Transcript Effective Classroom Management in the English Language

B Y: A M Y E . L I N G E N F E LT E R
ENGLISH LANGUAGE FELLOW 2013 -14
English Personality Adjectives:
•Friendly
•Talkative
•Quiet/Calm
•Shy/Timid
•Realistic
•Practical
•Traditional
•Decisive
•Organized
•Responsible
•Honest
•Good-looking
•Logical
•Compassionate
•Kind
•Serious
•Cautious
•Brave
•Imaginative
•Creative
•Athletic
•Adaptable
•Disorganized
•Go-with-theflow
•Carefree
•Intuitive
•Funny
•Sensitive
•Hard-working
•Spontaneous
•Intelligent/S
mart
•Cooperative
•Independent
•Confident
•Clumsy
•Talented
ARE YOU WHO I’M LOOKING FOR?
Your Companion’s Name
Compatibility (YES!)
No compatibility (NO!)
(Check “X” every time the person
IS who you’re looking for)
(Check “X” every time
the person is NOT
who you’re looking for)
Grammar Auction
Sentence
1. Did you goes to the park last Saturday?
2. Last week we go to the movies.
3. Do you want to clean the house today?
4. He goes to the store almost every day.
5. He is going to the store now.
6. I have dance in a TV show now.
7. I like to my dog.
8. Do they have a cat?
9. He went to the store yesterday.
10. Does John sings rock and roll music?
11. I ate dinner with my family last
Sunday.
12. You likes pizza.
13. My parents have to go to school every
weekday.
14. Did you do your homework last night?
15. The children played soccer in the park
yesterday.
16. I play the piano almost every day.
17. Maria want to eat now.
18. Yesterday I help my mother cook
dinner.
Correct or Incorrect?
If incorrect, please write the correct
sentence in the blank provided.
INCORRECT.
Did you GO to the park last Saturday?
How much money
do you bet?
$20 (incorrect)
“Unwritten”
By Natasha Bedingfield
I am unwritten, can't____________________, I'm undefined
I'm just ______________, the pen's in my __________, ending unplanned
Staring at the blank page before you
Open up the dirty __________________
Let the sun illuminate the words that you could not find
Reaching for something in the distance
So close you can almost ___________ it
Release your inhibitions
Feel the rain on your _______________
No one else can feel it ______________
_________________ can let it in
No one else, _______________
Can ____________ the words on your lips
Drench yourself in words unspoken
Live your life with arms wide ___________
Today is where your ___________ begins
The rest is still unwritten, oh, oh
I break tradition, sometimes my tries, are outside the lines
We've been conditioned to not make _____________,
but I can't live that way, oh
Staring at the blank page before you
Open up the dirty __________________
Let the sun illuminate the words that you could not find
Reaching for something in the distance
So close you can almost ___________ it
Release your inhibitions
Feel the rain on your _______________
No one else can feel it ______________
_________________ can let it in
No one else, _______________
Can ____________ the words on your lips
Drench yourself in words unspoken
Live your life with arms wide ___________
Today is where your ___________ begins
The rest is still unwritten
Oh, oh, oh, yeah…
Staring at the blank page before you
Open up the dirty __________________
Let the sun illuminate the words that you could not find
Reaching for something in the distance
So close you can almost ___________ it
Release your inhibitions
Feel the rain on your _______________
No one else can feel it ______________
_________________ can let it in
No one else, _______________
Can ____________ the words on your lips
Drench yourself in words unspoken
Live your life with arms wide ___________
Today is where your ___________ begins
Feel the rain on your _______________
No one else can feel it ______________
_________________ can let it in
No one else, _______________
Can ____________ the words on your lips
Drench yourself in words unspoken
Live your life with arms wide ___________
Today is where your ___________ begins
The rest is still unwritten
The rest is still unwritten
The rest is still unwritten
VOCABULARY WORDS: “UNWRITTEN”
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Unwritten (adj.)- Not written
Undefined (adj.)- Not defined, not sure, not exact
Unplanned (adj.)- Not planned
Illuminate (verb)- To give light to, to shine onto something
Release (verb)- to let go of, to drop, to decrease
Inhibition (noun)- Something you are afraid to do, something you are
cautious about
7. Drench (verb)- to make very wet, to soak, to pour water onto
something
8. Tradition (noun)- a custom that has been done for many years in a
particular group of people
9. To be conditioned (verb)- to be raised in a certain way, to be
trained, to be taught, to get used to
Natasha Bedingfield
“Unwritten”
Comprehension Questions
1. What is the word “book” a metaphor for in the song?
2. What do you think Natasha means by “Staring at the blank page before you?”
3. What do you think “the dirty window” represents?
4. What do you think she means by “Feel the rain on your skin; no one else can feel
it for you?”
5. What does she mean by “Live your life with arms wide open?”
American Values
America’s population shows remarkable ethnic diversity. More than 20 percent of the population of
two major cities, Los Angeles and New York, were born in another country. In some other major
cities (including San Francisco and Chicago) more than one of every ten residents is foreign-born.
Non-white people outnumber whites in several large cities. Newspapers commonly use such terms
as “Asian American,” “Italian American,” and “Arab American” to reflect the many ethnic
heritages that exist within the United States. There are people whose skin is labeled white, black,
brown, yellow and red.
America’s population includes Catholics, many kinds of Protestants, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists,
animists, and atheists (people who don’t believe in a supreme being or higher power). There are
people who have many years of formal education and people who have almost none. There are the
very rich as well as the very poor. There are Republicans, Democrats, Independents, Socialists,
Communists, Libertarians, and adherents of other political views as well. There are lawyers,
farmers, plumbers, teachers, social workers, immigration officers and people in thousands of other
occupations. Some live in urban areas and some in rural ones.
Given all this diversity, can one really define American values and what it means to be American?
Probably yes, if one is very careful.
How Americans See Themselves
Americans do not usually see themselves as representatives of their country when they are living in
the United States. They see themselves as individuals who are different and unique from all other
individuals, whether those others are Americans or foreigners. Americans may say they have no
culture, since they often think of “culture” as being an overlay of arbitrary customs that are found
only in other countries. Individual Americans often think that they have chosen their own values,
rather than the society in which they were born choose and impose its values and assumptions onto
them. If you ask them to tell you something about “American culture,” they may be unable to
answer and they may even deny that there is an “American culture.”
At the same time, Americans will readily generalize about various subgroups within their own
country. Northerners have stereotypes (generalized, simplified notions) about Southerners, and vice
versa. There are stereotypes of people from the country, people from the city, people from the
coasts, people from inland, people from the Midwest, minority ethnic groups, minority religious
groups, people of different skin colors, Texans, New Yorkers, Californians, Iowans, and so on.
1. Individualism, Independence, Self-Reliance, and Privacy
The most important thing to understand about Americans is probably their devotion to
“individualism.” Whether you call it individual freedom, individualism, or independence, it is the
cornerstone of American values. It permeates every aspect of our society.
Americans have been trained since very early in their lives to consider themselves as separate
individuals who are responsible for their own situations in life and for their own destinies. They
have not been trained to see themselves as members of a close-knit, tightly interdependent family,
religious group, tribe, nation, or other collectivity.
It is this concept of themselves as individual decision-makers that prevents some Americans from
admitting that they share a culture with others. They have the opinion that they have independently
made up their own minds about the values and assumptions they hold. The notion that social factors
outside themselves have made them “just like everyone else” in important ways often insults their
identity and sense of dignity.
It would be easier for foreigners in America to understand many aspects of American behavior and
thinking that they otherwise might not understand if they understand this notion: that Americans
think the ideal kind of human being is a free and self-reliant individual.
Many Americans do not show the same type of respect for their parents and elders that people in
more traditional or family-oriented societies usually show. They have the notion that it is a
historical or biological accident that put them in the hands of particular parents. Parents fulfill their
responsibilities to the children while the children are young, and when children reach “the age of
independence” the close child-parent tie is loosened, or sometimes even broken.
The importance that Americans put on privacy and personal space is closely related to the
importance they put on individualism. Americans think people “need some time to themselves” or
“some time alone” to think and reflect on things. Americans have great difficulty understanding
foreigners who always want to be with another person and who dislike being alone.
2. Equality
Americans are also unique in the degree to which they believe in the ideal that “all men are created
equal,” as stated in their Declaration of Independence. Although they sometimes act differently
from the ideal in their daily lives, particularly in matters of interracial or intercultural
relationships, Americans have a deep faith that in some way all people (at least all American
people) are of equal value, and no one is born superior to anyone else. “One man, one vote,” they
say. This demonstrates the idea that any person’s opinion is as valid and worthy of attention as any
other person’s opinion.
However, Americans do make distinctions between each other on the basis of sex, age, wealth, or
social position. But, the distinctions are acknowledged in more subtle ways than many nonAmericans are used to. Tone of voice, order of speaking, choice of words, seating arrangementsthese things are ways that Americans show status differences among themselves.
think that time is something that is simply there around them, not something they can “use.” Many
foreign businessmen and students in the United States have difficulty getting used to the notion that
time must be saved whenever possible and used wisely every day.
7. Achievement, Action, Work, and Materialism
“He’s a hard worker,” one American might say to compliment another, or “she gets the job done.”
These expressions show the typical American person’s respect and admiration for a person who
completes a task conscientiously, persistently, and successfully. More than that, these expressions
show an admiration for achievers: people who dedicate their lives to accomplishing some physical,
measurable, visible thing.
The belief that Americans should "be all that you can be" comes from our Protestant heritage.
Because the majority of the early settlers were Protestant who left their home countries to be able to
practice their religion freely, they believed that they had a responsibility to improve themselves, to
be the best they could be, to develop their talents, and to help their neighbors. These beliefs have
not only influenced American educational system, but are often reflected in U.S. foreign policy.
What some people think is meddling in other people's lives, others believe is fulfilling a moral
obligation.
Foreign visitors often comment that “Americans work harder than I expected them to.” (Perhaps
these visitors’ expectations come from American movies and television programs, which show
people driving around in fast cars or pursuing a love interest more often than showing hard-working
people). While the so-called Protestant work ethic may have died in some Americans, there is still
a strong belief that the ideal person is a “hard worker.” A hard worker is one who “gets right to
work” on a task without delay, works efficiently, and produces high-quality work.
Education is often regarded as the key to opportunity, especially financial security and success.
Americans take a very practical approach to learning, so what one learns outside the classroom
through internships, extracurricular activities, and other forms of experience is often considered as
important (or more important) as what one learns in the classroom. Consequently, lifelong learning
is valued which results in many adult and continuing education programs. Also, Americans have
many choices in education. In school they decide their major field of study, perhaps with or without
their parents' influence, and students can even select some of their courses. These "elective" courses
often confuse foreign students who may expect a more rigid curriculum.
Generally, Americans like action. They do indeed believe it is important to devote a lot of energy to
their jobs or to other daily responsibilities. Beyond that, they tend to believe they should be doing
something most of the time. They are usually not happy, as people from many other countries are,
to sit for hours and talk with other people. They get restless and impatient. They believe they should
be doing something, or at least making plans and arrangements for doing something later.
3. Informality
Their notions of equality lead Americans to be quite informal in their general behavior and in their
relationships with other people.
People from societies where general behavior is more formal than in American are surprised by the
informality of American speech, dress, and posture. Idiomatic speech (commonly called “slang”) is
commonly used on most occasions. On the other hand, formal speech is used mostly during public
events and formal situations. People of almost any social status or group can be seen in public
wearing jeans, sandals, or other informal attire. People slouch down in chairs or lean on walls or
furniture when they talk, rather than maintaining an erect posture.
4. The Future, Change, and Progress
Americans are generally less concerned about history and traditions than are people from older
societies. “History doesn’t matter,” many of them will say. “It’s the future that counts.” They look
ahead to the future, not backwards to the past.
This fundamental American belief in progress and a better future contrasts strongly with fatalistic
attitudes that people from many other cultures have, especially Latin, Asian, and Arab, where there
is a strong reverence for the past. In those cultures the future is considered to be in the hands of
“fate,” “God,” or at least the few powerful people or families dominating society. Americans, on
the other hand, believe that they have much control over their destiny.
5. Goodness of Humanity
The future cannot be better if people are not fundamentally good and improvable. Americans
assume that human nature is basically good, not basically evil. Foreign visitors will see them doing
many things that are based on the belief that people are good and can make themselves better in
some way.
“Where there’s a will, there’s a way,” the Americans say. People who want to make things better
for themselves or others can do so if only they have strong enough motivation.
6. Time
For Americans, time is a “resource,” like water or coal, which can be used well or poorly. “Time is
money.” “You only get so much time in this life, so you’d better use it wisely.” Americans are
trained to believe that the future will not be better than the past or the present unless people use their
time for constructive, future-oriented activities. Therefore, Americans admire a “well-organized”
person, one who has a written list of things to do and a schedule for doing them. The ideal person is
punctual (that is, arrives on time for a meeting or event) and is considerate of other people’s time
(that is, does not “waste people’s time” with conversation or another activity that has no beneficial,
successful outcome).
The American attitude toward time is not the same in other cultures. Many other cultures often
8. Directness and Assertiveness
Americans, as has been said before, generally consider themselves to be honest, open, and direct in
their dealings with other people.
Americans will often speak openly and directly to others about things they dislike. They will try to
do so in a manner they call “constructive:” a manner that will not offend the other person. If they do
not speak openly about what is on their minds, they will often convey their reactions in a nonverbal
way (without words, but through facial expressions, body positions, and gestures). Americans are
not taught, as people in many Asian countries are, that they should hide their emotional responses.
Their words, the tone of their voices, or their facial expressions will usually reveal when they are
feeling angry, unhappy, confused, or happy and content. They do not think it is improper or
impolite to display these feelings, at least within limits. Many Asians feel embarrassed around
Americans who are showing a strong emotional response to something. On the other hand, Latinos
and Arabs often show their emotions more openly than Americans do, and view Americans as
unemotional and “cold.”
But Americans are often less direct and open than they realize. In fact, they are many limitations to
what they are willing to discuss openly.
Despite these limitations, Americans are generally more direct and open than people from many
other countries. They generally do not try to hide their emotions and are much less concerned with
“face” - avoiding embarrassment to themselves or others. To them, being “honest” is usually more
important than preserving harmony in interpersonal relationships.
Americans use the words “pushy” or “aggressive” to describe a person who is too assertive in
expressing opinions or making requests. The line between acceptable assertiveness and
unacceptable aggressiveness is difficult to draw.
Comprehension Questions:
“American Values”
Topic 1: Individualism, Independence, Self-Reliance, and Privacy
1. What is individualism? What is privacy? How do Americans’ views of individualism
and privacy affect their self-identity?
2. How do Americans consider themselves in the context of their society?
3. What is the view of many Americans about their culture?
4. What is the typical American view on family and family relationships?
Topic 2: Equality, Informality, Future, Change, Progress
5. What do Americans believe about the superiority or inferiority of others?
6. How do Americans make distinctions between each other?
7. In what situations are Americans usually informal? When are they formal?
8. How does Americans’ view of history compare with their view of the future?
Topic 3: Goodness of Humanity and Time
9. How do Americans feel about humanity?
10. For most Americans, what does time represent?
11. Why is it important to Americans to do constructive, future-oriented activities?
12. How does the American attitude towards time compare to those of many other cultures?
Topic 4: Achievement, Action, Work, and Materialism
13. For Americans, how does the ideal person complete a task? What should this task show?
14. Briefly describe the history behind the American work ethic.
15. How do Americans view education? What sort of approach do Americans take to
learning?
16. Why is action important to Americans?
Topic 5: Directness and Assertiveness
17. What sort of communication style do most Americans prefer?
18. How do Americans speak openly and directly without offending others?
19. How do Americans feel about showing their emotions? How do they show these
emotions?
20. How does Americans’ view of honesty compare with their view of preserving harmony?
Activities - Dividing Into Small Groups
http://www.youthwork.com/activitiesdivide.html
Try some of these ideas when you want to add some fun and challenge to the process of dividing
into smaller groups.
Dividing Into Pairs
Opposites Attract- Ask each person to pair up with someone who is different from them in
some way, examples: male/female; tall/short; blond/brunette; blue eyes/brown eyes; etc.
Commonalities- Quickly make a series of statements and ask participants to raise their hand if
this is true of them. The first two people to raise their hands are partners and do not respond
to any more statements. In the case of ties, move on to the next question. Sample statements:
my favorite color is red; I am a Pisces; I am a basketball fan; I have blue eyes; etc.
First Names- Have everyone count the number of letters in their first name. Now ask them to
find someone who has the same number of letters. Those two are now partners. If a person
can't find someone let him/her use another name s/he is called by (i.e., a student named
Matthew may use the name Matt and then look for someone with 4 letters instead of 7.) If they
still can't find someone pair up with a person who has the closest number of letters.
Line Ups- Group lines up according to any variable you can think of to use. Examples are: oldest
to youngest; tallest to shortest; alphabetically by first or last name; chronologically by month
and date of birthday. If you want to add challenge to the process, do not allow people to talk.
The two people at the ends of the line become partners, the next two become partners, etc.
Finding "Twins-" Decide ahead of time on a category such as animals, famous people,
occupations, emotions, sports, etc. and prepare slips of paper with specific examples of the
category you have chosen. Make two slips for each example (one set of three for an odd
number). After distributing the slips, each person makes a noise associated with the example
and/or performs a movement. The group circulates until partners have been found.
Name That Partner- Divide the group in half based solely on seating. Ask each group to name
an example of a category (same as the above categories) that starts with A and name one
person as that example. Continue through the alphabet until everyone has a name. Don't skip any
letters. The A's, B's, C's, etc. become partners.
Picture Puzzles- Cut pictures from a magazine so that there are half as many pictures as
members of the group. If you have a theme try to find pictures related to the theme. Cut each
picture in half and mix them up in a hat. Each person takes one piece and partners are those
whose pieces form a complete picture.
Pick a Number- Ask everyone to pick a number between 1 and (choose the upper number
depending on the size of your group). Those who have picked the same number become partners.
If only one person chooses a particular number, as them to choose another number.
Dividing Into Groups
Cries of Animals- This game is filled with laughter and fun with the intention of forming the
participants into groups of 4 - 10. Before one could conduct this game, he or she needs to write
the names of animals (cow, cat, pig, etc.). Once the group is ready to play, distribute these
written slips of paper to all. Let the participants not show their slip to another person as this
needs be top most secrete. Then tell the group to make the sound of the animal that they have
on the slip and form a family of the same animal (in one corner of the hall) carefully listening to
the similar sounds from the others. In this way, it would be easy to form the participants into
groups.
Values Clarification- Present the group with a value statement related to the theme of the
event. Ask them to arrange themselves in a line from Strongly Agree to Strongly Disagree.
Encourage discussion so each person is in the right place in line. Count off my 2's for diverse
groups or divide in half for more homogeneous groups.
Shake, Rattle and Roll- Take as many film canisters as you have people. In each film canister,
put an object. The objects you pick can be like the following: cotton balls, pennies, paperclips,
jelly beans, M&M's, etc. If you have 30 people and you want to divide them into three groups of
10 each, you would place a cotton ball in 10 of the canisters, a paperclip in 10 of the canisters,
and a penny in 10 of the canisters. Each individual then picks a canister from a bag, basket or
some other container. They cannot look or smell in the canister. They can only shake the
canister to distinguish the different sounds of the objects. The object is for the individual to
find persons in the group with a like sounding object and stay with that group. There are many
variations on this game. I call it, "Shake, rattle, and roll". Enjoy!
Contributed by: Susan Markley, MS, CTRS
Form A Band- Each band must have a drummer, guitar player, keyboard player and singer. Then
they mime out their band, complete with air instrumentation. Then all of the drummers are in
one group, all singers in another, etc. You can create as many band members as you need groups.
(above example gets you four groups). Similarly, you can do the same with a baseball (any
sports) team. I've done it with pitchers, catchers, hitters, outfielders and hot dog salespeople.
This gets five groups. These are good for kids, and also kind of fun for adults, lets them play.
Contributed by: Jen Hall
Blue Sky- Have people, on the count of "Blue Sky," hold up anywhere from one to ten fingers.
"Green fields, red earth, blue sky. Go!" All the people holding up an even number of fingers on
one side, odd fingers on the other
Pictures- Give each student a card with a different kind of ball or sporting equipment picture
on it. Students are to find the person(s) with the equipment that matches theirs. Of course you
can use any category for this (i.e., dogs, cars, birds).
Playing Cards- Decide how many groups you want and what size. For example, if you would like
to have 5 groups of 5 and you wanted to randomly put them into groups then get 5 Kings, 5
Aces, 5 2's, 5 Jacks, and 5 Queens (of course you will need more than one deck of cards) and
shuffle them up. Pass them out and match up the five who get the Kings, Queens, etc.
Arm/Finger Cross- 1) Have everyone cross their arms across their chest. Amazingly (at least I
was amazed) it almost always works out to about 50% cross right over left, and the other 50%
cross left over right. 2) Have students close their eyes and then put their hands together so
their fingers are interlocking and their palms are touching each other. Have them open their
eyes and look down at their hands. If their right thumb is on top then they are one team and if
their left thumb is on top then they go to the other team.