Unit 16 Turn challenge to opportunity

Unit 16 Turn challenge to opportunity About this unit In this unit, pupils get to read a story about a child from a different culture who has to try to fit into a new environment and learn a new language. The pupils get to see how this challenge is turned into an opportunity, and get to discuss how challenges and opportunities are often one and the same thing: a challenge is a potential opportunity. It just depends on the challenged person s attitude and confidence whether they see it that way. They read a traditional Swedish folktale adapted for Africa, and get to write the recipe for stone soup. Also, the pupils get to role-play difficult situations and discuss how to turn these around into something positive. Linked to their reading texts, there is a sequencing exercise and a story review that the pupils need to work on. In the Writing section, the pupils use a mind map to plot their own story. Lesson 1 Listening and speaking: look at a picture and talk about it; talk about different language and cultural backgrounds, and how being different makes us feel when in a new environment; role-play different scenarios. Chalkboard; PB Ask the pupils to look at the illustration on page 101 of the PB. Tell them that this is a picture of Jimoh, who doesn t understand his teacher or his classmates. Ask the pupils to sit in pairs. They are to talk about possible reasons why Jimoh doesn t understand. Then they are to talk about how Jimoh must be feeling. Ask in what way this might be different from how Sewuese felt in Unit 15. Tell them that they will find out more about Jimoh in Lesson 2. For the remainder of this lesson, they will discuss answers to Activities 1, 2 and 3 on page 101 of the PB. Listening and speaking (PB p. 102) In groups of four, the pupils discuss the two situations, which both deal with physical and emotional hurt. The first indicates that while we can recover from physical harm, it is more difficult to recover from emotional harm caused by harsh words. The second indicates that harsh words are unable to harm us. Pupils may disagree on this, but most are likely to say that it is difficult to recover from harsh words. It is hard to forget when someone has been really nasty to us. Ask the existing groups of four to divide up further, into two pairs. One pair gets to role-play Situation A and the other, Situation B. Assessment You can use the criteria on Rubric 1: Speaking: role-play. You will find it on the website. When initiating the discussion on the picture, give some context by explaining that the picture is of a boy called Jimoh. He speaks another language, and has just come to a new school. Tell the pupils that they will read more about him later in the unit. Ask the pupils to work in pairs and to write down five adjectives that describe how Jimoh felt when he first started at the school. Lesson 2 Reading: read a story about a boy from a different culture; learn new words by adding prefixes. Chalkboard; PB; WB 69

Divide the class into groups of about four. The pupils are to talk about anyone they know who comes from a different language background, and who doesn t understand them when they speak English (or another language). The pupils are to make a list of words to describe how someone who is immersed in a new language environment might feel. For instance, they can talk about, and make a note of, frustrations and feelings of isolation at not knowing a language and not being able to communicate; insecurity about talking the wrong way; other ways of communicating and ways to bridge the communication gap: by gesticulating, using body language, drawing pictures, pointing, and creatively using the few words that are known in the new language. Afterwards, you can ask the pupils how young children cope with learning a new language. Explain that up to the age of seven, children can learn a new language with great ease and can learn to speak it like their own mother tongue. Also, small children are often not as inhibited and as afraid of making mistakes when speaking a new language as are older children and adults. Ask the pupils why this may be so. Tell the class that Jimoh, the boy they were introduced to in Lesson 1, is ten years old. They are going to read his story. Once they have done this, they will answer questions on the story and complete a WB activity in which they have to reorder the sentences in a summary. Finally, they conclude the lesson by doing a grammar activity on prefixes. Reading (PB p.102) Ask the class to read the story about Jimoh on page 102 of the PB. Let a few pupils take turns to read one paragraph at a time. Encourage them to work out the meanings of words they do not know from the context or by looking up the definitions in the New words box. Clarify anything the pupils do not understand. Before the pupils answer the comprehension questions, let them read the story again, this time silently to themselves. Answers (PB p. 104) 1. a) The story takes place in Abujah. b) Apart from Jimoh, his teacher, two classmates and an uncle are mentioned in the story. c) He did Primary 1 to 4 at a village school. d) They spoke English but they spoke it slowly, and explanations were given in the mother tongue where necessary. e) They spoke English much faster, and no one spoke his mother tongue. Jimoh felt culturally alienated. f) He noticed that Jimoh wasn t paying attention. The teacher gave him two mentors pupils who looked after him and took him around the school, explained things to him and helped him when he needed help. 2. The challenge was to get on in a new environment, and with a new language. The opportunity was to get to know the new place and language through help from the teacher and his classmates. Reading vocabulary (PB p. 104) Explain to the pupils that in English, we can create new words by adding letters to the beginning of words. These letters are called prefixes and they often have fixed meanings. Ask pupils to turn to page 104 of the PB and to follow in their books as you explain the concept of prefix formation to them. Provide further examples as well. Once you are satisfied that they have grasped the concept, ask them to complete Activities 1 and 2 in their exercise books. Answers (PB pp. 104&105) 1. a) anti-aircraft guns military equipment that is designed to defend or protect against other equipment such as guns b) re-arrange to arrange in another way c) pre-pay to pay in advance 2. a) anti-social b) re-join c) pre-made Ask the pupils to work on their own to retell the story from the teacher s perspective or that of one of Jimoh s classmates. 70

When reading Jimoh s story with the class, work through new words. Make sure pupils have time to read aloud as well as silently. Lesson 3 Grammar: use the past perfect tense in sentences. Writing: reorder a written summary. Chalkboard; PB; WB Pupils will start off the lesson by doing a grammar activity on the past perfect tense. They then complete some WB activities. Grammar (PB p. 105) Ask pupils to turn to page 105 of the PB. Explain the uses of the past perfect tense as well as how it is formed. Let the pupils follow in their books as you work through the examples. To help reinforce their understanding of this tense, give them additional examples. Then ask them to complete Activities 1 3 on page 106 of the PB. Answers (PB p. 106) 1. i) Lions live in Africa. a) Lions lived in Africa. b) Lions had lived in Africa. ii) Friends always care. a) Friends always cared. b) Friends always had cared. iii) I see you in the church on Sundays. a) I saw you in the church on Sundays. b) I had seen you in the church on Sundays. iv) We finish our homework and we play football. a) We finished our homework and we played football. b) We had finished our homework and we had played football. 2. Mercy s father went to a radio station. Some caring people came to their aid. Mercy and her mother travelled abroad for the operation. When they came back six months later, Mercy was well. Her parents thanked all those who helped save their daughter s life. 3. Mercy s father had gone to a radio station. Some caring people had come to their aid. Mercy and her mother had travelled abroad for the operation. When they had come back six months later, Mercy had become well. Her parents had thanked all those who had helped save their daughter s life. Writing (WB p.35) Ask the pupils to think back to Jimoh s story. Perhaps ask one pupil from the class to relate what happened so they can refresh their memories. Now ask the pupils to turn to page 35 of the WB and to complete Activity 1, in which they have to reorder jumbled sentences. Thereafter, they complete Activities 2 4. Answers (WB p. 35) 1. The correct order of sentences is as follows: At the village school where I did primary one to four, I could understand my teachers. Then I came to Abuja and things were not the same. When I first came to this school, I had a language problem. The teacher spoke English too but it was very fast. I became unhappy and used to sit at the back of the class sulking. One day the teacher noticed that I was looking out of the window instead of listening to him. The next day, when I got to class, I found myself sitting in the second row between two of my classmates. They helped me in class by explaining difficult things to me. My teacher encouraged me to see him any time I had a problem with school work. Gradually, I regained my self-confidence. I am still culturally different but I can now speak and understand English better. 2. Jimoh had studied at the school in his village before he moved to Abuja. He had been a good pupil at his old school. At his new school, he often couldn t understand because he found his teacher had spoken too fast Once the teacher had noticed that Jimoh had a problem, he asked Jimoh to visit him in his 71

office. After Jimoh had explained his problem, the teacher helped to find a solution. 3. a) Jimoh has become much better at English. Present perfect b) Sewuese asked for a chocolate milkshake and hot chips. Past c) Mercy had recovered from her heart operation when she arrived back in Nigeria. Past perfect d) Emily Muyiwa had found out that he had HIV a few weeks before he told his parents. Past perfect e) Asabe s uncle climbed onto the roof. Past f) Look at Asabe s uncle! He has climbed onto the roof! Present perfect. 4. Pupils own answers Ask the pupils to work in pairs and to write down five adjectives that describe how Jimoh felt when the teacher tried to help him. Ensure that all pupils understand the grammar notes. Give extra examples for them to work through in class, as well as on their own. Lesson 4 Reading: read a review of a traditional story. Chalkboard; PB; Reader Read the five-line introduction to the story entitled Stone soup, on page 52 of the Reader, to the class. Now ask the pupils to read through the review on their own. Reading (Reader p. 52) Get several pupils from the class to read the story aloud, a few lines each. Ask the pupils what they think of the story. How would they describe the man? And how would they describe the woman? Ask the pupils for adjectives to describe the characters in the story, and write these on the board, under the headings man and woman. If the adjectives the pupils give for the man are clever, crafty, cunning, then those for the woman must include something such as foolish, stupid, gullible, and easily fooled, as well as, possibly, stingy. Ask whether the woman s attitude changed towards the end of the story, and if so, how: the woman realised the man was clever. She appreciated the good soup and, quite possibly, the man s company. She became more generous and willing to share and she thanked him for that lovely soup. Say to the class, Both the old man and the old woman benefited from having met each other. Ask them to comment on this, and to tie their comment in with the theme of this unit, Turning challenges into opportunity. Now ask the pupils to work on their own to answer Questions 1 5 on page 55 of the Reader. In Question 2 the pupils are to write a recipe; and in Question 5, they are to rewrite the review of the story. Ask the pupils to work in their exercise books. Say you will collect their books for marking at the end of the lesson. The answers to Questions 1 4 appear below. Answers (Reader p. 55) 1. He had no food and he had nowhere to sleep. 2. Recipe for stone soup: Ingredients: 1 stone, water, 1 onion, meat, 3 or 4 carrots, pepper and salt to taste. Equipment: a knife, a wooden spoon, a chopping board, a pot How to make it: Bring a pot of water to the boil. Drop in a stone. Stir the mixture. Chop up an onion and add it to the boiling water. Keep stirring. Cut meat into cubes and put them in the soup. Bring the soup back to the boil. Peel, wash and slice the carrots. Add them to the soup. Keep stirring. Bring to the boil again and let the soup simmer until the meat and carrots are tender. Now add salt and pepper to taste. Ladle the soup into bowls. Serve hot, with bread and butter. 72

3. Pupils own answers. Presumably they will say they think the old man was clever. He got himself a free meal plus a warm, comfortable place to sleep for the night. (They might also say that he made it sound as though the stone was the main ingredient of the soup and the other ingredients were just optional extras. He suggested these optional extras in such a way as to make the old lady volunteer to get them. In the end, he made the old lady thank him for the soup.) 4. She offered him a night on the mattress by the fire. 5. Pupils own reviews Pupils work on their own to identify the following in the story Stone soup : the characters, the theme, the plot and the setting. Walk round the classroom while the pupils work, offering help and support where required. Lesson 5 Writing: write a narrative composition. Writing (PB p.106) Ask the pupils to turn to page 106 of the PB and to read the instructions clearly so that they know what to do. Encourage the pupils to plan what they are going to write by using a mind map or by writing short notes. They should first write a draft version, which they check carefully, in particular paying attention to their grammar and spelling. They then write out a neat version which they hand in for marking. Assessment You can use the criteria on Rating scale 3: Writing. You will find it on the website. Check the pupils rough work before they write it out neatly. Vocabulary extension Ask pupils to work in pairs and to make a list of all the new words they learnt in this unit. They must test one another s grasp of these new words by checking their understanding against the definitions in the New words boxes or in a dictionary. Lastly, they must also check that they can spell these words correctly. Chalkboard; PB The last activity of this unit is a written one. Tell the pupils that they will be writing a narrative essay. Remind them that in a narrative essay, the writer narrates a story. The writer aims to grab the attention of the reader by appealing to the emotions and creating a vivid mental image that relies on all the senses. 73