High School Life Syllabus

Olivia-Dumitrina Nechita

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Syllabus for a teaching unit

1.- TITLE High School Life!

2.- CONTEXTUALIZATION

This unit is the first one in the first term. Since it is designed for 1st ESO, it could help students to get to know their high school. The final product of

the unit is to present the high school to a newcomer so, in this way students can empathize and identify with the situation of the new student because the

high school is also a new environment for them.

3. TIMING YEAR

1st ESO

TERM 1st term NUMBER OF

CLASSES 6 sessions

4. COMPETENCES

KEY COMPETENCES

Communicative competence (linguistic and audiovisual): students read, write, listen and communicate in English. There are a variety of texts (activities) which

entail verbal interaction, descriptions and the organization of information. Texts also come in a variety of formats, both on paper and digital. Students learn

how to become competent communicators of coherent oral messages. Students also learn how to use non verbal communication in order to transmit the

message in an adequate manner.

Cultural competence: Students finds out by means of reading and listening activities about the school life of students in different parts of the world.

Digital and information competence: recording the dialogue (final product) in mp3 format with Audacity; access information in order to carry out some

activities; watching videos for didactic purposes.

Learn how to learn competence: Students become aware of their own knowledge by means of the self-assessment. Thus, they can acknowledge their weak

points and develop other strategies in order to improve their work.

Citizenship: Students empathize with the newcomer and his/her situation. They get to see that there is diversity in the world and they also develop social skills.

Students learn how to behave in certain situations.

Autonomy and personal initiative competence: When working in pairs or groups, students have to manage their emotions in order to successfully carry out the

activity. They need to cooperate which implies dialogue and negotiations but also flexibility.

ENGLISH COMPETENCES

Plurilingual and intercultural competence: The final product of the unit is an interaction with a newcomer so students have to think about how they

would welcome a person from another country. This competence is also present when dealing with the routine of students from other countries (Japan,

Mexico, Kenya and the US).


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Communicative competence

Oral competence

Interaction: Comparing ideas with a partner of what the newcomer should be shown/ explained.

Talking about the qualities of a good dialogue.

Working in pairs in order to improve the dialogue.

Listening: Comparing ideas with a partner of what the newcomer should be shown/ explained.

Talking about the qualities of a good dialogue.

Working in pairs in order to improve the dialogue.

Listening to the school life and experiences of people from other countries; listen to an oral presentation explaining how to hold a

conversation.

Production: Dialogue between a student from the high school and a newcomer

Written competence

Reading: Reading the story of the school where superheroes go; the description of a high school; how to organize a description; about the

daily routine of students from other countries

Writing: A description of the students high school and one of his/ her daily routine; comparing the routines of students from other

countries; the differences between a conversation and an oral presentation; the qualities of a good dialogue.

5.- OBJECTIVES 6.- CONTENTS 8.- ASSESSMENT

At the end of this unit, students

will be able to:

- Hold a conversation about

their school life;

- Work in groups and pairs;

- Use appropriate strategies to

hold up a conversation;

- Write a description (of their

high school and of a day in

their lives)

DIMENSI COMUNICATIVA

Participaci en interaccions orals, escrites i audiovisuals

Participaci en converses pautades en lentorn escolar, en parella i en grup i en

simulacions en parelles, relacionades amb lexperincia densenyar l institut

a un nouvingut de lAula dAcollida, fent s destratgies per superar les

interrupcions, per iniciar i cloure intercanvis comunicatius i per mantenir la

conversa, amb pronunciaci i entonaci adequades.

Comprensi de missatges orals, escrits i audiovisuals

Comprensi de les instruccions per la correcta resoluci de les tasques;

Comprensi de dilegs breus relacionats amb les activitats habituals de lmbit

personal (rutines diries durant el perode escolar) i de lentorn educatiu

Comprensi i interpretaci de missatges orals senzills produts en interaccions

sobre lorganitzaci de la conversa entre lestudiant nouvingut i un alumne de

l institut, tot utilitzant estratgies bsiques com ara identificaci de paraules

clau, s del context verbal i no verbal.

Comprensi de la informaci general i especfica dels textos digitals i en paper

ASSESSMENT CRITERIA INSTRUMENTS

o Participar i produir una interacci

oral en parella sobre el tema

densenyar l institut a un alumne

nouvingut, utilitzant les estratgies

adequades per mantenir una

conversa (comunicaci verbal i no

verbal), facilitar la continuaci de

la comunicaci.

o Comprendre la idea general i les

informacions especifiques ms

rellevants de documents orals

senzills, emesos cara a cara o

procedents de mitjans audiovisuals.

o Reconixer la idea principal i

extreure informaci especfica i

- Description of the high

school (15%)

- Description of school life (A

day in the life of...) (15%)

- Dialogue (between the

newcomer and a student

from the high school)

(60%)

- Group and pair work (10%)


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sobre la vida en l institut, rutines dalumnes arreu del mn, com es fa un text

descriptiu i la presentaci sobre com sha de mantenir una conversa;

identificaci del tema i inferncia dun text oral, escrit o audiovisual pel

context, pels coneixements previs del tema i per la comparaci de paraules o

frases similars en les llenges que coneixen (per exemple identificar les parts

dun institut o les assignatures que simparteixen).

Expressi de missatges orals, escrits i audiovisuals

Producci semi controlada de textos orals curts (una conversa) en suport digital

(mitjanant el programa Audacity) amb estructura lgica, pronunciaci

adequada i que mostri cura en la presentaci, a partir dun model treballat

prviament a classe.

s dexpressions comunes, de frases fetes i de lxic apropiat al context concret

i quotidi de lmbit educatiu (vocabulari que t a veure amb les parts de

lescola, lambient etc.) i personal (vocabulari per parlar sobre rutines).

Producci controlada de textos descriptius amb coherncia, correcci

ortogrfica i puntuaci adequada, i estructurats en pargrafs i amb presentaci

acurada i prenent com a referncia models treballats prviament.

Coneixements del funcionament de la llengua i el seu aprenentatge

Identificaci i s delements lingstics bsics i habituals en la comunicaci

oral pel que fa a la conversa i escrita pel que fa als textos descriptius

Reflexi guiada sobre ls i el significat delements lingstics adequats a les

diferents funcions i intencions comunicatives (parlar sobre les diferencies

entre una conversa i una presentaci oral; reflexionar sobre quines

caracterstiques t un bo dileg).

Sensibilitzaci envers la pronncia dels fonemes que presenten una especial

dificultat en angls.

Identificaci destratgies per a la comprensi i interpretaci de missatges i

documents: identificaci del tema, de paraules clau, del context verbal i no

verbal, inferncia de significat i coneixements previs sobre la situaci.

Reconeixement i acceptaci de lerror com a part del procs daprenentatge i

actitud positiva de superaci que es treballen amb lautoavaluaci tant dels

textos escrits com de la producci oral.

Valoraci del treball individual per a la millora personal i del treball en equip

per a la construcci collectiva del coneixement.

global de documents escrits

senzills.

o Mostrar predisposici per al treball

cooperatiu

o Mostrar una actitud respectuosa

dinters i de descoberta envers la

llengua i cultures deferents de la

prpia

o Utilitzar de forma guiada els

recursos de les TIC per la cerca (les

parts de l institut) i presentaci

dinformaci (la conversa gravada

amb Audacity)

o Produir de forma guiada dos textos

descriptius


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DIMENSI PLURILINGE I INTERCULTURAL

Conscienciaci de pertnyer a una comunitat lingstica, social i cultural a

travs de les descripcions i comparacions amb altres cultures.

Coneixement i respecte per a persones que parlen una altra llengua i formen

part duna altra cultura

Disposici per utilitzar els coneixements de les llenges en contextos reals

s de formules de cortesia en intercanvis socials

Percepci de les dificultats de comunicaci amb persones que parlen altres

llenges i plantejar possibles solucions verbals i no verbals per facilitar la

comunicaci.

Inters per efectuar intercanvis comunicatius amb parlants dangls

7.- METHODOLOGY

STRATEGIES MATERIAL AND RESOURCES

High School life is a task-based unit. Each activity leads students to the final product.

In order to motivate students, the warming up activity is important since it gives them a reason why they are doing the activity.

Students work not only individually but also in groups and pairs. In order to complete some of the learning activities, students

have to cooperate.

Self-assessment is also an important part of learning activities. Thus, students have the chance to assess their own performance

and improve their final product before handing it in to the teacher.

- Internet connection

- Microphones

- Audacity

LEARNING ACTIVITIES

Activity 1:Warming up

Tell students that a new student who can only speak English has arrived to their high school and the teacher in the Newcomers classroom

has asked them to show him/her the school.

Ask students to think about what they could explain/show the newcomer. Then tell them to work in pairs in order to contrast their ideas and

possibly add more. They have to share their two best ideas with the class.

Activity 2: Writing a description of your high school


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In order for students to be able to write the composition they need scaffolding, which comes from the activities they do before the learning

activity (description of their own school). Firstly, ask students to think about their high school and answer some related questions.

Secondly, tell them to practice some vocabulary and action verbs that have to do with schools by doing a crossword and filling sentences.

When they finish they have to write down the new words they learned (making it easier for them to make the content of the composition

richer later on). Then, tell them to listen and read a story about a school for superheroes. Ask them to put the activities narrated in the

story in the correct order. Ask your students to think about what subjects superheroes need to learn.

Let your students know that they are going to listen to two people talking about their school. Ask them to answer questions related to the

listening they are going to hear. Then have them underline the school subjects they are currently taking. Before writing their own

composition, ask students to read the description of a high school and underline what is similar to their own. Furthermore, tell them to

translate into English the names of some of the rooms which can be found in a high school.

Tell your students to analyse the description and then to match the paragraph with its topic. Now tell them they need to write a description

of their own high school using the previous one as a model. When they finish, tell them to check their composition using the statements

they used before in order to analyse the previous composition.

Activity 3: A kids life in.... Writing a description of a day in your life, during school

Ask your students to read three texts where three students around the world (Kenya, US and Mexico) explain a day in their lives. Then,

tell your students to compare the three daily routines of the students. In order for students to become aware of the language used when

talking about routines, ask them to complete the sentences from the text. Then ask them what do they notice about the forms of present

simple? Tell them to find more examples in the text and then infer the rule. Ask them to practice the present tense.

Then, following the descriptions they read previously, ask your students to write something about their school life that they would like to

tell the newcomer.

Activity 4: Conversations

Ask your students to write down the differences between a dialogue and an oral presentation. Ask them which is the most difficult.

Tell them to watch a video where it is explained how to hold a conversation. Ask them to write the main things the person mentions

about how to hold a conversation.

Then, tell your students to get into groups of three and agree on the qualities of a good dialogue. Tell them that they have to classify

their ideas under three headings (communicative strategies, use of language, gestures/body language) but that they can add their own.

After finishing the scaffolding activities, tell them to get in pairs and perform a dialogue between a newcomer and a student from the high

school. Tell them that they need to decide who is going to be the newcomer, and who is going to be himself/herself. Explain what each

person has to do: The newcomer should ask questions about the school and about anything that the student mentions. The student should

show the newcomer the school (rooms, people, etc) and should also tell him / her about school life. Give them hints on how to start the


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dialogue. Ask them to work in pairs in order to improve the dialogue based on the self-assessment criteria.

Explain that they need to record their dialogue and show them how Audacity works. Tell them to self-asses their performance before

recording it with Audacity. Ask your students to add the recording in mp3 format to their portfolio.

9.- REFLEXION ABOUT THE UNIT

High School Life Syllabus

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