GRADE 11A: Computers Describing processes

About this unit

This unit is designed to guide your planning and teaching of English lessons. It provides a link between the standards for English and your lesson plans. The teaching and learning activities in this unit should help you to plan the content, pace and level of difficulty of lessons. You should adapt the ideas in the unit to meet the needs of your class. You can also supplement the ideas with appropriate activities from your schools textbooks and other resources. In this unit, students consider the benefits and problems associated with computers in society and learn about internet fraud.

UNIT 11A.9 11 hours

Resources
The main resources needed for this unit are: 45 short interviews with people talking about changes that computers have had on their lives; reading text about negative effects of computers; reading text of approximately 500800 words advocating less use of or dependence on computers; listening text of someone describing a personal experience of online crime.

Expectations
By the end of the unit, most students will: apply understanding of word parts, relationships, and context clues to determine the meaning of unfamiliar words, to extend, and generate new vocabulary; understand and respond to a range of information given in face-to-face or audio-only situations in monologues and dialogues; actively participate in informal and more formal discussions; use interactive and language repair strategies to maintain and develop conversations; report what people say or believe; speak on technical subjects; make clear oral presentations of processes, using the passive voice; write information texts using and synthesising evidence from reading and other sources, and using ICT to organise and present the text in ways that help the reader; give advice and make strong recommendations; plan and compose recounts, information and discussion essays of up to 350 words weighing arguments for and against an idea or issue; use common word-processing software to independently plan, compose, edit and present and save their own writing. Students who progress further will: use formal written English typical of the styles used in discussions and debates; summarise peoples opinions and beliefs clearly and succinctly using a range of reporting verbs. Students who make slower progress will: structure a text in unified paragraphs which break the narrative into coherent and connected parts; Report peoples opinions and beliefs using common reporting verbs.

Key structures and functions

passive voice to describe processes: In design, original drawings can be easily changed, resized and stored. Imported drawings can be modified and re-used.

Vocabulary
computers: blogger, software, the web, firewall, anti-virus program, etc. online fraud: to con, to commit fraud/a crime, a victim, to hack into a computer, phishing, organised crime, etc.

243 | Qatar English scheme of work | Grade 11A | Unit 11A.9 | Computers

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Standards for the unit

11 hours
3 hours Positive and negative effects of the IT revolution 3 hours Explaining how things work 3 hours Shopping online 11A.4.4 2 hours Polite requests Use a variety of interactive and language repair strategies to initiate, maintain and conclude a conversation of at least 15 minutes involving a variety of linguistic and paralinguistic communication strategies: stop and restart utterances that are not clear, pause to rephrase; paraphrase use of an L2 phrase to describe the property, function, characteristics, duty, its purpose or an example of it; 11A.4.4 11A.4.3

Unit 11A.9
CORE STANDARDS Grade 11A standards
11A.2.1 Consolidate understanding of affixes and word roots from Grades 7 10, and extend ability to recognise, investigate, and spell root words with a wider range of affixes; generate new words and guess the meaning of unknown words from affixes, to extend vocabulary and support spelling. Interact in group, paired and more formal discussion: actively participate, contributing relevant opinions, examples and suggestions to the discussion; challenge ideas and get the interlocutor to justify their point of view where appropriate; show independence by initiating new ideas and taking responsibility for keeping the discussion going; ability to deal with unexpected questions or comments. Use a variety of interactive and language repair strategies to initiate, maintain and conclude a conversation of at least 15 minutes involving a variety of linguistic and paralinguistic communication strategies: approximation use of an L2 word, which shares the essential feature of the target word; where necessary, rehearse and organise utterances before speaking; appeal for assistance (either implicit or explicit); gesture use of facial expression or head shaking if there is a lack of understanding; mime use of gestures as well as verbal output to convey meaning; comprehension check use a variety of expressions to check a partners understanding; clarification request a request for repetition or explanation; back-channel cues use of short utterances to show participation or understanding; self-repair self-correction of mistakes; confirmation check repetition of the interlocutors statement to check understanding; pausing use of pauses or pause-fillers for taking time to think. 12A.4.3 Use a variety of interactive and language repair strategies to initiate, maintain and conclude a conversation of at least 20 minutes involving a variety of linguistic and paralinguistic communication strategies.

SUPPORTING STANDARDS including Grade 10A standards

EXTENSION STANDARDS including Grade 12A standards

244 | Qatar English scheme of work | Grade 11A | Unit 11A.9 | Computers

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11 hours
10A.5.5

SUPPORTING STANDARDS including Grade 10A standards

Report what people say or believe: summarise monologues, conversations and group discussions; use reported commands with verbs other than say, tell and ask, and active and passive voice. 11A.5.4

CORE STANDARDS Grade 11A standards

Report what people say or believe: summarise monologues, conversations and group discussions; use direct quotations for emphasis or effect; use a wide range of verbs other than say, tell and ask extend to using verbs of speech which take the gerund and the infinitive use whether as well as if in reported yes/no questions; use the correct sequence of tenses, and appropriate changes in time phrases and demonstrative adjectives. 11A.5.7 Prepare and make to an audience a 10-minute presentation on a topic that interests and informs (current or past events): organise the presentation with a consistent structure; use appropriate language for introducing, developing main ideas, summarising, and concluding; present arguments for and against in a balanced way, supported with evidence and examples; recommend, giving reasons as part of the conclusion; use presentation skills speak with few hesitations from notes, use and refer to visuals effectively, be aware of the audience through eye contact, body language, voice projection; handle anticipated and unexpected questions from the audience and, where appropriate, maintain a dialogue with them. 11A.5.10 Speak on a technical subject related to other study about the results of research, referring to notes but converting ideas into the spoken medium. 11A.9.2 Drawing on experiences of reading, compose narratives based on known or imagined stories, personal experiences, or recounts of events, showing ability to: construct a coherent story plan showing the main characters, the progression of events and the conclusion, as a basis for writing a full version; select and present themes and topics in ways that capture the readers interest; relate events coherently showing the passage and duration of time in a clear chronological sequence; select vocabulary precisely to portray characters and create moods and settings; [continued] 12A.9.2

EXTENSION STANDARDS including Grade 12A standards

Drawing on experiences of reading, plan and compose narratives based on known or imagined stories, personal experiences or recounts of events.

245 | Qatar English scheme of work | Grade 11A | Unit 11A.9 | Computers

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11 hours

SUPPORTING STANDARDS including Grade 10A standards

CORE STANDARDS Grade 11A standards

[continued] include dialogue or reported speech as appropriate; use a variety of complex and simple sentence forms to create interest, emphasis, tension; draw the narrative to an effective conclusion; structure the text in paragraphs which break the narrative into coherent and connected parts.

EXTENSION STANDARDS including Grade 12A standards

11A.8.6

Consolidate use of common wordprocessing software such as Microsoft Word to plan, compose, edit and present own writing: create, open, save and close documents; find files; type, edit, find and replace; cut, copy and paste; format paragraphs, pages and full documents; check grammar and spelling; print.

11A.9.3

Drawing on experience of reading, compose information texts which present information based on personal knowledge or research, showing ability to: construct a plan in the form of notes, a summary, a flow-chart, concept map etc. showing the main elements and the connections between them, as a basis for writing; synthesise information from more than two written sources; select vocabulary and typical language to suit the purpose; use ICT to organise and present the text attractively and in ways that help the reader, by appropriately using headings, lists, paragraphs, diagrams, and illustrations that are drawn, scanned or pasted.

12A.9.3

Drawing on experience of reading, compose information texts which present information based on personal knowledge or research, showing ability to: follow basic conventions of recording and acknowledging sources in footnotes, bibliographies or forewords by attributing reported speech, mentioning a book, website, author in the text, as relevant.

11A.9.5

Compose essays, drawing on work in another curriculum subject or an issue of topical interest, using: organisational features typical of a discussion text to balance and weigh arguments formal written English typical of the styles used in discussions and debates.

11A.9.8

Write for a range of functional purposes to report, organise and convey information accurately: requests for information asking precise questions in a style that is attractive to the reader and easy to understand; instructions and directions using typical language and organisational features of procedural texts non-personal direct language, active, imperative verbs, sequencing connectives, a clear statement of intended outcome and equipment needed followed by a series of ordered steps.

246 | Qatar English scheme of work | Grade 11A | Unit 11A.9 | Computers

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Activities
Objectives
3 hours Positive and negative effects of the IT revolution Students are able to: generate new words and guess the meaning of unknown words from affixes and roots; use common spelling conventions; recognise the main points made by other speakers and respond in relevant ways; recognise and use language-repair strategies to initiate, maintain and conclude a conversation; summarise monologues, conversations and group discussions; present a description of a process of several steps using the passive voice; compose a discussion text to balance and weigh arguments.

Unit 11A.9
Possible teaching activities
Divide students into groups. Each group brainstorms the benefits of using computers in a particular field (e.g. design, medicine, education, military, cinema, manufacturing). Students present their lists to the rest of the class,, for example: In design, original drawings can be easily changed, resized and stored. Imported drawings can be modified and re-used. Before students begin, highlight and practise the use of passives to describe processes. Discuss the use of affixes and word roots in 34 words from the discussion and encourage students to find related words, for example: resize: downsize, outsize, to size up a situation; manufacture: manual, manuscript, factory; import: export, portable, porter. Students listen to a series of short monologues by people responding to a question such as: Was your life better before computers or is it better since computers? Students identify the main ideas and supporting details and fill in a simple grid with notes. They use a range of reporting verbs to sum up each persons opinion. Students identify and discuss language-repair strategies used by the speakers, for example: stopping and restarting utterances; paraphrasing; appealing for assistance; using pauses or pause-fillers for taking time to think; interviewer checking comprehension and requesting clarification. Students read a text about some of the negative effects of computers (e.g. the harmful effects of violent computer games). Students complete comprehension activities focusing on distinguishing fact from opinion. They respond to true/false statements that focus on the main ideas and supporting evidence, and summarise the text in 45 sentences. Students complete grammar and vocabulary activities focusing on the use of tenses and spelling (e.g. they identify eight mis-spelt words in the text and make necessary corrections). Students respond to the reading text by giving their own opinions. In groups, students discuss how their lives would change if all computers disappeared tomorrow. They prepare and make a presentation to the whole class with appropriate use of: first and second person language; expressions to indicate degrees of certainty; expressions for generalising and highlighting; a range of connectives for reasons and consequences. Texts about the harmful effects of violent computer games can be found on the internet. For example, Games prime brain for violence at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr//1/hi/health/4119408.stm The teacher can interview other teachers and grade 12 students.

Notes

School resources
This column is blank for schools to note their own resources (e.g. textbooks, worksheets).

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Objectives

Possible teaching activities

Encourage students to use the language repair-strategies discussed above to enable them to maintain communication. As groups make their presentations, encourage students to make notes in two columns headed Positive changes and Negative changes. Students read a text advocating less use of or dependence on computers (e.g. Time to switch off and slow down). Students identify the main ideas in the text and supporting arguments. Students discuss use of reporting verbs and direct speech. Students identify and look up the meaning of jargon in the text (e.g. bloggers, wired). Students prepare to write a discussion essay on the benefits and problems of computers. Discuss the organisational and language features typical of a discussion essay (standard 9.5) and use them to develop assessment criteria. Students plan their essay in groups. They write individually on computer.

Notes

School resources

Text Time to switch off and slow down can be found at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr//1/hi/technology/4682123.stm

3 hours Explaining how things work Students are able to: speak on a technical subject related to other study about the results of research, referring to notes but converting ideas into the spoken medium; write instructions using typical language and organisational features of procedural texts; use ICT to organise and present the text in ways that help the reader.

Students listen to or read an explanatory text on how the Internet works. They take notes, label diagrams, etc. in preparation for making a presentation on the subject. Demonstrate how to download pictures and graphics for students to use in their presentations (see next step). Students use their notes from reading or listening to enable them to make a short presentation on how the Internet works. In small groups, students prepare instructions on how to use the Internet. Discuss target group and purpose for writing. Revise typical language and organisational features of procedural texts (see standard 10A.9.8). Students draft and edit their texts in groups. They use ICT to illustrate the text. Discuss and agree evaluation criteria for a presentation (see standard 10A.5.7).

248 | Qatar English scheme of work | Grade 11A | Unit 11A.9 | Computers

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Objectives
3 hours Shopping online Students are able to: understand and respond to a range of information given in face-to-face or audio-only situations in monologues and dialogues; recount events using a range of past tenses; plan and conduct simple research into a familiar topic; give advice and make strong recommendations; compose information texts which present information based on personal knowledge or research; use ICT to organise and present texts with appropriate layout.

Possible teaching activities

Ask students if they have ever bought anything online. Encourage them to ask each other and seek clarification. Invite one or two students to describe the experience they had and the result. If possible, identify one positive experience and one negative experience and use these to lead into a discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of online shopping. In groups, students prepare a simple survey about online shopping. They discuss what information they want to find out (e.g. how often people shop online, what kind of things they buy). and prepare 45 questions. Students try out their questionnaire on another group, make any necessary improvements, and then carry out the survey on another class. Students analyse the results and prepare to report them to the rest of the class. They prepare a poster to support their presentation. Students take turns to present their results and compare their findings. Students listen to a speaker describing an experience of internet theft. Students complete comprehension tasks focusing on the sequence of actions (e.g. ordering a jumbled list of activities). Students complete grammar and vocabulary activities focusing on the use of tenses and spelling, for example: students identify mistakes in a number of sentences taken from the text and displayed on the board; teacher dictates part of the text to the class; students identify spelling patterns. Students write a recount of the events, showing the passage and duration of time in a clear chronological sequence. Students read a text about the increase in internet crime (e.g. UK in grip of hi-tech crime wave) from the BBC news. Students complete tasks focusing on the comprehension of main ideas and supporting detail.

Notes

School resources

Text UK in grip of hi-tech crime wave can be found at: http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/ mpapps/ pagetools/print/news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/ business/4102480.stm Revise structures for making suggestions, giving advice and making strong recommendations if necessary.

Agree evaluation criteria for a text prepared using ICT. In groups, students use ideas from the reading article and their own knowledge to make suggestions, give advice and make strong recommendations on how to avoid internet fraud. Students organise their ideas into a text, taking account of the purpose of their writing and their audience. They layout the text using ICT. When students have finished, they display and compare their texts and evaluate them against the previously agreed criteria.

249 | Qatar English scheme of work | Grade 11A | Unit 11A.9 | Computers

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Objectives
2 hours Polite requests Students are able to: make and respond to very polite requests using Would it be possible to, Would you mind + -ing and I wonder if youd mind + -ing.

Possible teaching activities

Students listen to a series of polite requests. They identify the nature of the request (e.g. sensitive, important, minor) and infer the relationship between the speakers. They identify the level of formality and politeness and discuss the structures used. Students practise making and responding to polite requests using role-cards. Students write a formal letter or email requesting information, for example, about an IT course. Discuss the content, layout and level of formality of language to be used and develop evaluation criteria.

Notes

School resources

250 | Qatar English scheme of work | Grade 11A | Unit 11A.9 | Computers

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Assessment
Examples of assessment tasks and questions
Listening Students listen to a text related to the use of computers and summarise the speakers beliefs and opinions. Students discuss the advantages and disadvantages of email as a form of communication. Students read a text related to the use of computers and respond to true/false statements or multiple-choice questions. Students write a short discussion essay on the advantages and disadvantages of online shopping.

Unit 11A.9
Notes
Listening carries approximately 20% of the assessment weighting for this grade. Speaking carries approximately 30% of the assessment weighting for this grade. Reading carries approximately 20% of the assessment weighting for this grade Writing carries approximately 30% of the assessment weighting for this grade.

School resources

Speaking Reading

Writing

251 | Qatar English scheme of work | Grade 11A | Unit 11A.9 | Computers

Education Institute 2005

252 | Qatar English scheme of work | Grade 11A | Unit 11A.9 | Computers

Education Institute 2005