Sample Activities

Objectives

COM, PSVS, CCT, NUM, TL, IL

Recognize listening as an active, constructive process.

Anticipate a message and set a purpose.

Attend.

Draw upon prior learning and experiences. (CEL:COM)

Activities

If this unit is used at the beginning of the course, take time to discuss the following:

• the purpose of the course

• expectations (see handout/letter on page 130)

• classroom and assignment routines

• evaluation procedures and mark allocations.

If students do not know each other well, have them choose a partner whom they do not know. Alternatively, partners could be assigned randomly. As students enter the classroom, have them take a puzzle piece (half of a newspaper article). They find a partner by joining the two parts of the newspaper article. (The newspaper article could focus upon a particular issue relevant to young adults.) Have pairs share with each other a controversial issue that they have recently read about or seen on television. From pair discussions, create a class list of issues in which students are interested. Refer back to the list throughout the unit, as appropriate.

Objectives

Evaluate and analyze. (CEL:CCT)

Recognize that talk is an important tool for communicating, thinking, and learning. (CEL:COM)

Practise the behaviours of effective speakers.

Participate in small and large group discussions, observing the courtesies of group discussion. (CEL:PSVS)

Activities

Consider one of the following points of engagement:

• Use a quotation such as the following to stimulate discussion: "The world is full of controversy. No one can escape and perhaps we would be bored if we could." What are the positive aspects of controversy? What are the difficult aspects?

• Brainstorm the controversial issues your students believe they face in their personal lives, their community, their country, and the world. What makes these issues controversial? Are they controversial for all people? Why or why not?

• Have students find and clip or photocopy newspaper/magazine articles that illustrate the key issues facing the world today. Make a collage. Is the emphasis local, national, or international? Who or what determines this emphasis?

Objectives

COM, CCT, PSVS, NUM, IL, TL

Practise the behaviours of effective listeners.

Use various methods of development and organization appropriate to purpose.

Distinguish the characteristic differences among prose, poetry, and plays.

Read a variety of texts for a variety of purposes.

Differentiate fact from opinion. (CEL:CCT)

Relate literary experience to personal experience. (CEL:PSVS)

Recognize that reading is an active process which requires readers to:

• make connections
• find meaning
• make and confirm predictions
• make and confirm inferences
• reflect and evaluate.

Speak to clarify and extend thinking. (CEL:COM)

Activities

Reading Nonfiction (Newspaper Column): "Young and In Love with Their Wheels" (June Callwood) or similar column about vehicles and driving.

• Initial Prompt
  Have students conduct a class survey on the topic of "Driver Education". They could consider such questions as the following:
  • Do you have a driver's licence?
  • If yes, how did you learn to drive? If no, how do you anticipate learning to drive?
  • What are the strengths of a driver education course? Weaknesses?
  • Are your parents safe drivers? Are you a safe driver? Do you feel your friends are safe drivers?

  Some nonfiction prose is intended to relate facts and communicate opinions. An author of such nonfiction usually writes for a very definite purpose and audience. As students read and hear the nonfiction selections found in this unit, ask them to determine:

  • the author's purpose
  • the intended audience
  • the main idea or opinion presented
  • the important details (facts, opinion, incidents) that support this main idea or opinion.

  Initiate reading with some of the following questions: What do you think of motorcycles? What is their appeal? Are they safe?

• Reading
  Have students read to determine what Callwood sees as the pleasures and dangers of motorcycles.

• Response
  Introduce the Reader's Log/Journal. Use an overhead transparency to illustrate the process. If students need a structure for their response, the following could be considered:
  • How did you feel as you read this column?
  • Did your feelings change at any time?
  • What is your attitude towards motorcycles and their riders? How does it compare to Callwood's point of view?

  Discuss the following facts about June Callwood:

  • Her son was killed in a motorcycle accident.
  • She is a vocal "civil libertarian". Discuss and define this term with students.

  What contradiction might this pose for Callwood?

Objectives

COM, CCT, PSVS, IL

Participate in small group discussions, observing the courtesies of group discussion. (CEL:PSVS)

Practise the behaviours of effective listeners. (CEL:COM)

Recognize that words can have connotative as well as denotative value. (Language Concept)

Read a range of texts for a variety of purposes.

Assess an author's ideas and techniques. (CEL:CCT)

Summarize main points and conclusions.

Respond personally, critically, and creatively.

Activities

Introduce Grouptalk procedure (p. 42). Form groups of three. Use one of the following questions: "What is your position on the seat-belt law for cars?" or "What is your position on the mandatory helmet law for motorcyclists?" A tape recorder may be used for one or two of the small groups. Over the course of the semester, each student should have an opportunity to be tape recorded during a small group discussion. A chairperson, recorder, and reporter should be assigned. Analyze the effectiveness of the discussions by using an observation checklist; assessing the small group oral reports to the class; listening to the audiotapes of groups recorded; and reviewing students' self-assessments or journal writings, if assigned.

Language is an intricate system of symbols and sounds by which humans communicate their thoughts, feelings, and opinions. Explain to students the different ways language can be used. For example, in this course, language is used primarily to reflect and explore, to deepen understanding, to inform, and to persuade.

Words communicate not only ideas but attitudes and feelings. Writers and speakers choose words carefully to suit their intended purposes. A good speaker or writer is sensitive to both the denotative and connotative value of words. For three of the following words, have students list at least six connotations:

Which words have negative connotations? Which words have positive connotations? Examine an advertisement. Which words have connotative value? Positive? Negative? Does the connotation of a word depend upon the individual person hearing or reading the word? Why?

Explain to students that language is not always just verbal. Often the nonverbal (visual) and verbal work together to create a powerful message. Pose the following questions: What posters, billboards, or ads grab your attention? What is their purpose and who is their intended audience? What language register do they use?

Examine, in pairs or triads, a series of posters from a campaign such as those used in anti-drinking-and-driving (e.g., SADD) or anti-smoking. Consider questions such as the following:

• What is the purpose?
• Who is the audience?
• What is the message?
• What details support the message?
• Which is the most effective representation?

A speaker from MADD or SADD could make a presentation to the students. The students could complete a listening organizer that focuses upon the speaker's purpose, message, and effectiveness.

Objectives

COM, PSVS, IL, CCT

Recognize the structure and characteristics of a particular nonfiction prose selection.

Recognize that reading is an active process which requires readers to:

make connections
• find meaning
• make and confirm predictions
• make and confirm inferences
• reflect and evaluate.

Relate literary experience to personal experience. (CEL:PSVS)

Write a letter in language appropriate for purpose and audience. (CEL:COM)

Recognize listening as an active process that requires listeners to:

• anticipate a message and set a purpose
• attend
• seek and check understanding by making connections, and making and confirming predictions and inferences
• interpret and summarize
• evaluate and analyze. (CEL:CCT)

Activities

Reading Nonfiction (Advice Column): "Boyfriend's Drinking, Driving Causing Problems" (Abigail Van Buren) or similar column dealing with drinking and driving or a related issue.

• Initial Prompt
  Ask the students if they ever read advice columns in the newspaper. Read them a few examples from recent editions.

• Reading
  Have students read silently the selection from "Mary A. in Oregon" from the Van Buren column. Have them identify the problem and think about one possible solution.

• Response
  Have students each write a response to "Mary A." in their journal. Students can share their written response with a partner. The teacher can then read to students Abby's actual response. As a class, discuss the similarities and differences between Abby's response and their responses.

Listening to Nonfiction (Newspaper Report): "Bad Drivers Meet Accident Victims" (Derek Ferguson) or similar report on the consequences of drinking and driving. Additional resources can be found in Neil Graham's chapter "The Drinking and Driving Problem", Exploring Perspectives (1991).

• Initial Prompt
  What is the "Tagged for Life" program? Do you think it works?

  Review guidelines for effective listening and discuss the advantages of using a Listening Guide such as the following:

  Title: Author: Audience: Message: What? Who? When? Where? How? Why? Other Interesting Details:

  Source Date Purpose:

Objectives

COM, CCT, PSVS

Summarize and make notes from a presentation.

Participate in small group discussions, observing the courtesies of group discussion. (CEL:PSVS)

Speak to clarify and extend thinking. (CEL: C)

Read a variety of texts for a variety of purposes.

Recognize the structure and characteristics of a particular nonfiction selection.

Relate literary experience to personal experience.

Practise the behaviours of effective, strategic readers.

Identify the author's purpose, tone, point of view, and theme.

Write fluently and confidently for a variety of purposes.

Relate literary experience to personal experience.

Activities