On successful completion of the course, you should be able to:
explain an issue currently debated in the news
identify the main arguments made by others
express your own point of view on a topic
support your point of view on a topic with evidence
Attendance
If your attendance falls below 80%, you will fail the course and you will not be entered for the examination.
Assessment
Individual Oral Presentations (IOP) (17%)
Assigned lesson 2
Takes place lesson 3 – 11
Each lesson 2 or 3 students will give a different individual oral presentation
In the first assessment, you will be required to give a five minute individual oral presentation; and after each presentation, questions will be asked. The schedule will be set in lesson one andpresentations begin in lesson three.
In choosing a topic, make sure that the underlying issue(s) are clear in the story; the story, in addition, can come from Hong Kong, China or elsewhere. Include your personal opinion, for example, about why the situation has occurred, what the possible outcomes might be or what the long/short term implications of the news story are.
Although each student should give a presentation on a unique current issue, one duplication per news item is ok if prior approval is given - that is, see me. Students must hand in hard copy evidence of article(s) and notes to teacher on day of presentation.
§A summary of what has happened that week concerning the news item
§The group’s opinion/s about the item and individual student’s postings
§Both sides of the issue/s behind the news item
Marking Criteria
News Commentary Group Mark
Knowledge of the issue/story
Ability to express point of view
Ability to support point of view
1 – 3.5
1 – 3
1 – 3.5
For assessment 2A, your group of four will select a major news event that has some controversy attached to it - I will approve all news items; and each group must select a different news story. Your written commentary of a news issue will be updated four times over a five-week period. Each group will create a blog using Blogger.
When setting up your group blog, name it (section)(group); for example: t63groupa; and t11groupd. In this way, everyone can remember the Websites easily. They'll also be compiled and the links added to the Editgrid.
It is really important that the you adhere to the deadlines because it will be difficult for individual students to post their responses (Assessment 2b).
Draw attention to plagiarism warning in the student course book
Unit 7 will be covered
Warm-up Quiz: listen to the questions, write your answers and we'll check them together.
Task One: you have five minutes; walk around!
In groups of four, read the newspaper and generate a list of ten famous people and their positions; put their names only on the whiteboard and assign other groups to guess.
Task Two (CILO 3): At least one person write down the answers and one person prepare to report to the entire class; you have ten minutes.
Assignment
Date
Topic
Materials
Week 2
Issues
Course booklet; teaching wiki
Lesson Flow
Introduce lesson objectives
To understand the importance of key words in forming summaries
To be able to discern issues in the news
explain an issue currently debated in the news (CILO 1)
Group forming cards
Find people whose root words are similar
Complete Task One
Each group's answer - title; topic; issues - should be put on board; ellicit more issues; and skip task 2
Explain methodology of Task 3
Students read article
Quickly provide answers for task 4
Introduce another way to summarize: Circle Drilling-cum-Summarizing (20 minutes)
Students will form a semi-circle with chairs; other chairs shall be stacked
Students will read the article and then highlight 5-10 keywords for summary
Each student will announce a keyword, with every fourth person creating a sentence or two using those three key words (answers to be written on whiteboard)
In the end, everyone will write a brief summary utilizing the words/sentences on the board; the aim is to create a summary that is 10% of the original article's length; a few will read aloud
Browse the newspaper; summarize an article; enumerate the issues
Each person presents briefly for two minutes
Assignment
Date
Topic
Materials
Week 3
Issues
Course booklet; teaching wiki
Lesson Flow
Introduce lesson objectives
Group forming cards
Find people whose parts of speech are similar
IOPs
5 minutes for each presentation
5 minutes for each group to discuss
Is there anything from the story missing? Was enough background or context provided?
Do you fully understand the story? Why or why not?
Are the issues correct?
Does the student include his opinion? Do you agree or disagree with it?
Select an article to read and each group shall summarize in one of the following ways:
8-12 key words or ideas
1-2 sentences
3-4 sentences (paragraph)
5-10 key words of reaction/reflection
Each group forms a new group and shares the summaries; students should enumerate the advantages and disadvantages of each strategy; as well as determine the best one
Group reports on findings
T11 (Tuesday Class) should be let out 5 minute early
Assignment
Date
Topic
Materials
Week 4
Issues
Course booklet; teaching wiki
Lesson Flow
Introduce lesson objectives
Group forming cards
Find people whose headlines are similar
Summarize and present issues
Draw issues diagram
IOPs
5 minutes for each presentation
5 minutes for each group to discuss
Is there anything from the story missing? Was enough background or context provided?
Do you fully understand the story? Why or why not?
Are the issues correct?
Does the student include his opinion? Do you agree or disagree with it?
Individual Response (second part of assessment)
Review Group commentary
Group forming
Find people whose summaries are similar
Write the keywords that differentiate the article from others
Is there anything from the story missing? Was enough background or context provided?
Do you fully understand the story? Why or why not?
Are the issues correct?
Does the student include his opinion? Do you agree or disagree with it?
Review GC and IR calendar
This part of the lesson is based on what I learned during last week's TD on reading strategies. The objectives are:
Articulate and defend opinions on the appropriateness of several newspaper article titles
Practice scanning or intensive reading
Students first read (extensive reading) the article, "On an Amazing Journey, and He's Only 12" in the New York Times. The title must be cut from the article!
Then, in groups, the students will create one literal headline and one stylized one (with the style highlighted);
Then, each group will given six possible titles to the article; and each group should arrange the titles in order from the most appropriate to the least appropriate, and then be able to report to the class on why one title is the most appropriate while another is the least appropriate.
"Arrange the following titles from the most appropriate to the least appropriate; and be able to report on why one title is the most appropriate while another is the least appropriate."
Assignment
Individual response
Date
Topic
Materials
Week 6
Headlines
Course booklet; teaching wiki
Lesson Flow
Introduce lesson objectives
Abbreviations and Acronyms
Form groups
Briefly explain difference between acronyms and abbreviations, tasks 1-6
Mine newspapers for examples of both; write one on each card; number of cards depends on number of words; put names on back
Divide cards into groups; distribute cards and race to put up answers on board
Review
Explain omissions and tenses on pages 30-31
Each student finds one headline and rewrites it as a sentence
Share headlines and put one on the board
One group member analyzes the differences between the two
IOPs
5 minutes for each presentation
5 minutes for each group to ask one question
Opinion
Issues
Background/Context
This part of the lesson is based on what I learned during last week's TD on reading strategies. The objectives are:
"Arrange the following titles from the most appropriate to the least appropriate; and be able to report on why one title is the most appropriate while another is the least appropriate."
Articulate and defend opinions on the appropriateness of several newspaper article titles
Practice scanning or intensive reading
Students first read (extensive reading) the article, "On an Amazing Journey, and He's Only 12" in the New York Times. The title must be cut from the article!
Then, in groups, the students will create one literal headline and one stylized one (with the style highlighted);
Then, each group will given six possible titles to the article; and each group should arrange the titles in order from the most appropriate to the least appropriate, and then be able to report to the class on why one title is the most appropriate while another is the least appropriate.
Assignment
Individual response
Date
Topic
Materials
Week 7
Fact versus Opinion
Course booklet; teaching wiki
Lesson Flow
Introduce lesson objectives
Elicit last week's learning: abbreviations and acronyms
In groups of four, explain to each other what abbreviations and acronyms are; one person writes
Choose one person to report each point; provide examples
Explain fact versus opinion on pages 38-39
Present two statements
The English level is dropping
Few secondary schools in Hong ong use English as the medium of instruction
Students should discuss whether or not the statement is a fact; and explain their decision; choose students to report
If opinion, discuss how to create a fact; and put them on the board
Each student finds one fact or opinion in the newspaper
On a slip of paper write it down and the answer on the back
Two teams will be formed with the winner choosing the next opponent
IOPs
5 minutes for each presentation
5 minutes for each group to ask one question
Opinion
Issues
Background/Context
Listening for topics, and opinions with supporting arguments
Prediction: What are three questions that we can ask when reading biographies of explorers?
Focused Reading: Answer the questions in your group
Sharing: present answers to another group; were they the same?
Critical Reading: How are they different
Assignment
Date
Topic
Materials
Week 10
Critical Reading/Letters to the Editor
Course booklet; teaching wiki
Lesson Flow
Introduce lesson objectives
Reading critically
Reading critically
Read the article in groups
Read the article again, who wins, and who loses, and how?
e.g. Police win - they have jobs; drug dealers lose - they die
Answers on board, with brief review; wrap up with vote: drugs: legal or illegal?
IOPs
5 minutes for each presentation
No papers
Teacher picks someone to question; students write questions during presentation
Warmup
Possible skimming exercise - put an article on the board and physically scroll down; ask questions afterwards
Questions
1: What does Fahroomand say students are trained to do?
2: What does he say that they learn?
3: What is the name of one country whose education system, Fahroomand recommends, Hong Kong should emulate?
4: How do Hong Kong people compete, according to the professor?
5: How must Hong Kong people change, according to Rachel Chan?
Distribute article and read it; discuss
Letters to the Editor Unit
Distribute articles for students to read
Task 1: review as a class
Task 4: select two choice quotes and paraphrase them
Task 6: write a letter to the editor
Reading Critically
Brainstorm: about explorers
Prediction: What are three questions that we can ask when reading biographies of explorers?
Focused Reading: Answer the questions in your group
Sharing: present answers to another group; were they the same?
Critical Reading: How are they different
Assignment
Date
Topic
Materials
Week 11
Critical Reading/Letters to the Editor
Course booklet; teaching wiki
Lesson Flow
Introduce lesson objectives
Reading critically
Preparation for assessment three
This should give the students some familiarity about the issues and confidence to debate
them. After I have heard their comments, I can then go away and formulate
the statement (or should question) that I wish them to debate. I can
enter the statement at any time, as instructed in Email #10.
Review notes for assessment three
Mapping arguments
Assessment Preparation
Split up Group A and send one representative to each of
the other four Group Commentary teams. The group A representative
summarises the blog, and details the facts, issues etc. (Give them five
minutes for this new group of 5 students to discuss the blog.)
Then Group A regroups as Group A and discusses any feedback any of the four
Group A representatives got while meeting the other four groups.
This process is then repeated for each of the four other GC teams, (e.g.
Group Commentary team B disperses to each of the other four teams, one
student to each team.)
Assignment
Week 9 Warmup:
Go back to metaphor, pun, irony and alliteration: get students to review this in groups.
In the future, we can turn literal headlines into sytlized ones; students can submit article headlines; and students can identify styles of headlines; again, students submit these
Another skimming exercise - Written Language timed-summary activity
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