Time & Tide The Life Journey of Two Immigrants

Reading & Writing CLB 4-5-6

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ISBN 978-1-894799-80-5

To The Teacher Throughout my twenty-eight years of teaching ESL at Bow Valley College, Alberta, I experimented with many different teaching and learning strategies, and tried to find the magic wand that would excite and engage my students in meaningful communication, as well as encourage a strong desire to improve all language skills. Again and again, I noted that student interest was always heightened by the personal true story especially if the story was serialized and contained an element of suspense and drama. The Life and Times of Lillian written by Fran Marshall [Canadian Resources for ESL], is a good example of such a story and proved to be a great success with the students of Benchmark 4-6. I was impressed with the response, that this story elicited and by the improvement in the students’ language skills, and it is largely because of this story that I was inspired to write my own story combined with the personal story of my first love, George, whom I found on Facebook, in my last semester of teaching. Both of us were born and grew up in the same area of Scotland and both of us immigrated, George to Australia and me to Canada. Since finding each other, we have communicated by email and shared our life experiences with all its ups and downs, joys and sorrows and it is from this that the idea grew to write our stories and combine them in a way that would appeal to the immigrant student population. It is my firm belief that storytelling in the ESL classroom provides a wonderful opportu-nity to engage the students’ interest and participation, especially if they can identify with the characters or the events of the story. They are then motivated to open up and share their own stories. Our story consists of 13 units, each of which is developed to include various language skills and student tasks, with an emphasis on vocabulary expansion. The theme through-out is about the immigrant experience and the process of adjustment to a new culture and a new way of life. Recommended reading level - CLB 4,5,6.

Unit Components Vocabulary Preview Each unit begins with a vocabulary preview, containing some of the words from the story. These words are defined as Verbs, Nouns, Adjectives and Adverbs and the students should enter these words in the appropriate columns of the page entitled, ‘Make Your Own Dictionary’. To prepare the students for this, it would be beneficial to explain these terms beforehand and give examples of how they are used in a sentence. A lesson on Participial Adjectives would also be very helpful. Students are asked to draw a line from the Vocabulary in column A to the definitions in column B. This activity will need some guidance and explanations from the teacher since some of the words will be unfamiliar to the students. Readings The students will read about the lives of Patricia and George from the time they met, how their stories unfolded in two different countries, until the day they found each other on Facebook. As in all life stories there are many twists and turns, ups and downs and in the case of immigrants to a new culture, there are the added pains of cultural adjustment. For the majority of our students this is not an easy transition and it is my hope that in reading the life stories of these two immigrants they will be encouraged to share their own experiences with each other and at the same time improve their language skills. Class Discussion Following most of the readings there are two or three questions for general class discussion. This activity encourages the students to offer their opinions and ideas directly with the teacher and other classmates. Small Group Discussion Students are asked to read the questions, make a few notes and then share their ideas in groups of four or five. This is helpful for those students who are less confident in their speaking and prefer to remain quiet during the larger class discussions. Test Your Vocabulary All the readings are followed by sample sentences using the vocabulary in column A of the vocabulary preview, which are also underlined in the story. Students are asked to fill in the blanks.

Your Turn - Student Interviews Following the vocabulary exercise, in the units pertaining to Pat’s life, students interview each other with questions on a particular topic from the story. They are asked to write a complete sentence on the answers they are given, using the students’ names. This part of the lesson involves listening, speaking and writing practice. Answers can be written on the board and corrected collectively or handed in to the teacher as homework. Reading Comprehension Students will answer questions with complete sentences, on the stories pertaining to George’s life. This gives them practice in reading for information and writing good sen-tences. The answers can then be put on the board for collective correction or handed in to the teacher as homework. I have always found collective correcting on the board to be very effective since the students can then self-correct their own writing and it is an activity that they always enjoyed. Writing Task It is not the aim of this book to teach the intricacies of good paragraph writing since that would require a specialized writing program. Rather, the focus of the book is on reading, vocabulary expansion and the sharing of life experiences. However, it is impor-tant for the students to follow up with their own writing contributions, and consequently the teacher can gauge their writing abilities, weaknesses and needs for further writing assistance. Make Your Own Dictionary Each unit provides a page with the above title and students should fill this in with the words from the vocabulary preview. Making a personal dictionary is an effective tool for students to expand their vocabulary and, in addition, they are more likely to remember the words because they have learned the meanings in the context of the story.

Contents Time and Tide Poem 1 Class Discussion 1 Ask Your Classmates 2 Unit 1 Title: Introduction and Background 3 Vocabulary Preview 3 Reading 4 Test Your Vocabulary 5 Your Turn - Student Interviews 6 Writing Task 7 Unit 2 Title: The Growing Up Years [Patricia] 8 Vocabulary Preview 8 Reading 9 Class Discussion 9

Test Your Vocabulary 10 Your Turn - Student Interviews 11 Writing Task 12

Unit 3 Title: The Growing Up Years [George] 13 Vocabulary Preview 13 Reading 14 Small Group Discussion 15 Test Your Vocabulary 16 Reading Comprehension 17 Writing Task 18 Unit 4 Title: A New Chapter [Patricia] 19 Vocabulary Preview 19 Reading 20 Test Your Vocabulary 21

Your Turn - Student Interviews 22 Writing Task 23 Unit 5 Title: A Fork In The Road [George] 24 Vocabulary Preview 24 Reading 25 Class Discussion 26 Small Group Discussion 26 Test Your Vocabulary 27 Reading Comprehension 28 Writing Task 29 Unit 6 Title: The Trip To Canada [Patricia] 30 Vocabulary Preview 30 Reading 31 Class Discussion 32 Small Group Discussion 32 Test Your Vocabulary 33 Your Turn - Student Interviews 34 Writing Task 35 Unit 7 Title: The Trip to Australia [George] 36 Vocabulary Preview 36 Reading 37 Class Discussion 38 Small Group Discussion 38 Test Your Vocabulary 39 Reading Comprehension 40 Writing Task 41 Unit 8 Title: Life In Manitoba [Patricia] 42 Vocabulary Preview 42 Reading 43 Class Discussion 44 Small Group Discussion 44

Test Your Vocabulary 45 Your Turn - Student Interviews 46 Writing Task 47 Unit 9 Title: Life’s Ups And Downs [George] 48 Vocabulary Preview 48 Reading 49 Class Discussion 50 Test Your Vocabulary 51 Reading Comprehension 52 Writing Task 53 Unit 10 Title: Life As A Single Mother [Patricia] 54 Vocabulary Preview 54 Reading 55 Class Discussion 56 Test Your Vocabulary 57 Your Turn - Student Interviews 58 Writing Task 59 Unit 11 Title: Life As A Single Father [George] 60 Vocabulary Preview 60 Reading 61 Class Discussion 62 Small Group Discussion 62 Test Your Vocabulary 63 Reading Comprehension 64 Writing Task 65 Unit 12 Title: The Wings Of Time [Patricia] 66 Vocabulary Preview 66 Reading 67 Test Your Vocabulary 69 Your Turn - Student Interviews 70 Writing Task 71

Unit 13 Title: A Blast From The Past [George] 72 Vocabulary Preview 72 Reading 73 Class Discussion 74 Small Group Discussion 74 Test Your Vocabulary 75 Story Feedback 76 Writing Task 77 Poem: Connected 78 Appendix Make Your Own Dictionary 79 Supplementary Material 80 Understanding Word Forms 80 Verbs 80 Nouns 81 Gerunds As Nouns 82 Adjectives 83 Adverbs 83 Adjectives & Adverbs 84 Participial Adjectives 85 Poem: Peaks and Valleys 87

Canadian Resources for ESL www.eslresources.com 1-866-833-9485 1 Tide and Time - Pat McCurry © 2012

Time and Tide

Time and tide can steal many a friend But walk on a beach at a warm day’s end

And if you are lucky, and your heart is true You may find the tide has returned to you

Much that at dawn it took away Now waiting for you at the end of the day.

by Susan Mackenzie

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This poem uses symbolic language to express the loss of friends and friendship, but if we stay hopeful life can also bring us happy surprises. The dictionary defines the word symbol as a sign, a mark or an object that represents some thing, place or situation. Symbols are used in every culture in the world, for example, the Maple Leaf is the symbol of Canada, a red rose is a symbol of love, a ring is a symbol of marriage and five interlocking rings represent the Olympic games. Class Discussion 1. Can you give more examples of popular symbols? 2. Name a few symbols from your country. 3. What does the word ”tide” mean? What do you think it symbolizes? 4. What does the word “dawn” mean? What do you think it symbolizes? 5. “Much that at dawn it took away.” How would you explain this sentence? 6. The poem uses the word “lucky.” Do you believe in luck or do you believe that things happen because they are meant to happen?

Canadian Resources for ESL www.eslresources.com 1-866-833-9485 2 Tide and Time - Pat McCurry © 2012

Ask Your Classmates 1. Ask your classmates, “What are some reasons that you feel lucky in your life?” Write their answers. Use names. __________________________________________________________________

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2. Now write a paragraph about yourself and why you feel lucky.

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Canadian Resources for ESL www.eslresources.com 1-866-833-9485 3 Tide and Time - Pat McCurry © 2012

UNIT ONE Introduction And Background

scarce [adj] chances

constant [adj] lucky

animosity [n] success

discouraged [v:adj] few, little

disapproved [v] joined; in touch

opportunities [n] advised against, loss of hope

achievement [n] Resentment; anger

strongly [adv] continual, all the time

fortunate [adj] gave approval, disagreed [with]

A B

1

2

3

4

5

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7

8

9

10 connected [adj; v] very much; seriously

Vocabulary Preview Note: Before doing this exercise it is important to understand the meaning of the words- “verb”, “adjective”, “noun” and “adverb”, as well as their roles in sentence construction. See the appendix for supplementary material. Match the vocabulary in column A with the definitions in column B and draw a connecting line.

Abbreviations Adjective = adj.; Verb = v; Noun = n; Adverb = adv.

Canadian Resources for ESL www.eslresources.com 1-866-833-9485 4 Tide and Time - Pat McCurry © 2012

UNIT ONE

Introduction and Background Patricia and George

This is the story of two people whose lives took very different paths yet who remained deeply connected to each other for the rest of their lives. Their names are Patricia and George. Both were born during the years of the Second World War in the county of Ayrshire on the west coast of Scotland. The war began in 1939 and lasted until 1945, when Germany was defeated. These were difficult years for all families in Britain because the British govern-ment introduced conscription, which meant that most young men of 18 and over had to do military service. Many families were without fathers, food was scarce, and wages were low. There was also the constant fear of being bombed by German warplanes or losing a father, a brother, or a husband. Another aspect of their Scottish culture was the animosity that existed between Catholics and Protestants due to the long history of war, arising from the time of the Reformation in the 16th century. Catholics were a minority in Scotland and in those days, in some areas, were viewed as second-class citizens. Marriages between these two religions were discouraged and disapproved of by the families. However, on a positive note, the educational opportunities were equal for both. Catholics had their own schools as they do here in Canada and the curriculum was the same as in the public schools. This meant that entrance to University or College was based on academic achievement only. At that time, higher education was free and subsidized by the government. The politics of the Scottish government in those days was strongly socialistic, and many of these ideas were brought to Canada by Scottish settlers. For example, Tommy Douglas, a Scotsman and famous politician, is known as the father of Medicare in Canada and was voted in a popular contest as the greatest Cana-dian in history. Patricia and George were fortunate to grow up in the post-war years because they were really too young to know how serious the war was. Life was difficult for their parents’ generation. How did their lives cross? To be continued . . . Read the story again and identify the underlined words as verbs, nouns, adjectives or adverbs. Put these words into the appropriate columns of the page, titled, “Make Your Own Dictionary.”

Canadian Resources for ESL www.eslresources.com 1-866-833-9485 5 Tide and Time - Pat McCurry © 2012

Test Your Vocabulary Fill in the blanks with these underlined words from the story. 1. Canada is a country of great _________________ if you are willing to work hard and get a good education. 2. Learning a language and adapting to a new country is a great __________________. 3. Strong beliefs in any religion can cause _________________ and discrimination towards other religions. 4. It is normal to feel ___________________ and sad at times, when you move to another country. 5. Cheating in exams is __________________ of by all teachers and institutions. 6. We are __________________ to live in a country that protects our civil rights and freedoms. 7. Tommy Douglas was a man who ___________________ believed in universal health care for all Canadians. 8. Many countries have experienced serious flooding because of _____________ rain and thunderstorms. 9. Lack of rain and severe drought also brings great suffering because food becomes _______________ and people may die of malnutrition. 10. As a new immigrant, part of you will always feel __________________________ to your native country. Remember to enter the new vocabulary into your personal dictionary.

scarce constant connected discouraged disapproved

opportunities achievement strongly fortunate animosity

Canadian Resources for ESL www.eslresources.com 1-866-833-9485 6 Tide and Time - Pat McCurry © 2012

Your Turn - Student Interviews Ask your classmates the questions below and write a complete sentence for each answer. Use names. Example: Where do you come from? Juan comes from Columbia.

1. Where do you come from?

2. How many years did you live in your country? 3. Did you have a good education? 4. Does your country have a free health care program? 5. Is it expensive to go to college or university 6. What do you like about your country? 7. What do you dislike about your country? 8. What do you like about Canada? 9. What do you dislike about Canada? 10. Are you happy to be in Canada?

Write your answers on the board or give to your teacher for correction.

Canadian Resources for ESL www.eslresources.com 1-866-833-9485 7 Tide and Time - Pat McCurry © 2012

Writing Write a paragraph about your background and your country. Explain why you decided to leave and come to Canada.

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My Background