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I. The purpose of this unit is to develop fluency in using the English language to speak, listen, read, and write. This unit will allow students to develop their English fluency through various reading activities while also writing to inform and to show understanding through the utilization of the English Language and to effectively communicate real-world issues in order to inform and persuade.
A. Rainforests
B. 7th grade
C. ESOL classroom for students with a wide range of English language proficiency and skills
D. Approximately 12 days
II. Objectives
A. Skills
i. Students will be able to locate the world’s rainforests on a map.
ii. Students will be able to read and interpret a map.
iii. Students will be able to develop a purpose for reading informational text.
iv. Students will be able to interact with fictional text for entertainment while also developing listening skills.
v. Students will be able to write a logical, alternative ending to a text.
vi. Students will be able to evaluate internet sites for accessibility.
vii. Students will be able to research related topics on the internet.
viii. Students will be able to utilize information from the internet to create an informative poster stating rainforest facts.
ix. Students will be able to write a business letter in correct format.
B. Knowledge
i. Students will know the layers of the rainforest.
ii. Students will know in which countries there are rainforests.
iii. Students will know various rainforest animals.
iv. Students will know the effects their actions have on the environment/rainforest.
v. Students will know the importance of protecting the rainforest.
C. Dispositions
i. Students will develop a tolerance of different cultures.
ii. Students will develop environmental awareness.
D. ESL P – 12 Standards
i. Goal 1, Standard 2: Students will interact in, through, and with spoken and written English for personal expression and enjoyment.
ii. Goal 1, Standard 3: Students will use learning strategies to extend their communicative competence.
iii. Goal 2, Standard 1: Students will use English to interact in the classroom.
iv. Goal 2, Standard 2: Students will use English to obtain, process, construct, and provide subject matter information in spoken and written form
v. Goal 3, Standard 1: Students will use the appropriate language variety, register, and genre according to audience, purpose, and setting
vi. Goal 3, Standard 3: Students will use appropriate learning strategies to extend their sociolinguistic and sociocultural competence.
E. Voluntary State Curriculum Standards – Reading/English Language Arts
i. Develop and apply vocabulary through exposure to a variety of texts (1.D.1.).
ii. Understand, acquire, and use new vocabulary (1.D.3.).
iii. Use strategies to prepare for reading (before reading) (1.E.2.).
iv. Use strategies to make meaning from text (during reading) (1.E.3.).
v. Use strategies to demonstrate understanding of the text (1.E.4.).
vi. Analyze and evaluate text features to facilitate and extend understanding of literary texts (3.A.2.).
vii. Analyze and evaluate elements of narrative texts to facilitate understanding and interpretation (3.A.3.).
viii. Select, organize, and develop ideas appropriate to topic, audience, and purpose (4.A.1.b.).
ix. Compose oral, written, and visual presentation that express personal ideas, inform, and persuade (4.A.2.).
x. Compose texts using the revising and editing strategies of effective writers and speakers (4.A.3.).
xi. Apply standard English punctuation and capitalization in written language (5.C.2.).
III. Materials
i. Student journals
ii. Graphic Organizer 1 for each student (1 as a transparency)
iii. Photographs
iv. Overhead projector and pens
v. World map
vi. Bilingual Dictionaries
vii. Thesauruses
viii. About the Rain Forest by Heather Johanasen and Sindy McKay
ix. About the Rain Forest audio recording
x. The Great Kapok Tree by Lynne Cherry
xi. The Great Kapok Tree rubric
xii. “Sounds of the Rainforest” CD
xiii. CD player
xiv. Pre-made sentence strips reviewing text
xv. Outline summarizing The Great Kapok Tree for each student (1 as a transparency)
xvi. The Yanomami: Deep in the Amazon
xvii. Computer with internet access
xviii. Computer with word processing
xix. Business letter rubric
xx. Business letter template
xxi. Envelopes
xxii. Sample addressed envelope
xxiii. Stamps
xxiv. Poster paper
xxv. Decorative materials such as markers, glitter, photographs, etc.
xxvi. Various rainforest books as resources and references
IV. Initiation
A. Introductory Activities
i. Brainstorming “Rainforest”: Using graphic organizers, the students will develop ideas and vocabulary describing the rainforest.
ii. Viewing photographs: Using photographs, the teacher will present the students with a view of the rainforest on a personal level.
iii. Personal stories: Through discussions, the students and the teacher will share their experiences with rainforests.
B. Classroom Environment
i. Bulletin Board Decorations: The teacher will decorate the bulletin board with a rainforest scene, identifying important parts and including fact sheets.
ii. Rainforest resource books: The teacher will reserve an area of the room for various rainforest resource books for free reading.
iii. Display table of Amazon photographs: The teacher will display photographs for student pleasure.
C. Video
i. Disney’s “Fern Gully”: The teacher will show the movie so students gain another perspective of the rainforest while also strengthening their English listening skills.
D. Web Quest
i. http://curry.edschool.virginia.edu/go/edis771/webquest2000/student/scolleenmuldoon/home.htm: Students will spend two days reviewing the website and investigating the various layers and animals of the rainforest.
V. Related Learning Activities
A. Research – type activities
i. Students will research rainforest facts using the internet.
ii. Students will research various rainforest animals.
iii. Students will view the movie “Fern Gully.”
B. Presentation Activities
i. Students will present assigned rainforest animals to their peers.
ii. Students will share their The Great Kapok Tree endings with their peers.
iii. Students will read their business letters to the class.
iv. Students will create and decorate posters to raise awareness around the school.
C. Creative Expression Activities
i. Students will write a logical ending for The Great Kapok Tree.
ii. Students will write a persuasive letter to businesses or state representatives.
D. Appreciation Activities
i. Students will be encouraged to read for pleasure.
ii. Students will view photographs of the rainforest.
iii. Students will listen to and relax with “Sounds of the Rainforest”
E. Group Activities
i. Pairs will unscramble sentence strips.
ii. Students will research and present assigned rainforest animal individually or in pairs.
VI. Culmination
A. Students will communicate their concern for the rainforest and will display the information they have learned throughout the unit to their peers by displaying posters around the school building.
B. Modifications
i. Students with limited English ability will complete scaffolded summary outlines and graphic organizers.
ii. Students with low English proficiency will participate in a read aloud of About the Rainforest while the students with more advanced English ability will participate in a guided reading of the text.
iii. Students literate in their native language may choose to write a persuasive letter to a business in their native language.
iv. Students will rely on pictures to develop meaning from the text.
C. Students will be challenged to make a difference in the environment by disposing of trash into wastebaskets, picking up litter when possible, and staying up to date on rainforest issues by joining the email listing for non-profit environmental organizations.
VII. Evaluation
A. Student journal entries will be assessed according to effort, at the discretion of the teacher.
B. Students will be assessed according to the rubric for writing a logical, creative ending to a text.
C. Students will be assessed according to the rubric using the writing process to effectively compose a business letter.
D. Student progress will be assessed through informal teacher observations during all activities.
VIII. Bibliography
A. Invitations to Literacy. The Great Kapok Tree: A Tale of the Amazon Rainforest. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1996.
B. Cherry, Lynne. The Great Kapok Tree. New York: Voyager Books, 1990.
C. Johanasen, H. and Sindy McKay. About the Rain Forest. San Francisco: Treasure Bay, Inc, 2000.
D. Sponsor ideas can be found at the following address: www.kidssavingtherainforest.org/projects
E. Web quest from the following address: http://curry.edschool.virginia.edu/go/edis771/webquest2000/student/scolleenmuldoon/home.htm
F. Business letter format from the following address: http://www.smcps.k12.md.us/mbms/writing/ltrforms.html
G. Rubrics were created at the following address: http://rubistar.4teachers.org/index.php
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IX. Reflection (for writing course)
This lesson would be most beneficial for students with intermediate and advanced English language skills. Non-English speaking students would struggle with the vocabulary in the readings, interpreting the websites, and writing a business letter. I would accommodate a non-English speaking or beginning student by relying on pictures, gestures, and facial expressions. I would also either pair that student with a stronger student to complete assignments, or include him in the lesson by using yes/no questioning techniques, by using their native language when possible, and by building a strong classroom relationship and environment.
I expect that students will struggle with writing a persuasive business letter to local businesses using grammatically correct English. Because of this, the teacher will present a sample letter to the students and provide the non-English proficient students with a business letter in the cloze format. The teacher will also provide students with specific vocabulary terms that are useful when writing persuasion. Students will be encouraged to use each other for ideas and editing purposes. Writing business letters that will actually be mailed puts me, the teacher, in a tough situation because I would want the letters to be grammatically correct, but at the same time, I would not feel comfortable making extensive error corrections. In most writing assignments the focus is on the writer; however, since this letter is being sent to local businesses, the focus is on the reader or the effectiveness of the piece. Because of this, correcting global errors and most, if not all, local errors, is necessary. I would hope that the students with stronger English language skills would be able to make suggestions and corrections to the letters so that the students would not feel ashamed or embarrassed in front of the teacher.
Evaluating students through teacher observation is more accurate than applying a rubric to written work so I would focus on the students’ interactions with each other, with the information, and with the assignments. Student interest and involvement will be gauged through observing their participation, excitement, and motivation during the activities. Students who are actively listening, speaking, reading, writing, and creating are involved in the lesson and are internalizing the information.
Besides English language exposure and practice in listening, speaking, reading, and writing, this unit would provide all students with a glimpse into another culture, another area of the world, and another view of themselves.