the children that this is what their father is fighting.
They travel to another planet called Camazotz, which is already overtaken by the Dark Thing.
On Camazotz, everyone acts exactly like everyone else and all creativity has been erased from
the planet. The children meet the Man with the Red Eyes who tries to "hypnotize" them into
following IT. Charles Wallace eventually gives in with the hope of defeating the Dark Force,
but he is taken in by the powerful evil.
On the third planet, Meg finds the meaning of true love to save her brother Charles Wallace.
Does Meg rescue her father and defeat “IT”? Read the book to find out!


Resources:
https://daily.jstor.org/what-time-wrinkle-in-time/
http://www.glencoe.com/sec/literature/litlibrary/pdf/wrinkle_in_time.pdf
http://www.penguinrandomhouseaudio.com/teachers-guide/96850/a-wrinkle-in-time/



Wednesday, February 21, 2018

Literature in the ESL Classroom

Grammar can be boring, so I like to take literature breaks using some of the English learning magazines (A+ English and  ABC) my school provides. It's an opportunity to teach literature lessons on plot, character development, the importance of setting and famous authors. Students can expand their English world by being familiar with famous stories and writers.




I put the lessons into a ppt, with some videos. I like to supplement what the magazine provides, with a bit of writing practice, video and critical thinking. Some of the lessons I have taught this year:



  • Frankenstein

Wednesday, March 25, 2015

Robert and The Scariest Night: Chapters 1-5


Chapter 1  Vocabulary:

1. Egypt
2. exhibit
3.shuddered, shivered
4. "creeps me out"
5. chicken-hearted
6. "don't bet on it"
7. horror (adj)
8. collection
9. decorate
10. creepy
11. regular (adj)
12. impress
13. guarantee

II. Self Review/Test (Ch 1)

Comprehension:
1. What is the story about?
2. Who is the main character?
3. Where does the story take place?
4. Why are the kid's so impressed?
5. What do you think will happen next?

Chapter 2 " Surprise Party" Vocabulary:
1. in advance
2. pacing
3. strict
4. wink
5. gave in- past tense of ' to  give in'
6. skeleton
7. peering
8. fake- phony
Chapter 2 Review/Test

Comprehension:
1. What are some of their Halloween decorations?
2. Which decorations are your favorite?
3. Explain the Halloween tree.

Chapter 3,  " Too Late Now" Vocabulary:
1. prize-award
2. miscellaneous
3. figures
4. cackle
5.cart
6. relief
7. tease
8. spoil
9. control
10. weird

Chapter 3 Review/Test
Comprehension:
1. Why did Robert feel weird at the party store?
2. Who is Charlie?
3. What is Robert worried about at the end of the chapter?

Chapter 4, " Uncle Albert" Vocabulary:
1. staggered
2. tarantula
3. cobwebs- spider webs
4. double take
5. challenge

Comprehension:
1. Why did Robert freak out at breakfast?
2. What is the challenge for Robert's Dad?
3. What "pet name" does Robert's Dad call Robert?
4. What are Robert's pets?

Chapter 5, "Welcome" Vocabulary:
1. claw
2. observe
3. suspiciously
4. plenty-really
5. curious

Comprehension:
1. Did Matt get scared?
2. Whose costume at the party is your favorite? Why?
3. What kinds of music did they play?

Chapter 4 and 5 Self Review/Test

Thursday, December 25, 2014

Teaching the Grinch


I am here working at school on my Christmas day and am feeling a bit Grinchy. But next week I am super excited to introduce my Shark class to the world of Dr. Seuss.

Dr. Seuss is one of the most well loved and legendary authors and illustrators of children's literature. I grew up with all his classics.

Sadly when I ask my Junior High and Elementary students if they ever read any of his treasures, they answer with blank faces- they have not ( although one girl in a class of 15 read "Green Eggs and Ham").

 Since exams are over and we have 4 weeks before winter break , my coworker Teacher Kyle and I decided to teach our elementary reading classes, "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" starting next week.


I will first present the first set of Vocabulary, and then do our homework in class (flipped theory), play some review games and have group reading. I would like to finish 3 sets of 12 new word, read the story, check their comprehension by week 3, and start a class play. Of course we will have time to make a craft or two and watch the original 1966 version and maybe the more recent 2000 version with Jim Carrey. which takes many creative liberties not on the story, but nonetheless conveys the spirit of Dr. Seuss's Christmas classic.


Listen and read the audio story here


I. Vocabulary (Set 1)
1. reason 原因;理由                         
2. sour      不友好的          
3. frown 皺眉                   
4. beneath 下方;到下方
5. stockings 聖誕長襪
6. growled 發出低沉的吼叫,咆哮
7. nervously 擔憂地,焦慮地
8. drumming 使)敲擊 
9. feast 盛宴;宴會
10. rare 稀少的;罕見的;不常發生的
11. can’t stand受不了,見不得
12. awful極壞的;惡劣的


Vocabulary Set 2:
1. throat頸前部;咽喉,喉嚨              10. glee快樂;興奮
2. chuckle 輕聲笑;暗自發笑               11. shove推,推擠,推撞
3. cluck 咂舌,發出嘖嘖聲                  12. dove鴿子
4. scarce 難得的,稀有的,
5. snooze 打盹,小睡
6. hissed 小聲且生氣地說
7. pinch 捏,擰,掐,夾
8. unpleasant粗魯的

9. nimbly (行動)靈活的,敏捷的


Set 3 Vocab:
1. slick      油滑的,華而不實的    10. shook 打顫,發抖
2. fib 小謊                                 11. shocking 不正當的,令人厭惡的
3. fooled 愚弄(某人 )                 12. puzzling
4. hooks 鉤子
5. wire 金屬絲;金屬線
6. crumb 麵包屑;糕餅渣
7. wrappings (禮品)包裝紙
8. tags標籤,標牌

9. merry 愉快的,快樂的

II. Vocabulary Fill in the blanks
1. We ________   __________ the ____________ weather.  (We hate the terrible weather).
2. Mom and Dad kissed _________ the mistletoe. (under)
3. During Christmas, kids hang their __________ above the fireplace.
4. The students _____________  _____________ their fingers while they took the test. (worriedly, hit)
5. They ate ________ animals during their family __________. (uncommon, big meal)
6. Perhaps the ____________ you failed the test was because you don’t have good study habits.
7. The street dog _________ at me when I got close.
8. The mean old man gave me a _________ ___________ when I asked him the time. (unfriendly face)


III. Comprehension.

1. What kind of person was the Grinch in the beginning?

2. What adjectives does the author use to show the Grinch’s personality? When he talks? When he moves?

Adjectives for Grinch talking
Adjectives for how Grinch moves















3. What adjectives does Dr. Seuss use to describe the town?

4. What is the one thing the Grinch hated? Why do you think he hated this so much?

5. How many years has the Grinch put up with Christmases near the town?
6. What was his wonderfully awful idea?
7. How did the townspeople response change the Grinch?


8. There are more than one message/moral to this story. What might they be?
        a.
        b.
        c.

III. Christmas Objects: What were the 17 objects the Grinch stole from the townspeople?
1.                                      2.                             17.
3.                                     4.
5.                                     6.
7.                                     8.
9.                                     10.
11.                                    12.
13.                                    14.

15.                                    16.

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

Tara and Tiree, Fearless Friends

Read and listen to story here

My goal for week 8-9: Answer the questions: What can we do in a dangerous situation? How can we help each other in a dangerous situation?

A.  Review Parts of Story

B. Intro vocabulary: fearless, situation, family, train, always, thing, mostly, wintertime, listen to [Play several Vocabulary review games here]

      1. Vocab pair activity, review game “snap” students make own cards

C.   Think about dangerous situations, what would you do? (watch videos of regular heroes.)

1.    An animal is hurt in the street
2.   An angry person is yelling or hitting a person or animal next to you
3.   A typhoon floods your home
4.   A person needs help swimming
5.   There is an earthquake
6.   There is a fire
7.   An old person falls down and is not awake



D. Group Reading: Main concepts, fill out beginning of plot handout

E. Homework  guide

F. Watch a short video on rescue workers. Now write a narrative nonfiction paragraph about rescue workers. Think about ways people work together in dangerous situations. 

Key Features of a Narrative Nonfiction
©     tells a story about real people and events
©     usually tells events in the order they happen



Week 9:
A.  Intro new vocab:
B.   Group Reading and fill out plot handout

Resources: