TSU English 11 SBP

ENGLISH

TEACHER SUPPORT UNIT 11

From the Village to the World

English Teacher Support Unit 11

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From the Village to the World

Before we start……

Congratulations on completing the first phase of TSUs, ending with TSU 10 … and welcome to the second phase of TSUs!

By now, you would have noticed that your students display a higher degree of confidence in communicating in English, both in writing in and in speaking. You might have also observed that most of your students are now able to:

Let’s now move on and consolidate the gains we have made.

The Eleventh TSU

This TSU is about a theme - From the Village to the World – which is aimed at giving your students a geographical and locational perspective on their lives. Their knowledge about the unique aspects of their village, district and state is being used as a base to develop their language skills. The students will also learn to look for news items relating to their village or town, identify places of importance, gather information by interviewing people and arrange information in order of importance. This TSU will help increase their awareness about themselves and their community.

Activity 1: Using the Atlas

An atlas is not a mere collection of maps. It can help a student discover multiple layers of his or her identity, which may be defined in terms of geography and culture. It also helps in reviving memories of association with many locations and in the process help the student get to know

Try and get two maps of Odisha - like the ones given below - to your classroom. One of them should be a physical map (naming physical features like rivers, mountains, etc.) and the other, a political map (naming districts, cities, etc.).

• Write diaries, letters and stories

• Go through the writing of peers and offer suggestions for improvements

• Appreciate beauty in language, choice of words, synonyms and expressive language

• Discuss the actions of characters in a story, express opinions on their appropriateness

• Read a given text carefully – identify meanings of words from their context

• Read newspapers


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Now, ask the students to form groups and ask each group to explore the following questions after looking at both maps.

• Which are the districts that begin with letter ‘B’? (e.g., Bhadrak)

• Which districts are located on the border of Chhatishgarh ?

• How many districts do you have to pass through at a minimum, if you have to go from Sambalpur to Malkangiri (let’s assume there are roads through whatever districts you want to pass through) ?

• Name the districts which touch Bay of Bengal?

• How many times is the word ‘Hills’ used in the second map?

• Which are the states of India that share border with Odisha?

• If you are in West Bengal and traveling in the western direction, which towns in Odisha can be reached?


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• If you are in Chhatishgarh and travel towards east, which district headquarters in Odisha will you reach ?

• Which districts are in the border of Sambalpur ?

You can add more questions to the list and make the students work in groups and pairs.

You can also make the students in groups and pairs to create a quiz for other groups based on the maps.

Can each student now take one name from the map and write 5 sentences about it ?

For example, if the chosen word is ‘altitude’, the following sentences could be written only by looking at the maps.

What is the highest altitude of Odisha ?

Which districts of Odisha are between 300 – 900 altitudes ?

What is the altitude of Hirakud Basin ?

Which districts of Odisha are below 150 altitudes ?

Which area is the 0 altitude in the Physical Map ?

Did it work?

interesting difficult boring

Activity 2: Village, District and State

• Ask the students: How will the following events impact your life and the lives of your family members? Ask the students to form groups (3 or 4 in each group) and write at least 3 sentences based on each situation. We have worked out an example for you.

What is the focus of this activity?.................................................................

Did you make any modifications or try out variations?..............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................


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o Trucks carrying vegetables have not been running for more than a week, since truck owners are on strike demanding subsidy in diesel for them.

The prices of vegetables will rise steeply. Our family may not be able to afford vegetables.

We might consume more milk, ‘dahi’, ‘dal’ ‘karadhi’ and ‘’pickles’’ during the strike period, if their prices are affordable.

We may buy ‘palak’ and substitute vegetables like potato with ‘palak’.

o The road which leads from your home to school has been dug up and you cannot use it for a month. The other route to your school is 10 kms longer.

o There is an outbreak of Jaundice in your area. All schools are shut for a month but the Class 10 exam will not be postponed.

o Your family has to shift to Chhatrapurr in Ganjam since your mother has found a job there. (Find out from the map where Chhatrapur is)

o The chief minister is going to visit your school and you have been given the charge of putting together a programme for the chief minister for 4 hours where all the students will be able to display their skills

o The American Embassy (tell students what it does) in New Delhi has invited your school students (including you!) to meet students of class 9 and 10 from the US who have come to India on a holiday. You are supposed to tell them about your state and district.

• How big is Odisha?

Here are some details. Can the students write a small note on Odisha based on the details? (This could be pair work).

o Odisha Population: 4.37crore.

o Argentina (a large country in South America) population 4.31 crore

o Number of MPs from Odisha in Lok Sabha: 21. Total number of MPs in Lok Sabha: 547

o Major rivers in Odisha: Brahmani, Salandi, Budhabalanga, Banshadhara and Mahanadi


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Political Map of India

Largest states in India in terms of area.

1. Rajasthan

2. Madhya Pradesh

3. Maharashtra

4. Uttar Pradesh

5. Jammu & Kashmir

6. Gujarat


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7. Karnataka

8. Andhra Pradesh

9. Odisha

10. Chhattisgarh

• How big are our cities? Here is a list of cities with number of people marked against each city. These are the top ten cities in terms of population in Odisha.

1 Bhubaneswar 8,81,988

2 Cuttack 6,58,986

3 Rourkela 5,52,970

4 Berhampur 3,55,823

5 Sambalpur 2,69,575

6 Puri 2,01,026

7 Balasore 1,77,557

8 Bhadrak 1,29,152

9 Baripada 1,16,874

10 Jharsuguda 97,730

Can each student make at least 5 questions from the list?

Here is an example set of 5 questions:

1. Which is the largest city among 10 given above in terms of population?

2. Which cities have more number of people than Jharsuguda but few number of people compared to Sambalpur?

3. Which cities have a population of more than 01 lakh and less than 4 lakhs people?

4. Which cities have a population of more than 05 lakh people?

5. Which is the seventh largest city in terms of population in Odisha?


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Did it work?


Activity – 3: My state is unique

• Here are some descriptions associated with some places, rivers, monuments and other objects in Odisha. Can you identify the location / name? We have worked out one for you.

o A dam in Sambalpur district, famous for longest in world.

o A reserve forest on the way of NH-6, which is 48 Km from Sambalpur, declared as Tiger reserve. The forest started at Badrama Ghat.

o A place near Rourkela where the river Sankh and Koel meets together and becomes the river Brahmani. Maharshi Vysadev had written Veda on this spot.

o A town located on NH-6, 40 Km away from Sambalpur towards Bargarh. It is the birth place of great poet Gangadhar Meher.

o A Hill 165 Km from Sambalpur. It is saying that hanuman carried on his shoulder from Himalaya to save the life of Laxmana. So many medicinal plants are there. A waterfall and a temple is also there.

o It is a small town of Puri district – in between Bhubaneswar – Puri Road. It is famous for Applique work – used during procession of deities – Chandua, Chhatri etc.

o There is temple in the golden triangle which was built by Narasinghadeva during 15th century. The Sun God worshipped in that temple. 1200 sculptures completed the temple in 12 years.

What is the focus of this activity?..............................................................



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Now, conversely, can the students write 3-4 sentences on the following? You may need to help them in finding the relevant information from books, newspapers, etc. The description has to be such that the reader should be able to guess the answers.

Cuttack

Sambalpur

Rourkela

Puri

Rivers Veden and Tel

River Mahanadi

Did it work?


Textbook-related activity: Letter Writing

1. Identifying mistakes in letters

Example:

Read the following letter. Do you think the letter has mistakes ? Can you point them out ? How will you re-write the letter to make it meaningful ?

What is the focus of this activity?..............................................................



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Dear Sir,

I am applying for the post of Security Officer advertised in The Times of India yesterday. I am enclosing a copy of my CV as requested.

You have asked for ten years’ experience. As you can see, I have worked for one year as cook in a hotel in Sambalpur. My experience in the factory included working as a postman delivering letters in Sambalpur city.

You have mentioned that the job of Security Officer is in Bhubaneswar. I would like to live in Rourkela and hence I would be delighted if you select me for the job.

I hope you will give my application serious consideration and I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours faithfully,

2. Writing letters / sending applications to important people

Imagine that the Chief Minister of your state has agreed to solve any five problems that you may suggest. These could be about your village, school, neighbourhood. You have to mention the problem as well as the solution suggested by you. Now write a letter mentioning five problems that you want the chief minister to attend to and your suggested solutions for them. An example has been worked out for you.


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Problem Your suggested solutions

There is no bridge on the river Mahanadi near your village. As a result, people from the village take 2 hours to cross the river through a road bridge at a town 30 km away

Construct a bridge on the river near your village and link it to the Sambalpur-Cuttack highway.

Can you mention five problems – real or imaginary – and suggest solutions?

3. Leave Application – funny reasons

Ask students to write a leave application giving a funny excuse or reason. (Group Activity)

Examples.

• I have to attend my brother’s wedding. Please grant me leave of absence on June 28, 29, 30, 31 and also 32.

• I thought yesterday was Sunday. No one at home told me that it was Monday. Hence I did not come to school.

• My tooth fell yesterday. My grand mother told me that I cannot attend the school till another tooth replaces the fallen tooth.

Education

TSU English 11 SBP