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| Shengang Middle School field with the elevated Tan-Zih Bike Path in the distance |
On March 30, 2017, I parked the bicycle when I got home to Beitun on a chilly, rainy ride from Shengang Middle School. I had wisely brought a disposable poncho but it didn’t start raining till I rode off the Tan-Zih Sugarcane Bike Trail, crossed Route #3 and headed to the Han River path. It is a beautiful forty-minute ride to the school in Shengang, Taiwan. I stop at the gazebo near the water buffalo sculpture facing the rice patty and rest. Fourteen-year-old children in two English as a Foreign Language classes engage in conversation with me and each other on Mondays and Fridays; they are the rainbow at the end of the bike trail.
The seventh and eighth graders do Cooperative Learning (CL) activities about their homes and neighborhood. The Community Curriculum starts with feelings of home, abstract and concrete. Here is how it went down:
Week #1
I welcomed the students and introduced the concept of Reported Speech ( See Blog piece here) letting the students know this was the format the class would take every week. I wrote basic rules and went directly into a white board competition establishing the format of group work and student participation. At the end of class I introduced the curriculum saying that while EFL in RS was the ‘ship’ the class would travel on, the ‘cargo’ was issues in the community:
1. Inside The Home
2. Outside the Home
3. The Neighborhood
4. The City
5. State/Provence
6. The Nation
7. The World
8. The Universe
Week #2
The “That Special Feeling” handout; how home can be thought of with all five senses, was organized into a CL activity. We listened to "Our House" by CSN&Y. I handed out and the students brainstormed in each group five senses that remind them of home, with CL responsibilities; reader, writing collector, spelling checker, grammar checker, and time keeper. They had fifteen minutes to review what they had discussed and write a report. Sense Simile (ex. "Home feels like a computer because I am always on-line.") from each group went to the board and strung together their paragraph. The first team finished read aloud first. The groups were then asked to review others’ paragraphs and critique them. Upon completion, I went over it all and commented on undetected errors. Each student in each group had to copy six similes.
Week #3
Next, we compared, aloud, Marilyn Green’s home in 'Choices" to the students’ own homes in a barrage of RS questions and answers (Q&A) For example T: “Marilyn enjoys music at home. Do you enjoy music at home?” S1: “Yes, I do.” T to S2: “What did he say?” S2: “He said he enjoyed music at home.” T to S3: “What did I ask?” S3: You asked if he enjoyed music at home.”
With ten minutes remaining, we reviewed and the students were given the assignment for the next class: interview each other in class and find answers to each others’ Q&A about what they liked at home to report to the class. I then set up a T-Chart revision with one side ‘Good’ and the other ‘Bad’ details about home and took suggestions for the ‘Good’ side from class interactions.
I had given the students in each group copies of one of the seven “Home Problems” worksheets I had prepared:
1. Rodent Recall
2. The Roach Hunt
3. Find the Fire Hazard
4. Knock! Knock! Gas Who?
5. What’s Safe and Wise? (Electricity)
6. When Sounds Abound!
7. A Soggy Situation! (Water damage)
Week #4
After the break, I asked the students to take out the Week #4 handout of CC "Handy Andy” and the song “Don’t Let the Rain Come Down.” As I handed each group a mini-white board, eraser, and marker. I played the song again and explained that the "crooked" (I explained the old English pronunciation of the ‘-ed’ as [id]) after the little man was a handy man. I told the students we would play a game. I would explain a word from the song and they had to write on the board which word I was defining; "mile, drown, bat, and roof."
Week #5
We started with a CL based on six of the seven “Household Problems.” I wrote five tasks on the board and asked group members to answer one each:
A: What is the household problem you were learning about?
B: Tell me one fact about your topic.
C: Tell me why it is a household problem.
D: Tell me a cause of the problem.
E: Tell me a solution to the problem.
I reversed
the order of the CL so that team member E was the reader, D the writer, C the
grammar checker, B the spelling checker, and A the time keeper and boss. I gave
the six groups 10 minutes to brainstorm and put their report together and went
around to each table to check and give advice. It became apparent that most
groups didn’t understand they were required to form a report so I stopped,
explained the task again, and gave ten more minutes to complete it. This time
the students cooperated. When time was up, I randomly chose a group to present.
With the audio-visual closet open and a glitch solved by a technician, the reader had a microphone to project their voice. After each
presentation, I asked random members of other groups to tell me what the
presenter said. When they couldn’t understand what the presenter said, I asked
them to ask the presenter to repeat what he/she had said and then went back to
the student I randomly chose, as well as others; I let no report go without
comprehension and held the reader responsible. The students could see that it
was as important to understand others’ presentations as it was to present and
RS was the best device for doing so. This activity led us up to the break at
4:55.
I did the Week #5 “Household Problems” CL with the Friday 8th graders and it bombed. Most groups’ members, again, hadn’t even looked at the handouts they’ve been holding for almost two weeks or did the worksheets. When it came to discussing and preparing a report, despite the five critical components I put on the board, the three groups I asked before I stopped the activity couldn’t identify their group’s household problem though it was clearly written in each worksheet title. I went to a review of the handout vocabulary with one mini-white board for group but that was hard going, too; they didn’t look up or ask about vocabulary. I extended the contest and it became better branching off into questions about “Handy Andy” and “Don’t Let the Rain Come Down.” I also introduced “Luka” at the end of class. One student identified Luka’s problem: “Her parents hit her,” he said. I Asked the students to review the seven “Household Problem” worksheets to prepare to give reports next class.
Week #6
We didn’t get to go over “Handy
Andy” which we will in a general review for Week #6 'Do Now.' Instead, I took
advantage of the Week #6 copies and distributed them for the students to
preview for next week. I asked: “What is the biggest household problem?” and
drew their attention to the lyrics of “Luka.” I didn’t go over the words but
played the Suzanne Vega song and let them listen while I acted out the actions.
One student asked what “argue” meant and I explained and
demonstrated it. Before class ended, I asked the students to think about what
Luka’s problem was for next Monday’s class. We will brainstorm “Types
of Abuse” in a contest format on the front whiteboard, and do CC
“Me”.
The handout for Week #7 will include “Tobacco Road,”
“The Sounds of Silence,” and segue into “The Neighborhood,” the second ring in
the Community Curriculum.
Week #8 handouts
will include Picture-Strip Story Retell (PSR) “The Color TVs,” and worksheet CL
brainstorm “Housing=houses+services+facilities”.
Week #7
I bought business cards and little clips for the
students in Shengang to write their names on and clip to their shirts. It’s
been six weeks and I still don’t know the children’s names; not that they or
their teachers seemed to care. Especially since we’re based on reported speech,
it only makes sense to have names instead of saying, “What did he/she say/ask?”
all the time.
Today, in
Week #7, after using front whiteboard for group RS warm up, we will hear “Luka”
again and I’ll have the children write yes-no and wh-questions for each
response; “What did Suzanne Vega ask Luka?” I’ll give Linda Week #8 handouts to copy and introduce them if she copies them in time, I’ll add “Sounds of Silence”
to the song list.
The “Luka”
lesson for the conversation enrichment class went so well yesterday. It started
with a choral RS warm-up, the last being “I have a problem. What did I say?”
which led me into having the class tell me their names and addresses handing
out business cards for them to write it on (they all had English names) and
mini-clips for them to attach to their shirt pockets of jacket zipper tags. We
then re-connected to “Luka” for the question, “Where do you live?” One boy said
he lived on the second floor; the class laughed. I said there were a million
second floors in Taichung; which one did he live on? I then introduced how the
write and say one’s address in English using the American 
The direct
question-reported answer board tag-team competition went well. I told the
students it was not a race and to take their time. I wrote a few examples using
the song on CD and the pause button on the remote to isolate a statement by
Luka. The first student in the tag-team had to write and ask a direct question
and the second had to write a full RS answer based on the song.
I then zoned in
on Luka’s problem and told the students she was a victim of child abuse. I
wrote the five types of relationship abuse on the board and demonstrated
examples using verbal and body language clues. Next week, I will reinforce the
lesson with a “Do Now” asking for examples for each abuse. I used the suicide
of a 27 year old Taiwanese author who was in the news recently; some of the
students knew who I was referring to. She was a victim of sexual abuse from her
bushiban teacher when she was 13 years old. I topped off the discussion
introducing child labor, saying these abuses were suffered by many under-aged
workers by their bosses. It was May Day yesterday and, although the topic of
child labor is in the more advanced Bread
& Roses Curriculum, I made the connection now; no child under 16 is allowed
to work and then, while in school, only up to 20 hours a week. I know that the
students knew of some under-aged friend who worked; the class was hushed.
Week #8
At the end of class,
thanks to Linda, I had copies of Week #8 handouts which I distributed to the
children. We will start talking about their neighborhoods, services,
facilities, zoning, and parks, including giving travel directions and
introducing places of interest in the community. I will bring in my PPP about
New York City and introduce my hometown. The school will have to provide a
computer with internet so I can access it. If we can get up to
talking about Taichung County or Taiwan and Asia, I will be surprised, but that
is the outer limit topics of the Community
Curriculum; conversation skills and practice are the goals.
The Monday class is 8th
grade but stiffer than the 7th grade Friday class. I had to abandon
the “Household Problems” CL reports last week and this week the “Luka” follow-up
with examples of child abuse in the lyrics, and the “Me” CC activity. They
could barely tell the class their names and addresses yesterday, another
follow-up from the week before. But I did see many students complete the “Housing:
Services and Facilities” worksheet and was able to have them write group
sentences to put on the board (ex. “Bus Service can pick you up and take you to
school.”) I do a ten-minute choral and individual RS review as a 'Do Now”'but
then move on to new activities; the point is the conversation, not to review
for a test. But students did little preparation and some don’t even bring
the three required items; clear-book with handouts, notebook, and pen.
Week #9
In Week #9 in Shengang, we began with a group RS
board display; I asked a question and a pair of students went to the board, the
first to report my question and answer it, the second to report the answer. We
went over all the responses giving groups a chance for self-correction before
opening it up to the class. The students were reminded to copy the correct
answers. We spent the first half of class slowing things down and reviewing in
this way. After the break, I used a horse race matrix for the first time. Using
the CC “Getting the Most from the City” the students in each group took turns
revising the fourteen sentences into the past tense and writing their responses
on the mini whiteboards I had distributed. When they held up their responses, I
said “yes” or “no” to correct usage. If it was correct, they moved one rung
around the racetrack until the finish line. It was very exciting and the
students were highly motivated. With twenty minutes left, I drew the students’
attention to the back side of the CC where “Choices and Consequences” worksheet
was copied. I
distributed the strips of six building choices and went over the
tasks to choose the most suitable structure to build in the space of the vacant
lot and abandoned building in the picture. I collected the strips and explained
some vocabulary and factors to make their CL decision by on a ‘T’ Chart in the
next class in a week. With ten minutes left, I distributed “The Sounds of
Silence” by Simon & Garfunkel and explained the imagery introducing “oxymoron”
and “symbolism.” We will go over the song next week in more detail.
In Shengang, the Friday class brainstormed adjectives for the
factors affecting which building they would choose in “Choice &
Consequences” and I gave examples of comparative and superlative forms they could use in their group report next Friday, then the Monday class
will give their reports.
When I arrived at the Shengang basement classroom, there was a teachers’ meeting in progress. Vincent, who was present, escorted me and the class hurriedly to the third floor library. Class started ten minutes late but then went well because I had mini-white boards and the children sat in groups, two to four rows, and did a adjective comparative warm-up with the six buildings from “Choice & Consequences” before doing CL twenty minutes for two group reports each; the best and the worst building choices. I was glad one group chose ‘parks.’ I distributed the worksheet “Improve This Park” with lyrics to “Saturday in the Park” by Chicago printed on the back, and played the song. With the help of teacher Linda and AP Vincent, I did a test-run for Friday's class, an on-line power point presentation . They would see “New York City; Far From the Madding Crowd” presentation and “Read the World” with “My Life" introduction. There would be one more class after that and then the final pizza party/game day class .
Week # 11
I rode to the class in Shengang to show the Monday group the power point I gave the
Friday class. I told them to take notes, too, so that in
the next class I could quiz them on my life as a warm-up. We then brainstorm
what was wrong with the park in last week’s hand-out and they begin a CL about
the “Perfect Park” including designing it on the mini-white boards and drawing
their parks on the board for narration. It will be the last topic in the Community Curriculum.
The reported speech,
conversation, and oral reports on one common theme, “The Community,” will
culminate in a pizza party where one team, with a list of ten questions (with
answers) about the course content will ask other teams to answer. We will
brainstorm the sub-topics to write one question for each for their last home assignment.
If at least one of the four players does it, we can have a fun review while
munching pizza.
Week # 12
It felt like the class in Shengang was
over, but the other group on Monday was last. Monday’s class had missed two dates
because of tests and a holiday. It felt anticlimactic. There was no request for Justin Beiber and
no synchronous finding of a Bieber DVD to show. Instead, we had a Telephone board contest with a CC story and a marathon Musical Chairs. The pizza was enjoyed while they watched Betty Boop cartoons.
After the films I encouraged the
students to write on the name cards I had given them and tell me who they were,
what they liked or disliked about the class, or to say goodbye and thank you.
Kerry reminded me she was the girl that cleaned the whiteboard after class.
Porsche is the “key boy” that turned off the AV equipment and locked the
closet. Zoe, who also helped clean up, is the girl who requested Bieber; I gave
the DVD to her after class. Meg, her friend, likes Bieber, too. Kyle was
the AV expert that helped set up the DVD. Kangaroo was the clown of the class, but his English comprehension skills are excellent. James calls himself “banana”
but I don’t remember why. Sophia wants me to remember her as a strong tall
girl. Emily enjoyed the PPT about my family. Nicole is the most ambitions,
writing the most on her name card, very positive, wanting to travel and proud
of being Taiwanese. Osas thinks he was the fattest boy in class but he is wrong;
I was! Michael wants me to remember him by his short hair and small eyes. Emma
told me a lot about her likes (food, music and friends) and dislikes (math).
Evelyn doesn’t like tests but she loves basketball and eating ice cream in the
summer. Kevin’s nickname is “Rabbit.” He drew a beautiful park. Elma said she
seldom talked in class, but she drew a nice park, too. Iris wishes she could
dare talk more, too. Polly gave me her Chinese name in case I want to contact
her on Facebook.To Timmy, Cindy, Cary, Jackson, Kevin, Cherry, Zoe, Sherry, Web, Alika, Vivian, Jay, Wesley, Yuki, Jenny, Jacky, Rita, Stanley, Jeff, Terry, Sherry, Sylvia, Vicky, Helen, Hank, Tim, Michelle, Claire, and Vicky;
to all the children that loved learning and singing the songs I
attached to each subtopic in the Community Curriculum. They loved participating
in the contests and cooperative learning groups. They were all happy every
Friday afternoon because they knew they would have fun practicing English
conversation. They will remember me as I will them because I enjoyed being with
them more than they will ever know. I wasn’t joking when, after asking what they
liked most about being there, I asked them what they thought I liked about
being there; they couldn’t imagine. So to Rebecca, Iris, “handsome” Steven, Jason,
Nick, Ian, Cindy, Roy, Anita, Betty, Tina, Annie, Jacky, Vicky, Ken, Linda,
Sharon, and to anyone in the Friday class I missed mentioning, thank you for appreciating the joy of learning and speaking English!  |
| Shengang Middle School view from the Tan-Zih Bike Path. |
