Complete Unit 13+

Day-to-day lesson plans and activities you can use in your classroom

Day 1

Daily Objectives

• To engage students in discussion of the topic as a way to activate their prior knowledge;
• To help students to gain basic understanding of the reading text through skimming and scanning;
• To assist students in identifying main actions and parts of speech;
• To activate students’ lexical knowledge with lexical maps.

Activity 1: Your Past Working Experience.  Warm-up discussion to activate background knowledge and build vocabulary. （10-15 min）(day1 act 1 Warmup Discussion)

Activity 2: During-reading activity
Skim the 2nd paragraph of the article “我在中国教英文”(Day1 Act 2 我在中国教英文) to identify the topic sentence of the passage. (5-6 min)
Goal: to help students gain basic understanding of the reading through skimming and scanning

• Ask the students to skim the text to identify the topic sentence (1 minute).
• Get the students into pairs to discuss their answers (1 minute).
• Ask one student from each group to write their answers on the blackboard.
• Check their answers and discuss the results with the class to identify the correct answer.

Activity 3: During-Reading Activity (15 min.)
Scan the text to identify the main action verb in each sentence to grasp the main idea of the text.  (Day1 Act 3 Scan)
Goal: to assist students in identifying main actions to grasp the main idea of the text

• Lead the class to go over the first two paragraphs of the text. Ask each student to read aloud one full sentence, and circle the main action verb in each sentence. Pay special attention to the main idea of each sentence.
• Remind students about the role of action verbs plays in understanding the main idea of a sentence and of the skimming skill.
• Pair work: skim the 4th paragraph to identify the main action verb in each sentence to get the main idea.
• Ask the student to circle the main action verb in the 4th paragraph on the whiteboard.

Activity 4: Lexical knowledge activation: Complete the word activity by filling out the lexical maps. (10-15 min) (Day1 Act 4 Lexical Map)

Day 1 Homework:

• Character worksheet (Day1 HW 1 Character Worksheet)

Day 2

Daily Objectives 

• To identify the facts and supporting details in the text;
• To decode the textual organization and sequence of events;
• To master phrase structures and discourse markers.

Activity 1: Review and practice vocabulary in context (10-15 min)

• Collect character homework and answer students’ questions about the homework. (3-4 min)
• Identify the words related to job applications and guess the meaning of words in context.   (7-10 min)
  Provide students with another article (Day2 Act 1 PracticeVocabulary In Context), and ask them to identify job-application related vocabulary (both new and old) by scanning (circling key words) the text. For new vocabulary they do not know, ask them to guess the meaning according to the context. Students have to work individually first, and then check their answers with a partner. The teacher will lead a brief whole group discussion in the end. Simple questions may be raised to check students’ general comprehension.

Activity 2: Identify the skeleton/main ideas of the reading (5-10 min)

• Check students' understanding by going over the homework of Subject + Verb + Object chart with the whole class (Day2 Act 2 Identify Skeleton)
• Divide students into small groups and ask them to take turns narrating the story line with the help of their completed SVO chart.
• Each group will summarize the main ideas of each paragraph in front of whole class.

Activity 3: Word segmentation of 1-2 sentences (5-8 min) (Day2 Act 3 Word Segmentation)

Activity 4: Grammar in context (10-12 min) (Day2 Act 4 Grammar)

• Give brief grammar instruction with a PowerPoint that focus on 却，不仅…还….  Proper use and sentence pattern will be illustrated with examples and pictures.

Activity 5: Wrap up this class with reading questions to check students’ comprehension of facts and details of the articel. (10-15 min) (Day 2 Act 5 Comprehension Questions)

Day 2 Homework:

• Online job search based on students’ personal interests.
  Search the following job websites and identify the ones you are interested in. Pay special attention to the job requirement, location and salary. You will be asked in class tomorrow about your choices and reasons. The Chinese site has more opportunities than the English one.
• https://www.careerengine.org/ (in English)
• http://www.zhaopin.com (中文)
• Ask students to answer interpretational questions based on the text and related to their personal experience. (Day 2 HW 2 Interpretational Questions)
• Ask students to complete a grammar exercises worksheet. (Day 2 HW 3 Grammar)

Day 3

Daily Objectives 

Objectives

• To identify and compare the similarities and differences regarding job posts in China and the States;
• To brainstorm and exchange opinions about dream jobs and qualifications
• To develop critical thinking skills by asking higher-level reading questions about the text.

Activity 1: Compare and Contrast (Warm-up Discussion: 5-8 min)

• Students work in small groups to share their job-searching experience and discuss the similarities and differences in job posts between China and the U.S. with an emphasis on job qualifications. (Day 3 Act 1 Compare)

Activity 2:  Higher-level reading questions: inferences and prediction (10-15 min)

• Personal experiences and attitude inferred from the text.
• Cultural differences in offering food and drink.
• Attitude discussions: teacher-student relationships and teacher qualifications.

Think-Pair-Share: Think about the following questions on your own first, then discuss your answers with a partner. After that, summarize your discussion and report to class.
讨论题：
以下为讨论题，你的观点不一定与别人相同，请利用课文内容来支持你的论点。

• 你觉得作者的学生喜欢他吗？
• 如果你是校长， 目前正在招聘老师， 你觉得你会聘用作者吗？
• 你觉得你会喜欢本文作者当你的老师吗？

发挥题：
1.     如果你在美国的中学当老师，你会请学生吃冰淇淋吗？
2.     如果你在美国的小学当老师，学生不听话，你会怎么办？
3.     你觉得中国老师和学生的关系怎么样？为什么？

Activity 3:  Working in China (15-18)

Goal: to build up students’ interest, and channel their attention to the discussion on cultural issues of working in China.

• Watch the video (Trailer of “Shanghai Calling” with Chinese subtitles)
• Make predictions about the characters and plots in the film. Discuss the possible challenges and pitfalls of working in China.
• Suggested follow-up questions to the whole class:
• 电影里的Sam会说中文吗？他说中文说得怎么样？
• 你觉得Sam 在上海工作时有没有麻烦？什么麻烦？
• 你觉得电影里的金发小女孩为什么中文说得那么好？
• 电影开始的时候，你觉得Sam喜欢在中国工作吗？为什么？电影结束（to finish)的时候呢？又是为什么？

Activity 4: Your Dream Job: Discussion based on homework research (15-20 min) (Day 3 Act 4 Dream Job)
(Day 3 Act 4 Dream Job powerpoint)

• Pair Work: Students go over their online job findings. Write the information on the board. As a whole class, vote for the top four job opportunities.
• Focus on the qualifications required in these job posts.

Day 3 Homework:

• Online research on culturally appropriate job interview questions in China. Ask and get answers for at least three questions. This interpersonal and interpretive task involves cultural exploration in an online community. (Day 3 HW 1)

Day 4

Daily Objectives  

Objectives

• To gain cultural understanding of job application process in China and compare it with that in U.S.
• To learn from a parallel reading of an application letter and write a letter of application.
•  Presentational Assessment: Writing a Letter of Application

Activity 1: Potential Interview Question: Student Report of Day 3 Homework 1 (10-15 min)
(Day 4 Act 1 Potential Interview Questions)

• Questions may be asked in one country but not in the other.
• To exchange ideas of interview questions asked in China and how to respond to these kinds of questions in a culturally appropriate manner.

Activity 2: Parallel Reading Comprehension Check (15-20 min) and Guided Writing (15-20 min) based on Day 3 Homework 2  (Day 4 Act 2 Application Letter)

• Check students’ comprehension questions through small group discussions and whole class sharing.
• Make sure every student is clear about the format of application letters.
• Brainstorm what can be included in students’ own application letters.
• Guide students to write a letter of application following the provided rubrics.

  
Day 4 Homework & Performance Assessment
(Day4 HW & Assessment Rubrics)

Day 5

Daily Objectives 

• Post-reading integration and application
• Performance Assessment (Presentational, interpretive, and interpersonal)

Job Fair: Who will you hire?

• Students will work in pairs and take turns to play the roles of employers and job applicants. Each pair produces two sets of mock job interviews.
• The interview should be audio or video recorded, so teacher can evaluate the performances. (Day 5 Assessment Rubric)
• To play the role of an employer, students need to ask questions regarding candidates’ previous work experience, qualifications and availability. After the interview, they need to write a short note about the interviewees’ performance and a brief explanation for their decision to hire or not hire the person.
• To play the role of a job applicant, students need to prepare a self-introduction and a few questions about the job. After the interview, they also need to write a short note to summarize their performance in the interview, what areas they can improve and whether the position is what they have expected.
• For demonstration, the instructor select a couple of pairs to perform the interviews in front of the class in order to make sure that everyone knows what to do, and also to give students an opportunity to critique on their peers’ performance. The instructor should grade students’ performance with the assessment rubric and provide summative feedback based on students’ notes.