063_074_8_90743:BEST
24/2/09
16:53
PĂĄgina 63
Can you write it down, please? Writing in the Science classroom Writing, I think, is not apart from living. Writing is a kind of double living. The writer experiences everything twice. Once in reality and once in that mirror, which waits always before or behind. Catherine DRINKER BOWEN, american writer
I hate writing
Writing is remembering
Writing can be boring
Do you usually write down everything you want to remember? Have you noticed that your learners tend to pay more attention to what they see written down than what is said to them? Do students often ask you to write things they don’t understand on the board?
How many times do your students whine when you tell them to write something?
But, why should only teachers write? Writing exercises are very important for students learning Science in English and help learners master new words and concepts. Writing gives learners an opportunity to think about the language they are using and helps them really learn new structures and new vocabulary.
If you see that your students avoid individual writing, transform it into a collaborative task! In this way writing will become a creative part of the classroom routine and not a boring activity the students are reluctant to carry out. On the following pages are some entertaining writing activities you can use in your Science classes.
63
063_074_8_90743:BEST
24/2/09
16:53
Página 64
➜ Classroom magazines
➜ Science diaries
Divide your class into teams and tell them they are going to create their own monthly (or bimonthly) classroom magazine and that they can write down everything they want about the topics they learned. Tell students to include pictures and drawings to illustrate their news.
Science diaries are an excellent way to keep records of class or home experiments. Take seed germination: ask learners to put a lentil in a glass of water and keep a diary with their own drawings and observations explaining what happens over the course of time. After the experiment is over, students bring their diaries into class and compare their observations.
For example, if the topic you have just covered is planets the learners could: • draw and describe a planet of their choice. • write imaginary news, such as the discovery of a new planet. • make up funny news like the price of flats on Mars. • publish an interview with an alien.
Extra suggestions ◗ To foster speaking, use brainstorming to
choose the name of the magazine. Ask every group to come up with a name. Then the class votes for the best name. ◗ Keep the magazine in the classroom library for everybody to read. It will give an extra sense of pride to your students. ◗ Class magazines are a great revision tool! At the beginning of new school year take out old classroom magazines and go through the content.
Suggested activity Sprouting seeds Place 8 seeds on a damp paper towel, put the seeds and paper towel carefully in a plastic sandwich bag. After seven days, observe, compare, and record the root length, root thickness, and number of root hairs using a hand lens. Use the photocopiable sheet on the next page.
➜ Storyboards and cartoons
The best way to make writing fun! If you’re teaching the digestive system, tell students to draw or write a story entitled “A small apple got lost in a big stomach”. • What happened to the apple?
➜ Poster writing
A poster is a creative summary of one lesson. They are similar to classroom magazines, but instead of including different texts and different topics, students centre on just one. Learners are given less freedom, but focus more on scientific content. For example, if you’re teaching different types of energy, tell each group of students to look for and include photos and texts about one type of energy: what it is, how we use it, where we can find it. Students will read all the posters sooner or later, even if they have only worked on one.
64
• Where did the apple go first? • And then? How did it get lost? Don’t forget to publish students’ stories and cartoons in the class magazine!
063_074_8_90743:BEST
24/2/09
16:53
Página 65
Sprouting seeds Scientist:
My list of material
Preparation Date: What I did:
Prediction What do you think will happen after one week? I think that
Observation Date: What really happened after one week? Describe everything you see.
My prediction was right: Yes – No
What did you discover in this experiment?
© EDELVIVES Photocopiable sheet
Conclusion
65
063_074_8_90743:BEST
24/2/09
16:53
Página 66
➜ Running dictations
➜ Writers circle
1. Photocopy 3 or 4 texts of the unit you are teaching and cut every text into several parts (not necessarily paragraphs).
By participating in this co-operative writing task students revise vocabulary and check content understanding, as well as focus on problematic language areas.
2. Make sure the texts are clearly different (use different colours to print them or glue them on coloured cardboard). 3. Use blu-tack to display the different parts of the texts on the walls, the board, the windows, the door … anywhere! 4. Divide students into groups of 4 or 5, choose a captain and tell every group which colour they are. 5. Students go round the classroom looking for their pieces of text and dictate it to the captain in the correct order. 6. The first group to finish writing their text (in the correct order!) wins the game.
ups of 5
gro 1 Put students in in a circle. and sit them
2 Give each student in a group a slip of paper.
erybody has to
3 Tell them that ev e n connected to th write a questio the Universe? topic (e.g. What is How many What is an asteroid? Universe?) e th stars are there in
Classroom management tips ◗ Make sure that all students in a team don’t
run at the same time. They dictate in turns, so that only one student per team is moving around at one time! The rest are helping the captain and putting the pieces of text in order.
4 Each student passes the question to the student on his or her right and that student writes their answer to the question.
answered
can be 5 Questions that ‘no’ are not allowed. with ‘yes’ or
6 In this way every student can
answer 5 questions and can check and compare the answers with other members in the gro up.
Follow-up task At the end ask students to collect all slips, look at the answers and decide on the most correct or most appropriate ones. Tell them to discuss and correct language mistakes together.
66
063_074_8_90743:BEST
24/2/09
16:53
Página 67
Can you write it down, please?
➜ Trivial pursuit
Classroom management tips
1. Divide your students into groups of 4 or 5 and read aloud a few questions you have prepared. Avoid yes/no questions.
◗ If you use multiple choice questions, add more
2. Students can write the answer down on a slip of paper (use one slip per team) or raise their hands and say the answer. 3. Questions can also be multiple choice. For example, “Which one is not a healthy habit?”
variety to the game and prepare 3 coloured pieces of paper with big letters A, B and C so that all learners show their answers at the same time and nobody can cheat! ◗ And just in case: tell your students that they should know the answer to the questions they ask!
a) Visiting the dentist. b) Eating hamburgers. c) Going to bed early. 4. After answering your questions, ask students to write their own questions (2-3 questions per team is enough, depending on how much time you have). Set a time limit for question writing! 5. Students ask other teams their questions in turns. The teacher monitors and helps with vocabulary if necessary.
Photocopiable Activity Key (next page): Soil: 1. C / 2. C / 3. Hardy plants, like cactus. / 4. worm, mole, rabbit, etc. / 5. fertile, poor and dry soil. Body systems: 1. B / 2. A / 3. Capillaries are tiny blood vessels that take blood to every corner of our body / 4. blood, arteries, veins, heart, capillaries, etc. / 5. Lungs, nose, mouth, larynx, windpipe, etc.
67
063_074_8_90743:BEST
24/2/09
16:53
Página 68
Topic: Soil My name and surname: 1. What is a ‘mole’? a) A bird. b) A fish. c) A mammal. 2. What is ‘humus’ made of? a) Dead animals. b) Dead plants. c) Dead plants and animal matter. 3. What plants can grow in dry soil?
4. Name three animals that dig passages or make their homes in the soil:
5. Name three layers of soil:
© EDELVIVES Photocopiable sheet
Now write your questions. Be creative!
68
063_074_8_90743:BEST
24/2/09
16:53
Página 69
Topic: Body systems My name and surname: 1. We break food into pieces with our: a) Stomach. b) Teeth. c) Large intestine. 2. Pieces of food dissolve into a liquid in the: a) Stomach. b) Small intestine. c) Oesophagus. 3. What are ‘capillaries’?
4. Name three words related to the circulatory system:
5. Name three words related to the respiratory system:
© EDELVIVES Photocopiable sheet
Now write your questions. Be creative!
69