Independence and Bastille Day for ESL

For summer school ESL we will do some cultural readings on the American Independence Day and the French Bastille Day.  This marks a major difference from the focus on grammar in the previous semester. They didn't do so much reading comprehension before, so I'm curious to see how the next two weeks will go. I doubt we will get to the second reading (let alone the writing), although many of the vocabulary words are the same, but I will try. Here is the corresponding handout.

My niece on July 4th, 2018

I. Intro Discussion
Which countries' flags are red, white and blue? What do the colors symbolize?

• Independence Day

 1.)獨立紀念日 in the US, the official name for the Fourth of July holiday  
2.) 美國獨立紀念日  a day on which a country celebrates being independent from 
foreign rule

• the 4th of July 美國獨立紀念日（紀念美國於1776年7月4日脫離英國獨立）a national holiday in the US that celebrates the country's independence from Great Britain in 1776

Ex: Fireworks have long been an American tradition on the Fourth of July.七月四日國慶日放煙火是美國人長期以來的傳統。

EX: We met for the first time at the fireworks on the Fourth of July.

the July 4th holiday 美國獨立紀念日假期

II. American Independence Day
Vocabulary:

1. Independence Day 獨立紀念日 
2. independent (adj.)
3. national pride (phrase) EX: The country's national pride has been damaged by its sporting failures.體育運動方面的失利使這個國家的民族自尊心受到了傷害。
4. Parade (n.)
5. Speech (n.)
6. Display(n.)
7. Event(n.)
8. history(n.)
9. Banner(n.)
10. Nationwide (adj.)

American Independence Day Reading:

Independence Day in the United States is also known as the Fourth of July. It is a national holiday that commemorates (紀念，緬懷) the Declaration of Independence (美國獨立宣言) on July 4, 1776. This was the day the USA was born (出生) and became independent from Great Britain (大不列顛). The terms “Independence Day” and the “Fourth of July” are a well-known part of the USA’s cultural (與文化有關的)language. People celebrate with national pride. There are fireworks, parades, sporting events and lots more. It is one of the biggest days on America’s holiday calendar (大事記). Politicians (從政者) make speeches celebrating America’s history (歷史) and traditions (傳統). In particular (特別), attention turns to Thomas Jefferson’s speech that declared (公開聲明的) the United States of America as an independent nation (國家).

Independence Day is a red, white and blue affair (事務). The whole of the country displays American flags and banners. There are many festivals (會演，節) that enact (上演；表演) famous events from America’s history. It is also a day when the nation gets outdoors. Picnics and barbecues with family and friends are the most popular ways to celebrate. In the evening, there are thousands of fireworks displays across the country. One of the most popular is the Macy’s department store (百貨公司) show on New York’s East River. This is televised (用電視播放) nationwide by the NBC TV channel. Also in New York, you can witness (目擊) the Hot Dog Eating Contest on Coney Island康尼島. Indeed (的確，實在), American food is of course a big part of the day and millions of hot dogs, burgers and pizzas are eaten.

Extra:

• Thomas Jefferson's speech
• Use the Summer ppt and review "Picnic"

III. Bastille Day 巴士底日

+France’s ideals理想: liberty, equality and fraternity 法國的理想：自由，平等和博愛

• democratic ideals 民主理想
• We are committed to the ideal of equality. 我們奉行平等原則。

Vocabulary:

1. Village (n.)
2. Tricolor (adj.)
3. Commemorate (v.)
4. Prison (n.)
5. Monarchy (n.)
6. Occasion (n.)
7. Supporter (n.)
8. Signal (v.)
9. Creation (n.)
10. republic(n.)

Bastille Day is France’s most important national holiday. It is celebrated on the 14th of July every year. Every city, town and village becomes red, white and blue as everyone hangs out the French tricolor flag. The holiday’s name in French is Fête Nationale, which means “National Celebration". The 14th of July commemorates the storming (突襲；攻佔) of the Bastille on the 14th of July, 1789. The Bastille was a prison that held prisoners who disagreed with the French monarchy. The biggest celebrations are on Paris’ famous Champs-Élysées 香榭丽舍大街. There are parades, military bands and festivities (慶祝活動) during the day, and fireworks displays in the evening. It is a wonderful, happy occasion when French people show their pride (自尊) in their country.

Bastille Day celebrates the most important day in French history. The storming of the Bastille prison marked the beginning of the French Revolution法国大革命. The prison was a symbol (標誌，象徵) of the total (徹底的) power of King Louis the 16th. Most French people were very poor and hated how the monarchy and its supporters were so wealthy. The Bastille only had seven prisoners when Parisians attacked it, but it signaled Louis 16th’s power was no longer absolute (完全的). Parisians (巴黎人的) believed their actions meant they were free. It led to the creation of the first French republic in 1792 and the three French ideals (理想) of liberty, equality, and fraternity. The French national anthem (國歌), La Marseillaise, was written that same year and became official in 1795.

                                            Les Misérables/悲慘世界 (2012)

IV. Comparing: What is similar and what is different about the US and France's independence celebrations?

A. Writing a Comparative Paragraph:

1. Use a Venn Diagram, then write a paragraph.
2. Topic Sentence: Tells the main idea

The American Independence Day and France's Bastille day are both important national celebrations.

or

The 4th of July in the US and Bastille Day in France are both important independence celebrations.

3. Detail Sentences: Give examples of similarities and differences

4. Closing Sentence: Summarize the paragraph, or restate the main idea.

V. Discussion: What about Taiwan?

1. How is Taiwan similar or different compared to the US and France? Use a 3 circle Venn Diagram.
2. What is considered " national pride" for Taiwanese?

Resources:

https://eslholidaylessons.com

https://www.testden.com/toefl/writing-tutorial/compare-and-contrast-paragraph.htm

https://eslflow.com/comparisoncontrast.html

https://gushi.tw/tag/frenchrevolution/
https://www.bilibili.com/video/av1486381/

Unit 2: Back to School

“Good, better, best. Never let it rest. Until your good is better and your better is best.'

Listening Skills

1. Music: "Another Brick in the Wall" by Pink Floyd 平克·佛洛伊德 (lyrics, fill in the blanks)
2. More music Back to School,

Writing: Review Punctuation and Capital Letters

Present Tense Dialogue: I live in Pasadena

A: Where do you live?

B: I live in Pasadena.

A: Where is Pasadena?

B: It's in California加利福尼亞州.

A: Is it in northern在北部的 California?

B: No. It's in southern California.

A: Is Pasadena a big city?

B: It's pretty big.

A: How big is "pretty big"?

B: It has about 140,000 people.

A: How big is LA (Los Angeles洛杉磯)?

B: It has about 3 million 300萬 people.

Adopt to Taiwan
Extra Present Tense Dialogue: What's on TV?

Phonics Reading 1: Back to School (short e)

1. Vocabulary: well Ned tests met set letter get tells better best
2. Back to school vocabulary game
3. Short e tongue twisters
4. Extra: “EA” words (head, dead, breath, bread, deaf)
5. Good-better- the best

Grammar: Comparisons
 More Practice, 2, Online Games

Positive    Comparative        Superlative
good        better             best 
bad         worse              worst 
little      littler, less      littlest, least 
far         farther, further   farthest, furthest

Grammar: 25 Most Common Verbs see also

Reading 2:  Finland Reforms Education For the Digital Age (A Class/ B Class)

Introduction: Brainstorm about the title
Vocabulary:

1. education system
2. prepare
3. emphasis
4. training
5. performance
6. necessary
7. subjects
8. skills
9. succeed
10. facts

Finland 芬蘭 wants more than to have the world's best education system. It wants to prepare students for the digital age數字時代. It wants to put more emphasis on digital and workplace skills. An example of this would be to use 3D printers in classes for students to make models 模型 of things they read about. There will also be training in real-life work places. Students' performance would be judged by a teacher and by a worker from the company公司 helping the student.

One teacher explained 解釋 why change was necessary. She said school is divided 分開 into subjects to learn, but our brain 腦 is not divided into subjects. She said students needed to think differently. They needed to think about the problems in the world. She questioned whether today's children get the skills to succeed in such an inter-cultural 跨文化 world. She warned 警告 it would be a mistake to let children think that the world is simple, and that all they need is facts.

Idioms 成語:

Write the English meaning. Draw the literal meaning. In your notebook write an example for each.

1. Bookworm
2. Brainstorm EX: The team got together to brainstorm (the project).組員們聚集在一起（就這個企劃）集思廣益。
3. Copycat EX: You're just a copycat! 你只會學別人！
4. Hit the books 
5. Teacher’s Pet

ESL Unit 3 Animals, Bikes and Paul Bunyan

I. Reading Comprehension

A. Hummingbirds

Vocabulary:

1. hummingbird (n.)       The bird feeder attracts many hummingbirds in summer.
2. quite + noun (used for emphasis 強調)        He is quite a player.
3. acrobat  (n.)     I wish I was as fit as the acrobats in the circus.
4. kingfisher  (n.)      We watched the kingfisher eat a fish.
5. to hover (v.)     The helicopter hovers over the car crash.
6. to match (v.) no + match for sth/sb    Hillary was no match for Trump.
7. skill (n.)       I have no skill in math.
8. strength  (n.)   She has more strength in her writing than last year.
9. nectar  (n.)      The bees like the nectar of this flowering herb.
10. to sip (v.)    Teacher sips her coffee slowly.
11. marking (n.)     My cat has black and white markings.
12. silk  (n.)         Her hair is as soft as silk.

台灣翠鳥覓食Kingfisher feeding (Taiwan)

B. Bats

Vocabulary:

1. to stretch (v.)     Stretching your muscles after a workout prevents injury.
2. active (adj.)       Although my grandma is old, she is still very active.
3. to hang (v.)      We hung ornaments on the Christmas Tree last night.
4. expression (n.)   Your face has a funny expression.
5. to guide (v.)     The dog guides the blind man across the street safely.
6. pitch (n.)       The song's pitch is too low for me to sing.
7. echo (n.)      The hiker yells on the mountain top, to hear his echo.
8. squeak (n.)   The mice are squeaking under the floor.
9. sonar (n.)    The navy uses a sonar system in their submarines.
10. to bump (v.)  The rude people bumped into me without an apology.
11. confused  (adj.)  to get + confused   I always got confused in math class.
12. to recognize (v.)    So many years had passed, that we didn't recognize each other.

EXTRA: Pollinators 授粉

1. What are the world's pollinators?
2. Why are pollinators important for the earth?
3. Which pollinators are endangered?

Resources:

BBC Earth
1.4 Billion Jobs Depend On Pollinators

Venn Diagram: Hummingbirds and Bats

C.Giraffes

1. graceful (adj.)    My mom is a graceful dancer.
2. gracefully (adv.)  My mom dances gracefully.
3. grown (adj.) 成年男子／女子的   His neighbor's dog is a full grown pet.
4. average (n.) 平均數；平均   My average (grade) is about 85%.
5. to gain weight (v.)   I gain weight every winter.
6. awkward (adj.)  扭捏不自然的 He was so shy and awkward with girls.
7. to gallop (v.)   飛跑，疾馳  The horse gallops across the fields.
8. to pace (v.) 為…定速度     The joggers pace themselves with their leader.
9. gentle (adj.)     Be more gentle with yourself.
10. curious (adj.)     All young toddlers are curious.

Extra: Giraffes at risk of extinction

D. Paul Bunyan 保羅 班揚

1. legend傳說，傳奇故事；民間故事 (n.) The movie is based on a Japanese legend.
2. giant巨人 (n.) Many different cultures believed in giants.
3. wore  (v.) past to wear  She wore the wrong uniform today.
4. porridge 燕麥粥，麥片粥 (n.)  English speaking kids eat oatmeal porridge for breakfast.
5. footprint腳印；足跡 (n.) The footprints of dinosaurs are on the mountains near my home.
6. lake 湖，湖泊 (n.) The lake near school is named after a dragon.
7. lumberjack 伐木工人，木材採運工 (n.) Lumberjacks needed to be super strong.
8. to form 製作；成為 (v.) Volcanic islands are still forming.
9. Grand Canyon 大峽谷國家公園(n.) Astronauts can see the Grand Canyon from space.
10. to drag 拖 (v.) The car is dragging a box behind it.

++ Lumbersexual :  A male hipster with a rugged, outdoorsy look, typified by plaid shirts and a full beard (Chinese)

E. Bike Safety

1. tip 指點，指導 (n.)  Grandma gave my aunt some useful cooking tips.
2. to cycle 騎單車／腳踏車 (v.)  He cycles three times a week to work.
3. serious 嚴重的；糟糕的 (adj.) We have some serious problems understanding this lesson.
4. hand signal 信號 (n.)  Do cyclists in Taiwan use hand signals?
5. to obey (v.) 服從，順從  The drivers obey this traffic light because of the cameras.
6. bright (adj.) 光明的，明亮的  The butterfly has a bright blue color.
7. bicyclist 騎腳踏車的人(n.) Many bicyclists come to Yilan for its many trails.
8. [working] order (n.) state of being  正常工作狀況；良好使用狀況 

TV for sale in (good) working order.出售性能良好的電視機。

Are your immigration papers in order (= legally correct)? 你的移民證件是否合法？

The coffee machine is out of order (= not working).咖啡機壞了。

II. Grammar

A. Synonyms and Antonyms

Game, Games 2

B. Homophones

C. Prefixes 前綴 (rap song)

In the word "unimportant", "un-" is a prefix.
在單詞 unimportant 中，un- 是前綴。

1. Common
2. Games 
3. Quiz

D. Possessive Pronouns/ Games/
E. Compound Subject + Compound Predicate
F.Subordinating Conjunctions

Unit 2 ESL

I. Venn Diagram Sports Comprehension

Vocabulary:

1. hockey
2. football
3. soccer
4. tennis
5. golf

II. Sharks Reading

Types of Sharks:

1. whale shark 鯨鯊
2. pygmy shark 侏儒鯊
3. bull shark 低鰭真鯊
4. tiger shark 鼬鯊
5. black tip reef shark 烏翅真鯊
6. hammerhead shark 雙髻鯊
7. cookie cutter shark 雪茄達摩鯊
8. goblin shark 歐氏尖吻鮫
9. dogfish shark 白斑角鯊
10. saw shark 鋸鯊
11. mako shark 尖吻鯖鯊
12. great white shark 大白鯊

Vocabulary:

1. Mississippi River
2. cartilage
3.spiky (adj.) [not sharp!]
4.scales (n.)
5. jaws (n.)
6.clamp (v.)
7.prey (n.)
8. to thrash (v.)
9. (deadly, deadlier,) deadliest
10.stomach
11. hammer (n.)
12. circular
13. snout
14. saw (n.)
15. fascinating

Videos from the Reading: Bull sharks in freshwater, Great White Thrashing its Prey, Sharks Eating Other Sharks, Crazy Things Swallowed by  Sharks, Cookie Cutter Bite, Mako Leaping Into Boat

Grammar: Compare and contrast using superlatives, (Practice /Game)
Activity: each person to make a list using positives superlatives to describe a good characteristic about someone in the class/school. Absolutely nothing even remotely negative allowed.
Writing: Choose a shark and write an acrostic poem, use your dictionary (Shark and Ocean Words)
Extra: Shark Conservation, The Importance of Great Whites, Shark Fin Ban

Sharks are in big trouble. Between 63 and 273 million sharks are killed every year due to human activities like overfishing and bycatch. As predators, sharks have played a vital role in maintaining healthy oceans for hundreds of millions of years, and any decline in populations can create a domino effect of unintended consequences.  The demand for shark fins is one of the biggest threats to shark populations worldwide. In fact, it’s estimated that fins from as many as 73 million sharks are bought and sold in the global shark fin trade every year.

In 2011, Taiwan was the 1st Asian country to ban shark fin fishing, but illegal fishing is still a huge problem. Sharks are still killed in Taiwan for their fins. Restaurants still serve shark fin soup.

What is the _________ problem in the world? (great)
The ____________ problem in the world is_________.

我叫珍古德而我的年紀是 80 歲，希望您能留下寶貴的 5 分鐘，聆聽我說一些話... Jane Goodall 珍·古德 interview

III. Earthquakes 地震

Vocabulary:

1. event (n.) it Yesterday was the school sport's event.
2. section (n.) it  Mom cut the pizza into eight sections.
3. to occur (v.) An earthquake occurred in Italy.
4. damage (n.) it My car has a lot of damage.
5. electric (adj.) adj + noun I wish I could buy an electric car.
6. landslide (n.) it The house was covered by a landslide.
7. to predict (v.) The weather report predicts sunny skies.
8. to warn (v.) Teacher warns us to get better.

to warn (警告；告誡；提醒)

I warn, you warn, they warn

he, she, it warns

to be+ warning ( I am warning you)

past: warned (I warned you)

IV. The Grasshopper and the Ants Fable

Vocabulary:

1. to haul (v.) to pull something heavy slowly and with difficulty
（用力）拉，拖（重物）

They hauled the boat out of the water. 他們把船拉上了岸。

She hauled herself up into the tree. 她費勁地爬上了樹。

IDIOM: "haul ass" to move very quickly to a different place

快速散開

When the shooting started we hauled ass out of there.

槍擊開始後，我們就趕快離開了那裡。

2. grain- a seed or seeds from a plant,  like a grass such as rice or wheat
（尤指像穀谷、小麥等像草一樣的植物的）穀粒，穎果，穀（物）

grains of wheat/rice 麥／米粒

Grain  is one of the main exports of the American Midwest.

穀物是美國中西部地區主要的出口商品。

V. Helpful Trees

Video: Chicago Trees

Vocabulary:

1. energy- the power from something such as electricity or oil that can do work, such as providing light and heat
能，能量；能源

The energy generated by the windmill drives all the drainage pumps.

風車産生的能量爲所有的排水泵提供動力。

energy conservation/efficiency.節能／能源使用效率

2. bill (n.) a request for payment of money owed, or the piece of paper on which it is written
帳單

an electricity/gas/phone bill電／煤氣／電話費帳單

3. sewer (n.) a large underground pipe used for carrying wastewater and human waste away from buildings to a safe place
下水道；排水管；陰溝

a sewer pipe 排水管

A complicated system of sewers runs under the city.

城市的地底下布有複雜的排水系統。

V. Grammar: 

1. Synonyms and Antonyms
2. The Verb BE
3. Main and Helping Verbs

VI. Writing

1. Making questions out of statements
2. Combing a sentence out of two sentences
3. Cursive practice