Teaching EFL Listening via FUN WITH ENGLISH Books/8B/Lesson 10

Grade 8 FUN WITH ENGLISH 8B Chapter 10: Helping the poor Anqing Foreign Language School Lesson 10 Version 0.21

In this chapter about helping the poor I hope to find a way to expose my students to the plight of those less fortunate and give them the opportunity to think for themselves about the idea. I will be team-teaching with Mr. Brown and we will spend some time at the beginning reminding our students of the grading policy, and recounting his adventure last week.

Lesson Objectives

 * The opening will draw the class's attention.
 * The textbook activities will go quick and be productive.
 * We will have a critical discussion about the situation of poor people and what can be done.
 * The activities will be fun and get the students using English.

Before Class Starts

 * If time, walk around and mingle with the students before the bell rings. (King)

Greeting: USA What's up?

 * Yo! What's up? Not much, you? Not much.

Opening: Mother's Day

 * What day was it last Sunday?
 * Do you like Mother's Day?
 * Is Mother's Day important?
 * Why do we have Mother's Day?
 * What did you do on Mother's Day?
 * What did you do on Mother's Day Mr. Brown?

Explanation: Class Grading Policy

 * First go through the A to F scale in English and explain that 50% of their grade comes from tests and the other half from in class performance.
 * Put the Chinese explanation up on the screen and have the students read it out loud so they all understand.

====Textbook: Page 42 Let's get ready  A and  B====

Conversation: Poor People

 * Why are some people poor?
 * Should you help poor people?
 * Do poor people want your help?
 * What can we do to help poor people?
 * Who are poor people?
 * Do you know any poor people?
 * Are poor people bad?
 * Why are there poor people in the world?
 * Do poor people make a difference in your life?
 * Are there poor people in Anqing?

Activity: Poor People Interview
CN Interview = taifan ?
 * Write interview on the board.
 * Ask if they know that word?
 * Write the questions on the board
 * Do you like poor people?
 * Do you want to help poor people?
 * Why?
 * Bring up a student volunteer and interview one another in front of the class.
 * Now please interview the people sitting next to you, in English!
 * Give them a minute or three, walk around and help troubled groups.
 * Afterwards ask for volunteers to come to the front of class and do the interview.

Debate: Poor People (Mr. Brown)

 * Break the students up by gender or by row.
 * Write "Why are people poor?" on the board.
 * Tell one group them they have to each write one reason why and another why they are not.

Look: Poem by Philip

 * Poem from a homeless gentleman named Philip.
 * http://youngmanhattanite.com/2009/04/we-are-all-gods-creatures-in-world-all.html

Acknowledgments

 * I get many ideas from Stuart Brown. (Mr. Brown).
 * I would like to thank all the 7th and 8th grade classes at Anqing Foreign Language School who had this lesson for their participation and feedback. I would also like to thank the Anqing Foreign Language School for allowing me to teach there.
 * Marjorie King provided some feedback on my last lessons, that was built into this lesson. (King)

Changelog
Version 0.21 13 May 2010
 * Added mother's day questions.
 * Added grading section
 * Moved the Unicef photo essay and the debates to extra time because we have not had time for them.
 * Removed Let's listen 2 B, because it has not been productive and time is better spent discucssing.
 * Changed poor people conversation questions.

Version 0.2 12 May 2010
 * re-worded the introduction
 * changed the greeting to just USA
 * made some minor formatting adjustments from italicized to sub-sub-section in the lesson plan components
 * only kept let's listen 2b from the textbook because it does the best job of probing how we can help poor people
 * moved the poem to extra time, because it was too difficult

Version 0.1 1 May 2010
 * Written at the YY Club in Shanghai

Copyright
This lesson plan was written by Charles Jeffrey Danoff, drawing on ideas from others. I have not decided how to license it yet, for now feel free to re-use it for any educational purposes.