cehd.gmu.educehd.gmu.edu/assets/docs/cie/08portfolio/singla portfolio... · Web viewIntern :Pramila Singla Grade Level:12 Title:PLAY-THE HOUR OF TRUTH Date:2 August 2007 I. Objectives

Pramila singla India

MY PORTFOLIO

PRAMILA SINGLA CONTENTS.

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1.STRATEGY SHEETS

2.LESSON PLANS

3.STRATEGIES OF MT FRIENDS

4.SOCIAL SC.ASSIGNMENTS

5.REFLECTIONS A.DR. STEELY B.DR.MEGAN

6.APPENDICE

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Portfolio Strategy Sheet I

Choose a method or strategy that you have learned about or observed during field experience.

1. Name of method or strategy:

Internet research project

2. When is this method or strategy useful?

This strategy is useful when some students want to know more and are ready to

explore.

3. Why or how is this method or strategy useful?

It helps to satisfy inquisitive spirit of the students and helps them to explore

more for getting more information

4. What are the steps involved in using this strategy or method?

While using this strategy, teacher is expected to provide a list of relevant sites

enabling them to pursue research.

5. When would this method or strategy be useful in your setting?

This setting will be useful if my students are having access to Computer.

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6. What would you like other teachers in your school to know about this method or

strategy?

They will be encouraged to prepare an inventory of sites relevant to topics in their

syllabus.

Portfolio Strategy Sheet 2

1 .Name of method or strategy:

Programmed instruction

2 .When is this method or strategy useful?

This strategy is useful when some experts are invited to share their experiences

to give information of practical life thus enriching students with a practical

perspective.


This method helps to satisfy queries of the students about problems of day to

day life.


a. Invite a person with rich experience.

b. Give prior information to the students


When Bureaucratic process and organs of govt are to be focussed

6. What would you like other teachers in your school to know about this

method or strategy?

They should incorporate this strategy

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Mind Mapping


This method is useful when students ‘knowledge needs to be assessed and they

can be focused on the subject matter.


This strategy works well when interaction takes place between teacher and

learner on a platform created out of guided roadmap through questions.

Curious and inquisitive student gets focused and works wonderfully on the

subject matter.


The steps involved are inputs in the form of questions leading students in

desired direction.


This strategy is useful in classrooms where students with varied levels of intellect

are there This mind mapping will help even the average learner to get interested

6. When would you like other teachers in your settings to use this technique?

Other teachers will be given an idea about mind mapping technique and its benefits

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Guided reading


This method is useful when students ‘knowledge needs to be assessed and they

can be focused on the subject matter.


This strategy works well when interaction takes place between teacher and

learner on a platform created out of guided roadmap through questions.

Curious and inquisitive student gets focused and works wonderfully on the

subject matter.


The steps involved are inputs in the form of texts leading students in desired

direction.


This strategy is useful in classrooms where students with varied levels of intellect

are there It will help even the average learner to get interested

6. When would you like other teachers in your settings to use this technique?

Other teachers will be given an idea about its benefits

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Accountable Talk


It’s useful in every lesson and in every type of communication.


It teaches students to:

a. Read actively

b. Listen attentively

c. Speak clearly with appropriate voice

d. Talk to one’s classmates

e. Build one’s ideas on what others have said

f. Strive for understanding

g. Feel free to challenge opinions of others

h. Back up one’s statements


On everyday basis every teacher should encourage students to use words or

expressions of accountable talk.

Here are some of the expressions:

Expressing your opinion or thought: I believe. In my opinion. I just had a

thought. What if…

Responding to a class member’s thought: I agree/disagree with… I’d like to

make a connection… So, in other words, you think that…

Asking for clarification: I need clarification. Could you justify that please? I

need assistance…


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In my classroom I can display the bubbles of accountable talk phrases on the wall

for every student to see, learn, and use regularly.


method or strategy?

It’s a great way to prove oneself to be an active and respectful listener.



Constructing the front page of a newspaper


This strategy is useful if you want to teach a topic in brief, or you want to

reinforce prior knowledge with a little more detail.


This involves students in an activity. The presentation is different and hence they

have to be creative. It also forces them to look at various parts of the front page

of a newspaper and study the layout.


Teacher divides class into groups. Teacher gives students the topics and briefly

explains how he wants them to design the front page of a newspaper. They must

put the information on a chart, which must resemble a front page of a real

newspaper in size and content layout. The students are also encouraged to draw

relevant pictures.


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It would be useful while teaching short topics like enlightenment, erosion by

wind, glaciation, and weather.

12. What would you like other teachers in your school to know about this method or

strategy?

This strategy gets children really excited. It gives opportunity to students of

various intelligence a chance to show their talents. We get the NIE newspaper

for children in school. It gives them a chance to explore its front page

thoroughly.

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Lesson Plan 1

Intern: Pramila Singla Grade Level: 12th Grade

Title :Organs of govt.in U.S.A. Date: 26thJuly ,2007

I. Objectives Students will have clear understanding of the day to day functioning of the govt

They will be in a position to appreciate the structural aspect of different organs

II. Materials for Learning Activities-Chart Paper, Colored pencils Markers

III. Procedures for Learning Activities 1. Teacher divides the class in groups and explains that they will be learning about

the Organs of govt as they have experienced in their day to day life2. The students are given a brief about what they are expected to do. The teacher

will give them time to read a certain part of the chapter. The students will have to make a Mind Map later from the text with the guidance of the teacher.

3. The teacher demonstrates on the chalk board how the mind map will develop.4. The students will write the central idea about the chapter in the center of the page.

Eg.Functioning of different organs.5. They will then make links to this central theme while reading the text and keep

expanding their drawing like a web. 6. Different organs of the govt can be linked to the center while the map will keep

getting bigger.7. After the activity is over the one student from each group will present the group’s

mind map in front of the class.8. The other students will keep adding any missing points on their maps

Finally the teacher will discuss all the points with the students and wind up the chapter

III. Assessment Teacher will prepare a quiz based on following questions

Q1 --What is Legislature?Q2 --Explain the functioning of Executive?Q3 --How does Judiciary function ?Q4-- Who can become the members of Legislature?Q5--Explain the functions of Legislature?Q6--Is our legislature bicameral?

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Q7—Name the two houses of the legislature?

V. Differentiation The teacher asks the students the above questions orally and breaks the questions into smaller parts for students who are not able to answer. Wherever Doubts and ambiguities were there, teacher explains and clarifies so that their understanding becomes clear. The slower students are given a similar activity for practice at home.

VI. Reflection The lesson will enable them to appreciate and understand the functioning of various organs and teacher will be in a position to take care of the differenrtial needs of the students

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LESSON PLAN 2

Intern :Pramila Singla Grade Level: 9th grade

Title: Temperature&Climate Date: 1st Aug 2007

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I. Objectives The students are affected by temperature fluctuations. After reading the lesson and understanding the climate patterns they will be able to do the following

Define all new terms of the chapter Analyze why the temperature keeps on fluctuating List the factors causing changes in the climate

II. Materials for Learning Activities Thematic maps of India Thermometer-Normal&Six’s , LCD projector, Chart paper

III. Procedures for Learning Activities Warm up Activity

The class is divided into two groups Winter and Summer.The teacher asks the students to list down all the ad Jingles that they see and hear on TV related to the temperature patterns. Each group starts listing down the ads and when done they put up the posters on the boards.The teacher then starts with the introduction of the lesson Temperature& climate of India.The students relate the activity to the chapter and realize the differences in temperature in different parts of the country.They will be assigned the task of noting down morning and evening temperatureeitjer from newspaper or TV weather Bulletin ProcedureThe teacher then shows a power point to the students that shows pictures of different weather phenomenon at different times of the year showing how our climate is divided into Hot Weather Season , Cold Weather Season, Advancing Monsoon season and Retreating Monsoon season.The students share their own ideas about what are the temperature patterns they experience during these particular seasons.

IV Assessment-The teacher assigns the task of preparing a quiz to the students. Each one of them will prepare 4 questions and other students will answer. .This will facilitate individual appreciation of the subject matter.

V. Differentiation 1. The teacher will have to keep her pace according to the needs of the students.

2. Individual students should be given the instruments to study & handle them.3. Students who can not do the map work will be taken care of and extra time will be given to them to facilitate their grasping .They can be given FOUR-SQUARE chart to reatain and recapitulate important points.

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5. For collecting weather data teacher should bring newspaper in class & show the students where to find the weather report.

VI. ReflectionThis is an activity based lesson which the students will enjoy. They will be surprised to know that in different parts of the earth there are so many factors which are affecting the Temperature & Climatic conditions. They will also also understand how longitude and latitude affects the temperature pattern.

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Lesson Plan 3

Intern: Pramila Singla Grade Level: !0th Grade

Title: Non cooperation Movement Date: 7/31/07

1 Objectives To make the students aware about the Importance of The concept of Non

cooperation as introduced by Gandhiji 2-To sensitize the students for those who struggled for a bigger cause and

sacrificed their lives.

II. Materials for Learning Activities Photographs of freedom fighters

Power point presentation

Documentaries& movies

Pictures of Gandhiji and other freedom fighters

III. Procedures for Learning Activities1. Teacher will introduce the lesson by showing the photos of freedom fighters

& she will ask the students whether they can recognize them & brief out their

character sketch.

2. She will start the explanation with the explanation of the entry of Gandhi in

the National scene and transformation of the freedom struggle

3. She will give the detailed account of the causes of discontentment against the

Britishers and the colonial rule

4. She will also explain in detail the philosophy of Non cooperation.,Swadeshi

and Boycott

5. Students will be shown the movie-GANDHI. just to have them focused.

6. After the movie Students will be given a quiz as Home assignment

7. On the second day after a recap drill. Power point presentation will be shown.

8. Entire lesson will be taught with the help of the teaching aids mentioned.

Assessment

Multiple choice questions sheet will be given to the students Fill in the Blanks Exercise will judge memory of key words Oral questions will be asked

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V. Differentiation For students with different abilities different exercises will be introduced depending upon their level of understanding.

VI. Reflection This lesson will help students appreciate the importance of freedom in their life . They will also be motivated to work for their country’sprogress.

Lesson Plan 4

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Intern: Pramila Singla Grade XI& XII

Title: The Noble Nature Date 8/4/07

I. Objectives Know about the poet Enjoy reading the poem Critical appreciation of the poem

II. Materials for Learning ActivitiesText bookCollected work of Ben JonsonOHPSlide ProjectorCassette Player

. III Procedures for Learning Activities Discussion on Nature’s Holy Works PPT on Nature with plants and flowers and empty log of wood Brain Storming on present day mentality of the people Recitation of the poem by the teacher and the students Comprehension questions to facilitate critical appreciation Figures of speech (Similie & Metaphor) will be discussed General questions on reflection of the poem

IV Assessment Local comprehension of the poem Critical appreciation of the poem Extended questions related to Importance of qualitative life of NatureThe questions will be assessed on the guidelines provided by CBSEShort Ans. Q Content 1 mark Expression 1MLong Ans. Q Content 4 m. Fluency 3M Accuracy 3 M

III. DifferentiationFor slow learners Questions on understanding the poem ,Collection of poems on the similar theme

For average students-Write about your impressions of the message of the poem .

For Bright studentsWrite poem on the similar themeElocution on ----Noble Works of Nature

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IV. Reflection The students can be taken to the library to search other poets writing on the

same theme. Web resources for more information A street play on Nature and its holy plan can be prepared for general

awareness

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Lesson Plan 5

Intern :Pramila Singla Grade Level:12

Title:PLAY-THE HOUR OF TRUTH Date:2 August 2007

I. Objectives Narration of the story and plot of the drama to facilitate the understanding Character analysis of the protagonist Explanation of the importance of truth in our life Play by the students to facilitate understanding

II. Materials for Learning Activities CBSE text book Movie to be shown on a projector

III. Procedures for Learning Activities The teacher selects students for THE PLAY and assigns them role .They have to use proper modulations and tones to convey emotions at various stage. Remaining students see the performance and learn more about the intricacies of various characters.

IV. Assessment Multiple choice questions to judge their comprehension ability Short and long answer questions Questions on the central character

V. Differentiation

Since the play is enacted by students it gives them ample opportunity to delve deep into the subject matter. Their voice modulations and dialogue delivery helps students to learn better. It offers opportunity to each and every one to comprehend the play.

VI. ReflectionWrite a play from current scenario to emphasize on importance of truth.

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My friends’ Strategy SheetsPortfolio Strategy Sheet (Madhvi Shroff)

1Name of method or strategy:

Group activity with aural and visual presentation

2When is this method or strategy useful?

When you need to cover a wide topic and complete it in a short period of time.

3Why or how is this method or strategy useful?

This strategy develops in the children various skills like reading, talking, writing,

hearing and taking notes. Some students may be good at writing while others at aural

skills. Both are covered by this activity. It is interesting, brings out creativity and

synthesizes information.

4What are the steps involved in using this strategy or method?

Divide class into groups, give them the topic, ask them to research from their

textbooks and fill out worksheets. Then in groups make charts and put them up. Each

group moves around taking notes from other charts. Then there is a presentation from

each group.

5When would this method or strategy be useful in your setting?

When I have to teach various climatic regions

6What would you like other teachers in your school to know about this method or

strategy?

This strategy can be easily implemented when teachers have a lot to cover in a short

period of time. It can be assessed and graded. In history it would lend itself to several

topics like religion, conquerors, political leaders, etc.

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The strategy of Assessment

Senior Novel Project- Final Exam.


This strategy is useful to assess the application skills of students. The student has to read

a novel not read earlier, identify and analyze the character or plot, analyze the author’s

writing style etc. and later even prepare a presentation on it. This involves lot of self

study. Hence it helps to assess student’s understanding without taxing his memory.


It is very useful to make the learner independent. This will help to do away with rote

memorization. This will enable the student to go beyond the textbook. And read more.

Besides the presentation gives an opportunity to speak in front of the class and tests the

extent of comprehension of the student.


Students are given the areas to select the text to work on and final choice is that of the

student.. Step by step instructions about reading the book, details of the character to be

analyzed are given. Tips about prsentation including points allotted and the time frame

are to be specified...


Since the examination instructions are specific, the only place where such assessment

can be incorporated where the teacher is free to conduct an internal exam for Year

work for 20 marks in Grade XI


method or strategyThis strategy can be used by any subject teacher by making

required modifications as per the nature of the subject. It involves lot of research

work on the part of the student. It will enable to improve the student’s confidence

level and make him/her independent.

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RASHMI MAKHIJA

Portfolio Strategy Sheet( Anupama Chadha)

.Topic: figure of speech :onomatopoeia and personification

1 Name of method or strategy:

To teach figures of speech audio visual aids used ,a song sung on

onomatopoeia and personification

2 When is this method or strategy useful?

While teaching figures of speech and identifying them in poems.

3 Why or how is this method or strategy useful?

a. Students usually are very confused especially while reading poetry on

the use of various figures of speech.

b. This method will always help the students in retaining the meaning

and the usage.

i. What are the steps involved in using this strategy or method?

i) the teacher collects the song from the website .

ii) the song contains the appropriate words for identifying onomatopoeia and

personification.

Iii) the teacher plays the songs in the class, at least twice.

iv) gives an exercise to find personification and onomatopoeia in the given

sentences on a worksheet.

ii. When would this method or strategy be useful in your setting?

For teaching figures of speech and differentiating between them and identifying

them.


method or strategy?

The sounds of words in the song are appropriate for the child to retain the

meaning and use of the figure of speech.

This is fun learning .

Strategy sheet (Iryena)

1 Name of method or strategy

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Illustrating a story or text.

2 When is this method or strategy useful?

This method is useful when the teacher wants the students to construct the meaning of what they listen and /or read.


The practice of imagining or mentally visualizing objects, events or situations is a powerful process. As students read and listen to others, they incorporate their knowledge and previous experience to form images of situations, settings, characters and events.

4 What are the steps involved in using this strategy or method?

A great deal of preliminary work precedes this method. Students should be well aware of what they are going to express in visual images. They need good skills of analysis and synthesis as well as abstract thinking. A teacher first checks students` knowledge of the contents, asks them core questions about the main characters and the idea of the book. Then the students select the most important issues that need visualization.

5 When would this method or strategy be useful in your setting?

Every time I work at a story, text, poetry or video I can apply this method in my teaching practice.

6 What would you like other teachers in your school to know about this

method or strategy?

Visualized images extend students` comprehension, enrich their personal interpretations and stimulate unique ideas for oral expression and writing.

Strategy Sheet(Olga)1. Name of method or strategy:

Top Three


This is a good activity for extension of the topic “Professions” as well as

expansion connecting the language classes with other subjects.


It’s a great opportunity to connect the knowledge gained at school with the real

life situations.


St lists three careers that interest him/her. Then they think of one that is possible

but unlikely, one that they would love to do if it only paid well, and one that

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seems a very safe choice. Them they interview someone in each of these careers

(family friends, relatives, etc). The final step is to write a short report and share

what they learnt with the class.


This activity can be used as the final step when studying the topic “Professions.

Careers” with advanced students. Sts can also come up with a wall newspaper as

the wrapping up of this project.


method or strategy?

I would like them to practice it and see its advantages and its disadvantages in

their own classroom.

Portfolio Strategy Sheet (Ruchi Goyal)1. Name of method or strategy:

Graphic Organizers like cluster webs, spider map, Venn diagrams etc.

2. When is this method or strategy useful?When we have to present an entire overview of an issue or a problem & also a closer view of any aspect of it

3. When we have to convert a complex & disorganized information into easily understood, meaningful displays.Why or how is this method or strategy useful?

4. Graphic Organizers help teachers & students organize ideas & concepts. They are flexible & endless in application. They reveal the thought process of the person who creates it.What are the steps involved in using this strategy or method?

5. Discuss with students what graphic organizers are & how they can be used. Use a completed graphic organizer to teach a lesson.

6. Let students help the teacher fill in all the blanks of the organizer.Lastly a big picture of the whole lesson will be created.

7. When would this method or strategy be useful in your setting?Used to break existing mind sets & clarify abstract concepts.

8. Used to list facts, definitions, attributes or examples related to a single topic, concept or theme.Used to link ideas & questions, access prior knowledge, access interests & knowledge & develop probing questions & problems.

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9. What would you like other teachers in your school to know about this method or strategy?I would like to explain them about its importance in the teaching methods & how to use it.

Portfolio Strategy Sheet (Ruchi Goyal)

1. Name of method or strategy:Graffiti Board

2. When is this method or strategy useful?At the end of the unit when we have to review the entire content matter & see whether the students have understood the lesson or not

3. Why or how is this method or strategy useful?This strategy will give the teacher a chance to revise the lesson & when students will write their knowledge gained on the board provided, it will be a sort of reflection of the unit taught.

4. What are the steps involved in using this strategy or method?Divide the class into groups, allot five minutes, give different color markers to each group, they will write their points about the lesson on the board provided to them, rotate the board, reduce the time in each turn, each group will on every board, if information is wrong teacher should correct it.

5. When would this method or strategy be useful in your setting?When teacher has finished the lesson & she want to review the content. This strategy will help the teacher to know the knowledge grasped by the students & their attention span in class.

6. What would you like other teachers in your school to know about this method or strategy?As this is totally a new concept I will have to tell my colleagues its importance & way of using it.


Drill & Quizzes

2. When is this method or strategy useful?At the beginning of the class to warm up the students & enhance curiosity

3. Why or how is this method or strategy useful?At the beginning of the class students are either sleepy or tired of the previous class activities.If we are continuing the previous day lesson students should be given the previous day feedback

4. What are the steps involved in using this strategy or method?Before starting the topic teacher can write five questions on the board as drill.Or she can ask questions orally in the form of quiz.Even written quiz can be given if time permit

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5. When would this method or strategy be useful in your setting?When we have to start a lesson to arouse the interest & curiosity of the students

6. What would you like other teachers in your school to know about this method or strategy?My observation in the US school & its importance


KWLH charts

2. When is this method or strategy useful?It can be used any time at the beginning, in between or at the end of the lesson.

3. Why or how is this method or strategy useful?This strategy is very useful to know the previous knowledge of the student.Future requirement of the student & thus to plan the lesson according to the needsTo know what methods should be used to teach the lesson.

4. What are the steps involved in using this strategy or method?Take a chart divide it into 4 parts. First column will be K means what to Know, second column W means what I Want to know, third column is L means what I have learned & last column is H How to learn.

5. When would this method or strategy be useful in your setting?When the lesson is very vast & complicated, there is too much of information to be given. We want to know the needs of the students & lesson.

6. What would you like other teachers in your school to know about this method or strategy?Importance & way of using the chart

Portfolio Strategy Sheet (Uzma Aamir)1. Name of method or strategy:

Millionaire

2. When is this method or strategy useful?It can be used as a warm up exercise or even as an assessment tool.

3. Why or how is this method or strategy useful?This method can be used to create an interest among students because they are very familiar with the game show Millionaire telecast on TV. The students are willing to play a game anytime and they participate with enthusiasm without realizing that they are actually doing a lesson.

4. What are the steps involved in using this strategy or method?The teacher makes a power-point slide show on the lines of the game show Millionaire. The questions and their choices are displayed on the screen and the students are given a score

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card to answer the questions. They can play as different teams or individually depending on the teacher’s instructions.

5. When would this method or strategy be useful in your setting?This method can be useful to test prior knowledge of the students or even to assess them after completion of the chapter.

6. What would you like other teachers in your school to know about this method or strategy?The teachers should use this method to create an interest among the students and they can use this strategy to give them a revision exercise on what the students have learnt.

Portfolio Strategy Sheet (Rashmi Diwan)


Scaffold instruction - Semantic mapping 2 When is this method or strategy useful?

Semantic maps aid in vocabulary development and retention. They also help in review and help them in using the retained ideas to improve their academic writing ability


For the students overwhelmed by concepts and words, making semantic maps may be a strategy that allows them time to organize information and reflect on meaning. Teachers can gradually increase the cognitive demand of the lesson after first establishing the language proficiency of the students. It is important toallow students to feel successful in the classroom for motivation andcontinued involvement in the learning process Scaffolding requires the teacher to decrease the language demands, provide temporary contextual supports, and maintain high cognitive development. Using semantic mapping is one way to scaffold content instruction for the students.

i. What are the steps involved in using this strategy or method?

Semantic maps can be developed individually, in small groups,or as a class. There may be many drafts of semantic maps as studentsnegotiate meaning and placement of vocabulary.After ascertaining that the information on a semantic map is correct,teachers can utilize them for review purposes. Have a completed semantic

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map on the board or on an overhead. While looking at the visual, havethe students verbalize the information in statement form. “There are twokinds of metamorphoses — complete and incomplete. There are fourstages in a complete metamorphosis….” With practice and continualexposure, the students will be able to focus explicitly on content withoutthinking about correct grammatical structure.Sample of a semantic map.Metamorphosis of InsectsComplete IncompleteFour stages

• Egg• Larva• Pupa• Adult• Born as young animals• No adult organs• (usually) no wings• They molt (shed exoskeletons)

On a subsequent day, have the students re-construct the chart fromtheir collective memories. Fill in the information on the board or overheadas they give their responses. Then, scaffold the information. As theywatch, erase all of the four stages (for example), but leave the first letter.Ask for a volunteer to tell you the stages. Then erase the four stagescompletely. Ask for volunteers to give you the answers. Continue deconstructingand re-constructing the semantic map, forcing students to usetheir memories to fill in the information until it is learned. On another day,ask the students to write a paragraph about the metamorphosis of insects.They can first re-construct the map and use the map as a scaffold for theirwriting. In this way, the students’ writing can be used as an informalassessment of the content as well as their academic writing ability.

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SOCIAL SC. ASSIGNMENTS

`Technology Assignment Rationale

Students are instructed to prepare Digital documentary on Election process in India This activity is chosen as students come across election campaigning ,speeches by political leaders and canvassing by political parties .They also read advertisements of different parties ,role of election commission ,party symbols ,and election meetings in newspapers giving them ample research material to develop a digital documentary.

ObjectivesThis assignment will help student to demonstrate skills for analytical approach including the ability to

Identify, analyze and interpret primary and secondary source and documents records and data and increase understanding of events and life.

Evaluate the credibility of resource Develop skills in discussion ,debate and

persuasive art Interpret the significance of excerpts from

famous speeches and other documents Assignments for students

Representative democracies revolve around efficacy of election processes .For a clear understanding of their role as a citizen They need to understand the process of election and in order to facilitate this understanding they will be given an idea about the party system prevalent in India and the importance of election .This will be followed by a group assignment to develop a

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A DIGITAL DOCUMENTARY on the Election process in IndiaSelect and research Election scheduleo gather research and maintain a working/annotated bibliographyo analyze and select information for inclusionPrepare for interviews of Leaders of different partieso conduct background researcho prepare interview questionso conduct, record, and analyze the interviewTell the storyo create storyboard and narrative/scripto develop “point of view”o identify and cite supporting documentationProductiono create film rough drafto add special media effects, transitions, audiovisual extras, etc.o edit final documentary,It should not be more than 5-6 minutes durationEvaluate the final productso premier documentaries and enjoy the hard work of all filmmakersSites to be used for this purpose

1 www.countercurrents.org/indiaelections.htm 2 www. indiatogether.org /govt/ elections 3 www. indian-elections.com 4 www. indian-elections.com /electionfaqs 5 timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/.../6 www. eci.gov.in

Apart from these sites they will also refer to the bookFrank Concise Social Science

It will help Students to understand better the grassroot level functioning of democracy

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http://www.indiatogether.org/govt/elections

http://www.eci.gov.in/

http://www.indian-elections.com/electionfaqs

http://www.indian-elections.com/


Project Assignment( Mdhavi)Technology Assignment

WebquestTopic: Climatic Regions of the WorldRationale:

90% of the children in my school have computer and internet access at home.

This method will enable structured browsing of the internet and guided research

For the above topic, webquest seems most suitable The students can then make PowerPoint Presentations and

explain to class

Objectives: To involve students in critical thinking To guide students to undertake research on the internet and

analyze the information To enable students to learn group work, cooperation and

coordination To enable students to create a PowerPoint to improve students’ presentation skills

Procedure: Teacher divides class into groups of 5 and assigns each group

a different climatic region (E.g. Equatorial Region, Tropical Desert Region, Temperate Grasslands, Savannah Grasslands, Tundra Region, etc.)

Teacher introduces the topic and shows the various regions on a world map on the OHP

Each group is then given separate assignment sheets

An example of an assignment sheet is given below:

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Assignment for students

Topic: Tropical Desert Regions

Introduction:This region is found on the western sides of all the continents, around 30o to 35o N & S of the Equator. This is the most arid region in the world and experiences the highest diurnal range of temperature.

Task: Find out the obstacles to development faced by this region. How have they managed to progress in spite of the above

mentioned problems?

Process: Find out the hindrances related to climate, physical features,

natural vegetation, exploitation of minerals, industrial development, agriculture and other occupations.

Find out the kind of progress in this region and how was it possible.

Make a PowerPoint presentation on your topic Include a world map showing the region Each student must then explain the slides and present the

topic to the class Divide the presentation equally in the group Also submit a folder contain the detailed explanation that

each student would be presenting Design a short quiz for the other students to answer after

the presentation The entire presentation must not exceed 20 minutes The presentation will be followed by questions from your

peers and then a viva

Resources:www.marietta.edu/~biol/biomes/desert.htmhttp://library.thinkquest.org/16645/the_land/sahara_desert.shtmlhttp://www.extremescience.com/DriestPlace.htmwww.uwsp.edu/geo/faculty/ritter/geog101/textbook/climate_systems/tropical_desert.html

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http://www.uwsp.edu/geo/faculty/ritter/geog101/textbook/climate_systems/tropical_desert.html

http://www.uwsp.edu/geo/faculty/ritter/geog101/textbook/climate_systems/tropical_desert.html

http://www.extremescience.com/DriestPlace.htm

http://library.thinkquest.org/16645/the_land/sahara_desert.shtml

http://library.thinkquest.org/16645/the_land/sahara_desert.shtml

http://www.marietta.edu/~biol/biomes/desert.htm


http://magma.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0308/feature3/?fs=www3.nationalgeographic.com&fs=plasma.nationalgeographic.comhttp://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761555808/Kalahari_Desert.html

Conclusion:The aim behind this project is to find out what are the accomplishments of the people of this region, in spite of several hindrances.

33

http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761555808/Kalahari_Desert.html

http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761555808/Kalahari_Desert.html

http://magma.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0308/feature3/?fs=www3.nationalgeographic.com&fs=plasma.nationalgeographic.com




Unit Lesson Plan

CONCEPTUAL OVERVIEW

TOPIC---THE FRENCH REVOLUTION GRADE-- IX STANSARD UNIT OBJECTIVES Students would be made familiar with extracts of

Speeches, Political declarations, as well as the politics of caricatures, posters and engravings. Students would learn how to interpret these kinds of historical evidences.

Familiarize students with names of people involved, the different types of ideas that inspired the revolution, the wider forces that shaped it

Show how written, oral and visual material can be used to recover the history of revolutions.

Discuss the critical significance of Key words LIBERTY,EQUALITY &FRATERNITY

Familiarize students with the age of ENLIGHTENMENT

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS

Q 1 What is the significance of French revolution?

Q 2 What was the impact of Enlightenment ideas on the outbreak of The revolution?

Q 3 Explain the impact of American war of independence on the spirit of revolutionaries?

Q4 Who were Voltaire and Rousseau? How were their ideas revolutionary?

Q 5 What was the legacy of the French Revolution?

OUTLINE OF UNITPLAN

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DAY ONE- Introduction about French revolution and crises in the ancient regime

DAY TWO- The spirit of enlightenment

DAY THREE-The impact of American War of Independence

DAY FOUR- The Countdown & The first phase of revolution

DAY FIVE- The second &third phase of revolution

DAY SIX- Legacy of the revolution

LESSON PLANS AND ACTIVITIES

DAY ONE- Introduction about French revolution and crises in the ancient regime

Introduction with the help of Power point presentation presenting pictures of the then French society.

Crises in the Ancient Regime The First estate The Second estate The Third estate Finances & taxation Drawbacks in Governance

DAY TWO - The spirit of enlightenment

Philosophical movement emphasizing on the use of reason Contributions of Montesquieu , Voltaire Rousseau

Pictures of these leaders will be shown and they will be assigned Blog Activity to share informations with their friends after reading from these sites

www.utm.edu/research/iep/r/ rousseau .htm

www2.lucidcafe.com/lucidcafe/library/96jun/rousseau

.htmlwww.voltaire.ox.ac.uk

35

http://www.utm.edu/research/iep/r/rousseau.htm


www.kirjasto.sci.fi/voltaire.htm

www.rjgeib.com/thoughts/ montesquieu / montesquieu

www.montesquieu.com

DAY THREE-The impact of American War of Independence

Article with various scenes depicting the American war of independence will be circulated and students will read it in fifteen minutes accompanied with explanations from teacher .After reading they will be given a questionnaire to comprehend their understanding.

DAY FOUR -The Countdown & The first phase of revolution

Role of Louis XV

Turgot & Jacques Necker

Oath of tennis court

Fall of Bastille

Focus will be on these points and they will be explained with the help of OHP

DAY FIVE The second &third phase of revolution

Achievements of National Assembly

End of Monarchy

Jacobins and Reign of Terror

The explanation will help the students to understand the sufferings involved and sacrifices

It will clarify the importance of hard earned legacy of democratic spirit

DAY SIX- Legacy of the revolution

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http://www.rjgeib.com/thoughts/montesquieu/montesquieu


Weakening of Aristocracy Bourgeoisie and their access to careers Beginning of Modern states Key principles of

LIBERTY,EQUALITY&FRATERNITY

SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT

For bright students

Assignment to prepare a Web quest &Power point presentation on the importance of French revolution

For average students

Quiz and long answer questions will be given.

For Slow learners

Ppt. presentations of students will be shown and short answer questions along with the glossary based will be given

UNIT RATIONALE

The French revolution was one of the most significant revolution of Europe. Various reasons led to the outbreak of revolution. Fall of Bastille became the symbol of revolution .Declaration of Rights and civil liberties set the platform for fundamental rights in modern society.Legacy of French revolution has stirred the colonial people everywhere and they were motivated to launch a struggle for their independence.

Such was the impact of French revolution .Teaching students these things which they can establish connections with will be a fantastic and stimulating experience.

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My Philosophy( As a SOCIAL SC. TEACHER)The world is changing at an accelerated pace.

Profound technological innovations &globalization processes have further reduced distances making the world a global village and enhancing the accessibility While distances are

reduced ,divergences have become wider in societies like India where multicultural,

multiethnic and multi lingual social fabric calls for a process of social transformation. In the

backdrop of this reality, my role as Social Science teacher becomes important. Today the

young learners are at a transitional phase of their life. We need to provide them a

comprehensive view of society, so that the young learners of today can shoulder the

responsibilities of tomorrow. Merely knowledge of natural sciences won't suffice. They need to have an understanding of behavioral processes where instincts &emotions play a prominent role and energies need to be channelized in desired

directions.

38


IN this perspective my philosophy revolves around following points

*To develop amongst the youth an understanding of the processes of change and development--both in terms of time & space through which human societies have evolved,

*TO enable them to appreciate the diversity in the land and people of the country with its underlying unity

*to understand and cherish the values enshrined in the constitution and to prepare the learners for their role and responsibilities as effective citizens of a democratic country

to aid in acquiring knowledge, skills and the understanding to face the challenges of contemporary society as individuals and groups.

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APPENDICE

Tips on Implementation

Compared with traditional teaching methods, the jigsaw classroom has several advantages:

Most teachers find jigsaw easy to learn Most teachers enjoy working with it It can be used with other teaching strategies It works even if only used for an hour per day It is free for the taking

Too good to be true? Well, yes and no. It would be misleading to suggest that the jigsaw sessions always go smoothly. Occasionally, a dominant student will talk too much or try to control the group. How can we prevent that? Some students are poor readers or slow thinkers and have trouble creating a good report for their group. How can we help them? At the other end of

Overview of the Technique History of the Jigsaw Classroom Jigsaw in 10 Easy Steps Tips on Implementation Books and Articles Related to the Jigsaw Technique Chapter 1 of Aronson's Book "Nobody Left to Hate: Teaching Compassion After Columbine" Links on Cooperative Learning and School Violence About Elliot Aronson and This Web Site

http://www.jigsaw.org/about.htm


http://www.jigsaw.org/links.htm


http://www.jigsaw.org/chapter1.htm



http://www.jigsaw.org/articles.htm


http://www.jigsaw.org/tips.htm

http://www.jigsaw.org/steps.htm

http://www.jigsaw.org/history.htm

http://www.jigsaw.org/overview.htm

http://www.jigsaw.org/

















the talent continuum, some students are so gifted that they get bored working with slower students. Is the jigsaw technique effective with them? In some cases, students may never have experienced cooperative learning before. Will the jigsaw technique work with older students who have been trained to compete with one another? All of these problems are real but not fatal.

The Problem of the Dominant Student

Many jigsaw teachers find it useful to appoint one of the students to be the discussion leader for each session, on a rotating basis. It is the leader's job to call on students in a fair manner and try to spread participation evenly. In addition, students quickly realize that the group runs more effectively if each student is allowed to present her or his material before question and comments are taken. Thus, the self interest of the group eventually reduces the problem of dominance.

The Problem of the Slow Student

Teachers must make sure that students with poor study skills do not present an inferior report to the jigsaw group. If this were to happen, the jigsaw experience might backfire (the situation would be akin to the untalented baseball player dropping a routine fly ball with the bases loaded, earning the wrath of teammates). To deal with this problem, the jigsaw technique relies on "expert" groups. Before presenting a report to their jigsaw groups, each student enters an expert group consisting of other students who have prepared a report on the same topic. In the expert group, students have a chance to discuss their report and modify it based on the suggestions of other members of their expert group. This system works very well. In the early stages, teachers may want to monitor the expert groups carefully, just to make sure that each student ends with an accurate report to bring to her or his jigsaw group. Most teachers find that once the expert groups get the hang of it, close monitoring becomes unnecessary.

The Problem of Bright Students Becoming Bored

Boredom can be a problem in any classroom, regardless of the learning technique being used. Research suggests, however, that there is less boredom in jigsaw classrooms than in traditional classrooms. Youngsters in jigsaw classes report liking school better, and this is true for the bright students as well as the slower students. After all, being in the position of a teacher can be an exciting change of pace for all students. If bright students are encouraged to develop the mind set of "teacher," the learning experience can be transformed from a boring task into an exciting challenge. Not only does such a challenge produce psychological benefits, but the learning is frequently more thorough.

The Problem of Students Who Have Been Trained to Compete

Research suggests that jigsaw has its strongest effect if introduced in elementary school. When children have been exposed to jigsaw in their early years, little more than a "booster shot" (one hour per day) of jigsaw in middle school and high school is required to maintain the benefits of cooperative learning. But what if jigsaw has not been used in elementary school? Admittedly, it is an uphill battle to introduce cooperative learning to 16-year olds who have never before experienced it. Old habits are not easy to break. But they can be broken, and it is never too late to

begin. Experience has shown that although it generally takes a bit longer, most high school students participating in jigsaw for the first time display a remarkable ability to benefit from the cooperative structure.

In Conclusion

Some teachers may feel that they have already tried a cooperative learning approach because they have occasionally placed their students in small groups, instructing them to cooperate. Yet cooperative learning requires more than seating youngsters around a table and telling them to share, work together, and be nice to one another. Such loose, unstructured situations do not contain the crucial elements and safeguards that make the jigsaw and other structured cooperative strategies work so well.

For additional information, see Elliot Aronson's Jigsaw Basics(To read this file you will need Adobe Acrobat, which can be downloaded free here).

Content Copyright 2000-2007, Elliot AronsonWeb Site Copyright 2000-2007, Social Psychology Network

http://www.socialpsychology.org/

http://aronson.socialpsychology.org/

http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html

http://www.jigsaw.org/pdf/basics.pdf

http://www.jigsaw.org/

Strategies of Social Science

Pre-Reading Strategies

These strategies are designed to activate prior knowledge and encourage students’ skills in predicting.

HERE AND NOW – give students an image (e.g. photograph, political cartoon, etc.) or a short reading, preferably a primary document like a letter. Have students spend no more than five minutes composing a reaction to the image or reading. Students can share responses and/or teachers can use the image or text to prompt a class discussion.

SKIM, SCAN, AND PREDICT – this strategy is useful with a textbook reading. Have students examine the following in a textbook chapter or section of a chapter:

o Title of chaptero Subtitleso Imageso Mapso Graphs, chartso Bold-face wordso Items in textboxes or sidebars

Then have students read the first and last paragraphs of the chapter or section of the chapter. Students should then fill out the “Skim & Scan” chart. After students are finished, engage the class in a discussion asking them to predict what they will learn or what is most important about the topic.

First Impressions Fast Facts Final Thoughts

WORD WALL – this is an ongoing class project. Emphasizing key vocabulary is a good way to reinforce learning in social studies and some of this vocabulary can be classified as “high-utility” vocabulary, meaning that these are words used frequently in social studies. Students write these words down on colorful paper and post them on the “Word Wall” in the classroom. The words can be arranged in a variety of ways – as simple as an alphabetical listing or they can categorize the words building on the strategy of “LIST, GROUP, & LABEL.”

PREDICT-O-GRAM – prior to teaching a lesson or having students reading a section of text, list key words they will encounter (including people, places, events, and vocabulary). Have students use the words to do one or more of the following:

o Create a story using the wordso Predict the topic they will study and specific events associated with the

topico Ask questions about specific items

ANTICIPATION GUIDE – this is a good way to get students thinking about controversial topics or evaluating their beliefs, attitudes, and/or values. Teachers compose a series of statements regarding an issue they are about to teach. Students respond by circling whether they agree or disagree with each statement, adding comments to explain their choice. Students can then predict what they are about to study and teachers can use student response to gauge student attitudes and to prompt future discussions.

CONCEPT LADDER – this is a graphic organizer that poses a series of questions to students. Teachers can create the questions or students can pose them. Regardless, the questions grow in complexity until students have reached the top rung of the ladder. This is a great way to assess students’ prior knowledge and the questions can be referred to throughout the unit of study to reinforce learning.

*All of the above strategies were found in or adapted from those found in Janet Allen’s book Reading History: A Practical Guide to Improving Literacy (2005).

KNOWLEDGE RATING (for vocabulary) – this is a good way to assess students’ prior knowledge. Give students a list of vocabulary words (no more than 10) and have them note whether they “know it,” “don’t know it,” or are “not sure” whether they know it. Regardless of their rating, have them create a definition for each word.

K-W-L- CHART – give students a few minutes at the beginning of a new unit to list what they know (K), what they want to know (W), and what they have learned (L) about the topic you are about to teach.

During Reading Strategies

GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS – these are very helpful in guiding students as they read text, emphasizing key points and vocabulary. Graphic organizers are also helpful in modeling note-taking skills. The emphasis on visual learning is useful in making the content more meaningful for students.

GUIDED READING QUESTIONS – although these may seem to be passé, some students find them helpful. Composed correctly, guided reading questions and their correct answers can be later used to study for formal assessments. Use this strategy with care, however, as students may feel compelled to scan for answers, thereby missing key elements of the assigned reading.

SQ3R (SURVEY, QUESTION, READ, RECITE, REVIEW) – this builds on the pre-reading strategy of skimming and scanning.

o Survey – have students scan the subtitles, images, and textboxes and skim the reading. Then have them predict three things (or more if you want) they think they will learn.

o Question – turn each subtitle into a question and record any bold-typed words into a chart.

o Read - students answer the questions they created and define the words they listed as they read.

o Recite – have students compare their answers with a partner and write a summary of what they have read.

o Review – allow students to work independently or with a partner. Using the questions they created and the terms they highlighted, have students see if they can answer the questions or define the terms while not looking at the answers.

HIGHLIGHTING MAIN IDEAS – this is most useful when students can write on what they are reading. Have students use a highlighter or a pen with a color different from the text they are reading. As they read have them highlight key people, terms, and events. They can even code these (e.g. circle key people; box key events; and underline key terms). After they are finished highlighting, have them bullet the main ideas from the reading.

FIND THE EVIDENCE – this activity teaches students to support main ideas and to foster critical thinking. Teachers compose a list of factual statements about the topic they are teaching. Students must then read the textbook or supplementary reading looking for evidence to support each statement, bulleting the evidence under each statement to late be shared with the rest of the class.

Y-NOTES – this is a useful strategy for helping students compare and contrast information. Have students divide a piece of paper in half to record their notes. On one side, have them record information pertaining to one topic (e.g. Hitler) and on the other side have them record information pertaining to the other topic (e.g. Stalin). When they are finished, have them scan their notes for similarities and record those beneath the two columns. *source: McDougal Littell’s Reading Toolkit for Social Studies

R.E.A.P. (Read, Encode, Annotate, and Ponder) – this guided reading activity helps prepare students for class discussions and other activities that engage the entire class. Students do the following:

o Read the text on their owno Encode – take notes on what they have read, but put notes in their own

wordso Annotate – write down main ideas, key terms, quotations, etc.o Ponder – think about what they have read; talk about what they have read

with a peer; try to make connections with what they know, have experienced or read before; and record questions they may still have about the topic.

*source: Reading History: A Practical Guide to Improving Literacy by Janet Allen (2005), pp. 67-69.

Post-Reading Strategies

STORY BOARDS – these are a great way to review key events and are especially useful as a cooperative learning activity. Students must recreate an event using pictures only and they are limited to 3 to 6 frames in order to do so. They may incorporate conversation bubbles or really short captions, but the emphasis needs to be on the visual components.

ILLUSTRATED TIMELINES – this activity can be completed by individuals, pairs, or groups and they do not necessarily need dates. Students pull the main events from a time period and create a chronology highlighting each with a brief description and illustration.

FACT V. OPINION – have students compose a list of facts they learned from a reading, recording the facts in one column on a two-column chart. On the second column, have students record opinions associated with the topic (either those they developed or those they read about).

FRAYER MODEL – this is useful for reinforcing and summarizing “big picture” topics or themes you have been teaching. Using the Frayer Model graphic organizer, have students define the topic/theme, list characteristics of

the topic/theme, and then list both examples and non-examples that illustrate the topic/theme.

WEBS & CONCEPT MAPS – these can actually be used at any time in class (before, during, or after a reading). Provide students with a topic or theme and have them build on

that topic/theme by adding key details associated with it. STUDENT CENTERED STRATEGIES

1. Socratic Seminar - It is a group discussion.

Questions prepared beforehand, leader

moderates the seminar, sit in a circular fashion

(intro questions, core questions, end questions)

Students discuss various aspects of the text, go

beyond the text, agree, disagree. Points are

allotted for participation, supporting points with

details from the text and submitting the details of the seminar.

2. Student Presenatations - About their country, family, food habits etc.

Students use power point.

3. Creative Writing related to the text studied - Writing a story, writing a

ballad after ballad is taught in the class and presenting it before the class.

4. Research-Finding information or texts from the internet - Writing a

paragraph about the poem downloaded.

5. Student report of the guest lecture - Inviting the Mayor to discuss topics

related to social studies curriculum and asking students to write a report

about it.

6. Maps of different countries- students are told to collect information

about different countries. Teacher puts up the map on the board. Students

put up the information collected on the map.

7. Mind Mapping 8. Desert Island Activity -. Students decide the flag, rules, Forming a

government etc.

9. Utopia - Based on the lesson taught. Imagine how the place would be like.

10.Pictionary - Make own definitions, explain words

11.Writing experiences - eg Bullying

12. Chain Story writing- important words to be written on the blackboard

and students write a story.

13. Class room quiz- One group of

students prepare questions and

other group answers.

14. Choosing a picture - narrating

the related part.

15. Sequence Chart- Drawing the

sequence of the story which helps for recapitulation.

16.Enactment of a scene - Create the situation and enact the scene to

explain new concepts. Eg Dowry.

17. Personal Album-Collection of stories and other details for the album

18. Four Square Writing Strategy

Reason Reason

Conclusion Reason

19. Guided Reading and Thinking- Book connection exercise. 1. Teacher

gives extract from the book and students connect it with self,another book,

world. 2. Books are given to students, they select extract and check any of

the above connections.

20. Use of drawing to teach

21. Use of games- Name of a celebrity is given to the teacher, students ask

yes-no questions.

22. Jeopardy- Element of gambling. Students earn money for correct answer.

23. Personal Coat of arms-

Student’s greatest success

Greatest failure

One year plan

Ten year plan

Dream

Motto

Symbol

24. Vocabulary Building with the help of newspapers.

25. KWL Concept26. Self Study-Questions are given to students. They take the prescribed book

and find the answers

MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCE This theory put forth by Howard Gardner in 1983 was discussed by

Dr. Shahrokhi in two sessions. We were told about the eight different intelligence

put forth by Gardner.

Linguistic intelligence ("word smart"):

Logical-mathematical intelligence ("number/reasoning smart")

Spatial intelligence ("picture smart")

Bodily-Kinesthetic intelligence ("body smart")

Musical intelligence ("music smart")

Interpersonal intelligence ("people smart")

Intrapersonal intelligence ("self smart")

Naturalist intelligence ("nature smart")

Source: http://www.thomasarmstrong.com/multiple_intelligences.htm

We were given sheets to assess which of our intelligences are strong and which

were weak. We also discussed a unit in a group as to how the lesson shpuld be

conducted in class to cater to students with different intelligences.

COOPERATIVE LEARNING This concept was introduced by Dr Steeley in one of her sessions with the help

of an activity. She explained the principles of this concept.

P- Positive Interdependence

I – Interactive

E-Educational

S- Structure

The main session was conducted by Dr. Anders on. She discussed the features

of this concept through an activity. The session was interesting.

LIFESTYLES INVENTORYDr Shahrokhi conducted a session where the LSI Inventory was given to us. We

took the test and the purpose was to enable us to understand ourselves better.

This would help us to analyze our strong and weak areas. This will enable us to

work on our weak areas and strengthen our strong areas to emerge as a better

personality. Effective self management will lead to better management of

organizations.

ACTION PLAN

http://www.thomasarmstrong.com/multiple_intelligences.htm

Mr Bauers helped us to draft an action plan. We had to select an area that we

would like to work on in our institution. The entire problem was analyzed well.

The factors which would make the plan a fiasco were discussed and he

effectively made us come up with our action plans. His sessions were immensely

interesting, interactive and were replete with activities. Indirectly he put across

the qualities of an effective leader.

CBE Program Information Guide Series, Number 12, Summer 1991

COOPERATIVE LEARNING IN THE SECONDARY SCHOOL: Maximizing Language Acquisition, Academic Achievement, and Social Development. Daniel D. Holt; Barbara Chips; Diane Wallace

INTRODUCTION

The value of cooperative learning has been recognized throughout human history. Organizing individuals to work in support of one another and putting the interests of the group ahead of one's own are abilities that have characterized some of the most successful people of our time. Group learning, with its roots in ancient tribal customs, has traditionally been a part of educational practice. Its effectiveness has been documented through hundreds of research studies (Johnson & Johnson, 1986; Kagan, 1986; Slavin, 1988). Cooperative learning is now widely recognized as one of the most promising practices in the field of education. During much of its history, however, cooperative learning methodology was developed in settings where few, if any, of the students came from non-English language backgrounds. When many of the originators of cooperative learning emphasized the importance of heterogeneity in forming groups, it is doubtful that they envisioned a classroom where non-English speakers and native English speakers were members of the same group. Yet, such a classroom is becoming the rule rather than the exception (Olsen & Chen, 1988).

Cultural and linguistic diversity in the student population has profound implications for education. The learning climate of the classroom is affected by the nature of the interactions among students. In a culturally diverse classroom, students reflect a variety of attitudes toward and expectations of one another's abilities and styles of behavior. Without structures that promote positive interactions and strategies for improving relationships, students remain detached from one another, unable to benefit from the resources their peers represent. Teachers and students need strategies that manage cultural and linguistic diversity in positive ways, strategies that channel peer influence into a positive force for improving school performance. Further, to reach students from diverse cultural backgrounds, teachers need multiple alternatives to the prevalent pattern where teachers do most of the talking and directing in the classroom (see McGroarty, in press).

Cooperative Learning for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students

This publication is about the potential of cooperative learning techniques for helping educators transform diversity into a vital resource for promoting secondary students' acquisition of challenging academic subjects. Assumptions underlying cooperative learning for secondary English language learners are briefly described, as well as what we know about how cooperative learning can be used to maximize the acquisition of a second language, of content, and of the development of interpersonal skills. Examples of cooperative structures and activities for students at the secondary level are presented, and a sample world history unit for Grade 10 is provided.

Cooperative learning has become popular for many reasons. It adds variety to the teacher's repertoire. It helps teachers manage large classes of students with diverse needs. It improves academic achievement and social development. It prepares students for increasingly interactive workplaces. However, one of its most powerful, long-lasting effects may be in making school a more humane place to be by giving students stable, supportive environments for learning. This guide is written with the hope that increasing numbers of students will experience the personal and academic growth that comes through learning, persevering, and maturing with others.

Cooperative Learning and Effective Instructional Practices

In this Program Information Guide, the term "students from diverse language backgrounds" refers to three categories of students. One group is English-only (EO); that is, they are students who have learned English as their primary language. Another group consists of English language learners (ELL); these students have a primary language other than English and are currently engaged in learning English. A third group is English proficient (EP); these students have a primary language other than English but are proficient in English.

When students from these categories are placed in the same secondary classroom, their linguistic and cultural diversity creates tremendous challenges for teachers. Effective responses to this diversity include strategies that link the students in mutually supportive ways and provide them with multiple, varied, and equal opportunities to acquire content and language. Learning cooperatively in teams where "all work for one" and "one works for all" gives students the emotional and academic support that helps them to persevere against the many obstacles they face in school. Not only do cooperative teams give students additional motivation to stay in school and improve academically, they also help them learn the skills that they will need for the increasingly interactive workplaces of the future.

This guide suggests many different ways to use cooperative teams in order to accelerate the learning of students from diverse language backgrounds. Teachers will find activities that can be used during a five-minute, fifty-minute, or five-week period of time. Students will benefit from participation in both short-term and long-term experiences in cooperative teams. However, being a member of a team that stays together over an extended period of time may provide students some of the greatest potential for language, academic, and social growth. For example, a cooperative team may stay intact for an entire academic year or even several successive years. D. W. Johnson has pointed out the many benefits of long-term participation in base groups. For more on the use of base groups in cooperative learning, see Johnson, Johnson, and Holubec (1988).

Perhaps the optimal cooperative environment is created by teachers who use a variety of teams for various purposes. For example, a student might be a member of several teams; one for short-term, intermittent purposes, such as planning an outing for the class; another for specific content

areas like those in the sample unit in this guide; and still another as a home team or "base group" that meets on a regular basis to deal with members' personal and academic needs (Johnson, Johnson, & Holubec, 1988). In order to add stability and support to the students' school experience, the membership of the base group would remain constant for a semester, a year, or as long as is practical.

Long-term, consistent participation in the same team ensures that individual students will have peers who are concerned about their success in school. Sustained work in heterogeneous, cooperative teams helps students acquire the skills necessary for working effectively with people of different ethnic, racial, and linguistic backgrounds. When conflict arises among team members, students need to learn how to resolve it and grow from it, rather than trying to move to another team, get rid of the "problem" member, or pretend that the conflict is not there. Participation in a home team or base group enables secondary school students to view conflict as a positive force, moving the team members to a higher level of individual maturity and group cohesion.

COOPERATIVE LEARNING IN THE SECONDARY SCHOOL: MEETING STUDENTS' NEEDS

Secondary English language learners (Grades 7-12), especially recent immigrants, face major difficulties in acquiring English. They arrive in the United States at eleven to eighteen years of age with different levels of literacy, education, and language proficiency. The following is a description of some of the differences among ELL students and between ELL students and their native English-speaking peers.

Compared with elementary students, secondary ELL students have fewer years to acquire the English language essential to success in their required subjects. The demands of the curriculum and the short time available for learning English put secondary ELL students significantly behind their native English-speaking peers in academic achievement (Collier, 1987; Minicucci & Olsen, 1992). Recent statistics show that the middle school is the beginning of a high rate of dropouts (Minicucci, 1985; Olsen & Chen, 1988). Despite these obstacles, research tells us that secondary students do have some advantages in acquiring English. Cummins (1981) states:

Older learners who are more cognitively mature and whose L1 (native language) proficiency is better developed would acquire cognitively demanding aspects of L2 (second language) proficiency more rapidly than younger learners. The only area where research suggests older learners may not have an advantage is pronunciation, which, significantly, appears to be one of the least cognitively demanding aspects of both L1 and L2 proficiency. (p. 29)

Many secondary students arrive better able to comprehend and speak English than read and write it. Others may be able to understand the written word but have little or no ability to comprehend oral English. Finally, secondary students enter U.S. schools with varying levels of education in their native language. Some arrive with no prior education; others arrive with levels of education equal or superior to those of native English speakers. Research shows that students with strong academic and linguistic skills in their first or native language will acquire a second language more easily than those with weaker skills (Cummins, 1981).

Maximizing Language Acquisition

Why should middle and high school teachers use cooperative learning in their classrooms? Secondary students need the maximum amount of time possible for comprehending and using the

English language in a low-risk environment in order to approach the language proficiency level of their peers. Cooperative learning provides the structure for this to happen. Teachers should consider the question, "What is the best use of my students' time?" With approximately thirty students in a classroom who can interact and negotiate meaning, a teacher needs to take advantage of this environment for language acquisition. Reading and writing answers to questions can be done at home, thereby providing more time in the classroom for interactive, cooperative structures in which students are learning from each other.

In cooperative teams, students with lower levels of proficiency can interact with students with higher levels in order to negotiate the meaning of content. Preliterate students can begin to build a strong foundation in oral proficiency as they acquire literacy skills. All students can receive maximum practice in language and interpersonal skills necessary for participation in higher education or the job market.

Maximizing Content Learning

Secondary school students face demanding academic tasks. These students must make acceptable scores on English language proficiency tests. They also take a number of standardized English language tests in reading, mathematics, and science. In order to graduate, they must earn the required number of high school credits. Each of these tasks requires a thorough knowledge of English. Unfortunately, many students lack the English language and test-taking skills required to do well on these tasks.

Secondary students' daily schedules also present a major challenge. Students take from five to seven classes a day, many of which may be taught entirely in English. Trying to make sense of academic subjects taught in a language other than one's own is exhausting for just a few minutes, let alone for five or six hours of instruction. In addition, subjects such as physical science, chemistry, world cultures, economics, algebra, and geometry require high levels of academic language. Most secondary level programs do not provide ELL students with access to these courses in their primary language, so they must obtain this subject matter through specialized, content-based English instruction (also referred to as sheltered) or through instruction aimed at EO students in mainstream settings. Added to these demands is the high reading level of most secondary texts and materials.

Preliterate students have an exceedingly difficult time being successful with the typical middle and high school course offerings. Their problems multiply greatly in content courses that rely on academic language proficiency in English. Meeting graduation requirements during the normal high school time frame is a nearly impossible task for the preliterate student.

ELL students who enter school for the first time in this country at the high school level with hopes of going directly to a college or university upon graduation face even more significant problems. These students must take classes designated for college credit, many of which may be beyond their language ability. They may be able to handle the content in their primary language, but not in English. Educators need to respond to these problems by using the best instructional strategies, such as cooperative learning, to provide all students access to academic subjects required for graduation.

Maximizing Social Development

The social development needs of ELL students entering the secondary school are different from those of elementary children. By middle and high school, student peer groups are well-defined. ELL students find it exceedingly difficult to be accepted into these well-established groups. Research shows that children frequently choose friends from within their own ethnic group. Furthermore, friends are often selected from within these groups based on their length of residence in the United States. At the secondary level, these friendship patterns often result in conflict within and between ethnic groups (see Ogbu & Matute-Bianchi, 1986). ELL students encounter additional problems when dealing with a new culture and peer expectations. Pressures among adolescents related to drugs, sex, and gang violence present ELL students with special difficulties. These issues may push children into further isolation from the mainstream of the school.

Another adjustment for many secondary ELL students is that of handling academic requirements at school while being responsible for a job or family obligations and demands. These commitments give students little time to complete school-related tasks. Older immigrant children have often endured years of trauma in their lives. Since children typically learn English and social skills faster than their parents, they often become intermediaries between their parents and society, a difficult role to play.

In response to these social development needs, cooperative learning offers the secondary student numerous benefits. Cooperative structures give ELL students the chance to develop positive, productive relationships with both majority and minority students. Through cooperative learning, students serve as teachers of other students or as experts on certain topics. Cooperative teams may offer some students the academic support that will help them find success. The lack of stimulating classes, the lack of interested, caring adults, and peer pressures are reasons given by many students for dropping out of school. Cooperative learning may lead to peer friendships and support, thereby preventing students from dropping out and instead motivating them to succeed academically and socially.

Cooperative learning cannot solve all of the problems discussed above. It does, however, offer teachers ways to respond to students who represent a wide range of abilities. It provides a structure for providing content support for students from many different language backgrounds. It gives students opportunities to learn from one another rather than receive information from the teacher or text alone. Appropriate cooperative tasks stimulate students to higher levels of thinking, preparing them for academic learning and testing. The cooperative structures/activities and sample unit in this guide are helpful for improving instruction where there is a high degree of diversity in students' needs. These activities are designed to help English language learners develop the language and academic skills they will need in order to participate effectively in mainstream settings.

COOPERATIVE STRUCTURES AND ACTIVITIES

Cooperative learning strategies may be used in a variety of ways, such as a five-minute team builder to introduce a lesson, a short activity to evaluate the students' understanding, a series of brief, cooperative activities to teach content, or a full unit of instruction based on cooperative structures.

The following cooperative structures and activities show how a teacher can use one activity or a series of activities to build awareness among students for the need to work as a team and to develop English language skills. The teambuilding and oral language activities are designed to familiarize students with cooperative learning strategies in English as a second language (ESL) or bilingual classrooms. The sample unit for Grade 10 describes a cooperative learning structure, Co-Op Co-Op, that can be used with ELL learners in mainstream settings.

The activities described below are not interdependent; teachers may choose to try one or more of them. Once familiar with them, the teacher may want to use several activities together, or try a full unit of structures and activities such as the one provided in this publication. Teachers should be familiar with cooperative learning techniques and be able to explain each activity in order to ensure its success. An overview of the cooperative learning structures used in this publication is provided in the Appendix on pages 27-28.

Teambuilding and Oral Language Activities

The following cooperative structures and activities were designed for teaching teambuilding and English language skills to English language learners. However, they could be easily modified for a variety of content areas. Structures are content-free ways of organizing social interaction in the classroom and typically involve a series of steps. Activities are almost always based on a specific content-bound objective and are not applicable to a wide range of academic content. By contrast, structures may be used repeatedly with almost any subject matter, at a wide range of grade levels, and at various points in a lesson. Different structures are used to accomplish distinct objectives, such as teambuilding (getting students acquainted and building mutual support within teams), classbuilding (creating a positive classroom climate), communication builders (learning how to communicate effectively), content mastery (acquiring basic skills), and concept development (acquiring higher order thinking skills) (Kagan, 1990). Among the most well-known structures are Jigsaw, Student-Teams Achievement-Divisions (STAD), Think-Pair-Share, and Group Investigation (Kagan, in press). For more information on cooperative structures, see Kagan, 1990.

The structures and activities that follow may be adapted for ELL students at beginning, intermediate, or advanced English language proficiency levels. They may be used alone during an ESL lesson or in conjunction with other cooperative learning activities. Teachers may have to try each activity several times and various activities over a period of time before students are able to work together effectively. These activities may also be adapted for use in mainstream classrooms to facilitate teambuilding in heterogeneous groups and to familiarize ELL students with cooperative learning processes.

Instructional Setting

Students: ELL (multiple languages), beginning, intermediate, or advancedGrade level: 7-12Delivery mode: EnglishGroup size: Four students per group, heterogeneous by English language proficiencyContent area: English language developmentLesson objective: Students will use oral language to complete tasks. They will develop social skills for teamwork as they improve comprehension and oral production skills.

Activity 1. Personalized Name Tags/Interview

a. Each student receives a blank name tag to be completed as directed by the teacher.b. Students have five minutes to fill in their name tags with the information listed below. (The teacher can choose information appropriate to the class or the lesson.)

NAME TAG1. First name, last name2. Three hobbies, interests; career goal3. Three favorite foods; two favorite classes

c. Student #1 uses the completed name tag to introduce himself or herself to Student #2 while Student #3 does the same with Student #4. Reverse the procedure, #2 to #1 and #4 to #3. Allow one minute for each introduction. Time it carefully. d. Student #1 introduces Student #2 to the whole team using his or her name tag. Student #2 introduces Student #1 to the whole team. Student #3 introduces Student #4 and Student #4 introduces Student #3. Again, provide one minute for each introduction.

Activity 2. Commonalities

a. The teacher assigns roles to each team member (e.g., writer, reporter, facilitator, and time keeper). b. Team members have five minutes to discuss things that they all have in common, such as family members, pets, interests, travel, and so on. c. Teams discuss their commonalities and choose the five most interesting ones. The writer lists the team's five commonalities on a sheet of paper. d. Teams share the things they have in common with other teams or with the whole class. e. The teacher posts commonalities on bulletin boards with each team's name so that others may read them later.

Activity 3. Picture Differences

a. Students form two pairs within each team. One of the four members is assigned to be the writer. b. One pair receives a picture similar to a picture held by the other pair, except that there are from five to twenty differences between the pictures. Pictures are available commercially, for example, see Olsen, 1984. Teachers can make their own pictures by taking two copies of any picture and covering five to twenty items from one picture with liquid paper ("white-out"). c. Each pair discusses its picture without letting the other pair see it. d. Pairs talk to each other to find the differences between their pictures. Pairs may not look at each other's picture. The writer in each group notes the differences. e. Teams can compare lists or share with the whole class.

Activity 4. Crossword Partners

This is designed as an enrichment activity for reinforcing vocabulary. Teachers may use commercially produced puzzles or make their own based on previously introduced vocabulary.

a. Students form pairs within their team of four. b. One pair gets a crossword puzzle with the words going down filled in; the other pair gets a puzzle with the words going across filled in. Partners review the words in their puzzle and make sure they understand them. c. Each pair gives clues, never the actual word, to the other pair to help them fill in the missing words. Students fill in the words as they are identified.

Activity 5. Draw a Picture

a. Students form pairs within their teams. b. One pair gets a simple picture of anything and the other pair gets a blank sheet of paper. c. The pair with the picture must describe what it sees while the other pair draws the picture based on the first pair's oral description. The pair with the picture cannot watch or correct the drawing of the pair without the picture. d. When the drawing is complete, the two pairs compare it to the actual picture, discussing similarities and differences. e. Pictures may be posted on the bulletin board.

Activity 6. Problem Solving

a. Students brainstorm activities they could do on a Saturday night. This might be done as a webbing activity. In a webbing activity, the central idea takes the form of a web with lines representing related ideas emanating from it and from each other. b. Each team compares its list of activities with other teams or with the entire class. c. The teacher announces that each team has $100.00 to spend on a Saturday night. Team members must decide what they will do together to spend the money. Team members discuss their ideas and the writer lists planned activities and the cost of each. d. The reporter on each team shares the decisions of its team with the rest of the class. This may be done simultaneously by having the reporters list projected budgets on the chalkboard. e. Team activities can be posted on bulletin boards.

Any type of problem-solving activity can be used. Other examples could be allocating $25.00 for a team to go to the store to buy food to make a special dinner for the team, creating a list of the five occupations that would be most necessary to start a new world on a new planet, or listing the five most important characteristics of a good friend.

Activity 7. Partners

a. Students form two pairs within their team of four. b. Each pair receives a different short story. Stories may be taken from ESL texts or rewritten from mainstream textbooks. They should contain up to 250 words and be of high interest. c. Each pair reads its story and quietly discusses the content. The teacher may have pairs take notes on the story. d. The teacher collects the stories after approximately five minutes. e. After reading its story, one pair tells its story to the other pair. The second pair tells its story to the first pair. f. Each pair then tells the other pair's story in order to check for full comprehension of both stories. g. The teacher gives a quiz that students take individually. The quiz can be multiple choice, short answer, true/false, or essay, depending on the level of the students and the instructional objective. Each student receives a grade for reading comprehension. If each team member gets a minimum of 80 percent correct, all team members may be given additional points for contributing to the success of fellow team members.

Developing English Language Skills

The purpose of the following activities is to show how a variety of cooperative structures and activities can be used together to facilitate ELL students' English language development. Each collaborative activity is based on the use of a fable and focuses on a different language skill, such as listening, speaking, reading, or writing. The activities below follow a sequence, but teachers may select one or more of them, depending on the ability of the students and the instructional objectives. The fable in this activity could be used in its original form or it could be rewritten in modified form for English language learners (see Figure 1).

FIGURE 1

The following is a simplified version of the Aesop's fable.

THE FOX AND THE CROW

Once upon a time there was a crow who found a large piece of tasty cheese. He quickly put it in his mouth and flew up into a tree. A hungry fox walked under the tree and suddenly saw the crow and the cheese. She carefully planned what to say. "O Crow," she said, "you are a really fine bird! What beautiful feathers and eyes you have! It is too bad that you cannot sing."

The crow was so happy to hear such nice things about himself. He was happier that he could show the fox that he could also sing beautifully. But as he opened his mouth to sing, the cheese dropped to the ground in front of the fox. The fox quickly ate the cheese with great enjoyment.

MORAL: He who listens to flattery forgets everything else.

Instructional Setting

Students: ELL (multiple languages), intermediate or advancedGrade level: 7-12Delivery mode: EnglishGroup size: Four students per group, heterogeneous by English language proficiencyContent: English language developmentLesson objective: Students will comprehend the meaning and message of the fable while developing the English language skills of listening, speaking, reading, and writing.

Activity 1. Brainstorming

a. Assign tasks for each member in a team of four (e.g., writer, reporter, facilitator, and timekeeper).b. After making sure that all students know what a fox and a crow are, give each team a Venn diagram with "fox" labeled on one side and "crow" on the other (see Figure 2).c. Each team has five minutes to identify at least five things that foxes have that crows don't or that foxes can do that crows can't, five things that crows have that foxes don't or that crows can do that foxes can't, and five things that they have in common. Elements common to both animals are written in the middle space of the Venn diagram; unique elements for the fox are written in the left space and for the crow in the right space.

Each student contributes responses as the writer fills in the Venn diagram.d. Two teams join, with reporters from both teams sharing their diagrams. Team members can add new items as they go or delete incorrect items.e. Diagrams with team names can be placed on bulletin boards.

FIGURE 2

EXAMPLE OF VENN DIAGRAM

Before doing the following activities, the teacher should first read the fable, "The Fox and the Crow" to the class, using a variety of visuals to make the content understandable. The teacher may read it twice. Students can listen and take notes (words, phrases, sentences) to help them recall the details later.

Activity 2. Group Discussion

a. Ask teams to generate questions they can ask other teams about the fable. Assign roles as above. Each writer records the questions. b. Ask each team to select its best question and one team member to share it with another team. c. Call on team representatives to share their best question with the whole class. d. Follow this activity with either Cooperative Review, Numbered Heads Together, or Send-a-Problem. Each of these requires students to answer questions about the fable and is described below.

Activity 3. Cooperative Review

a. A student from one team (e.g., Team 1) asks a question from its list and calls on another team (e.g., Team 3) to answer the question. b. Team 3 discusses the answer briefly, making sure all members agree, and then the team reporter gives an answer. Team 1 judges whether the answer is correct. If incorrect, or if another team wants to add to the answer, Team 1 calls on another team. c. Team 3 asks a question and the review continues.

The teacher may want to add a competitive dimension among teams by giving points. For example, if the question is appropriate, Team 1 gets one point. If the response to the question is correct, Team 3 gets a point. If the answer is incorrect, Team 1 gets a point and calls on another team to answer.

Activity 4. Numbered Heads Together

a. Ask students in each team to number off (e.g., #1, #2, #3, #4). If a team has five members, two students can have the same number and work together. b. The teacher poses a question about the fable. Questions for this structure should be high-consensus and short-answer. Questions may be generated by the teacher or borrowed from the teams' question pool generated above. c. The teacher gives each team time to discuss the answer. The teacher may structure the discussion by creating steps such as: (1) each member closes his/her eyes and thinks of an answer; (2) they open their eyes, put their "heads together," and share answers with their team members; (3) team members agree on the best answer; and (4) they make sure that all members know the answer. d. The teacher calls a number at random (e.g., #3) to answer the question. Call on the first #3 who raises his/her hand. When calling on a number, such as "#2," participation can be increased by having all #2s work together. For example, #2s from each team might come to the chalkboard and write the answer simultaneously. Or each team might have a slate on which #2 could write the answer and then hold it up.

Activity 5. Send-a-problem

a. Each student writes a question on one side of a piece of paper and the answer on the other side. Questions should be recall level and short-answer, true-false, or multiple choice. b. One student on each team collects the questions/answers from each member and passes them to another team. c. Students form pairs within each team. Each pair takes two questions. Questions might include: "Why did the crow drop the cheese?" and "What did the fox say to the crow?" Student #1 asks #2 two questions; Student #3 asks #4 the other two questions. Student #2 then asks #1; Student #4 asks #3. The two pairs then exchange questions and repeat the process. Each student answers as best he or she can, and students can discuss the correctness of each response in their pairs. d. After responding to all four questions, the teams exchange their questions with another team. They continue this process until all teams have responded to all questions.

Activity 6. Sequencing the Story

a. Teams are given a series of pictures that represent the fable (see the sample pictures of "The Fox and the Crow" in Figure 3).b. Each student takes one of the pictures and gives a one- or two-sentence description of it based on the story heard previously. c. Each student tells his/her picture description to other team members. Team members seat themselves according to the proper place of the picture they hold within the story sequence. After agreeing on the sequence, team members retell the story in the proper order.

FIGURE 3

The Fox and the CrowPanel 1: The Crow finds piece of cheesePanel 2: The Fox convinces The Crow (now in a tree with cheese in beak) to sing

Panel 3: The Crow sings, dropping the cheese.Panel 4: The Fox walks away with the cheese

Activity 7. Strip Story

a. The teacher writes one sentence describing each of the story's four pictures on a strip of paper. Make one packet of strips containing the four sentences for each team. b. Hand out one packet of strips to each team. c. Each student on the team randomly takes a strip and spends two or three minutes memorizing it or at least its main idea. Team members make sure each student can read his/her strip and recite it correctly. d. Students on the team seat themselves in order of the place of their story strip in the story sequence. They can practice retelling the story in its proper sequence. e. Team members return the strips to the facilitator. f. Each team may perform the story for another team or for the whole class. Teams may dramatize their performance with actions, extended dialogues, and the use of props.

Activity 8. Group Discussion

a. Assign roles to team members. Ask teams to use Brainstorming to generate the possible moral of the story. b. Each team reaches consensus on the moral. c. The recorder on each team writes the moral on a piece of paper and passes it to other teams. Recorders may also simultaneously write their team's moral on the chalkboard. d. The teacher leads a class discussion on each of the morals presented, noting similarities, differences, underlying meanings, and so forth.

SAMPLE UNIT FOR GRADE 10: HISTORY-SOCIAL SCIENCE

This unit is designed for a tenth-grade world history class consisting of ELL (multiple languages), EP, and EO students. However, it can also be modified for use at the middle school level. The unit is designed with the assumption that ELL students have been placed in a mainstream classroom based on the results of appropriate assessment procedures. The assessment results have indicated that these students' English language proficiency is sufficient to participate effectively (i.e., intermediate level) in a mainstream classroom. Another assumption is that the students have been working in cooperative groups for several months. It is, however, the first time that the class has used Co-Op Co-Op, a cooperative learning structure designed for use over several instructional periods. Co-Op Co-Op is particularly useful for creating conditions which stimulate the students to make key decisions regarding the content and structure of learning tasks. According to Kagan (1990):

Co-Op Co-Op. . . is structured to maximize the opportunity for small groups of students to work together to further their own understanding and development-usually, but not always, in the form of producing a group product-and then to share this product or experience with the whole class so that the other class members also may profit. (p. 14:2)

Rationale for Lesson Organization

This unit uses an integrated approach to the teaching of history and social science. Based on California's History-Social Science Framework (1988), it integrates the rise of imperialism and colonialism, a key world history concept for the tenth grade, with social and language skills. This unit is not a series of detailed lesson plans for several instructional periods. Rather, the teacher is provided general guidelines to follow using Co-Op Co-Op to study colonialism in depth over several instructional periods. The unit is divided into three phases. Depending on the design of the course, the teacher could use some of the activities for a few days or over several weeks. Before beginning the Co-Op Co-Op activities, some classes may need background information on colonialism and the geography of the countries to be studied.

Considerations for Meeting the Needs of ELL Students

In addition to objectives for world history, the unit identifies related language outcomes. This is to help teachers provide ELL and other students the language they need to participate in the activities. Co-Op Co-Op has built-in opportunities for students to help each other within and among teams in the class; this will assist the teacher in monitoring the performance of the ELL students. Co-Op Co-Op also gives students choices for the content they want to study and the group tasks for which they are responsible. This should increase the probability that the tasks will be motivating and suited to students' abilities. Co-Op Co-Op is designed to foster students' self-direction and independence in learning. However, the teacher may need to modify some of the activities in this unit to provide more guidance, depending on the students' needs. For example, worksheets with questions to answer, in English or the students' native language, will facilitate group participation for students whose English language skills are limited.

Monitoring and Evaluation

Effective implementation of Co-Op Co-Op and other cooperative learning methods depends on the teacher's carefully supporting students and giving them feedback on their progress in meeting academic, language, and social objectives. Compared to other cooperative structures, in Co-Op Co-Op the students are given a great deal of responsibility for their learning; they choose their topics of study and the method of presenting their research and give feedback to their peers

The teacher needs to establish and reinforce cooperative norms so that students know that it is all right to help each other. They need to know when they are supposed to work alone or be in their groups. They also need to know what they are expected to produce and how they will be evaluated. In order to accomplish these ends, teambuilding activities should be incorporated regularly into the lessons. In Co-Op Co-Op students should receive positive, supportive feedback from the teacher as well as their peers. Peer feedback focuses on learning outcomes or on what students did to help each other learn about colonialism.

Steps of Co-Op Co-Op

An overview of the steps to Co-Op Co-Op is provided below. A more detailed description of the rationale and steps to Co-Op Co-Op can be found in Kagan, 1990. The Co-Op Co-Op structure and the phases used to organize this unit are related to Group Investigation, a cooperative learning method developed by Sharan and Sharan (see Sharan et al., 1980). Co-Op Co-Op consists of ten steps:

1. a whole-class discussion dealing with students' interests and needs relative to the lesson topic;2. the formation of heterogeneous teams (teacher-assigned or student-selected);3. teambuilding and cooperative skill development;4. the selection of each team's topic;5. the selection of mini-topics by individual team members;6. mini-topic research and preparation of mini-topic presentations to fellow team members;7. the presentation of mini-topics;8. the preparation of team presentations to the whole class;9. team presentations to the whole class; and10. feedback to teams and individual team members.

The three phases of this unit are divided as follows: Phase I, introduction to colonialism (Steps 1-5 above); Phase II, studying about countries in colonialism (Steps 6-7 above); and Phase III, sharing with others (Steps 8-10 above). The specific elements of each phase are described below.

Phase I: Introduction to colonialism The teacher forms teams and facilitates teambuilding. The teacher introduces and illustrates key concepts related to colonialism. The students choose their preferred research strategies (mini-topics).

Phase II: Studying about countries in colonialism Partner teams choose two countries involved in a colonial relationship. Partner teams conduct research on mini-topics. Students present mini-topics to team members.

Phase III: Sharing with others Partner teams design and prepare presentations to the whole class. Teams make presentations to the whole class (benchmark product). The students and teacher give feedback to team members and teams.

PHASE I

During Phase I, students learn about the dynamics of colonialism through a case study of the relationship between Great Britain and India. They also learn about strategies they may use to research topics for their Co-Op Co-Op assignment. Phase I can take approximately four instructional periods and addresses academic, language, and social objectives as indicated below.

Phase I Objectives

Academic

Describe key concepts of colonialism. Apply knowledge of colonialism to the past and present relationship between Great Britain

and India. Identify alternative approaches to conducting research.

Language

Identify and practice aural/oral language needed for group tasks. Write lists and take notes.

Social

Listen actively to others. Take roles needed for group tasks.

Give and receive help in the group.

Students form four-member, heterogeneous teams according to English language proficiency. Where possible, a bilingual facilitator (a student who is proficient in both English and the ELL students' native language) is a member of those teams with ELL students. Where a bilingual facilitator is not available, ELL students are paired with students who are responsible for helping them. Except when temporarily grouped homogeneously (i.e., all ELL students), students remain in these groups throughout the lesson. It is important in Co-Op Co-Op to work from class-level to team-level to individual activities so that students see how class needs are met by teams and how teams support the needs of individuals.

This lesson assumes that students have had previous experience in using various resources (e.g., encyclopedias, newspapers, the library) to find new information. If this is not the case, the teacher may need to give students some background experience or information before continuing with the activities in this unit. Phase I has five steps, and these are described below.

Step 1

The teacher explains to the whole class that the topic of study will be colonialism, past and present. Ask students to use the Roundrobin structure (see the Appendix for a brief description of each structure introduced in this unit) to share words they associate with the word colonialism. Have one member of each team share the team's responses with a neighboring team.

Step 2

Students form dyads on each team and use Three-Step Interview to determine what they already know about the two countries. One dyad takes India, the other Great Britain. The dyads share with team members, and the teams share with the rest of the class.

The teacher uses direct instruction to provide background information on the colonial process, with Great Britain and India as examples. The teacher also lays the groundwork for later student research by modeling various strategies used to prepare lessons (e.g., reading textbooks, consulting encyclopedias, interviewing colleagues, watching films, reading novels, newspapers, news magazines, and so on). The teacher models for later activities by focusing on key concepts of colonialism (e.g., geography, reasons for colonialism, positive and negative effects of colonialism, and current effects of the colonial process).

Step 3

To see colonialism from each country's point of view, the teacher uses Corners, asking students to choose which country they would have liked to have lived in during the colonial period. Label one corner of the room "Great Britain" and another corner "India." Ask students to imagine themselves as twenty-five-year-olds living during the colonial period. Then ask students which country they would have liked to have lived in during that period. Students first write their choice on a slip of paper, then move to the appropriate corner. After moving to their corner, students form dyads and share reasons for choosing the country they did. Individual students then go to the opposite corner, form a new dyad and use Paraphrase Passport to exchange reasons for their choices.

Step 4

Based on the case study of Great Britain and India, the teacher explains that in a few days teams will research the colonial relationship between two other countries of their choice. Possible countries for research will be discussed in Phase II. Team presentations will be on these two countries. Individual students' mini-topics will be developed from the research that each student chooses to employ. To prepare for their research, students on each team use Group Discussion to list various research strategies (e.g., interview, encyclopedia, computer, library, and newspapers). The recorder lists the proposed strategies on a sheet of paper.

Teams use Roundtable to identify each team member's preferred research strategy. Team members pass the sheet with the proposed research strategies around the group, and students write their names next to their favorite strategy. Teams then agree on the research strategy(ies) that each member may employ. For example, Student #1 might conduct an interview, Student #2 use an encyclopedia, Student #3 refer to the course text, and Student #4 use newspapers and magazines. Students may use more than one strategy. Students will use these strategies for "mini-topic" research in Phase II. Depending on the specific topic they choose, they may need to change their strategy(ies).

The teacher should observe ELL students to determine if they are following the assignment and selecting a research strategy that is appropriate for their language level. The bilingual facilitator should be supporting these students in the group. Encourage students to review materials and conduct research in their native language if possible.

Step 5

The teacher asks teams to use Group Processing to discuss how well they worked together. They might think about or write answers to the following questions, then discuss their answers with their teammates: "How did I participate?" "How did I share?" "How did I listen?" "How did I

help?" "How did I receive help?" Encourage students to resolve any conflicts within their teams before bringing them to the teacher.

PHASE II

In Phase II, teams select their countries and conduct research for their "mini-topics." Mini-topics are sub-topics of a larger topic. Mini-topics will be presented to team members. Phase II can cover several instructional periods. Objectives for Phase II include those listed on page 20.

Students remain in their teams. If absences and attrition have resulted in the loss of bilingual facilitators or partners for any ELL students, the teacher should consult with each team to determine if and how the issue should be resolved. Ask teams to decide on roles for each member that they think will facilitate their interaction (e.g., active listener, mediator, encourager, and checker). Based on each team's selection of roles, the teacher highlights appropriate language skills required to fulfill each role. This provides important support to all students, especially those who are in the process of learning English. Phase II has nine steps; these are described on pages 20-22.

Phase II Objectives

Academic

Apply research strategies to a particular assignment. Analyze key concepts of colonialism related to a particular pair of countries.

Language

Learn the language needed for presenting to team members. Learn the language associated with team roles. Organize and prepare mini-topics.

Social

Negotiate opposing positions. Actively listen to the ideas of others.

Help team members in preparing mini-topics.

Step 1

The teacher lists on the chalkboard several pairs of countries that have been or are presently in a colonial relationship (e.g., France and Vietnam, Japan and Korea, the United States and Puerto Rico, the United States and the Philippines, Portugal and Brazil, Spain and Mexico, Italy and Ethiopia, the Netherlands and Indonesia, the Soviet Union and Hungary, and China and Tibet).

Step 2

Use Spend-a-Buck to select a limited number of country pairs for the class to study. Each team discusses the pair it wants. Team representatives use Spend-a-Buck to vote on the countries listed on the chalkboard; each team has four votes. Since "partner teams" will be used (see below), the list of country pairs should number about five. This would allow for ten teams of four to form five partner teams to study five country pairs. If representatives vote on too few country pairs, the teacher can ask teams to come up with ways to resolve the problem. If there is an odd number of teams, one team could be asked to divide one pair of countries between two dyads on the team.

Step 3

The teacher asks each team to find a partner team and form a group of eight. Partner teams must agree on (a) one pair of countries that they will study and (b) the country that each team will research. For example, Teams #1 and #2 might take the United States and Puerto Rico. Members of Team #1 conduct mini-topic research on the United States and Team #2 members do their research on Puerto Rico. After conducting their research, Teams #1 and #2 co-present on the colonial relationship between the two countries.

Step 4

Partner teams report to the whole class on their decisions. If more than one partner team has chosen the same country pair, the teacher asks teams to resolve the overlap. The teacher should be prepared to suggest additional teambuilding activities in order to support the teams in resolving conflicts.

Step 5

After consensus is reached on the countries selected by the paired partner teams, each team does mini-topic research on its country. The teacher reminds students to concentrate their research on the key concepts related to colonialism, such as:

a) demographic/social aspects (e.g., location, population, religions, values, and politics); b) reasons for colonization (e.g., the need for resources, war, and political conflict);c) positive and negative effects of colonization; and d) the current effects of the colonial process.

The teacher can provide additional guidance, if necessary, for mini-topic research by having team members design advanced organizers (i.e., lists of questions to answer based on the key concepts indicated above).

The teacher should observe team activities to determine if ELL students are receiving adequate support. After mini-topics are selected, ELL students from the same language group may be paired or grouped together so that they can help each other in their native language in preparing advanced organizers, designing research strategies, identifying resources, and developing a better understanding of key concepts. ELL students from different language backgrounds may be grouped together and helped directly by the teacher or peer tutors.

Step 6

After completing their research, individual students prepare oral presentations of their mini-topics for team members. ELL students may return to a homogeneous group to give or receive help with their presentations.

Step 7

Students form the same partner teams as when they chose the country pairs. Individual students make their mini-topic presentations to partner team members. ELL students may make their presentations with the assistance of a bilingual facilitator. Students assume the roles they selected earlier so that interaction is improved.

Step 8

Students use Group Processing to discuss how well they worked as a team in completing and presenting their mini-topics. Remind students to focus on positive feedback that identifies what team members did to help each other learn more about their pair of countries.

Step 9

Individuals turn in their mini-topic reports to the teacher for review and evaluation. Individual students and the teacher negotiate on the format of the report so that it is appropriate to the student's level. For example, students with good writing skills in English may turn in written reports; ELL students may submit outlines with notes, tapes of interviews, and lists of reading materials. The teacher evaluates how well the reports reflect the key concepts related to colonialism.

PHASE III

In Phase III, partner teams present a synthesis of their mini-topic research to the whole class. The team presentation is what has been called the benchmark product for the unit; it is the culmination of the students' understanding of concepts that were presented and recycled in the previous lessons. Phase III covers approximately five instructional periods and addresses the objectives listed below.

Phase III Objectives

Academic

Organize and synthesize information into a coherent whole. Explain the concept of colonialism and historical and contemporary issues related to it. Give feedback on presentations.

Language

Use language appropriate for large-group presentations.

Social

Negotiate opposing positions.

Give evaluative feedback.

Phase III consists of six steps; these are described on pages 23-24.

Step 1

The whole class uses Brainstorming to generate key questions that students may have about colonialism. This gives teams ideas for planning their presentations to meet the needs of their peers (e.g., the definition of colonialism, causes of colonialism, effects of the colonial relationship on persons living in the colonies, and the current effects of colonialism on the countries). Brainstorming may also be used with the class to come up with a variety of modes that teams could use for their presentations, such as debate, displays, demonstrations, skits, and team-led discussions.

Brainstorming is particularly effective when participants (a) refrain from evaluating each other's responses, (b) accept all ideas, no matter what one may think of them, and (c) build on each other's ideas. It may be helpful to assign individual students to monitor how well each of these criteria is followed during the Brainstorming activity.

Step 2

Partner teams select the content and the mode for their presentation. The content should integrate material from their mini-topics and respond to the issues generated earlier by the class. Individual students should take responsibility for each part of the presentation. Students should be discouraged from presenting their individual mini-topics. The team presentation should be a synthesis of what members have learned from their own work and from each other, with each team member having a unique role. The class should use a variety of modes in their presentations. If several teams choose the same mode, teams should resolve the overlap.

The teacher should check to see that each team's mode of presentation makes appropriate adaptations, if necessary, for ELL students. These students may be given the option to use visual aids, demonstrations, and drama techniques that do not depend heavily on oral language proficiency in English. Further, if ELL students are having other difficulties, the teacher may wish to use homogeneous ELL groups or pairs, as in Phase II, to give additional assistance.

Step 3

The partner teams prepare their presentations. The teacher encourages team members to help each other prepare for the presentation. Positive interdependence between partner teams is developed, since the success of the presentation is linked to the two teams working together.

Step 4

The partner teams present to the whole class. The teams have full use of the classroom and its facilities for making their presentations. Encourage teams to involve members of the class in a

question/answer session for part of the presentation. Encourage members of the class to use effective listening and participation skills to help the partner teams.

Step 5

Following each presentation, class members give positive feedback on how the partner teams helped the class improve its understanding of colonialism. Use the academic objectives for each phase to help guide this discussion. Both the teacher and the students can draw attention to strategies that may be useful to other teams. For more formal feedback, the teacher may have individual partner team members comment on each other's contribution to the team effort. For more structure, the teacher could ask team members to comment on the social skills that were emphasized throughout the unit. For example, team members could express what they appreciated about each member's contributions during the unit. For more on group and individual feedback processes and materials, see Kagan, 1990.

Step 6

If the teacher plans to form new teams for the next unit, it is suggested that each team be given an opportunity to complete any unfinished business and end the experience on a positive note. The following is an adaptation of a procedure for ending groups suggested by Johnson and Johnson (1987). Ask teams to discuss such questions as:

a) Are there any unresolved issues? Does anything need to be discussed further?b) What are some of our most successful accomplishments? How has each of us changed?c) What feelings do we have about our group's breaking up?d) Tell each team member something that you appreciated about his/her participation on the team.

CONCLUSION

Students in American classrooms are becoming increasingly culturally and linguistically diverse. In addition, secondary school students have distinct educational needs from those of elementary school students. Students who are in the process of acquiring English as their second language face the challenge of succeeding in demanding academic subjects in classrooms designed for native speakers of English. In addition, secondary school students have only a short time in which to meet the English language proficiency and academic goals needed to graduate from high school. Some of these needs can be met by cooperative learning structures and activities used in the content areas. These structures and activities can help maximize the rate at which secondary students acquire the English language, content area knowledge, and interpersonal skills needed for success in school. When we combine what we know about cooperative learning structures with what we know about what works for language minority students, we can more effectively meet the needs of these students.

REFERENCES

California Department of Education. (1988). History-social science framework. Sacramento, CA: Author.

Collier, V. P. (1987). Age and rate of acquisition of second language for academic purposes. TESOL Quarterly, 21, 617-641.

Cummins, J. (1981). The role of primary language development in promoting educational success for language minority students. In California Department of Education (Ed.), Schooling and language minority students: A theoretical framework (pp. 3-50). Los Angeles, CA: Evaluation, Dissemination and Assessment Center, California State University, Los Angeles.

Holt, D.D. (Ed.). (in press). Cooperative learning for students from diverse language backgrounds. Washington, DC: ERIC Clearinghouse on Languages and Linguistics.

Johnson, D. W., & Johnson, F. P. (1987). Joining together: Group theory and group skills. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

Johnson, D. W., & Johnson, R.T. (1986). Circles of learning: cooperation in the classroom. Edina, MN: Interaction Book Company.

Johnson, D. W., Johnson, R. T., & Holubec, E. (1988). Advanced cooperative learning. Edina, MN: Interaction Book Company.

Kagan, S. (in press). The structural approach to cooperative learning. In D.D. Holt (Ed.), Cooperative learning for students from diverse language backgrounds. Washington, DC: ERIC Clearinghouse on Languages and Linguistics.

Kagan, S. (1990). Cooperative learning resources for teachers. San Juan Capistrano, CA.: Resources for Teachers.

Kagan, S. (1986). Cooperative learning and sociocultural factors in schooling. In California Department of Education (Ed.), Beyond language: Social and cultural factors in schooling language minority students (pp. 231-298). Los Angeles, CA: Evaluation, Dissemination and Assessment Center, California State University, Los Angeles.

McGroarty, M. (in press). Cooperative learning and second language acquisition. In D.D. Holt (Ed.), Cooperative learning for students from diverse language backgrounds. Washington, DC: ERIC Clearinghouse on Languages and Linguistics.

Minicucci, C. (1985). Dropping out, losing out: The high cost for California. Sacramento, CA: Assembly Office of Research.

Minicucci, C., & Olsen, L. (1992). Programs for secondary limited English proficient students: A California study. Washington, DC: National Clearinghouse for Bilingual Education.

Ogbu, J. U., & Matute-Bianchi, E. (1986). Understanding sociocultural factors: Knowledge, identity, and school adjustment. In California Department of Education (Ed.), Beyond language: Social and cultural factors in schooling language minority students (pp. 73-142). Los Angeles, CA: Evaluation, Dissemination and Assessment Center, California State University, Los Angeles.

Olsen, J. E. W. (1984). Look again pictures for language development and lifeskills. Hayward, CA: Alemany Press.

Olsen, L., & Chen, M. T. (1988). Crossing the schoolhouse border: Immigrant students and the California public schools. San Francisco, CA: California Tomorrow.

Sharan, S., Hare, P., Webb, C.D., & Hertz-Lazarowitz, R. (Eds.). (1980). Cooperation in education. Provo, UT: Brigham Young University Press.

Slavin, R. E. (1988). Cooperative learning and student achievement. In R. E. Slavin (Ed.), School and classroom organization. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

APPENDIX Overview of Selected Cooperative Learning Structures

Structure Brief Description Functions (Academic & Social) TEAMBUILDING

Roundrobin Each student in turn shares something with his or her teammates.

Expressing ideas and opinions, creating stories. Equal participation, getting acquainted with teammates.

CLASSBUILDINGCorners Each student moves to a corner of the room

representing a teacher-determined alternative. Students discuss within corners, then listen to and paraphrase ideas from other corners.

Seeing alternative hypotheses, values, problem-solving approaches. Knowing and respecting different points of view, meeting classmates.

COMMUNICATION BUILDINGParaphrase Passport

Students correctly paraphrase the person who has just spoken and then contribute their own ideas.

Checking comprehension. Giving feedback. Sharing ideas.

Spend-a-Buck Each student is given four quarters to spend any way he or she wishes on the items to be decided. The team tallies the results to determine its decision.

Decision making. Consensus building. Conflict resolution.

Group processing

Students evaluate their ability to work together as a group and each member's participation, with an aim to improving how the group works together.

Communication skills. Role-taking ability.

MASTERYNumbered Heads Together

The teacher asks a question: students consult to make sure everyone knows the answer. Then one student is called upon to answer.

Review, checking for knowledge, comprehension.

Send-a-Problem Each student writes a review problem on a flash card and asks teammates to answer or solve it. Review questions are passed to another group.

Review, checking for comprehension.

Cooperative review

Students engage in a variety of games to review the week's material.

Review, checking for comprehension.

CONCEPT DEVELOPMENTThree-Step Interview

Students interview each other in pairs, first one way, then the other. Students share with the group information they learned in the interview.

Sharing personal information such as hypotheses, reactions to a poem, conclusions formed from a unit. Participation, listening.

Brainstorming Students encourage each other to generate ideas regarding a particular topic or problem and build upon each other's ideas.

Generating and relating ideas. Participation, involvement.

Group discussion

The teacher asks a low-consensus question. Students talk it over in groups and share ideas.

Sharing ideas. Reaching group consensus.

MULTIFUNCTIONALRoundtable Students pass a paper and pencil around the

group. Each student in turn writes an answer. In Simultaneous Roundtable, more than one pencil and paper are used at once.

Assessing prior knowledge, practicing skills, recalling information, creating cooperative art. Teambuilding, participation of all.

Partners Students work in pairs to create or master content. They consult with partners from other teams. They then share their products or understanding with the other partner pair in their team.

Mastery and presentation of new material, concept development. Presentation and communication skills.

Co-op Co-op Students work in groups to produce a particular group product to share with the whole class; each student makes a particular contribution to the group.

Learning and sharing complex material, often with multiple sources. Evaluation, application, analysis, synthesis. Conflict resolution, presentation skills. Planning, group decision making.

Group investigation

Students identify a topic and organize into research groups to plan learning tasks or sub-topics for investigation. Individual students gather and evaluate data and synthesize findings into a group report.

Application, analysis, inference, synthesis, evaluation. Planning, group decision making.

*Adapted and expanded by L.V. Pierce from Kagan (in press) and Kagan (1990).

Documents

cehd.gmu.educehd.gmu.edu/assets/docs/cie/08portfolio/singla portfolio... · Web viewIntern :Pramila Singla Grade Level:12 Title:PLAY-THE HOUR OF TRUTH Date:2 August 2007 I. Objectives