Adolescent Literature and Language Arts in Classroom

Bachelor of Education (Honours) (Languages) Programme

Adolescent Literature and Language Arts in the Classroom
(ENG 2167)
Written Assignment

Name:
Ip Ka Kit
Student no:
05551145
Group:
02
Lecturer: Lim Ching Yee Jenny

Adolescent Literature and Language Arts in Classroom

Topic: Chicken Week

Genres covered
Film, Cartoon, Poetry, Recipe, Proposal
Aims
After the Chicken Week, students will be able to manage the skills and create ideas
in different genres, namely film, cartoon, recipe, poetry, and proposal.
Time
A total of 5 lessons, including 3 single lessons (lessons 1-3) and 1 double lesson
(lessons 4-5), are spent on this topic. Each lesson lasts 40 minutes.
Introduction
"Adolescent literature" describes all forms of fiction: short stories, poetry and
literary essays. It also includes a variety of non-fiction forms such as diaries, journals
and biographies. In the learning process, comprehension the content and responding
to the literature are equally important. Comprehension strategies include illustrating
meanings when reading from the texts of adolescent literature. Written book report is
a kind of responding. However, responding through discussions, visual art, drama,
and multi-media are the trend leaded by well-developed information technology.
Language arts refers to the class of art forms, including novels, poetry, and
songs. The focus is on the creation of art works which are primarily language based.
There are six strands of the language arts, namely reading, writing, speaking,
listening, viewing, and visually representing, in which viewing and visually
representing are proposed by the National Council of Teachers of English and the
International Reading Association in 1996 (Tompkins, 2005). Though thinking is not
regarded as a strand, it permeates all aspects of language arts.
Overview
The target students are in secondary 2 in Band 2 secondary schools. Some
students English standard are satisfactory and some are below standard. The VCD or
DVD of the film Chicken Run is the main teaching material, and certain elements
of the film would be covered with the aid of other resources in different genres.
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Adolescent Literature and Language Arts in Classroom

Rationale for Designing Resource Package

All tasks are related to chicken so that students can broaden their
horizons. There are several pair and group activities in the topic to
facilitate co-operation and team work which cope with the main theme
of the film. There are less traditional, designated worksheet tasks but
more composition activities that give students room for language
expressions.
Lesson 1 mainly helps students understand the background of the film, and
motivates them to participate actively in the upcoming activities. Students probably
feel unfamiliar with the concept map. However, they can receive a better conception
by describing with a more interesting term egg-web, i.e. there are eggs (concepts)
linked together. Actually, the term egg is also related to the film. Students are easy
to seek the plot of the film through finding related part in the cartoon Awesome
Chickens! and post-reading discussion on chickens life in farms.
The knowledge gained in the discussion can bring to lesson 2. Students
learn more about chickens life and living environment by appreciating a
poem The Henhouse. As they have limited scope of vocabulary,
rhyming is seemed to be demanding for them. Therefore, another style,
The Fib, is introduced. This is a syllable-based structure that does not
require rhyming throughout the poem, and allows more space for
students to develop their own ideas in writing a poem.
The delicious chicken pie and other chicken recipes attract students in
lesson 3. By sorting out the ingredients, students learn some common
terms used in recipes. Further understanding of vocabulary is gone
through in showing chicken pie recipe procedures. Students also create
their own procedures in order to apply the terms learnt in this lesson.
Although they may not able to make a perfect recipe, they are advised to
have consistent procedures, use the correct verbs, quantity and unit as
effective communication.

Adolescent Literature and Language Arts in Classroom

The film goes to the climax of chickens planning to escape at the

beginning of the last double lesson. It is a good chance for students to
learn how to write a proposal. Though this time the format used is not an
official standard, a 6W approach, i.e. Why, When, Where, Who,
What, and How (and How much), is introduced. Generally students
have already known the usage in asking questions. The skills are
advanced by considering and consolidating the ideas in proposal writing.
Critical thinking skills are also enhanced in making an alternate
emergency plan.(683 words)

Adolescent Literature and Language Arts in Classroom

Chicken Week Lesson Plan & Resource Package

Lesson 1
Objectives
- to create and associate the things about chicken
- to understand the daily life of chicken through the opening of the film and cartoon
Approx. time Procedure
5 min.

Brainstorming
Students work in pairs. By using a concept map
(egg-web) worksheet, students think and find out
any elements related to chicken and fill in the
eggs. (Appendix 1A).
3 or 4 groups report to class what they have filled in
the eggs.

Interaction
S Group
work

Group work
Class

10 min.

Film Viewing
Film Class
Chicken Run (Disc 1, 7:35-13:00)
Teacher introduces the film and asks students to
predict the opening of the film. Students are
expected to see there are chickens in the farm owned
by Mr. And Mrs. Tweedy; the owners always aim at
laying more eggs and kill the chickens that have low
productivity.

10 min.

Cartoon Reading: Awesome Chickens!

T Class
Students read the cartoon and find out which part is
related in the film (Appendix 1B).
Teacher asks students to explain why it is so (lay
much more eggs than before). It helps students to
understand easily why the owners of the farm (Mr.
and Mrs. Tweedy) want to earn more money by the
chickens.

15 min.

Film Viewing
Chicken Run (Disc 1, 13:00-27:30)

Film Class

Adolescent Literature and Language Arts in Classroom

Appendix 1A
Concept map worksheet

Chicken

Appendix 1B
Cartoon: Awesome Chickens!

Source: http://www.petakids.com/pdf/chickencomic.pdf
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Adolescent Literature and Language Arts in Classroom

Lesson 2
Objectives:
-

to have further understanding of chickens daily life through reading a poem

to introduce a new poem form, the fib (a syllable-based style)

Previous knowledge required:

-

Concept of syllables

Approx. time Procedure

Interaction

10 min.

Film Viewing
Chicken Run (Disc 1, 27:30-32:50)
Students pay attention to the living environment of
chickens and how they tried best for escaping the
farm.

Film Class

10 min.

Poem Activity (1)

S Pair work
Work in pairs. Each pair gets a worksheet The
Henhouse (Appendix 2A). Underline the adjectives
in the poem that match with the house for chickens
in the film.

5 min.

3 or 4 pairs are selected to report the answers to class Pair work

(Appendix 2B).
Class
Teacher explains the answers as supplementary
T Class
information. Whole class read aloud the Whole class
poem The Henhouse. Revision of
syllables is optional depending on
students standard.

15 min.

Poem Writing
S Pair work
Students work in pairs, write a poem in 2 stanzas to
describe anything about chicken (Students may refer
to the concept map discussed in the first lesson in
Appendix 1A for reference). The poem should be in
The Fib form taught in this lesson, but the number
of syllables along the poem is up to students choice.
3 or 4 pairs are selected to read aloud the poem to
Pair work
class.
Class

Adolescent Literature and Language Arts in Classroom

Appendix 2A
Poetry Worksheet
Poem --- The Henhouse
Cluck.
Cluck!
O, hot
Crowded coop.
Faced with tail feathers
When my egg arrives. Move over!
Cool breeze. Space now, but not for long.
Shady trees, high limbs,
Roosts galore,
Flying.
Such
Dreams.
Questions
1. Underline the adjective(s) in the poem that match(es) with the house for
chickens in the film.
2. How many syllable(s) is/are on the first line in the first stanza? How about each
of the rest of the lines?
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
3. How many syllable(s) is/are on each of the line in the second stanza? What is
the relationship of syllables between the two stanzas?
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
4. Are there any common features in the poem with the film? Explain briefly.
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
Source (Poem): Chicken spaghetti: poetry Friday: the fib
http://chickenspaghetti.typepad.com/chicken_spaghetti/2006/04/poetry_friday_t.html
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Adolescent Literature and Language Arts in Classroom

Appendix 2B
Suggested Answers
1.

hot
(Line 3, optional. It is acceptable for students to think the house is hot if
crowded)
Crowded
(Line 4. There are many chickens in a small house in the film)

2.

The first line has 1 syllable. Then from line two to line six there are 1, 2, 3, 5, 8
syllables respectively.

3.

There are 8, 5, 3, 2, 1, 1 syllables from line one to line six respectively. The
structure of the second stanza is reversed of the first one.

4.

(Students own answers.)

Adolescent Literature and Language Arts in Classroom

Lesson 3
Objectives
- to have further understanding of chicken products
- to learn and use correctly the vocabulary in recipe, e.g. quantity, ingredients, verbs
of instructions
Approx. time Procedure

Interaction

10 min.

Film Viewing
Chicken Run (Disc 1, 32:50-35:10, 39:10-44:10)
During viewing, students are reminded to see what
kind of food the owners plan to make and how this
plan frightens the chickens.

Film Class

5 min.

Recipe Activity (1)

T Class
Students in groups of 4. Each group is distributed a S Group
chart with 3 different chicken dishes in pictures and work
ingredient cards (Appendix 3A). They have to sort
the ingredients to the appropriate dish.

10 min.

Vocabulary in recipe
T Class
After the Recipe Activity (1), students find out the
features of ingredient description, e.g. quantity, unit
(by volume or weight). Then teacher uses recipe of
chicken pie as example to illustrate the instructions
(Appendix 3B) and hence students find the common
features of instructions, e.g. time taken, action verbs
such as pour, mix, heat, and demonstrate the
actions.

15 min.

Recipe Activity (2)

Each group (6 students) chooses either Grilled Apple
Curry Chicken or Oven Fried Chicken in activity (1)
to create the instruction with 6-8 steps.
Each group has a brief presentation to the ways they
have used.

S Group
work
Group work
Class

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Adolescent Literature and Language Arts in Classroom

Appendix 3A
Recipe Activity (1)

Chicken Pie

Grilled Apple Curry

Chicken

Oven Fried Chicken

Ingredients:

Ingredients:

Ingredients:

Ingredients (Answers)

Chicken Pie
500 g chicken breast fillet, cubed
2 ham steaks, cubed
1 onion, sliced
125 g mushrooms, sliced
1 can mushroom soup
375 mL evaporated milk
1 sheet of pastry
1 egg, lightly beaten

Grilled Apple Curry Chicken

-

1 jar apple curry chutney

1/4 cup apple juice
2 cloves garlic, peeled
1 teaspoon curry powder
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves

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Adolescent Literature and Language Arts in Classroom

Oven Fried Chicken

2 tablespoons butter, melted

2 large eggs, beaten
2 tablespoons milk
1/2 cup yellow corn
1/2 cup flour
3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 (1kg) chicken, cut up and skinned

Glossary
Beaten: Stirred (vigorously)
Chutney: a sauce of East Indian origin
Fillet:a boneless cut or slice of meat or fish
Garlic: a hardy plant, seasoning for cooking
Pastry: a sweet baked food made of dough (flour or meal combined with water,
milk)
* Enlarged copy of the chart and ingredient cards are put in the material pack.
Appendix 3B
Chicken Pie Recipe (key words are in bold)
1.
Preheat oven to 200C.
2.
Heat oil in a pan.
3.
Add chicken and ham (meat), then cook until chicken is browned.
4.
Add onion and mushrooms (vegetables), cook for 2 minutes stirring.
5.
Combine soup, evaporated milk, water and black pepper.
6.
Reduce heat for 1 minute. Spoon mixture into 1-litre pie dish.
7.
Top with pastry, make slits in the top and brush with egg yolk.
8.
Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes or until pastry is golden brown.
Sources:
http://www.meals.com/Index/Index.aspx
http://www.nestle.com.au/Brands/Carnation/Recipe.htm?r=875

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Adolescent Literature and Language Arts in Classroom

Lessons 4-5
Objectives:
-

to introduce a new genre, proposal

to master the basic skills for writing proposal

Approx. time Procedure

Interaction

15 min.

Film Viewing
Film Class
Chicken Run (Disc 2, 3:15-12:15, 14:30-17:30)
Students understand the emergency and importance
for chickens to escape the farm in 2 days.

10 min.

Proposal Activity (1)

T Class
By using a concept map (Appendix 4A) drawn on
the blackboard, teacher asks students what
information should be included in a proposal.
Teacher shows the format of proposal on the screen
(Appendix 4B).

25 min.

Proposal Activity (2)

Students in groups of 4, write a proposal for
chickens to escape the farm. The format
page (Appendix 4B) is kept shown for
students reference.

S Group
work

20 min.

Film Viewing
Chicken Run (19:00-35:30)
Students pay attention to whether the chickens can
escape the farm successfully and what difficulties
they face.

Film Class

10 min.

Round-up Discussion
Whole class review what have been done in the
Chicken Week, i.e. film, cartoon, recipe, poetry,
and proposal. Students list some key activities of
each genre.

T Class

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Adolescent Literature and Language Arts in Classroom

Appendix 4A
Concept map (for reference)

When
(Period)
What
(Planned tasks/
Schedule)
Who
(Division of
labour)

Why
(Aims)

Proposal

if
(Emergency plan)

Where
(Destination)
How
(Method)

How much
(budget)

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Adolescent Literature and Language Arts in Classroom

Appendix 4B
Proposal format for guidance in Activity (2)

Title: _______________________
Aim(s): to _______________________________________________________
Period: (maximum 2 days)
Destination: _____________________________________________________
Method used: ____________________________________________________
Scheduled tasks:
Date & Time Tasks to be done
____________ __________________________________________
____________ __________________________________________
____________ __________________________________________
Division of labour:
Name
Assigned task(s)
(Rocky)
___________________________________________
(Ginger)
___________________________________________
(Bunty)
___________________________________________
(Fowler)
___________________________________________
(Other chickens) ___________________________________________
Budget:
Item
Quantity
Cost
________________ ___________ _____________
________________ ___________ _____________
________________ ___________ _____________
Total: _____________
Emergency plan:
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________

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Adolescent Literature and Language Arts in Classroom

References
Adolescent Literature. (2006). Retrieved December 17, 2006, from
http://www.literacymatters.org/adlit/overview/definition.htm
Carnation home page. (2004). Retrieved November 11, 2006, from
http://www.nestle.com.au/Brands/Carnation/Recipe.htm?r=875
Chicken spaghetti: poetry Friday: the fib. (2006). Retrieved November 11, 2006, from
http://chickenspaghetti.typepad.com/chicken_spaghetti/2006/04/poetry_friday_t.html
http://www.petakids.com/pdf/chickencomic.pdf. (n.d.). Retrieved November 11, 2006,
from http://www.petakids.com/pdf/chickencomic.pdf
Lord, P., Sproxton, D., & Park, N. (Producer), & Lord, P., & Park, N. (Director).
(2000). Chicken Run [Film]. Dreamworks.
Meals.com 15,000 recipes. (n.d.). Retrieved from November 11, 2006, from
http://www.meals.com/Index/Index.aspx
Tompkins, G. E. (2005). Language arts: patterns of practice. Upper Saddle River:
Pearson.
Appendix 5
Text (Brief Story Description)
Chicken Run is an engaging story about chickens trying to free themselves from
the enslavement of evil, villainous farm owners, Mr. and Mrs. Tweedy. Every day, the
chickens are forced to lay eggs. If they have no eggs then they are made into tasty
chicken meat in chicken pies. A clever hen named Ginger is hatching plans to fly the
coop as she realizes that they need to escape. She needs to find a way to get them all
out of the chicken coop at once. But the only problem is, chickens cant fly. Every
escape attempt fails until Rocky, a smooth-taking All-American rooster, crash-lands
into the coop. Its hardy poultry in motion when Rocky attempts to teach Ginger and
her fine feathered friends to fly. However, with teamwork and determination, the
fearless flock plots one last daring, adventurous attempt in a spectacular bid for
freedom!
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