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UNIT 1

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RATIONALE

The First day with my students must be something special, a

meaningful and unforgettable experience. The teacher will

introduce herself and will invite students to do the same picking

them at random throwing her magic ball. This activity will be

the starting point for the diagnostic evaluation, a crucial step to

develop subsequent teaching and learning activities.

It can be also a nice start to review and consolidate previous knowledge while consolidating and expanding greetings and introductions, among other curricular concepts.

The students would be aware by then that this English class is going to make a difference: a new seating plan will be established with the desks arranged in U.

This unit plan consists of five stages which will take 5 classroom sessions.

Greetings and Introductions. Asking for and giving personal information

Filling a personal profile questionnaire (diagnostic written test)

Expressing obligation, prohibition and advice

Vocabulary revision: classroom language, dates, numbers, days, months and seasons

Elaboration (of poster with) the ground rules for ordinary classroom and computer room

Number of sessions: 5

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SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES:

To review and practise greetings and introductions. To ask and answer questions about personal information in an

understandable, appropriate manner and with a degree of independence.

To use correctly as parts of sentences language used to express personal details (numbers, dates and letters) in real communication contexts.

To use and learn adjectives describing behaviour (see croosword): lazy, hard-working, naughty, etc esl galaxy

To introduce and practise ways of expressing obligation, advice and prohibition (should, shouldn’t, must and mustn’t).

To write some school rules, after reading a model. To participate in interaction, in a semi-controlled way, with the

teacher and classmates, in order to introduce him/herself.

CONTENTS:

Listening: Listen and repeat words from the unit Listen to the classmates when asking and answering some

questions in as much detail as possible. Listen to a song

Speaking: Introduce themselves providing personal information, age,

birthday, family In pairs, ask each other some questions and answer in as

much detail as possible. In pairs, take turns asking and answering some questions.

Reading: Read a song Read a profile worksheet

Writing Write a profile worksheet with personal information

Complete sentences expressing prohibition

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Rearrange scrambled classroom words and expressions

Write some sentences about what students must or

mustn’t do in class

Language knowledge and use

Linguistic knowledge: Grammar

- Modal verbs of prohibition and advice - be, have got, can and there is / there are - Present Simple, Present Continuous

Vocabulary - Classroom language - Family and personal information - Dates, cardinal and ordinal numbers, days, months and seasons

Pronunciation - Students practice their pronunciation in English through the Speaking

activities.

Learning reflexion:

- Introducing and greeting people - Reviewing and reflecting on learning. - Appreciating working in groups as a means of personal enrichment.

Socio cultural aspects and intercultural awareness Interest in learning English and in the topic of the unit Positive attitude towards own ability to participate in class activities Willingness to review and reflect on own learning Enjoyment in completing activities

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ATTITUDES AND VALUES Outlined below are the attitude contents which are repeated in most of

the teaching units and serve as a guide for classroom planning:

Effort with vocabulary and structures revision. Overcome mental blocking when meeting new people in the target language Attentive-assertive listening Use of target language in class Interest and curiosity in learning about the ideas expressed in written texts in English. Attention to and respect for the spoken messages of both the teacher and the other students. Recognition of the importance of being able to communicate orally and when writing in English. Overcoming difficulties as they arise in spoken communication, using available communication strategies. Interest in learning about and analysing both their own forms of expression and those of their classmates. Positive attitudes towards suitable class activities for maximum development of communication skills and towards overcoming problems which may arise during the learning process. Interest in learning the necessary vocabulary and linguistic structures to meet the fundamental needs of communication. Positive attitude towards the sociolinguistic behaviour that facilitate coexistence and communication (use of polite forms, gestures, tone of voice etc) Curiosity, interest and respect for ways of living in English-speaking countries. Confidence in their personal ability to progress. Critical attitude towards language use which involves discrimination. Interest in improving communicative skills, both receptive and productive. Participation and cooperation in a spirit of solidarity through team work, whether in pairs, small groups or flexible grouping. Interest in reading texts independently as a source of information, learning and pleasure. Rigorous attitude in interpreting and producing oral and written texts. Interest in practising communicative exchanges. Curiosity to learn about how language works. Value of out-of-school learning.

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KEY COMPETENCES

Basic Competence Activity Evaluation Criteria

C1 Linguistic communicative competence.

All the activities of the unit use the language as an instrument of communication.

Show interest in learning English

C2 Mathematical competence.

Students speak and write about their birthday, dates, addresses and phone numbers

Be able to use mathematical concepts in English.

C3 Knowledge of and interaction with the physical world.

Students look t a world map with geographical information about some students’ countries of origin.

Express curiosity in learning about the world Geography.

C4 Competence in information and communication technologies

Activities website: http://wiki-u.wikispaces.com/ In this unit students also open an e-mail account.

Feel pleasure in using new technologies in order to revise and extend what they have learnt.

C5 Social and civil competence.

Moral and civic Education: The importance of being polite when we ask for personal information.

Be willing to follow polite habits

C6 Cultural and artistic competence.

Students talk about cultural facts related to their country of origin

Show pleasure in comparing cultural differences with other countries.

C7 The competence of learning to learn.

Students complete Homework assignment as part of the Diagnostic Test.

Show interest in learning how to learn English.

C8 The competence of personal autonomy and initiative.

Initiative to work in pairs. E.g. asking and answering about personal information.

Be willing to listen to and interact with others. Have a positive attitude towards own ability to participate in class activities.

UNIT OF WORK SEQUENCE:

- Session 1: Initial or opening activities might include some

icebreaker warm up activities to create expectation and

motivation; to detect what pupils lack of or have errors with.

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Introductions. Exchange personal information. Assign

homework for following session.

- Sessions 2: Register the students that did the assignment

task. Check homework: profile worksheet; go through the

questions, errors and vocabulary. Give out to students the

parents’ permission form to access Internet sites and open an

email account for educational purposes. Explain the

evaluation and marking criteria. An e-mail project

permission form will be handed out in subsequent sessions.

- Session 3: Introduce the ground rules topic, ask students’

opinion, elicit examples such as Students mustn’t wear

earphones, students must bring their books and notebooks to

class. Encourage more examples and start writing the rules.

Revise ordinal numbers and complete a worksheet.

- Session 4:

The next stage should provide a chance to address mixed

ability issues in the class, with reinforcement activities for

slower learners and extension activities for higher achievers.

Set of flash cards will be handed out to the students in order

to do some speaking guided practice. Make a poster or collect

ideas to make one, either a virtual one or a traditional wall

one.

- Session 5: Two options: finish the poster project and listen to

a song My Name is Luka/Eternal Flame or, if possible go to the

computer room to visit the teacher’s web resources. Finally,

projects and revision activities are a good way to bring

together all the elements of the unit: Ground rules, personal

information and useful vocabulary.

METHODOLOGY

For this unit I have adopted a teaching method that emphasizes learning about

something rather than learning about language. I believe that learner motivation

increases when students are learning about something, rather than just studying

language. In order to promote and encourage active participation in

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communicative tasks the desks will be U-shaped instead of in rows, that kind of

grouping will be used for exams and other evaluation activities. So, pair work,

group work and other different groupings will be encouraged in order to promote

interaction with peers. They will be allowed to group themselves unless any

problem emerges. Important interpersonal skills on the part of the teacher

include: clear expression of ideas, instructions and contents; enthusiasm;

patience; and the ability to elicit participation and cooperation among students.

This unit of work is aimed to possess the following characteristics:

a focus on real-world subject matter, and topics of interest to learners:

what is advisable to do and what is not in order to pass the subject.

student-centeredness

an emphasis on cooperation, which leads to different modes of interaction

adopted by students during the work

authentic integration of skills and processing of information from various

sources

both a process and a product orientation, which allows learners in the EFL

context to develop their language proficiency while cooperating at

different project stages.

motivation and stimulation that lead to confidence, self-esteem, and

autonomy.

In order to promote independent language learning this unit will:

reinforce grammatical structures.

recycle basic vocabulary

teach natural pronunciation efficiently.

cause learners to apply listening, speaking, reading and writing

activate subconscious long term memory in learners.

enhance grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation and more.

create a relaxed atmosphere.

get learners motivated with enthusiasm for learning

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MATERIAL AND RESOURCES

Printed.

Mixed-ability worksheets and flash cards.

Audiovisual and technological resources:

Web teaching resources:

Reading & Writing exercises:

Vocabulary & Reference Sites.

Other reference books and materials for the teacher and the student

may include dictionaries, reference grammars, and those estimated as

necessary for complementing the assignments and activities.

Teacher’s Magic Ball.

INTERNET RESOURCES

http://wiki-u.wikispaces.com/

http://www.oup.com/elt/global/products/naturalenglish/elem/a_grammar

/unit09/ne_elem_grammar09_2/

http://www.aulafacil.com/Ingejerc/Lecciones/Ejerc26.htm

http://www.agendaweb.org/verbs/be_can_do_have.html

http://www.agendaweb.org/vocabulary/days_months_date.html

http://manuelbarbado2.blogspot.com/2010/02/unit-5-mustmustnt.html

http://wiki-u.wikispaces.com/Listening

CATERING FOR DIVERSITY

Consolidation activities: Lower level vocabulary & grammar worksheets for slower learners Vocabulary matching exercises Crosswords and other vocabulary & grammar revision interactive sites

http://www.theyellowpencil.com/gramamust.html http://www.theyellowpencil.com/losnumeros.html http://www.esl-galaxy.com/crosswords/personalityeasy.pdf

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Extension activities: Extra vocabulary and grammar activities Write a blog/wiki entry or make a power point presentation with the ground rules for the classroom and a poster for the computer room rules.

EVALUATION CRITERIA

Express himself/herself with fluency and using the right pronunciation - intonation when introducing and greeting people.

Recognise and review vocabulary about family, dates and personal info and be able to put them into practice in written and speaking activities.

Understand the general message of conversations about personal information, and identify relevant details in oral messages related with them.

Use information and communication technologies in a guided way by

doing the website activities proposed by the teacher. Identify learning strategies used to progress in the learning process. Write some school rules, after reading a model.

Participate in interaction with the teacher and classmates

Formative evaluation Procedures: Classroom observation to check both individual and global

strengths and weaknesses in English skills. Classroom observation to check students involvement in tasks and

activities Homework delivery registration in Teacher’s notebook

Oral exchange in the classroom: asking and answering questions, reading aloud.

Self evaluation sheet

Instruments: Written productions Speaking skills Teacher’s notes appreciated from observation, task analysis, classroom intervention, correction of the exercises and individual students’ notebooks. Diagnostic test Continuous assessment record at the end of the unit.

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CLASS CONTRACT SAMPLE

The students of 3ºA class will… The teacher of 3ºA class will…

o Try to speak as much English as

possible

o Give homework on Thursdays and

return it on Tuesdays

o Listen when the teacher is

giving instructions

o Arrive on time to the class and finish

the class on time

o Not have mobile phones on in

the class.

o Give students clear vocabulary lists on

the board.

o Arrive on time to the class o Give students a song / game etc.

o Not throw things around the

classroom. o Promote access to computer room

regularly

o Etc. etc.

Signed:

(Students sign)

o Etc. etc.

Signed:

(Teacher sign)

The ground rules are the minimum necessary conditions for getting learning work

done in the class.

They may include:

Arriving on time

Respecting health and safety regulations

Switching off mobile 'phones

Not interrupting fellow-students

Not moving to do something requested until given an explicit cue (rather

than "order"), such as "Go!"

Respecting other people's contributions

Only having one conversation at a time in the class.

There is no definitive list for all classes, but it is a useful exercise to think through

what you want on the list before you start the class: if you don't know what you

want, how will the students know?

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Classroom Language: The beginning of the lesson

1. Good morning

Good morning, everybody.

Good afternoon, everybody.

Hello, everyone.

Hello there, James.

2. How are you?

How are you today?

How are you getting on?

How's life?

How are things with you?

Are you feeling better today, Bill?

3. Introductions

My name is Rosa. I'm your new English teacher.

I'll be teaching you English this year.

I've got three lessons with you each week.

4. Time to begin

Let's begin our lesson now.

Is everybody ready to start?

I hope you are all ready for your English lesson.

I think we can start now.

Now we can get down to work.

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5. Waiting to start

I'm waiting for you to be quiet.

We won't start until everyone is quiet.

Stop talking and be quiet.

Settle down now so we can start.

6. Put your things away

Close your books.

Put your books away.

Pack your things away.

7. Register

Who is absent today?

Who isn't here today?

What's the matter with ….. today?

What's wrong with Jim today?

Why were you absent last Friday?

8. Late

Where have you been?

We started ten minutes ago. What have you been doing?

Did you miss your bus?

Did you oversleep?

Don't let it happen again.

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Self-evaluation Form Unit 1 Skills What can you do in English?

Writing

I can write a profile questionnaire

Reading

I can understand a text about

Listening

I can identify specific information in a conversation

Conversation and Spoken Expression

I can have a simple conversation to give personal information, such as date and place of birth, address, etc

I can’t do this I need to work more on this I can do this well I can do this very well Vocabulary I Remember...

Some useful words…………………………………………………………………..

A useful expression………………………………………………………………….

A useful question……………………………………………………………………..

Reflection

Something I did well ……………………………………………………….

Something I need to work more on ………………………………………….

English outside class What did you do in English outside class? Do homework Learn new words Revise for a test/exam Listen to music Read a book Read a magazine Watch a TV programme, film, video or DVD Write an email or chat online Write a letter Surf the Internet Other activities:…………………………………………………………………………

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Words to Describe a Person's Appearance

Words to Describe an Individual's Personality

List of Descriptive Words Related to Feelings

Pleasant Dangerous Upset

Worried Unhelpful Tense

Timid Amused Confused

Kind-hearted Harmonious Hurt

Smiling Instinctive Confident

Adorable Unselfish Jovial

Homely Bright Angry

Elegant Mysterious Nervous

Bewildered Disagreeable Hot-tempered

Dynamic Combative Afraid

Glamorous Gifted Great

Healthy Humorous Faithful

Thoughtful Sincere Proud

Magnificent Prudent Bad

Drab Thrifty Kind

Perfect Silent Creepy

Jolly Skillful Lively

Alluring Loyal Wrong

Filthy Skinny Horrible

Sweet Clever Curious

Handsome Voracious Envious

Disillusioned Independent Confused

Self-assured Aggressive Sorrowful

Clumsy Just Weary

Vivacious Thoughtful Dominating

Plucky Determined Tired

Lovely Pleasing Anxious

Fair Versatile Emotional

Dull Practical Testy

Beautiful Honest Vengeful

Attractive Trustworthy Peaceful

Well-cultured Frank Fine

Ill-mannered Inventive Sore

Wild Reliable Calm

Splendid Open-minded Zestful

Wonderful Cruel Mature

Cheerful Successful Silly

Snobbish Smart Bored