Submitted by Xu Zhang
Objectives:
Content:
Students will:
- Describe the major means of transportation in Beijing through observing photos;
- Compare the forms of transportation in Beijing with those of their own;
- Read and find information on a train/plane schedule in Chinese;
- Understand the merits and problems of Beijing's transportation system.
Cultural:
Students will:
- Understand the cultural aspect of how the major means of transportation in Beijing can serve its people's daily moving around.
Language: Content Obligatory
Students will:
- Use the following words and phrases (see attachment: Word List Lesson 8, List 1)
- Use the following structure (see attachment: Grammar List Lesson 8, List 1)
Language: Content Compatible
Learning Strategies / Social and Skills Development:
Students will:
- Use their reading skills learned in scanning information in English to scan information in Chinese.
Time Frame:
1.5 hours
Materials Needed:
- Photos and pictures on transportation
- Bus schedule used in the U.S.
- Train schedule used in China
- Plane schedule used in China
- Tape recording on Beijing's major forms of transportation
Description of Assessment (Performance Project):
Context:
The students have over the years of studying their own mother tough acquired the skill of scanning for specific information.Pre-task:
Step 1: Students think about how they go about their own city (in the U.S.) and list the form(s) of transportation that they/their family often rely on. This activity should be short and done in pairs. After the pair discussion, the teacher asks the students to share their answers with the whole class and writes all that the students have come up on the board.Step 2: Students are given a set of pictures (maps and photos) to discuss in pairs on the following questions:
(1) What can you see from the picture are the means of transportation in Beijing?
(2) What can you infer from these pictures are the main ways of transportation for people there?
(3) What can you see are the major problems in transporting people? What do you think are the causes?
(4) How are these means of transportation compared with those in your own city/country?After the pair work, the teacher asks each pair to talk about one picture/ one type of pictures and share with the whole class what they have got from the picture(s). Teacher write the major points of the students' discussion results on board as a reminder of the comparison between Beijing and the students' own country/city.
Task set-up:
Speed reading -- scanning for information from a train schedule.
Step 1: The teacher takes out a bus schedule used in the U.S. and asks the students to shout out the words for "bus schedule" in Chinese. Then the teacher tells the students that in Beijing only trains and planes have schedules printed for the public, and at the same time gives each student a train schedule.Step 2: Teacher guides the students to analyze the structure of the train schedule used in Beijing.
Step 3: Teacher makes the students find out various times for different locations (arrivals and departures) and different number trains.
Step 4: The students are to complete a timed scanning on a plane schedule with written questions designed by the teacher attached to the schedule. They are to find information on the arrivals and departures of different number planes. The students who finish will raise their hands. After the first student finishes, the teacher write time on board every 20 seconds, so that students may know roughly how long it takes them to finish this activity. After all have finished, the teacher discusses answers with the students and collects the answer sheets for evaluation.
Step 5: Students work in pairs and think out the possible reasons for that fact that buses in Beijing do not have published schedules available. They are also to think about what kind of information and where this information may be indicated if people in Beijing do need some kind of information for bus times. After the pairs finish their discussion, the teacher asks them to share their guesses with others as a whole class feedback. Teacher may want to write the students' key points on board/transparency.
During task:
The students are to listen to a student from Beijing describes the city's major means of transportation. They are to listen to the recording for three times, each time with a different purpose. The first time the students are to listen for only the gist of the monologue by finding out answers to the following questions:
(1) Find out whether your predictions about buses in Beijing are accurate. If not, what does the speaker say about the reason for buses in Beijing do not have a schedule printed?
(2) What are the means of transportation listed by the speaker? Note down as many as you can get.After the students finished listening, the teacher discusses the answers to these two questions with the whole class and prepares the students to listen for the second time. The second time the students are to listen for specific information from the monologue by answer questions as in the attachment, Tasks Lesson 8, Category 1.
After listening and answering the questions individually, the students are to compare their answers with their pairs. When the comparison is finished, the teacher discusses the answers with the whole class. The teacher will collect the students answer sheets for inspection after class. The third time is a focused listening. The students listen only to the speaker's description of the bus sign (a sign at each bus stop on route). In pairs the students follow the description and draw on a piece of paper a bus sign (both sides) and answer the questions in the attachment, Tasks Lesson 8, Category 2.
After the pair work, the teacher discuss with the students about the questions and make each pair show their "bus signs" to other students in class. The students are to put the signs into their portfolio together with all other class products and works.
Post-task:
The students write a letter to a Beijing student who is going to come to the U.S. to study. Tell this student the difference in transportation between Beijing and your city. Also tell him how to find and use the transportation and related services in your city and point out aspects s/he should pay attention to. The students may:(1) imagine such a person;
(2) with the help of the teacher find out a real person in such situation and write to him/her;
(3) write as an officer in the International Student Office of a school to the coming international students. This is homework and is due before the next lesson.
Assessment:
Embedded in the tasks.
References and Resources:
The following web sites have train and plane schedules:
http://www.geocities.com/Broadway/5889/bjz.html
http://www.geocities.com/Broadway/5889/westbj.html
http://www.geocities.com/Broadway/5889/southbj.html
http://www.geocities.com/Broadway/5889/nothbj.html
http://www.geocities.com/Broadway/5889/skb.html
Plane tickets: http://www.geocities.com/Broadway/5889/mh.html
From: http://sq.k12.com.cn/~compass/newpage8.htmMarlene:
audio files on transportation: in folder "new_bj_transportation", including 8 audio files "new_bj_transportation" 1-8, and a word doc "Description Transportation"Part of the photos of transportation are available at my Yahoo photos collection -- my Photo Album. Open the link, then click on "transportation"
Other photos will be in the attachments section.The teacher can easily find a bus schedule in their own cities.
Attachments:
NOTE: some attachments are in PDF form (get Acrobat Reader)Word List Lesson 8.PDF (List 1)
Grammar List Lesson 8.PDF (List 1)
Tasks Lesson 8.PDF (Categories 1 and 2)
bike2.jpg
Street.jpg
Street2.jpg
trafficJam.jpg
