CoBaLTT Unit Plan

World Cities: Beijing
Lesson 02: Geography of Beijing

Submitted by Xu Zhang

Objectives:

Content:
Students will:

Familiarize themselves with the relief map of Beijing
Read and talk about the major natural resources in Beijing;
Infer the climate and the effects of natural resources and their consumption on people's lives.

Cultural:
Students will:

Understand people's memories of the great destruction by the Tangshang Earthquake;

Understand people's attitudes towards the weather of the city, such as extreme heat, drought, and wind;

Understand that every place in the world has its own pride and problems.

Language: Content Obligatory
Students will:

Use the following words and phrases (see attachment: Word List Lesson 2, List 1)

The students will (see Grammar list lesson 2, list 1):
1. Understand the passive voice
2. Use the linking verbs
3. Using the past perfect indicators

Language: Content Compatible
Students will:

Use the journalist and the casual/colloquial register appropriately

Learning Strategies / Social and Skills Development:

Time Frame:

1.5 hours

Materials Needed:

All can be found in the attachments:

A relief map of Beijing; a blank map of Beijing

Reading materials on the natural resources of the Beijing area

Tape recordings on the earthquake and the weather.

Description of Assessment (Performance Project):

Context:
The students have learned spatial relationship words during lesson 1 and have had some knowledge of the geographical location of Beijing in relation to the whole country. They now also have a better awareness of the formal and informal register in Chinese. At the very beginning of the class, the teacher collects the written report (homework) and check that all the students have their self-made paper compass with them.
Pre-task:
Step1: Warm-up -- "Action Dictation"
The students are to do this activity in pairs. One student speak out the directions in Chinese, the other student is to use their self-made paper compass to show their partner the right direction by moving the hands of the compass. The dictating student then increases speed and the acting student must follow. If one of them makes mistakes, they then switch roles. If no mistake is made for 8 directions, the pair is also to switch roles. This activity lasts 3 minutes.
Step2: Review the spatial relationship words and geographical terms
The teacher pairs up the students and gives only one in each pair a relief map of Beijing. The other student in the pair should be given a blank map of the same area. The students who have the map should use the words they learned in lesson 1 to describe to the ones with the blank the terrain characteristics of Beijing as shown in the map. Then, without looking at their partner, the ones with blank map draw on it as described. After they finish drawing on the map, the pairs will compare their maps to see the accuracy of their description and drawings. Students should be describing and comparing in Chinese and making corrections with a colored pencil. The teacher monitors and listens during the whole activity. Occasional help may be offered to the students. As a summary of this activity, the teacher may call on the students who were drawing to describe to the whole class the terrain characteristic of the area while other students listen and add or correct. The number of students to do this depends on the time available and the size of the class. Then the teacher collects the blank map with both partners' names on it for evaluation after class.
Step 3: Reading and whole-class discussion in English
(two very short sentences about the city's altitude and longitude) From the terrain characteristics of Beijing in relation to the bigger map of the continent (teacher should also have the continent map ready), what can you infer about its climate? [This activity is to facilitate subsequent activity; therefore, it is not necessary for the teacher to elaborate, unless s/he wants to put the focus solely on climate for the whole lesson]. After this whole class discussion, the teacher may write important words on the blackboard for the students' later reference. Suggested words are in the attachment, Word List Lesson 2, List 2.
Task set-up: Jigsaw reading
Find out what resource(s) there are in this region and what is hidden under its terrain. The teacher divides the class into 3 equal groups. Each group is to read a different part of a very short passage. Group A is to read "Water Resources in Beijing"; group B is to read "Mineral Resources"; and group C, "Hot Spring". After reading, the teacher re-groups the students into groups of three, each having finished one part of the passage. The students are to ask their peers in Chinese for the information they do not have with appropriate register. Then, they are to inform each other in Chinese on what they have just read. After sharing information, the students are to turn over the pages and discuss the questions written at the back of each part of the passage. The questions are in the attachment, Tasks Lesson 2, Category 1.
The students are encouraged to discuss these questions in as much Chinese as possible. The teacher monitors as the students discuss. When the students finish, the teacher asks volunteers to share their opinions. Teacher also tries to cover as many students from different groups as time allows. As the students share their opinions the teacher writes on transparencies and reserves them for later use.
Words and phrases used are in the attachments, Word List Lesson 2, List 3).
During task:
Step 1: Jigsaw listening - the effects of natural resources or their consumption on life in Beijing.
Students are to be divided into two groups to listen to native speakers talking about the following two topics: (1) Heat, droughts and wind; (2) Memories of the Tangshan Earthquake. While listening, the students are to fill out a table provided to help them obtain information. Each group is only able to fill out half of the table. The students should use Chinese when filling out the form in Chinese. A list of vocabulary should be given by the teacher based on the transcription of the monologue according to his/her students' current level. The table is in the attachment, Tasks Lesson 2, Category 2.
Step 2: Sharing -- role-play: an interview on the streey
Again the students are paired up according to the topics they have listened. Each student in the pair is going to take turns to be the journalist and the passer-by. The students are to address each other in the right register (like a journalist and an ordinary citizen). As the passer-by speaks, the journalist should take notes on their table sheet, to complete the other half. The teacher needs to provide the students with examples of different registers by giving appropriate examples before the activity if necessary. The content of their role cards is as below:

Card 1: You are a journalist and would like to know what people think about Beijing's weather (or what people remember about the Tangshan Earthquake). Ask a passer-by what s/he has to say. Ask in the way a journalist would and take notes on your table of what s/he says.
Card 2: You are living in Beijing (just as the person you've heard from the tape). You are on your way home. Suddenly a journalist catches you and asks you questions. Tell in a frank yet friendly voice what you know and what you think.
After the students finished the task the teacher discusses the table with them and collects the sheet for evaluation.
Post-task: Homework
As homework the students are to write a report using what they learned in class on the terrain, climate, and/or natural resources of Beijing. Topics could be focused on geographical facts, on the merits and drawbacks of these facts, or on the students' own reflections on what should be and why the facts are not like what they inferred.
Extensions:
Content: Students may also surf the web to read more on Beijing's geographical facts, the earthquake, and other natural resources that this lesson does not have time to cover.

Assessment:

Embedded in the tasks.

References and Resources:

For the Natural resources articles go to:
http://www.oldbj.com/bjlife/bjhistory/bjhistory00018.htm
http://www.oldbj.com/liveinbj/aboutbj/aboutbj10.htm
http://www.oldbj.com/liveinbj/aboutbj/aboutbj14.htm
http://www.oldbj.com/liveinbj/aboutbj/aboutbj11.htm
http://serve.cei.gov.cn/map/beijing/index.htm (teachers can print the map of Beijing from this site and erase the characters to make a blank map)
Sit, V. (1995). Beijing. John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.: Chichester, NY, Brisbane, Toronto, Singapore. (p121, simplified relief map)
See the following web site for maps of China and Asia:
http://school.discovery.com/students/homeworkhelp/worldbook/atozpictures/mp000047.html
http://school.discovery.com/students/homeworkhelp/worldbook/atozpictures/mp000403.html
http://school.discovery.com/students/homeworkhelp/worldbook/atozpictures/mp000016.html

Attachments:

NOTE: some attachments are in PDF form (get Acrobat Reader)

Word List Lesson 2 (List 1 to 3)
Grammar List Lesson 2 (List 1)
Tasks Lesson 2 (Categories 1 and 2)
Marlene
Audio files on Beijing's weather: in folder "new_bj_weather", including two audio files "bj_weather1" and "bj_weather2" and a word doc "Description weather"
Audio files on the earthquake: in folder "new_bj_earthquake", including two audio files "bj_earthquake1" and "bj_earthquake2" and a word doc "Description Earthquake"