Ali Pravda

11081138

Teaching English as a Second Language 32 (X01):

Material Selection and Development in Language Teaching

Rita Naeschke

Assignment 1 (B)

June 1, 2015
 No matter if a class consists of thirty students who meet once a day, or an

instructional group of one to three students who only meet once a week (as is the

case with my teaching position), the attentiveness required while choosing reading

material is equally imperative. Texts used for EAL (English as an Additional

Language) classes need the following considerations during preparation: content

adaptations (37), language adaptations (40), possible links to students background

knowledge and experiences (40), skill incorporation, grouping options, and

coordinating learning strategies, activities, and assessments. This stage is only

relevant if the text actually corresponds to the necessary objectives. These

objectives can be seemingly unrestrictive as the students are learning a whole

language, not just one content area; the nearly unlimited access of thematic

learning does not give much guidance while trying to find corresponding resources.

Because of this lack of themed constraint the instructor can then shift focus to the

implications listed previously and specifically towards appropriateness with respect

to students levels; which in this case are A2.1 through B1.1 on the Canadian

Framework of Reference Benchmark (CFR). Although I instruct grades one through

twelve and levels A1.1 through B1.2, it is wishful thinking to think that I could find a

text suitable for each of my students, therefore, I will be focusing on the numerous

groups of students who are in grades four through seven. These students are mostly

Pilipino students, with the exception of one inquisitive Romanian boy. Because of

this ethnic majority, I quickly saw a trend of interests: basketball. Many different

countries (with the exception of Canada) are obsessed with this sport, which is why I

decided to do one lesson using an article on the subject. As I like to keep my

students interests in mind I also choose an article about space (as this topic and

science were students voiced choices as well); specifically about a new planet
being discovered. The articles, respectably named Basketball: A Fast-Paced Indoor

Game and First Planet from Outside our Galaxy Found, are appropriate texts for

English Language Learners (ELLs) as they have excellent text features, are

relatable, and are adaptable for numerous strategies and activities.

The article, Basketball: A Fast-Paced Indoor Game, has numerous advantages

to consider for a wide range of groups; foremost, that many students are interested

in the topic and are, therefore, motivated to participate (38). The text is socio-

culturally appropriate because the students already have experience with the topic

(45). Even students with mild interest in the game have likely played it in gym class

or have seen a family member watching it on television. These instances allow this

non-abstract piece to be connected to a students real life and their background

knowledge, which allows students to visualize, predict, and use context clues while

readingstrategies that will aid in reading comprehension. These reading

strategies, as well as sentence structure and orally identifying numbers are the

main objectives with this piece. As students have a large knowledge base of this

topic we are also able to focus on any specific unknown words (e.g. circumference

which with some forethought or luck one can have a basketball or other circular

realia ready to further explain this phenomena). Unknown words are also quickly

referenced in the articles word bank. Pointing out the text feature and its bolded

words allows students quick reference during reading and allows them to become

familiar with the concept of looking up words alphabetically. The second important

text feature is the diagram of the basketball court. The diagram allows easier

visualization and reference while reading. As well, while reviewing objectives (i.e.

Read labels on a diagram) with the students they have often admitted that they

do not know what diagrams or labels are, which then leads to teaching these
important and academic concepts. Another visual note is that the adequate spacing

aids student tracking (i.e. they are less likely to lose their spot). The article also

uses mostly past and present simple tense which means that it is not very complex

and therefore suitable for lower level students.

The cons of this article are few but could be disastrous for a lesson whose

whole purpose is to engage students in their learning. The main con being that it is

simply too easy as it has simplified language. The fact that students are already so

engaged with the topic outside of school means that they already know how to play

the game and maybe even more complex aspects of the sport. They can quickly

view the article as babyish and boring and then lose interest of the article and

lesson altogether. Therefore, the whole reason why the article was picked in the first

place would be the last thing that the student takes from it. Of course, any teacher

who has experienced students enthusiasm, or lack thereof, on any given day would

know that all is not lost. Pre-reading activities (e.g. text-to-self connections, Know-

Wonder-Learn charts), during reading activities (e.g. text-to-world connections, Venn

diagram to compare other sports), and post-reading activities (e.g. narrative

creative writing or writing dialogue from a news casters point-of-view) can keep

students engaged throughout the lesson. The article can also be manipulated to

involve more interesting wordsanother activity that could be passed to the

students insteadincluding verbs, tenses, and adjectives, which leaves the content

the same while making the text more complex.

The second article, First Planet from outside our Galaxy Found, has more cons

but should not be overlooked. The first con is that the theme of space is abstract in

general. Many students have spent time looking at the moon and the stars but do

not have world knowledge past these elements unless they had studied the solar
system previously. Even with some knowledge of planets and the universe the

abstract ideas of different galaxies and light years are more complex to explain

and demonstrate. Another piece of information that is necessary to understand is

the idea that our sun is also a star. The article only infers to this fact while

comparing it to a separate sun. Of course, with a vast amount of pre-reading

teaching (e.g. No, the sun is not lava) and activities these cons can subside some,

but that comes with the cost of a large amount of precious lesson time. The texts

picture does not aid with pre-reading predictions though, as it is ambiguous (i.e. is it

a sun, planet, or other unknown spherical object?); another picture could be

substituted to gain further understanding.

This more authentic article (45) also has notable pros to including it in a

lesson; as these two articles come from the same source there are similar benefits.

The second article also uses a word bank for content and complex vocabulary while

still having simple sentence structures and verb tenses. There are also cardinal

numbers that give students practice in orally replicating their names. This piece is

shorter than somewhich can be both good and bad (45). Students feel less

pressure than with longer text but the text also gives less contextanother reason

why pre-reading teaching is necessary. As the article is shorter and still uses

simplified language (45), the group has more opportunity to speak about it in detail

while still staying in the confined time of the lesson. Although there are complex

and abstract ideas, this non-fiction piece can still be used to make connections to

ones self. Prompting students to answer How long does it take for the Earth to go

around the sun? lends students to realize that this planets 16-day rotation is

nowhere near our 365 daysand more cross-curricular discussion if we discuss how

many years old we would be on this planet instead of our own. These discussion
questions and the topic allows this choice to be cross-curricular and will aid in future

teaching content as well.

To ensure that students are starting to understand the concepts and the

vocabulary it is beneficial to continue with post-reading activities. For the second

article, First Planet from outside our Galaxy Found, I decided to give students a

choice between two writing assignments. First, Write a narrative story from the

perspective of an alien living on this planet. How do they feel about living so close

to the sun? About only having sixteen days in a year? The second, Write a letter to

the astronomer who discovered this planet. Ask questions using how, what, where,

when, why, and who. Write any observations about the planet or any further

questions you would like to know. Each of these assignments require the student to

use five words from the word list in their writing and then underline them. These

activities add writing practice to the lesson which will aid their skill development

and in remembering new words; also, listening, speaking, reading and writing

incorporation is necessary for ELL to become fluent in the language. Students

drafts will give a formative assessment of their understanding of the topic and of

the vocabulary. Although the reading may still be on the easier side for the

intermediate-advanced students the writing allows them to write at their level

making it as simple or as complex as need be.

Lessons involving these two readings allow students of numerous English skill

levels and ages to participate and gain knowledge in the English language and in its

content area, therefore an instructor would evaluate these readings as highly

appropriate for a wide-range of students. As stated, there are numerous pros and

cons to both pieces, but with proper preparation the cons can be subsided. Neither

piece needs particular adaptations to their content or language as they were made
for ELL students, therefore they are worthy starts to planning useful lessons. No

reading is without its drawbacks and will not necessarily work for every groupno

matter the similarities of interests, skills, and ages. As shown, even material

specifically meant for ELLs can still require numerous considerations and may

render undesirable results. But with proper resources, supplementary material,

student choice, planning, and activities suitable for a range of skill levels, then it is

possible for appropriate reading material to make an excellent lesson.

 Works Cited:

Basketball: A Fast-Paced Indoor Game. English Online: Articles in Easy

Understandable English for Learners. May 5, 2015. http://www.english-

online.at/sports/basketball/basketball-rules-nba.htm

First Planet from outside our Galaxy Found. English Online: Articles in Easy

Understandable English for Learners. May 5, 2015. http://www.english-

online.at/news-articles/science/first-planet-from-outside-our-galaxy-found.htm

Ormiston, M. and Epstein, R. (2007). Tools and Tips for Using ELT Materials: A Guide

for Teachers. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.

Basketball: A Fast-Paced Indoor Game

Basketball is a fast, exciting and popular sport, played by

over 300 million people all over the world. It was invented in

the United States in 1891. Today, it is a sport that is played in

all types of schools all over the world. The best professional

players compete in teams of the National Basketball

Association (NBA).

Although basketball has been played almost everywhere it is

mostly an indoor game played on a court that is 29 metres

long and 15 metres wide. The floor is made of wood. At each

end there will be a backboard and a basket which you must

shoot the ball through. The basket is standing about 3 metres

from the floor. The official ball is normally made out of leather

and has a circumference of 76 cm.

The court has been painted with many important lines. The midcourt line and the centre circle are

where the game starts. The referee throws the ball into the air and two players jump up and try to

push it to their team-mates. The three-point line is a curved line on the floor. If a player shoots a

basket from outside the line the team gets three points. The free throw line is the place from which a

player tries to score a point after he is fouled. The sidelines and the baselines

mark the boundaries of the court.

Each team consists of five players who can be substituted at any time. Normally a team has two

guards, two forwards and a centre. The guards are usually the smallest and quickest players. They

should be good dribblers and passers and they play farther away from the basket. Most of them are

good at three-point shots. Forwards are taller and stronger than guards. They usually play near the

basket and are good rebounders. The centre is the most important player on a team. He is very tall
and always watches out for balls that come off the backboard. He is a good scorer and will

be dominating a game.

A professional basketball game is divided into four 12-minute quarters with a 15-

minute break between the second and third quarter. The clock is stopped every time

Because the referees will be blowing whistles during a game it can last up to two hours. If there had

not been a winner at the end of a game, the teams play overtime periods of 5 minutes. If a team

is ahead at the end of an overtime period the game is over.

Players can score points by shooting the ball through the basket. Three points are made when the

player scores from behind the three-point line, two points are awarded from everywhere inside the

three-point line. When a player is fouled he gets one or two free throws which score one point.

As with all games, basketball follows certain rules. A player must move the ball by bouncing it on

the court. This is also called dribbling. If he stops, holds the ball for too long and starts dribbling

again, the referee gives the ball to the other team.

If a player pushes or holds another player or hits him on the arm while he is trying to score the

referee calls a personal foul. The fouled player gets free throws. In the NBA players must leave the

court after they have committed six personal fouls.

A team cannot keep the ball as long as it wants. It only has 24 seconds to try to shoot the ball

through the basket; otherwise the other team gets the ball.

The NBA is the worlds leading basketball league. It consists of 29 teams that play in 4 divisions.

After the season the best teams compete in the play-offs for the NBA title. The NBA gets new young

players by choosing them from the best high school and college teams every year. Many players

from other countries also come to America to play in the NBA.

Words
 ahead = here: to have more points than the other team
although = while
award = to give
backboard = the board behind the basket
baseline = the line at the end of the court
bounce = to throw the ball down to the floor again and again without catching it
boundary = border
break = pause
circumference = the distance around the outside of the Ball
compete = to play against
commit = to do something wrong
consist =to be formed by two or more things
court = a place that is made to play games
dominate = to control
division = group
dribbler = to move the ball by bouncing it
invent = to have an new idea or make something for the first time
league = a group of teams that play against each other and see who is the best
midcourt = in the middle of the field
overtime period = the time that is played after the game ends and when there is no winner
passer = a player who throws the ball to another player of his team
rebounder = a player who catches the ball when it comes off the backboard
referee = someone who makes sure that the rules of a game are followed
rules = instructions of a game
score = to win a point in a game
sideline = a line at the side of a court
substitute = if one player goes out and another one takes his place

http://www.english-online.at/sports/basketball/basketball-rules-nba.htm
First Planet from Outside our Galaxy Found

Astronomers say they have found the first planet that came from out of our galaxy. The planet

is similar to Jupiter and once belonged to a galaxy that was consumed by our Milky Way.

Astronomers in Chile discovered the new planet with a powerful telescope.

The new planet is revolving around a star, called HIP 13044. It is about 2,000 light years away from

earth and once belonged to a neighbouring galaxy, which was swallowed up by the Milky Way

about 6 billion years ago. The planet, about the size of Jupiter, travels closely around its sun in

an orbit that takes 16 days to complete.

Up to now, astronomers have discovered 500 planets, all of which have their origin in the Milky

Way. The new discovery gives scientists proof that many more planets may exist outside our own

galaxy.

HIP 13044 is in its dying phase. The star has turned into a red giant, consumed all of its fuel and is

getting larger and larger. It has eaten up all of its planets, but obviously only one survived.

The discovery can be helpful to scientists in showing them what may happen in our own solar

system when our sun is expected to become a red giant in about 5 billion years.

(pictured: A red giant)

 Words
astronomer = a scientist who studies the
stars and the planets
billion = a thousand million
closely = very near
complete = finish
consume = take up, eat up
discover = to find something for the first
time
fuel = energy
galaxy = one of the large groups of stars
that make up our universe
light year = the distance that light travels in one year ; about 9.4 trillion kilometres
Milky Way = the galaxy that our sun and the planets are in
obviously = clearly
orbit = to go around an object in a circle
origin = beginning
proof = facts that show that something is true
red giant = a star getting near the end of its life and shining in a red glow
revolve = go around
similar = like
solar system = the sun and the planets
survive = to keep existing
swallow = consume
telescope = object shaped like a long round tube; it makes faraway objects look larger