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Work presented toMohammad Rahimi

Teaching Written Comprehension and Production in ESLDDL2239 Group 030

ByDaniel Jutras (JUTD02089300)

Wednesday April 20, 2016

Contents

A1. Vocabulary Teaching Activity:.............................................................................................1

1. Activity title / level (http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems-and-poets/poems/detail/

44885) + description / context................................................................................................1

2. Second– Lesson plan......................................................................................................2

3. Third– Handouts & Materials...........................................................................................4

B1. Second Section: Reflection& Self-evaluation....................................................................6

A2. Pre-reading Activity:.............................................................................................................8

1. Activity title / level (https://student.societyforscience.org/article/bright-night-lights-big-

science) + description / context..............................................................................................8

2. Second– Lesson plan......................................................................................................9

3. Third– Handouts & Materials.........................................................................................12

B2. Second Section: Reflection& Self-evaluation..................................................................17

A3. First Section: Activities:.....................................................................................................19

1. Activity title / level (https://student.societyforscience.org/article/bright-night-lights-big-

science) + description / context............................................................................................19

2. Second– Lesson plan....................................................................................................20

3. Third– Handouts & Materials.........................................................................................23

B3. Second Section: Reflection& Self-evaluation..................................................................28

Teaching Skills Reflection........................................................................................................31

A1. Vocabulary Teaching Activity:1. Activity title /

level (http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems-and-poets/poems/detail/44885) + description / context

Activity title: Poe’s Vocabulary Development.

Grade: Secondary 5 enriched.

Description and context:

This activity is used as a way to teach the hard vocabulary in the

poem “Annabel Lee” by Edgar Allan Poe. During the activity, students will

practice their dictionary searching skills. They will be required to make a list

of all the words that they do not know at the end of the activity. This is a

great way to assess your students’ general understanding of the

vocabulary in the text. Since the words are pretty complex, this activity

would be meant for secondary 4 enriched in a really strong group or

secondary 5. There are many vocabulary teaching techniques included

such as finding synonyms and writing sentences with the words in context.

Those are great strategies to expose students to the words so that they

remember them.

1

2. Second– Lesson plan

Daily lesson plan Group: 51 Grade level /Program: Enriched secondary 5 students Period length: 20 mins.

Goals for the period (what do you want students to “walk away with”?)OverallStudents will understand the text Annabel Lee by Edgar Allan Poe and they will be able to use the words in a reinvestment task. Competencies to be developed Competency 2: Reinvests understanding of texts

Evaluation criteria• Use of text components/text features• Accurate use of information drawn from texts

Functional Language.Supports opinions and asks others to support their opinions.

VocabularyUses targeted vocabulary related to the development of the cross-curricular competencies -Achieves his/her potential (expands vocabulary)

Language conventionsUses knowledge of targeted mechanics to construct meaning of texts Ex: In this sentence, the word is used as a verb.

Focus on FormNone this class.

TextsUses text features to construct meaning when listening to, reading and viewing a variety of texts

Strategy (pick one)Practise - Reuses language learned in the ESL classWord search- Use dictionary to define meaning.

ProcessUses strategies, guiding questions, prompts and knowledge of text components toprepare to respond to texts

Period Start-up Routines

1. Procedure (Learning activities/groupings/transitions…) Rationale (Your pedagogical reasons)

Min.

Deve

lopm

ent

1. Definition work: students find the definition of words in the dictionary. Can also be done in teams.

1. Students will learn how to look in the dictionary when they do not know the meaning of a word.

7mins

2. Students rewrite the sentences with synonyms of the hard words. Can also be done in teams.

2. Students will learn how to use synonyms to vary their vocabulary.

6 mins

2


Min.(a

ct. o

f 5-2

0 m

inut

es)

3. Students are writing sentences using the words. 3. Students will be using the vocabulary learnt into sentences to make them practice.

7 mins

4. Students make a list of unknown words. 4. Extra activity for those that are done and find other words that they do not understand.

End of class reminders….. hook them for the next classNext class, we will read another poem by Poe.

Anticipated problems Solutions/Plan B

-Some students forgot their dictionary. -Students are done early.

-Students have a hard time understanding the text.

-Have some as a backup in class.-They can write sentences with their new unknown words. -They can be in teams, or the text can be read in front of the class by the teacher.

Materials Homework (to assign and collect)Worksheet and text X number of students. Find 10 words that you do not know the meaning of and write them on a sheet

with one synonym for each of them.

3

3. Third– Handouts & Materials

4

Annabel Lee

BY EDGAR ALLAN POE

It was many and many a year ago,

In a kingdom by the sea,

That a maiden there lived whom you may know

By the name of Annabel Lee;

And this maiden she lived with no other thought

Than to love and be loved by me.

I was a child and she was a child,

In this kingdom by the sea,

But we loved with a love that was more than love—

I and my Annabel Lee—

With a love that the wingèd seraphs of Heaven

Coveted her and me.

And this was the reason that, long ago,

In this kingdom by the sea,

A wind blew out of a cloud, chilling

My beautiful Annabel Lee;

So that her highborn kinsmen came

And bore her away from me,

To shut her up in a sepulchre

In this kingdom by the sea.

The angels, not half so happy in Heaven,

Went envying her and me—

Yes!—that was the reason (as all men know,

In this kingdom by the sea)

That the wind came out of the cloud by night,

Chilling and killing my Annabel Lee.

But our love it was stronger by far than the love

Of those who were older than we—

Of many far wiser than we—

And neither the angels in Heaven above

Nor the demons down under the sea

Can ever dissever my soul from the soul

Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;

For the moon never beams, without bringing me dreams


And the stars never rise, but I feel the bright eyes


And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side

Of my darling—my darling—my life and my bride,

In her sepulchre there by the sea—

In her tomb by the sounding sea

5

B1. Second Section: Reflection& Self-evaluationSelf-evaluation:

Strengths:Overall, I feel like my lesson is challenging enough for the students to feel like they will

be learning new vocabulary from reading the poem. The activity is developed in a way that

the students will be actively using their resources and skills to find the meaning of words. My

colleagues told me that they feel like the text is a bit hard because of the words that the

author used, but they said that since the activity is supposed to be teaching some

vocabulary, it makes sense for secondary 5 enriched students to learn hard words in order to

develop their list of available vocabulary. They also noted that my lesson is good because I

have 3 different types of activities and I am not only focusing on the words, but on their

meaning as well. Having them write sentences with the words after they looked for the

definition feels like a great way to get them to remember the words. I think that the main

strength of this text is that it can be used to show Poe’s style as well as teaching some text

format (poem in this case). Also, some words are used with their connoted meaning, which

will help the students understand that a word can mean various things depending on the

context. My worksheet is also very nice with the border and the disposition of the activities.

Weaknesses: The aspects of my activity that could use a bit of reworking are as follows: the

introduction, the presentation and the variety of activities. After further investigation, even

though my colleagues said that my activities were pretty varied, I feel like I could have added

a matching definitions activity. Since this activity was only planned to be taught without an

introduction, I feel like teaching that text would require some kind of context, such as a bit of

Poe’s background history, could be very meaningful for the students. Also, the way that the

text is presented right now is that they read it alone, but after teaching it to my peers, it would

probably be better to be reading it in groups to facilitate the first reading, as some words can

be hard to pronounce for the students. I could also add a glossary for the hard words that will

not be taught during the lesson, although it feel a bit unnecessary considering the level of the

students and their literary background.

6

Evolution:

This activity has changed a bit since the first time that I taught it in class. Since the

purpose of this activity was to teach a 20 minutes period in class. However, I would add a

definition matching activity to this activity and I would put the words at use in a reinvestment

task to make sure that nothing is lost. Overall, my activity was complete enough for the goal

of this class, but after teaching it, I feel like I improved in handing out my instructions and

making sure that my handouts are clear.

Self-Evaluation:

Overall, I would give myself a 9/10 for this lesson. I feel like it would be

perfect in a typical secondary 5 class, however, I could have been more

creative and use better activities. As a teacher, I feel like I could extrapolate on

this theme and do a whole set of lessons about it.

7

A2. Pre-reading Activity:1. Activity title / level (https://student.societyforscience.org/article/bright-night-lights-big-

science) + description / context

Activity title: Auroras, a simple light play?


Description and context:

This activity is the second part of a bigger set of activities related to polar

auroras. This is the pre-reading part of the activity (however, I adapted the plan

to include other parts as it felt more right for whoever would use the plan to

know the whole period instead of only 20 minutes). Students will be required to

brainstorm about the topic of polar auroras. Then, they will have to share their

opinions with the rest of their teams. This is an activity for secondary 5 enriched

as the text has a lot of hard words for them to grow as second language

learners. This activity is good to see if students are able to analyze parts of the

text (especially the pictures and titles) and to use their prior knowledge to

answer the questions.

8



Goals for the period (what do you want students to “walk away with”?)OverallStudents will be able to compare their opinions and support them against others. They will also be able to use the vocabulary related to polar auroras. Competencies to be developed Competency 2: Reinvests understanding of texts

Evaluation criteria• Use of text components/text features• Accurate use of information drawn from texts


VocabularyUses targeted vocabulary related to the development of the cross-curricular competencies. (Science-related vocabulary such as auroras, solar wind, particles, etc.). -Achieves his/her potential through peer sharing.

Language conventionsUses knowledge of targeted grammatical structures to construct meaning of oral and written messages (can figure out that some words are adjectives through prior knowledge).

Strategy (pick one) Cognitive strategies: Use semantic mapping:Groups ideas in meaningful clusters to visually represent relationships between concepts. (Student is able to link the various concepts related to auroras.)


Min.

Deve

lopm

ent (

act.

of 5

- 1. Pre-reading task right after the hook: Students are answering questions using their prior knowledge before reading the text. Brainstorm: Can also be done in teams.

Looking at the title and the pictures, what could the text be about?What do you know about polar auroras (activating prior knowledge)?What expectations do you have about the text?Why do you think the author wrote this article?

1. Students will be using their prior knowledge to try to infer the possible meaning of the concepts.

15mins

9


Min.20

min

utes

)

2. Students read the text and see if their answers were good.

Can add a glossary for hard words (see worksheet, I added it).

4. Students will be using various strategies to read the text.

15mins

5. Students are doing a think, pair, share activity related to the text. The questions are on the worksheet.

Pre-made teams is a good idea.

1. What exactly is a sub storm? Could you compare it with something else that you see every day?2. What causes the auroras to appear?3. What is the solar wind, and what purpose does it have? 4. How does an electric charge occur?5. What is your opinion on polar auroras? Are they beautiful? What would be your favorite mix of colours for an aurora?

5. Students are practicing their oral language while exploring a new concept, the auroras, to vary their areas of knowledge. They are also developing strategies and using critical thinking.

20 mins

End of class reminders….. hook them for the next classNext class, we will work on the science of light.


-Some students are not participating because they are shy.

-Students are done early.

-Students have a hard time understanding the text.

-Give them a hand by using various teaching strategies such as hints, multiple choice or guided questions. -They can start the think-pair-share activity in order to have better answers. -They can be in teams and the teacher can help them understand. There is also a glossary.

10

Materials Homework (to assign and collect)Worksheet and text X number of students. Find 5 words that you do not know the meaning and write one synonym and

the definition of the word.

11


12

B2. Second Section: Reflection& Self-evaluationStrengths:

My peers said that my subject (polar auroras) would probably be a hit in high school because the students would all be fascinated by the process of how they are formed. Overall, my activity is challenging enough, and it is focusing on taking the prior knowledge about science and apply it back on the topic of polar auroras. My glossary is very helpful for those that may lack the understanding of some scientific concepts that are in the text. I would say that the text is the perfect length to be taught in one class, making it a really useful tool to get the students to think. Also, the whole activity is based on the pre-reading teaching methods, providing a spot for students to express what they already know about the topic and extra questions to develop their critical thinking skills. My colleagues also noted that my activity is well developed as it leads to a think, pair, share type of activity where students can share their understanding of the main concepts from the text. I feel like my activity is challenging enough so that the students will not feel undervalued, but it is simple enough so that they do not feel overwhelmed by the questions. There is also something very useful about the text, it can be used to show the informational article type of writing. One of the strongest point of my text is that there are some pictures included to get some kind of visual cues and help the students understand. Weaknesses:

My peers noted that the topic might not apply to everybody. However, I think that polar auroras are not often discussed at school, so it might be a good topic to get them out of their comfort zone. As an introduction, it would be nice to add a small hook video to show them how vibrant the polar auroras are. Since the text is about how they are formed and not about what they are, it would be a good way to start the class without giving them the answers. As usual, since the text can be quite hard, my peers told me that the reading could be done in teams to facilitate the reading process. Otherwise, I would be walking in the class helping the students that are in need of help. Since this is mainly a pre-reading activity, the activity itself is not that varied. However, this activity could lead to a more meaningful task such as writing a text about something that they enjoy or a small group discussion about colors and science (origins of pigment, color mix, etc.). Changes:

After talking with my peers, I decided that the glossary would be mandatory since some of the concepts can be quite hard to grasp. I also chose to add pre-made teams after Camillie suggested that it would simplify the teaming process as students might lose too much time if they are matched with their friends. Goals reached:

I would say that overall, my goals were reached. My colleagues said that the information provided in the article were complete enough to be able to write a text related to the topic. Peer feedback:

As stated through the rest of my feedback, my peers liked the activity and they think that it would be a huge success in a real class environment. Even though the text is about science, it does not require any kind of scientific background. The text is meant as a way to inform the reader about the subject. The only thing that they noted was the lack of glossary, which I

17

decided to add before submitting the final activity. Their valuable feedback was necessary to work on the small details and add that little something that makes the text feel more accessible. Evolution:

This lesson changed a lot after the first time I taught it in class. I had

to adapt as the brainstorm part itself takes about 15 minutes in a real class

context. I decided to adapt it in a full 1 hour lesson, which is why there is

some other parts than pre-reading in the plan. After this lesson, I feel like I

now know that students might be slower than expected and it might be

needed to spend 2 periods (or a longer time) on an activity that was

planned for 20 minutes. Also, I learned how to create clear and precise

goals.

Self-Evaluation:

As a teenager, I would have loved to learn more about polar auroras.

The vocabulary included in the activity is very interesting. I would give

myself 9/10 on my revised version as I have fixed a few things. The reason

behind this grade is that I think that it is always possible to add more or to

change a few things depending on the groups. Also, since I never tested

the activity in a real class, I cannot add more.

18

A3. First Section: Activities:1. Activity title / level (https://student.societyforscience.org/article/bright-night-

lights-big-science) + description / context

Activity title: Polar Auroras; a Phenomenon.


Description and Context:

This activity is a follow up to the pre-reading activity that was included

in this portfolio. Students will summarize the text using a simple plan-like

structure. After their summary, students will share in teams and analyze

their answers. They will have to review their summary after comparing it to

illustrate the main points that they would have liked to add now that they

took somebody else opinion in consideration. It is the third lesson of a set

of lessons about polar auroras and light.

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Goals for the period (what do you want students to “walk away with”?)

Overall

Students will be able to talk about the text outside of the class. They will also be able to apply the strategies learned in another class to summarize texts and reinvest the vocabulary that they learned.Competencies to be developed

Competency 2: Reinvests understanding of texts Evaluation criteria

• Use of text components/text features• Accurate use of information drawn from texts


VocabularyUses targeted vocabulary related to the development of the cross-curricular competencies. (Science-related vocabulary such as auroras, solar wind, particles, etc.). -Achieves his/her potential through peer sharing.

Language conventions

Uses knowledge of targeted grammatical structures to construct meaning of oral and written messages (can figure out that some words are adjectives through prior knowledge). Using his knowledge to write a summary.

Strategy (pick one) Cognitive strategies: Use semantic mapping:Groups ideas in meaningful clusters to visually represent relationships between concepts. (Student is able to link the various concepts related to auroras.) To get the main ideas for the summary.

Period Start-up Routines


Min.

Deve

lopm

3. Pre-reading task right after the hook: Students are answering questions using their prior knowledge before reading the text. (See Pre-reading activity sent 2 weeks ago if you need a refresh) Can also be done in teams.

2. Students will be using their prior knowledge to try to infer the possible meaning of the concepts.

15mins

20


Min.en

t (ac

t. of

5-2

0 m

inut

es)

POST READING ACTIVITY

4. Students summarize the text using the handout provided. Introduction: Who, what, where, when, how?Main ideas of the text and key points. Conclusion

6. Students will be using various strategies and prior knowledge to summarize the text.

20mins

POST READING ACTIVITY PART 2

7. Students are doing a think, pair, share activity related to the text. The questions are on the worksheet. 1. What are the most important ideas in the text? 2. What are the must have information in your summary? 3. Choose the best summary from your team and share it to the class. 4. Write the points that you think you should have added to your summary.Pre-made teams is a good idea.

6. Students are practicing their oral language while exploring a new concept, the auroras, to vary their areas of knowledge. They are also developing strategies and using critical thinking. They are reinvesting their summary and confirming their answers.

15 mins

End of class reminders….. hook them for the next classNext class, we will work on the science of light.


-Some students are not participating because they are shy.

-Students are done early.

-Give them a hand by using various teaching strategies such as hints, multiple choice or guided questions. -They can modify their poems using their resources to make it more beautiful.

21

-Students have a hard time understanding the text. -They can be in teams and the teacher can help them understand. There is also a glossary.

Materials Homework (to assign and collect)Worksheet and text X number of students. Find 5 words that you do not know the meaning and write one synonym and

the definition of the word.

22


23

B3. Second Section: Reflection& Self-evaluationStrengths:

My peers said that my subject (polar auroras) would probably be a hit in high

school because the students would all be fascinated by the process of how they are

formed (same article, same feedback on the text). Overall, my activity is challenging

enough as the students need to summarize the text and then reapply what they learned

throughout the activity in another activity where they need to be critical of their own text.

Again, my glossary is very helpful as a support material and reference for those that

may lack the understanding of some scientific concepts that are in the text in order to

make a good summary. Also, the whole activity is based on the post-reading teaching

methods, providing a spot for students to state what they think the most important part

of the text. My colleagues also noted that my activity is well developed and that the

think, pair, share part is a very nice addition where students can share their

understanding of the main concepts from the text and validate their answers. It is also a

very good way to get them to be a critic of their own work. I feel like my activity is

challenging but not overly challenging. I think that with the glossary, the pictures and the

title, it is possible to get the meaning of the text without having to rely on external help.

Weaknesses: Since I am working on the same text, I got more or less the same comments as

two weeks ago. My peers noted that the topic might not apply to everybody. However, I

think that polar auroras are not often discussed at school, so it might be a good topic to

get them out of their comfort zone. As an introduction, it would be nice to add a small

hook video to show them how vibrant the polar auroras are. As I wrote in my last

feedback, this text is a really good one to use for a post-reading activity because it has

various parts. However, that same reason could be one of the weaknesses of my

activity. If students cannot figure out what the focus of the text is, they might have a

hard time to write a good summary. I think that having the extra sharing activity is a

good way to make sure that they understood the text and they can change whatever

28

was wrong in the other activity which I did not include because we were only planning

for one period.

Changes:After talking with my peers, I decided I would change the goal of my lesson. We

compared our answers to the goals part of the last few teachings and it feels like a

better goal. Also, I added one thing to the vocabulary part of the plan. I noted that we

could do think, pair and share activity in pre-made teams. Noemi also told me that I

should put more information in the plan in case I have a substitute teacher, but there is

not much to add since everything is on the handout that the sub will have to hand to the

students. They have seen how to summarize before this class and this is used as a

review and for practice, so they will not need more information. However, the substitute

teacher can help them as he should know how to summarize a text if he went through

CEGEP and University as it is a very basic skill.

Goals reached: I would say that overall, my goals were reached. My colleagues said that the

information provided in the article were complete enough to be able to write a text

related to the topic. After trying it in class, we were able to identify the main ideas and

the key points easily. I think that they would be able to apply the new strategies to

another work.

Peer feedback: As stated through the rest of my feedback, my peers liked the activity and they

think that it would be a huge success in a real class environment. Even though the text

is about science, it does not require any kind of scientific background. The fact that they

can criticize their own text and compare it with the other ones in the class is a great way

to make them feel confident and so that they can review their answers.

29

Evolution:

This lesson taught me how to plan for others. I realized that it can be

hard for substitute teachers to just come up with explanations if they are

not detailed in your lesson plan. Also, this lesson made me realize that

having a clear and precise goal is the first step to know what you are going

to teach for the period. If the students are not leaving with something, then

you should probably think twice about teaching this lesson.

Self-Evaluation:

After reviewing my lesson, I feel like it is a solid 9/10. The reason

behind this grade is that since it is meant for secondary 5 enriched

students, they already know how to summarize and this is a very good

review. The topic is interesting and the fact that they will have to peer-edit

their work broadens their horizons. They will be able to do it outside of

class in their everyday life.

30

Teaching Skills Reflection

As we were advancing through the semester, I felt like finding clear

goals (or transcribing my lesson into a clear one sentence goal) was easier

than at the beginning of the semester. I also learned how to write clear

instructions that a substitute teacher could use in a class. I feel like I gained

confidence into the delivery of my activities as well. As I did my two of my

activities on the same topic and for the same purpose (teaching reading), I

saw how easier it was to create the second one as I had very helpful

feedback from my peers. That way, I could foresee more problems and

solve them in advance.

If I was to going to evaluate myself, I would say that my lessons

would be interesting and purposeful in a class. They could easily be taught

by another teacher and the material provided is complete and follows what

is required by the government. The text is also of an appropriate length.

Overall, I would give myself a 9/10, because there is always room for

improvement.

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