Controversial Issues. Aral Sea: manmade evironmental disaster.

LESSON PLAN

Long-term plan unit:

School:

Date: October, 25 2021

Time: 90 min (45/45)

Time: 80 min. (40/40)

Planned by Yevgeniya Lenshina

Teaches the lesson: Yevgeniya Lenshina

Group:

Number present:_____

Absent:______

Theme of the lesson:

‘BBC News. Aral Sea: Manmade environmental disaster’

Learning objectives(s) that this lesson is contributing to

8.L1 understand with little or no support the main points in extended talk on a wide range of general and curricular topics;

8.L2 understand with little or no support most specific information in extended talk on a wide range of general and curricular topics;

8.R2 understand specific information and detail in texts on a growing range of familiar general and curricular topics, including some extended texts;

8.S5 interact with peers to negotiate, agree and organise priorities and plans for completing classroom tasks;

8.S7 use appropriate subject-specific vocabulary and syntax to talk about a range of general topics, and some curricular topics;

8.C5 use feedback to set personal learning objectives.

Lesson objectives

All learners will be able to:

• identify general and specific information in a video and a reading passage (the video transcript)

• understand different accents of speakers.

• set personal learning objectives

• find solutions to the problem-based activities performed in a final product (project works presentations)

Most learners will be able to:

• complete some reading comprehension tasks relevant to mid-achieving students

• find solutions to the problem-based activity performed in a final product: project works presentations (the problem task involving low- and high level thinking skills)

Some learners will be able to:

• complete some reading comprehension task relevant to high-achieving or low-achieving students

• find solutions to the problem-based activity performed in a final product: project works presentations (the problem task involving lower-order thinking skills – for low-achieving students; higher-order thinking skills for high-achieving students )

Success criteria

SS understand listening and reading strategies and able to comprehend general and specific information from the video and its transcript.

SS are able to understand a problem and suggest and present a reasonable solution.

Value links

Respect for self and others. Cooperation.

Cross curricular links

Science, Geography, History, Citizenship education

ICT skills

Be able to retrieve information from the ppt, Internet, educational network service Kundelik.kz

Previous learning

• Students are already acquainted with some words about natural disasters and ecology (‘irrigate’, ‘desert’, etc.)

• Students already know listening and reading strategies and techniques and are skilled enough to use them on a regular basis.

• Students have been given a task to surf some information about the Aral sea on the Internet (in English, Russian or Kazakh)

Intercultural awareness

• Students develop their intercultural awareness and language competencies through critical analysis of printed and audio texts and understanding different accents.

Kazakh culture

• Students analyze a great ecological problem of Kazakhstan and try to suggest their solutions of the problem.

• Students are encouraged to research and share information about their ethnic background, traditions, and way of living as a means of fostering a trusting relationship with fellow classmates.

Health and safety

• Make sure power cords are not a tripping hazard;

• Everyday classroom precautions.

Lesson Progression

Planned timings

Planned activities (replace the notes below with your planned activities)

Resources

Before the lesson

Beginning

Middle

End

Organizing differentiated groups before the lesson begins

T. splits the students according to the level of language into three level groups:

- green apples: low-achieving students

- yellow apples: mid-achieving students

- red apples: high- achieving students

As the students come in to the class each student gets a small apple-shaped colored paper labeled like this: “a green apple” or “a yellow apple”or “a red apple” and takes a sit at the corresponding table.

Introduction of the topic and lesson objectives (5 min.)

1. SS. Watch Video 1. T. asks SS. about the problem presented in the video. SS. give their answers, T. writes the title “Aral Sea” on the board and asks SS. what they know about the problem of the Aral sea in a short open class discussion..

2. SS. watch Video 2 and name the topic of the lesson.

Comment: T. might adapt her metalanguage following to the natural progression of the discussion, f.e. T. can ask SS to think about the topic by asking follow-up questions to make SS name the natural disasters they know and those ones that happen in Kazakhstan, think how they relate to the videos and conclude what natural disaster of Kazakhstan is going to be discussed at the lesson.

3. T. presents the objectives of the lesson and discusses them with the students:

1. Listen for general idea

2. Listen for specific information

3. Read for details

4. Create small projects

5. Assess our work and set learning objectives

Comment: T. asks SS. how they understand the objectives and how they can achieve them (what they can do and how).It’s a very important part of the lesson, because to be able to understand the assessment criteria and, as a result, to be able to assess and set personal learning objectives, SS. must clearly understand what particularly they are expected to do and how.

I. Pre-listening stage.

b) Pre-teaching vocabulary (2 min):

SS guess the meanings of the words according to their definitions:

gradually (adverb) = step by step

marooned (adjective) = lost or left and forgotten

seabed (noun) = the floor of the sea

a dam (noun) = a special construction that gathers and keep the water.

bustling (adjective) = full of people and activity

extend (verb) = to stretch out

come to terms with … (coll.) = accept a sad situation

T. gives ready charts with the words and definitions to each student and drills the pronunciation of new words.

II. Listening practice . Gaps completion and discussion.

a) Listening 1 (for general idea): (3 min) SS. watch the video ‘BBC News Aral Sea Man made environmental disaster’ (no subtitles or script is provided) and answer to the open-ended questions (on slides) in open class discussion:

1. What is the problem?

2. Who are the people on the video?

3. Are they happy or sad?

b) Listening 2 (for specific information): (3 min) SS. watch the video again (the script is provided) and fill in the gaps in the script. SS use the previously taught vocabulary in particular context, listening for specific information. T. and SS. check the answers in an open-class discussion.

Comment: T. and SS. check and discuss the correct answers together in an open-class discussion. SS agree or disagree with each other and suggest their answers. Then the T .tells the correct answers.

II. Post-listening stage. Reading comprehension practice. (10 min)

SS. complete the tasks supplied to the text:

• True/False sentences (for all students)

• Complete the chart to structure the info (task for high-ach. SS.)

• Sequencing the events, mentioned in the news video (task for high-ach. and mid-ach. SS)

• Multiple choice question (task for low-ach. students)

Comment: T. might revise the strategies discussing them with the SS while coming up to each group for assisting them. For example, T. can ask SS to name the main stages and techniques as skimming and scanning, underling key words and key phrases, moving from the question to the text etc. to remind SS. some point of reading techniques. Understanding of lesson objectives and reading strategies is an essential part of understanding what SS do and the assessment criteria for the task.

T. and SS. check the answers in groups: T. gives the keys to the tasks to each group and SS exchange their papers in pairs and assess each other. Then they prepare their report to the teacher.

Comment: peer- and self-assessment promotes deeper understanding of common mistakes and problems and better understanding of what can be done to overcome them. So, the teacher comes up to each group to have a short discussion on these issues and asks each group to conclude and feedback on the problems and difficulties they have and suggest their ideas on how they can be solved in their reports (on special self-assessment sheets)

Extension task. Problem–solving and preparing a project

Comment: In this task SS suggest some ideas on how the problem of the Aral sea could be solved (if only it could be). The task does not aim at conducting a really deep research on the problem, but more at making SS. think about the problem and be aware of it, so to make it a part of SS’s citizenship education. Also, the task aims at developing SS’ speaking skills as well as skills required for an effective public speech presentation. At the end of each short presentation the groups assess each other’s presentations according to the criteria, introduced before the task.

a) T. introduces the problem and distributes the cards with the differentiated tasks for each group of students (yellow, green and red apples).

The problem:

‘You are asked to support a project created to study and attempt to return the Aral Sea. How would you help the project?’

Differentiated tasks:

• Green apples: Create a poster to advertise the project and attract people to take part in it.

• Yellow apples: Create and organize activities for supporting the project

• Red apples: Suggest particular steps for improving the situation with the Aral Sea

Comment: the tasks are differentiated according to the level of thinking skills evolved into the process of a problem solution. Red apples are to complete the task requiring processing higher order thinking skills: analyzing, evaluating the problem and creating and suggesting particular solution. Yellow apples prepare the projects processing higher and lower- order thinking skill: analyzing the problem and suggesting some practical steps that could be applied for the problem solution. Green apples complete the task processing their lower-order skills: suggesting some practical application of resources to understand the problem.

b) T. explains the rules of self-management in each of the groups and asks SS to share responsibilities in their groups and appoint the roles: time-keeper, editor, leader, creative manager etc.

Comment: T. appoints the ‘speaker’ role obligatory for each of the student in the group, so that each of them could present their ideas at the project presentation stage; Also, T. provides some lexical scaffolding to support SS (gives out some of topic-related vocabulary and question structure pattern they might need to develop their ideas while presenting and discussing their projects).

c) T. discusses the criteria of the project and its presentation together with SS and puts notes on the blackboard (if necessarily).

The Criteria:

• Effective speaking (voice, gestures, mimics)

• Correct speaking (grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, fluency)

• Effective paper presentation (design, general view)

• Effective cooperation and collaboration

• Effective time-management (for preparation and presentation)

• Task achievement(the adequate solution is found)

• Performance is well-organized (nothing falls down or nothing is lost)

Work on project (5 min)

SS work on their projects in groups, T. assists and guides SS.

Comment: When coming up to each of the groups for assisting, T. might discuss these criteria with SS, ask them to explain how they understand each of them, put some extra notes if necessarily.

Project presentation (5 min)

SS present their projects and prepare questions to each other to discuss it in an open-class discussion.

Comment: you can give extra points to the groups for each good question performed to facilitate open class discussion.

Peer- assessment (5 min)

SS assess each other’s projects by colouring stars and supplying their comments in the criteria sheets (if necessary)

Comment: The task ends as an open class discussion, reflecting on all positive and negative points of each project and the ways how they could be improved next time.

Reflection (1-2 min):

SS get back to the lesson objectives and check whether all the objectives have been achieved or not. Ss reflect on their work at the lesson.

Each student gets one of the coloured paper faces (smiles) to raw its facial expression describing the student’s feelings and emotions at the end of the lesson. SS and raise their hands to show their smiles to each other and the T.

Homework: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/resources/idt-a0c4856e-1019-4937-96fd-8714d70a48f7

• Red Apples: prepare True/False task for any of the texts and print it on A4 papers and give to Green and Yellow Apples

• Yellow and Green Apples: complete the tasks prepared by Red Apples

Comment: the home task is sent to the SS. via Kundelik.kz service as an attached docx.-format document.

small apple-shaped papers

two short videos about the Aral Sea; OHP; the blackboard; chalk

ppt slide; OHP

ppt slides;

paper charts with words

BBC news video clip; ppt slide; OHP

BBC news video clip; OHP; appendix 1.