immigration lesson plan

TESL 467 Secondary Internship

Cooperative Teacher: Michèle McDonald Supervisor: Catharine MacDonald

Developing a Lesson Plan on the Topic of:Immigration

Majid Mohammadi Khomjani

5704057

Concordia University

Lesson template_ TESL unit_ Concordia University/ Updated September 2012 1

INTRODUCTIONThe theme I have chosen is immigration and the pros and cons about it. This topic is relevant to my learners because they are at an age where they have more freedom and logic to make choices and support them reasonably. There are students who have experienced immigration and travel with their families and they have occasionally listened to their parents’ and peers’ experiences. Therefore, all the students (immigrants and non-immigrants) are motivated to read, hear and share their own experiences. The theme will be discussed throughout the class which expects the learners to use all four language skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing). In this LES, students will learn about the nature of immigration, why people immigrate and discuss its advantages and drawbacks. The students will be exposed to a variety of language input in the form of listening, reading, writing and speaking activities. They use learning strategies (skim and scan) and processes (response) to explore, confirm and adjust their understanding. In addition, they will be provided with an opportunity to compare and contrast their own immigration experiences, discuss and share them with their peers and put their ideas into writing. The challenging and stimulating nature of the topic to make students talk enables them to get actively involved and be exposed to vocabulary related to the topic of immigration and travel.

General InformationName of Student Teacher Majid Mohammadi KhomjaniDate and time Monday, March 25th, 2013Cooperating teacher Michèle McDonaldSchool Jacques RousseauLevel and number of students Sec. 5Description of students 6 groups in sec. 5, 2 of which are strong.

Previous lessons The previous lesson focused on students writing about happiness in the form of a persuasive essay which can be somehow linked to the topic of immigration in which students should write about the advantages and disadvantages of immigration and support their ideas.

Anticipated problems and solutions Problems:1. Two major goals for misbehavior are attention and power. The first arises when students believe they are not getting the attention and recognition they assume they require or deserve. The latter is noticed when students are under the impression they are only important when in control of a situation or others.

2. I can also anticipate encountering problems with the vocabulary of students. Some words may sound unfamiliar to certain students which may interfere with their comprehension.

Solutions: (Vocabulary) Use of cognates and giving context as well as definitions for the unfamiliar words

Lesson template_ TESL unit_ Concordia University 2

Next lesson(s) The next lesson will deal with getting more information about the topic of “immigration” in different kind of input. It will draw upon the knowledge and language that was learnt from today’s lesson

Lesson PlanTitle of lesson Immigration

Goal(s) of lesson By the end of the lesson, I expect the students to understand and be able to use the words that have been introduced within the topic. They are exposed to a variety of language input and they are expected to put their input into practice for response process and active interaction.

Brief description of lesson: The lesson will mainly focus on authentic texts as reading passages or listening passages which expose learners to the topic of the lesson and it will encourage students to join in the response process and interaction.

Educational aim of a Broad Area of Learning By learning how to communicate in English, students learn how to socialize, “maintain relationships with others, ensure harmony in their interpersonal relations” (MELS Cycle 2&3 program, 2006, p. 50), to get things done and consequently expand their world view, especially in the broad area of learning of Citizenship and Community Life.

A cross-curricular competency targeted The cross-curricular competencies that will be targeted are To Exercise Critical Judgment because “students need to weigh all the facts, to take into consideration their own emotions, to use logical arguments, to take the context into account, to allow for ambiguity and to weed out preconceptions.” (MELS Cycle 2&3 program, 2006, p. 20)

ESL competency targeted The ESL competencies that will be targeted are C1 (interact orally in English)& C2 (reinvestment in understanding of the text) and C3 (write and produce texts)

Evaluation procedure (self, peer or teacher) The evaluation will be done by the teacher through the observation of students based on the evaluation criteria.

Evaluation criteriaUse of functional languageParticipation in exchanges

Evidence of understandingof texts

Use of targeted useful expressions and vocabulary

Perseverance in using English at all times Initiation and maintenance of oral exchanges

Demonstration of understanding of overall meaning of texts Identification and/or description of key elements in texts


Use of knowledge from textsin a reinvestment task

Sharing of understanding of texts with others Selection of information/ideas from texts, relevant to task Use of words and expressions from texts

Strategies are not used for grading, but they will be incorporated into the lesson in order to give students appropriate feedback (formative evaluation).

Related Content (Culture, Functional Language, Vocabulary, Grammar, Strategies, Processes, Texts) that students need to carry out activities in lesson

Since the secondary-level ESL programs build on the knowledge that students acquired at the elementary level, ESL programs are based on the social constructivist theory of learning, the communicative approach and cooperative learning. Consequently, students need to be given numerous opportunities to practise and use the knowledge from the Related Content in meaningful contexts in order to develop the ESL competencies. To do so, teachers should create activities focusing on the development of a personal repertoire of functional language through tasks. In the secondary-level Core ESL programs, functional language refers to varied fixed expressions (i.e. ready-made utterances) and open-ended prompts (i.e. sentence starters) that are taught and used in context to facilitate oral interaction. In Secondary Cycle Two, students use more varied functional language to fully take part in classroom life, and to carry out tasks that deal with increasingly complex and abstract topics. Functional language contributes directly to the development of the competency Interacts orally in English and supports the development of the competencies Reinvests understanding of texts and Writes and produces texts.

Materials and sources Handouts, CD, CD player, computer, projector

PREPARING TO LEARNACTIVITY

(name, grouping, and time)DESCRIPTION OF THE ACTIVITY

(role of Teacher and Students)RATIONALE & EVALUATION

5 minutes1. T begins his lesson by greeting the class with a big smile and an enthusiastic good morning.

* Ss greet the teacher.

To send a positive message that this is a friendly, inviting environment which helps in maintaining a positive atmosphere in class and creates a healthy learning context as well as supportive, trusting and positive rapport between learners and the teacher. Therefore, there is a much better chance of participation and interaction


Carrying OUT LEARNINGACTIVITY



Preparing to Learn

2 mins

3 mins

5 mins

5 mins

2. T proceeds with the role calling of the classroom to make sure everybody is present.

* Ss say “present” for attendance. Everyone is in the classroom.

3. T shows the agenda for the class and tells Ss what they will cover in the class.

4. T shows them a clip on YOU TUBE about immigration.

* Ss listen to the clip

5. T asks the Ss to predict the lesson topic by guessing the individual letters of the alphabet.

I m m i g r a t i o n

* Ss try to guess the topic by choosing the letters from the alphabet. Every correct guess is praised by the T and T’s verbal encouragement makes Ss interested to participate. T says,” Good, Daphne! Xavier! Great.

6. T asks Ss to turn into to their partner and discuss two questions either put on the board or projected on the screen.

* Ss get into pairs and ask& the following questions.

A: Are your parents immigrants in Canada?B: What problems do immigrants have when they move to another

country?

7. After a few minutes, T asks some students to talk about their

2. To control active participationand to show being in charge.

3. To show professionalism and being well-organized which prevents many misbehaviors when Ss exactly know what to do during the class.

4. To spice up the lesson, heighten their curiosity.

5. Praising creates a positive class climate. Positive encouragement creates a positive learning experience and it develops rapport.

6. To activate their prior knowledge.

7. Having a report back shows how they


Demonstration of Meaning

Prep 1 Key Elements 20 mins

10 mins

10 mins

partner’s response.

8. T tells Ss that there are some new words (key elements) in the lesson that they are going to learn before listening to the clip. The words are: flood, carcass, rot, rage, comfy, firewater, sneak, poverty, barriers

7. T uses different means such as examples, pictures, synonym& antonym and cognates to teach the key elements.

* Ss look at the pictures and listen to the examples and repeat the words.

8. T asks CCQs about the words they learned.Immigrants are flooding into our borders. Are there many or fewer?Is the smell of a rotting fruit pleasant or disgusting?When you are in rage, do you feel angry or relaxed?How do you move when you sneak?...etc.Every correct answer is praised by the T.

9. T tells Ss that they will watch (twice) a YOU TUBE clip called “immigration debate in the USA” and they should listen carefully and fill out the blanks of the script and answer some comprehension questions.

10. T gives instructions and then distributes the handouts:A. Read the questions and answer them.B. Answer individually. C. Check your answers with your partner when you are done.

were focused and it also help Ss to share their ideas with class.

8. Lexis is the building block of the language and a powerful carrier of meaning. The purpose of teaching key elements to clarify potentially problematic words in context. In interactive classes, specific class time should be allocated to vocabulary learning in a meaningful context which in turn improves intelligible communication.

7. Repetition of words makes the acquisition more effective, reduces the information density and gets the students more engaged

8. By questioning in interactive classes, the T checks understanding and he also serves as the initiator of the interaction to provide the stimuli for continued communication.

9.To activate prior knowledge and students prepare for the lesson by reflecting on their current knowledge and beliefs.

10. Giving instruction helps Ss to understand better how to do the task. Setting time limit for each task helps the teacher to follow his/her lesson plan effectively and makes all students


Prep 2 Predicting& inferencing

30 mins

Carry Out

D. You have 10 minutes.

11. T asks ICQS like:Do you work alone or together?How much time do you have to do it?* Ss answer ICQS to indicate they know what to do.

Note: Ss will be notified that they will be evaluated on C2 Ss will be also notified of strategies of note taking and direct attention

12. After doing the activity, T shows the final correct answers to the students.

13. T tells Ss that they are going to read a text about “advantages and disadvantages of immigration” which is adapted from voice of America. Before scanning the text, T asks Ss to look at the topic and topic sentences of each paragraph and predict what the content of the text is about.

* Ss answer the questions and share their guesses based on the prior knowledge.

14. T praises every answer from Ss. T says,” Good, Daphne! Great, Xavier!”

15. Ss scan the reading passage. They may take notes about the text to help them with the following activities.

Students will be evaluated with C2 in the reading text If students are not yet familiar with the response process,

point out that there are three phases: exploring the text, establishing a personal connection with the text, and

accountable for respecting rules and procedures.

11. To check for clarification and get concrete evidence instead of asking, “Does anyone understand?”

13. By inferencing, the title of the passage is deconstructed and more clues are given about the context. While being asked chorally and individually, predicting gets Ss more engaged in the task.

14. Positive encouragement creates a positive learning experience and it develops rapport.

15. To find specific information and practice the strategy of note taking.


Integration Task 1(Speaking)

30 mins

generalizing beyond the text.16. At the end of the reading and after answering the questions, Ss’ start connecting personally to the text by answering questions at the end of the passage.

17. T explains to the Ss that connecting personally to the text by asking and answering questions will improve their listening comprehension and speaking. T starts explaining the activity to students: “Now, you get into pairs (T models). Ask and answer the questions.

18. Some students share their answers with the class.

19. After finishing the reading passage, it is time for oral discussion. T tells Ss from the knowledge they have gained from the previous tasks, they get into groups of four and discuss pros and cons of immigration by using the functional language given on the handouts and fill out the chart. Ss have 20 minutes to do the task.

* Ss listen to T’s explanation. * Ss find their partner and start the activity.

20. T monitors. T visits each group. T pays attention to any inaccurate utterances they produce.

21. Some students share their answers with the class.

22. After the discussion, some of the serious errors are put on the board for self correction first by students followed by T’s explanation.

23. Ss fill out the self-evaluation grid and based on their present performance and what they decide to do in future for further improvement.

24. After the discussion, T asks Ss to write an opinion text about

17. It is good to justify the purpose of the activity.

19. Monitoring helps Ts to estimate Ss’ progress in language production. ( Brown 2007, p. 237). Discreet monitoring prevents the T from overt interfering or correction. This kind of monitoring shows Ss you are interested, but the main task is that they should use their own resources. (Scrivener 2005, p. 93-94)

22. Ss learn making errors is part of learning and self-correction is more effective.


Integration Task 2 (Writing)

20 mins

Wrap up

immigration. T gives instructions:You’re going to write your opinion about immigration and share your thoughts about what you have learned. You’ll answer the essential question, “What Are the Pros& Cons of Immigration?”. T tells Ss they have 10 minutes to do it, but they should develop it up to 200-250 words, fix it and bring the clean copy next time for evaluation.

25. After the writing task, a few minutes left to the end of the class. T appreciates Ss’ effort and asks them what they learnt from the class. Time is up and T says goodbye until the next class.

25. Wrap-up is a final and brief semi controlled student- or teacher-produced summary of the points or lessons that have been learnt or practiced.

INTEGRATING WHAT WAS LEARNEDACTIVITY



Integration Task 1(Speaking) 20.


Wrap up


immigration lesson plan

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