Multidimensional Unit

Meredith Henry

Overview of Multidimensional Unit

Grade level: 7-9

Language and level: English, intermediate

Field of experience: Travel

Topics to be developed:

Travel destinations

Modes of travel

Things needed to travel

Experiential goal: The students will be able to create a vacation package brochure, outlining all the essentials for a person interesting in going on that vacation.

Steps to follow to achieve goal:

1. Students will interview each other about this travel experiences or dreams.

2. Students will search for specific information about three countries they are interested in. Include information on: attractions, events, climate, activities, official language, etc.

3. Students will discuss modes of travel (i.e.: strengths, weaknesses, expenses, etc.). Students will generate a list of what they would need if they were going on vacation, and find out what is needed to get a passport.

4. Students will compare various travel brochures, noting information given, and left out, in each and which format they prefer.

5. Students will role-play their interview with a travel agent. They will prepare a list of questions to ask and try them with each other.

6. Students will interview a travel agent to obtain information to include in their vacation brochure.

7. Students will create a vacation package brochure, outlining all the essentials for a person interesting in going on that vacation.

8. Students will reflect on the unit. Peer and self evaluation.

Objectives

Communicative/Experiential:

1. The students will be able to interview a travel agents about things to do with vacations.

2. The students will be able to talk about travel destinations, why people go there and how they get there.

3. The students will be able to express their own experiences and dreams to do with travel.

4. The students will be able to conduct Internet, magazine, and library searches for information on country of destination.

Cultural:

1. The students will be able to talk about events (past or present) from the country of destination.

2. The students will be able to write about local attractions to see in the country of destination.

Language:

1. The students will be able to write about a vacation package, using future and conditional tenses.

2. The students will be able to generate a list of key words to do with vacations, to help write a brochure.

3. The students will be able to practice and ask questions to a travel agent and with each other.

4. The students will be able to fill in a concept map with question words.

General Language:

1. The students will be able to examine various travel brochures as models.

2. The students will be able to find information based on a list of criteria.

3. The students will be able to use concept maps.

Lesson Plans

Grade level: 7-9 Language: English Length of class: 60 minutes

Field of experience: Travel Lesson: One

Subjects to be developed: Travel destinations

Modes of travel

Materials:

-world maps

-copies of list of questions

-continental maps

-pen/pencil

-push pins

-paper

-list of questions to ask peers

Activity: Students will discuss as a group, placed they have travels to, or hope to travel to. They will get to mark this on a map with push pins as they speak. Students will then break into pairs and interview each other about their travel destinations and dreams.

Steps to follow:

-prepare a list of questions for the students

1. Where have you travelled?

2. How did you get there?

3. How could you get there?

4. What did you see there?

5. Where would you like to travel?

6. How would you get there?

7. What do you want to see there?

8. Others

-as a class, discuss places travelled to, or

hope to travel to.

-have students mark on maps where they have

been or want to go.

-tell where they have been or want to go

-mark on map the locations (20 minutes)

-distribute questions. Go over and explain

-break into pairs (5 minutes)

-go through list of questions

-interview partner about travel (25 minutes)

-end class with a whip-around of one thing

students saw or want to see, and how they

travelled (10 minutes)

Lesson 2

Grade level: 7-9

Language: English

Length of class: 60 minutes

Field of experience: Travel

Subjects to be developed: Travel destinations

Materials:

-computers with Internet

-list of 3 countries to research

-magazines

-pen, pencil, paper

-library books on countries

-library cards

-maps

-copies of list of information to research on

-list of information to research on countries countries

Activity: Students will search for information about three countries they are interested in. They will have a list of information to find out about those countries, including: attractions, events, official language, climate, and best time of year to visit. They will go to the library and use the resources available: Internet, magazines, newspapers, and books.

Steps to follow:

-hand out list of information to find on countries

-go through list. Read and explain so students are

clear on what to do. (5 minutes)

-ask questions on lists if unclear (3 minutes)

-go to library (2 minutes)

-use resources to find information on 3 countries

-ask any questions to teacher (45 minutes)

-be available to help students

-check on their progress

-as a class, discuss most interesting discovery

to summarize class (5 minutes)

 

Lesson: Five

Grade level: 7-9

Language: English

Length of class: 60 minutes

Field of experience: Travel

Subjects to be developed: Things needed to travel

Materials:

-blackboard for concept map

-pen/pencil

-chalk

-paper

Activity: Students will come up with question words and organize travel words as a warm-up activity, to get them thinking about what to ask a travel agents. Students will compile a list of questions they would like to ask a travel agent. Then they will practice asking these questions by role-playing in pairs.

Steps to follow:

-introduce concept map (2 minutes)

-fill in concept map of question words and travel words (8 minutes)

-get students to compile a list of questions

-encourage them to be creative and try to imagine

exactly what they need to know, based on

previous lessons

-work individually, or in small groups, to make questions (15 minutes)

-break into pairs and assign roles (3 minutes)

-tell students when to switch roles (after approx. -role-play interview using list of questions, 10 minutes) then switch roles and repeat (20 minutes)

-start discussion about effectiveness of questions

and role-play -in small groups, discuss questions and role-play (5 minutes)

-as a class, discuss what was learned (7 minutes)

Continuing with the unit...

Following from the second lesson, in which students researched three countries, they will discuss modes of travel. Depending on the country chosen, they may need to learn about plains, trains, buses, boats, or cars. They will talk about their personal experiences and preferences with modes of travel as a starting point. From this discussion, they will brainstorm, as groups, the strengths, weaknesses, expenses, and other relevant information on the modes of travel. They will also imagine that they were going on vacation and brainstorm what would be needed (i.e.: clothing, hygiene, camera, passport, etc.). Then will discuss what is need to get a passport.

The next class, they will compare various travel brochures. The teacher will have a list of countries of destination from the students and bring in brochures based on this list. They will look at the different brochures and determine what information is included and excluded, and what is needed in their own brochure. These will serve as templates for their own creation.

After the role-play of an interview, the students will go out of the class to interview a real travel agents. They will use the list of questions they have generated to find out all the information that is needed to put together a vacation package brochure, the experiential goal. After this, they will create their own vacation package brochure. In it, they will outline all the information that is needed by a person who is interested in going on that vacation. The assessment criteria will have been given previously, so they know exactly what to include. It will also have been explained many times in class with chances to ask questions if something was unclear. Some questions given to help the students will include: Who is the audience? How can you make this interesting and attractive for a vacationer? And How can you grab someone’s attention?

At the end of the unit, the students will reflect on the unit. They will do self and peer evaluations to gauge their learning and the overall benefit of this lesson to their language learning.

Unit Assessment

The teacher will be evaluating by observation continuously throughout the unit. A list of criteria to evaluate the students will be used to do this. It can include many different things that can be added to or filled in, in a variety of ways. Check marks, yes or no’s, a numerical or alphabetical scale, and charting improvement over the course of the unit are some examples. This is an example of what the list could look like:

In working towards the experiential goal, in which of the following areas was the students successful? Check any that apply. (from sample nutrition unit)

 

Meaningful

communication

Use of learning

strategies

Research for

unit

Presentation of

Experiential

goal

Clarity of

message

Student name ü ü ü ü ü

 

Peer evaluation will be done in written form. Students will also have the opportunity to comment verbally after looking at the various brochures created by students. Students will answer these questions and hand them in to the teacher:

What did you like best about this brochure?

What did you learn from this brochure?

What was done to "sell" the vacation package?

What is one suggestion you have for improving this brochure?

Self evaluation will be done in written form as well. Students will be given this on the day that the brochures are due. They will complete them in class and hand them in to the teacher. They will answer these questions:

Which activities were best suited for the way you like to learn?

What did you like best about this unit?

What did you learn from this unit?

Do you like your brochure?

What do you think is the best thing about the brochure?

What is the one things you would change about your brochure?

What is the one thing you would change about this unit?

The teacher will evaluate all four components of the multidimensional unit. This will be done by assigning a letter grade to the following:

1.Communcation with a travel agent, peers, and the teacher about travel and information obtained.

2. Inclusion of events and attractions about the country of choice

3. Proper use of new vocabulary and verb tenses when asking questions, writing, and speaking

4. Use of various models and information gained.

5. Overall impression of work and learning, both effort and final product.

Resources

For the teacher: Local travel agencies for brochure on vacations. Internet and library sources for information on modes of travel, expenses, and other relevant information. Making It Happen.

For the student: Internet ready computers, library resources, travel agencies, art supplies from the school, travel brochures, and their imaginations.

 

References

Richard-Amato, P.A. (1996). Making It Happen. (2nd ed.). White Plains: Addison-Wesley.

Poyen, J. (1990). "National Core French Study Summary Report". Second Languages Bulletin: The Canadian Association of Second Language Teachers.

Sample Nutrition unit. handout.

 

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