CIVILIZATION

The American Dream

 

SCHOOL:                                          Liceo Scientifico

 

CLASS:                                              3^rd year

 

LANGUAGE LEVEL:                      B1

 

MODULE NUMBER:                 Module n° 2                                         (see outline attached)

 

TITLE OF TEACHING UNITS:

Unit 1: USA: Who is really American? (2 hours)

Unit 2: American vs British (2 hours)

Unit 3. I Y NY City (4 hours)

Unit 4: The junk food eaters (4 hours)

Unit 5: Canada: A Natural Pride (2 hours)

Unit 6: The Indians and the Eskimos (3 hours)

Unit 7: A virtual tour around Toronto (4 hours)

Unit 8: Famous Women. (3 hours)

STOP AND CHECK (1 hour )

 

TIMING:                                           25 hours

 

PREREQUISITES:                   

§        GRAMMAR:  use and position of adjectives; questions as “What … like?”; plurals; possess-ive case; demonstratives; possessive adjectives; negative and interrogative forms; some prepositions; Simple past: Regular and Irregular;

• VOCABULARY: vocabulary related to places, physical appearances of people; sufficient

vocabulary  to express him/herself on everyday life.

• FUNCTIONS

Describing places, situations and events in a simple way

Talking about the features, habits and values of a certain culture.

Expressing likes and dislikes

• COMMUNICATIVE ACTIVITIES

-         Can find specific information in simple everyday material such as ads, timetables, charts, leaflets, etc.

-         Can understand enough in order to be able to meet needs of a concrete type related to areas of immediate priority such as personal information, shopping, geography, etc.

-         Can identify the main points of short recorded messages or TV news

-         Can handle short  social exchanges on topics of interest

-         Can ask for and provide factual information

-         Can ask and answer questions about habits, routines, pastimes and past activities

-         Can write simple texts  relating to matters of immediate need

-         Can give simple description or presentation of people and places, living conditions, like and dislikes, events, etc.

 

 

 

 

OBJECTIVES:                           

• GRAMMAR KNOWLEDGE and USE:
•  

Ø      Prepositions of place, time and movement.

Ø      Consolidation of question words such as When?, How?, Why?

Ø      Comparatives and superlatives

Ø      Consolidation of the Simple past: Regular and Irregular (American Exceptions)

Ø      Linkers: but, however, or, therefore

Ø      To do used with Have

 

• VOCABULARY KNOWLEDGE and USE:

Ø      Adjectives used for expressing opinion

Ø      Words and expressions used when talking about location.

Ø      Different words and spelling in American English

 

• FUNCTIONS:

-        Expressing opinions on the advantages and disadvantages of a place

-        Agreeing and Disagreeing

-        Asking for information in a Tourist office

-        Describing places and their attractions

-        Talking about people and places

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

• COMMUNICATIVE ACTIVITIES:

-        Listening Comprehension:

Ø      Can understand the main points of a clear standard speech

Ø      Can identify general messages and specific details

Ø      Can understand the main points of  radio news bulletins

Ø      Can follow films and videos in which visual and actions carry much of the storyline

-        Reading  Comprehension

Ø      Can read factual texts with a good level of comprehension

Ø      Can  locate specific information in public notices, signs, leaflets and brochures

Ø      Can identify the main points in a newspaper article or other argumentative texts

-        Overall Written Interaction

Ø      Can convey information and ideas on the topic

Ø      Can ask about and explain doubts in a reasonable way

-    Overall Written Production

Ø      Can write straightforward, detailed descriptions on topics within his/her field of interest

Ø      Can write a brief article summarising, reporting and giving his/her own opinion about accumulated factual information on the topic in discussion.

-        Overall Spoken Production

Ø      Can reasonably fluently sustain a straightforward description of places, situation and events in a linear way as a sequence of points

Ø      Can  give detailed accounts of feelings and reactions to the topic

-        Overall Spoken Interaction

Ø      Can exchange information and express personal opinions on other cultures

Ø      Can express thoughts on cultural topics

Ø      Can  participate in short discussions on the topics taken into account

• PEDAGOGICAL AIMS

- Comparing the different cultures, evaluating and possibly adapting  the best

  practice to his/her own world.

- Increasing social and cultural awareness.           

- Observing different ways of living and comparing them with one’s own

- Respecting minorities and different habits and cultures.

 

COMPETENCES INVOLVED: 

§        General Competences

Knowledge of the world: knowledge concerning the countries in which the L2 is spoken, such as its major geographical, demographic and political factors.

Sociocultural knowledge: knowledge of the society and culture of the countries in which the L2 is spoken, such as its living standards, class structure, relation between sexes, race and community relations, religious groupings, tradition and social change, arts, etc.

Intercultural awareness: knowledge and awareness of the regional and social diversities both among the English speaking countries and the “world of origin”

Intercultural skills: bringing the culture of origin and the foreign one into relation with each other.

Existential competences:  consolidating/arising  feelings of openness towards new experiences, people, ideas, societies and cultures.

 

• Linguistic Competences

Lexical: phrasal verbs, idioms, American English

Grammatical : Present/Past Verbs; prepositions of time, space and movement; frequency adverbs; adjectives; Comparatives and Superlatives.

Semantic: synonyms and opposites; denotation and connotation; semantic fields.

Phonological: British vs. American English

 

• Sociolinguistic Competences

Politeness conventions: expressing admiration; expressing regret, contradiction; expressing like and dislike;

Dialect and Accent: differences between American, Canadian and British English.

 

• Pragmatic Competences

Discourse competence: the student should be able to organise, structure and arrange sentences in order to carry out a discourse through natural sequencing.

Functional competence: the student should be able to

- identify factual information and report it in a simple way.

- ask and answer questions on the topic.

- describe  places, people and events .

- express likes/dislikes; agreement/disagreement; interest; disappointment; surprise

 

 

 

 

TEXTS TO BE USED:

• Spoken                  news broadcast, songs,  film sequences, announcement and speech
• Written                 articles from magazines, newspapers and the internet; comic strips; brochures

/leaflets, extracts from guides; web pages; extracts from textbooks.

                       

 

 

TASKS TO BE PERFORMED:

• vocabulary building:  matching words with descriptions, synonyms of visual aids
• reading articles for general information
• reading leaflets, guides, and brochures for specific information
• classroom interaction on real life tasks in real life situations
• summarizing texts and extracts for a better use of the information gathered
• interview people on their habits and life routines.

 

STRATEGIES:                       

• RECEPTION: Can identify unfamiliar words  and extrapolate their meaning from the context
• INTERACTION: Can summarise the point reached in a discussion or repeat what has been said as to confirm mutual understanding.
• PRODUCTION: Can communicate the main points he/she wants to make.

    Can correct him/herself while communicating.

 

REMEDIAL WORK:

• to be defined according to the outcomes       

 

AIDS:                                           

• Handouts: photocopies, worksheets, charts, maps, etc.
• newspapers and magazines: Toronto star,  The New York Times, The Washington Post.
• Tourist guides: “Tourism Toronto”;
• Leaflets and brochures
• Biographies
• Internet sites:  www.torontotourism.com; www.cntower.ca; www.skydome.com;

www.torontozoo.com; www.travelhost.com; 

• CDs – MP3s
• blackboard
• tape recorder and cassettes: BBC news
• VCR and video cassettes : CNN news

 

ASSESSMENT TOOLS and CRITERIA:         

Summative assessment

Written Test:  Write a brief  article for the School’s magazine through which you are willing to

convince your schoolmates to visit either Canada or the United States.”                      

(200 words)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CRITERIA FOR CREDIT GRANTING                                                        

Written Test:                                                                                                                                                              

 

                            

Indicatori e Descrittori

 

 

 

 

 

 

By Teresa Gencarelli