Olivia-Dumitrina Nechita

30/12/2014
Syllabus for a teaching unit

High School Life!

1.- TITLE

This unit is the first one in the first term. Since it is designed for 1 st ESO, it could help students to get to know their high school. The final product of
the unit is to present the high school to a newcomer so, in this way students can empathize and identify with the situation of the new student because the

2.- CONTEXTUALIZATION

high school is also a new environment for them.

YEAR

3. TIMING

1st ESO

TERM

1st term

NUMBER OF
CLASSES

6 sessions

4. COMPETENCES

Communicative competence (linguistic and audiovisual): students read, write, listen and communicate in English. There are a variety of texts (activities) which
entail verbal interaction, descriptions and the organization of information. Texts also come in a variety of formats, both on paper and digital. Students learn
how to become competent communicators of coherent oral messages. Students also learn how to use non verbal communication in order to transmit the
message in an adequate manner.

Cultural competence: Students finds out by means of reading and listening activities about the school life of students in different parts of the world.

Digital and information competence: recording the dialogue (final product) in mp3 format with Audacity; access information in order to carry out some

KEY COMPETENCES

activities; watching videos for didactic purposes.

Learn how to learn competence: Students become aware of their own knowledge by means of the self-assessment. Thus, they can acknowledge their weak
points and develop other strategies in order to improve their work.

Citizenship: Students empathize with the newcomer and his/her situation. They get to see that there is diversity in the world and they also develop social skills.
Students learn how to behave in certain situations.

Autonomy and personal initiative competence: When working in pairs or groups, students have to manage their emotions in order to successfully carry out the
activity. They need to cooperate which implies dialogue and negotiations but also flexibility.

ENGLISH COMPETENCES

Plurilingual and intercultural competence: The final product of the unit is an interaction with a newcomer so students have to think about how they
would welcome a person from another country. This competence is also present when dealing with the routine of students from other countries (Japan,
Mexico, Kenya and the US).

Olivia-Dumitrina Nechita
30/12/2014
Syllabus for a teaching unit

Communicative competence
Oral competence
Interaction: Comparing ideas with a partner of what the newcomer should be shown/ explained.
Talking about the qualities of a good dialogue.
Working in pairs in order to improve the dialogue.
Listening: Comparing ideas with a partner of what the newcomer should be shown/ explained.
Talking about the qualities of a good dialogue.
Working in pairs in order to improve the dialogue.
Listening to the school life and experiences of people from other countries; listen to an oral presentation explaining how to hold a
conversation.
Production: Dialogue between a student from the high school and a newcomer
Written competence
Reading: Reading the story of the school where superheroes go; the description of a high school; how to organize a description; about the
daily routine of students from other countries
Writing: A description of the students high school and one of his/ her daily routine; comparing the routines of students from other
countries; the differences between a conversation and an oral presentation; the qualities of a good dialogue.
5.- OBJECTIVES

6.- CONTENTS
8.- ASSESSMENT
DIMENSI COMUNICATIVA
ASSESSMENT CRITERIA
Participaci en interaccions orals, escrites i audiovisuals
o Participar i produir una interacci
At the end of this unit, students
Participaci en converses pautades en lentorn escolar, en parella i en grup i en
oral en parella sobre el tema
will be able to:
simulacions en parelles, relacionades amb lexperincia densenyar l institut
densenyar l institut a un alumne
a un nouvingut de lAula dAcollida, fent s destratgies per superar les
- Hold a conversation about
nouvingut, utilitzant les estratgies
interrupcions, per iniciar i cloure intercanvis comunicatius i per mantenir la
adequades per mantenir una
their school life;
conversa, amb pronunciaci i entonaci adequades.
conversa (comunicaci verbal i no
- Work in groups and pairs;
Comprensi de missatges orals, escrits i audiovisuals
verbal), facilitar la continuaci de
- Use appropriate strategies to Comprensi de les instruccions per la correcta resoluci de les tasques;
la comunicaci.

Comprensi
de
dilegs
breus
relacionats
amb
les
activitats
habituals
de
lmbit
o Comprendre la idea general i les
hold up a conversation;
personal (rutines diries durant el perode escolar) i de lentorn educatiu
informacions especifiques ms
- Write a description (of their
Comprensi i interpretaci de missatges orals senzills produts en interaccions
rellevants de documents orals
high school and of a day in
sobre lorganitzaci de la conversa entre lestudiant nouvingut i un alumne de
senzills, emesos cara a cara o
l
institut,
tot
utilitzant
estratgies
bsiques
com
ara
identificaci
de
paraules
procedents de mitjans audiovisuals.
their lives)
clau, s del context verbal i no verbal.
o Reconixer la idea principal i
Comprensi de la informaci general i especfica dels textos digitals i en paper
extreure informaci especfica i

INSTRUMENTS

- Description of the high

school (15%)
- Description of school life (A
day in the life of...) (15%)
- Dialogue (between the
newcomer and a student
from the high school)
(60%)
- Group and pair work (10%)

Olivia-Dumitrina Nechita
30/12/2014
Syllabus for a teaching unit

sobre la vida en l institut, rutines dalumnes arreu del mn, com es fa un text
descriptiu i la presentaci sobre com sha de mantenir una conversa;
identificaci del tema i inferncia dun text oral, escrit o audiovisual pel
context, pels coneixements previs del tema i per la comparaci de paraules o
frases similars en les llenges que coneixen (per exemple identificar les parts
dun institut o les assignatures que simparteixen).
Expressi de missatges orals, escrits i audiovisuals
Producci semi controlada de textos orals curts (una conversa) en suport digital
(mitjanant el programa Audacity) amb estructura lgica, pronunciaci
adequada i que mostri cura en la presentaci, a partir dun model treballat
prviament a classe.
s dexpressions comunes, de frases fetes i de lxic apropiat al context concret
i quotidi de lmbit educatiu (vocabulari que t a veure amb les parts de
lescola, lambient etc.) i personal (vocabulari per parlar sobre rutines).
Producci controlada de textos descriptius amb coherncia, correcci
ortogrfica i puntuaci adequada, i estructurats en pargrafs i amb presentaci
acurada i prenent com a referncia models treballats prviament.
Coneixements del funcionament de la llengua i el seu aprenentatge
Identificaci i s delements lingstics bsics i habituals en la comunicaci
oral pel que fa a la conversa i escrita pel que fa als textos descriptius
Reflexi guiada sobre ls i el significat delements lingstics adequats a les
diferents funcions i intencions comunicatives (parlar sobre les diferencies
entre una conversa i una presentaci oral; reflexionar sobre quines
caracterstiques t un bo dileg).
Sensibilitzaci envers la pronncia dels fonemes que presenten una especial
dificultat en angls.
Identificaci destratgies per a la comprensi i interpretaci de missatges i
documents: identificaci del tema, de paraules clau, del context verbal i no
verbal, inferncia de significat i coneixements previs sobre la situaci.
Reconeixement i acceptaci de lerror com a part del procs daprenentatge i
actitud positiva de superaci que es treballen amb lautoavaluaci tant dels
textos escrits com de la producci oral.
Valoraci del treball individual per a la millora personal i del treball en equip
per a la construcci collectiva del coneixement.

o
o

global de documents escrits

senzills.
Mostrar predisposici per al treball
cooperatiu
Mostrar una actitud respectuosa
dinters i de descoberta envers la
llengua i cultures deferents de la
prpia
Utilitzar de forma guiada els
recursos de les TIC per la cerca (les
parts de l institut) i presentaci
dinformaci (la conversa gravada
amb Audacity)
Produir de forma guiada dos textos
descriptius

Olivia-Dumitrina Nechita
30/12/2014
Syllabus for a teaching unit

DIMENSI PLURILINGE I INTERCULTURAL

Conscienciaci de pertnyer a una comunitat lingstica, social i cultural a
travs de les descripcions i comparacions amb altres cultures.
Coneixement i respecte per a persones que parlen una altra llengua i formen
part duna altra cultura
Disposici per utilitzar els coneixements de les llenges en contextos reals
s de formules de cortesia en intercanvis socials
Percepci de les dificultats de comunicaci amb persones que parlen altres
llenges i plantejar possibles solucions verbals i no verbals per facilitar la
comunicaci.
Inters per efectuar intercanvis comunicatius amb parlants dangls
7.- METHODOLOGY
STRATEGIES

MATERIAL AND RESOURCES

High School life is a task-based unit. Each activity leads students to the final product.
In order to motivate students, the warming up activity is important since it gives them a reason why they are doing the activity.

- Internet connection

Students work not only individually but also in groups and pairs. In order to complete some of the learning activities, students

- Microphones

have to cooperate.

- Audacity

Self-assessment is also an important part of learning activities. Thus, students have the chance to assess their own performance
and improve their final product before handing it in to the teacher.

Activity 1:Warming up
Tell students that a new student who can only speak English has arrived to their high school and the teacher in the Newcomers classroom
has asked them to show him/her the school.
LEARNING ACTIVITIES

Ask students to think about what they could explain/show the newcomer. Then tell them to work in pairs in order to contrast their ideas and
possibly add more. They have to share their two best ideas with the class.
Activity 2: Writing a description of your high school

Olivia-Dumitrina Nechita
30/12/2014
Syllabus for a teaching unit

In order for students to be able to write the composition they need scaffolding, which comes from the activities they do before the learning
activity (description of their own school). Firstly, ask students to think about their high school and answer some related questions.
Secondly, tell them to practice some vocabulary and action verbs that have to do with schools by doing a crossword and filling sentences.
When they finish they have to write down the new words they learned (making it easier for them to make the content of the composition
richer later on). Then, tell them to listen and read a story about a school for superheroes. Ask them to put the activities narrated in the
story in the correct order. Ask your students to think about what subjects superheroes need to learn.
Let your students know that they are going to listen to two people talking about their school. Ask them to answer questions related to the
listening they are going to hear. Then have them underline the school subjects they are currently taking. Before writing their own
composition, ask students to read the description of a high school and underline what is similar to their own. Furthermore, tell them to
translate into English the names of some of the rooms which can be found in a high school.
Tell your students to analyse the description and then to match the paragraph with its topic. Now tell them they need to write a description
of their own high school using the previous one as a model. When they finish, tell them to check their composition using the statements
they used before in order to analyse the previous composition.
Activity 3: A kids life in.... Writing a description of a day in your life, during school
Ask your students to read three texts where three students around the world (Kenya, US and Mexico) explain a day in their lives. Then,
tell your students to compare the three daily routines of the students. In order for students to become aware of the language used when
talking about routines, ask them to complete the sentences from the text. Then ask them what do they notice about the forms of present
simple? Tell them to find more examples in the text and then infer the rule. Ask them to practice the present tense.
Then, following the descriptions they read previously, ask your students to write something about their school life that they would like to
tell the newcomer.
Activity 4: Conversations
Ask your students to write down the differences between a dialogue and an oral presentation. Ask them which is the most difficult.
Tell them to watch a video where it is explained how to hold a conversation. Ask them to write the main things the person mentions
about how to hold a conversation.
Then, tell your students to get into groups of three and agree on the qualities of a good dialogue. Tell them that they have to classify
their ideas under three headings (communicative strategies, use of language, gestures/body language) but that they can add their own.
After finishing the scaffolding activities, tell them to get in pairs and perform a dialogue between a newcomer and a student from the high
school. Tell them that they need to decide who is going to be the newcomer, and who is going to be himself/herself. Explain what each
person has to do: The newcomer should ask questions about the school and about anything that the student mentions. The student should
show the newcomer the school (rooms, people, etc) and should also tell him / her about school life. Give them hints on how to start the

Olivia-Dumitrina Nechita
30/12/2014
Syllabus for a teaching unit

dialogue. Ask them to work in pairs in order to improve the dialogue based on the self-assessment criteria.
Explain that they need to record their dialogue and show them how Audacity works. Tell them to self-asses their performance before
recording it with Audacity. Ask your students to add the recording in mp3 format to their portfolio.

9.- REFLEXION ABOUT THE UNIT