Language A, Year 3

key concepts culled from

M.Y.P.’s Interim Objectives / N.C.S.C.o.S.

IB Terminology

Three fundamental concepts: 1. Holistic learning, which means that all disciplines are interdependent and lessons learned in one classroom should be transferrable in other classrooms and beyond, 2. Intercultural awareness, which recognizes that other people, with their differences, can also be right, 3. Communication, which connects people in a variety of modes to share ideas.

The Five Areas of Interactions (AoIs)

  1. Approaches to Learning: Area of Interaction that asks students to take responsibility for their own learning and develop an awareness of how they learn best
  2. Community and Service: Area of Interaction that asks students to take an active part in the communities in which they live, encouraging responsible citizenship
  3. Environments: Area of Interaction that asks students to develop an awareness of their interdependence with the environment so that they understand and accept their responsibilities
  4. Health and Social Education: Area of Interaction that asks students to maintain complete and healthy lives
  5. Human Ingenuity: Area of Interaction that asks students to explore in multiple ways the processes and products of human creativity and its beneficial and harmful effects

The 10 Traits of the IB Learner Profile

  1. Balanced: one of the 10 Learner Profile traits IB learners take on as they understand the importance of intellectual, physical and emotional balance to achieve personal well-being for themselves and others
  2. Caring: one of the 10 Learner Profile traits IB learners take on as they show empathy, compassion and respect towards the needs and feelings of others. They have a personal commitment to service and act to make a positive difference to the lives of others and to the environment.
  3. Communicators: one of the 10 Learner Profile traits IB learners take on as they understand and express ideas and information confidently and creatively in more than one language and in a variety of modes of communication. They work effectively and willingly in collaboration with others.
  4. Inquirers: one of the 10 Learner Profile traits IB learners take on as they develop their natural curiosity, acquire the skills necessary to conduct inquiry and research and show independence in learning. They actively enjoy learning and this love of learning will be sustained throughout their lives.
  5. Knowledgeable: one of the 10 Learner Profile traits IB learners take on as they explore concepts, ideas and issues that have local and global significance. In so doing, they acquire in-depth knowledge and develop understanding across a broad and balanced range of disciplines.
  6. Open-minded: one of the 10 Learner Profile traits IB learners take on as they understand and appreciate their own cultures and personal histories and are open to the perspectives, values and traditions of other individuals and communities. They are accustomed to seeking and evaluating a range of points of view and are willing to grow from the experience.
  7. Principled: one of the 10 Learner Profile traits IB learners take on as they act with integrity and honesty, with a strong sense of fairness, justice and respect for the dignity of the individual, groups and communities. They take responsibility for their own actions and the consequences that accompany them.
  8. Reflective: one of the 10 Learner Profile traits IB learners take on as they give thoughtful consideration to their own learning and experience. They are able to assess and understand their strengths and limitations in order to support their learning and personal development.
  9. Risk-takers: one of the 10 Learner Profile traits IB learners take on as they approach unfamiliar situations and uncertainty with courage and forethought and have the independence of spirit to explore new roles, ideas and strategies. They are brave and articulate in defending their beliefs.
  10. Thinkers: one of the 10 Learner Profile traits IB learners take on as they exercise initiative in applying thinking skills critically and creatively to recognize and approach complex problems, and make reasoned, ethical decisions.

The Seven Skill Areas of Approaches to Learning

  1. Organization: includes management of time (in class / deadlines outside) and self (goal-setting / materials)
  2. Collaboration: includes working in groups (delegating / taking responsibility, adapting to roles, resolving group conflicts, demonstrating teamwork), accepting others (analyzing others’ ideas, respecting others’ points of view, using ideas critically) and personal challenges (respecting cultural differences, negotiating goals / limitations with peers / teachers)
  3. Communication: includes literacy (reading strategies, using / interpreting vocabulary), being informed (using variety of media), and informing others (presenting with a variety of media)
  4. Information Literacy: includes accessing information (research from a variety of sources, using range of technologies, identifying primary v. secondary sources), selecting and organizing information (identifying points of view, bias, weakness, using primary and secondary sources, making connections between variety of sources), and referencing (citing, respecting intellectual property rights)
  5. Reflection: includes self-awareness (seeking out positive criticism, reflecting on perceived limitations) and self-evaluation (keeping learning journals / portfolios, reflecting at different stages of the learning process)
  6. Thinking: includes generating ideas (brainstorming), planning (storyboarding / outlining), inquiring (questioning / developing questions, challenging information / arguments, using the inquiry cycle), applying knowledge and concepts (logical progression of arguments), identifying problems (deductive reasoning, evaluating solutions), creating novel solutions (combining critical / creative strategies, considering problems from multiple perspectives)
  7. Transfer: includes making connections (using knowledge / understanding / skills across subjects to create products / solutions, applying skills / knowledge in unfamiliar situations) and inquiring in different contexts (changing context for various perspectives)

CULTURAL STUDIES

  1. bias / semantic slanting / loaded language: words that attempt to influence a reader or listener by appealing to emotion and often playing on stereotypes; N.B.: Clever readers are aware of this and do not fall into the trap.
  2. iceberg concept of culture: graphic organizer that shows how little outside observers actually see of other cultures because most culture that visible outside of the cultures itself represents a very narrow view of that culture (its folk arts, games, dress, and cuisine). The true nature of a culture is often out of the primary awareness of an observer because it is difficult to see, for example, a culture’s conception of beauty, relationship to animals, or definition of insanity without an in-depth study from the inside.
  3. stereotype: logical oversimplification in which all members of a set are considered definable by an easily distinguishable set of characteristics

STRATEGIES FOR MASTERING LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE

  1. analysis: strategy in which the reader probes beyond mere memorization, summary, and comprehension to make connections between the text and outside ideas by asking why.
  2. annotation: technique that allows one to more fully engage with a text by writing notes in the margins, asking questions, suggesting possible parallels with other selections or with the reader’s own experience, arguing for or against the writer’s points, commenting on the writer’s style, or defining unfamiliar terms and concepts; more than simple highlighting
  3. Bloom’s Taxonomy: a hierarchy of learning objectives teachers should pursue and associated cognitive skills students should develop established by educational psychologist Benjamin Bloom at the University of Chicago in 1956; 1) Knowledge, 2) Comprehension, 3) Application, 4) Analysis, 5) Synthesis, 6) Evaluation; N.B.: International Baccalaureate feels different than most conventional schools, because the overwhelming majority of conventional schools rarely ask students to extend beyond Levels 1 or 2. Here, Levels 1 and 2 provide only a foundation for the more meaningful, interesting work at Levels 3-6.
  4. context clue: information that allows a reader to infer about the meaning of a word, passage, or main idea
  5. dictionary: collection of words in a specific language often listed alphabetically with definitions, etymologies (word origins), pronunciations and other information; also called a lexicon
  6. Freytag’s triangle: graphic organizer that represents the classic dramatic structure divided into five parts: 1) exposition, 2) rising action, 3) climax, 4) falling action, 5) dénouement; more often an isosceles triangle than an equilateral one; N.B.: the triangle is a way for readers to interpret fiction, but it is not a literary device, because very few professional writers draw out the triangle while writing plot structures. The five elements happen organically during the creation of fiction.
  7. glossary: alphabetical list of terms and definitions in a particular domain of knowledge; frequently at the end of a text; usually introduces terms that are new or uncommon to the reader
  8. graphic organizers: visual representations of knowledge, concepts or ideas; examples include storyboards, charts, concept maps, KWL tables, Venn diagrams, flow charts, word webs, and others
  9. highlighting: technique to record responses by marking text with symbols; may involve underlining important ideas, boxing key terms, numbering a series of related points, circling or question marking unfamiliar words, drawing vertical lines next to interesting passages, drawing arrows to connect related points, placing asterisks next to discussions of central themes or issues; less structured than annotation
  10. idiom: phrase whose meaning cannot be determined by literal definition of itself, but instead refers to a figurative meaning that is known only by common use; most are cultural expressions that began as metaphors and became part of everyday speech such as: The frustrated student said his most recent poor grade was the last straw until his teacher sat him down an explained the importance of perseverance.
  11. index: detailed, paginated list, arranged alphabetically, that contains information that would be relevant and of interest to readers, such as people, places, events, and concepts
  12. inference: concluding a logical consequence from premises; an educated guess
  13. language: system for encoding and decoding information
  14. language conventions: a set of agreed principles, behaviors, and rules among users of that language
  15. literature: broadly defined, but at its core it is the art of written work; from the Latin littera “letter”
  16. prefix: unit of a word that is placed before the root and can alter the form of a word
  17. root: word’s primary unit; carries the most significant aspects of the word’s content
  18. Socratic Method: teaching method attributed to Greek philosopher Socrates in which a questioner probes students to stimulate critical thought and illuminate ideas; N.B.: This is neither a reading strategy nor an AoI, but the experience in a classroom that employs it will likely strengthen abilities in both.
  19. suffix: ending placed after the root of the word; often indicates the part of speech or form of a word
  20. summary: reading technique and occasional research-based writing technique of restating ideas of a source in one’s own words, but unlike paraphrasing, summary just conveys a general sense of the idea without following the order and emphasis of the original
  21. text: any oral, written, or visual non-fiction, fiction, film, historical document, law, advertising, or other medium that is in the field of cultural studies; some old-school scholars define text as books of the Western literary canon, but those thinkers are dying out (mercifully)
  22. thesaurus: lists words that are grouped by similarity of meaning, unlike a dictionary, which lists definitions and pronunciations
  23. Venn diagram: graphic representation of all possible logical connections between groups of things
  24. vocabulary: set of words in a language with which one is familiar; fundamental tool for communication and acquiring knowledge

ISSUES OF GRAMMAR / USAGE

  1. capitalization: writing a word’s first letter as an upper-case letter to distinguish it from other words
  2. clause: group of words that consist of a subject and a predicate (Independent: The burqa hid all but her eyes. Dependent: Because the burqa hid all but her eyes, )
  3. dependent clause / subordinate clause: grammatical unit that contains both a subject and a verb but cannot stand alone as a sentence, so it must be accompanied by an independent clause
  4. comma splice: error and type of run-on sentence that occurs when two independent clauses (sentences) are incorrectly joined with only a comma between them
  5. fused sentence: error and type of run-on sentence that occurs when two independent clauses (sentences) are incorrectly joined without any punctuation
  6. complex sentence: contains an independent clause and one or more subordinate/dependent clauses
  7. compound sentence: contains two independent clauses joined by a coordinating conjunction or semicolon
  8. compound-complex sentence: contains two independent clauses and one or more subordinate/dependent clauses
  9. editing: post-writing strategy in which the author combs through the writing for conventional errors such as misspelled words, typos, commonly confused words (homonyms, homophones, etc.) and interruptions to coherence, cadence, and fluidity; most errors are cured by printing two copies of an essay, handing one to any literate person, and reading aloud so you can both proofread by sight and sound; not to be confused with revision: a continual post-writing strategy that literally means to see again, so it is more than editing or proofreading; reexamining and rethinking a piece of writing
  10. grammar: logical and structural rules that govern composition of sentences, phrases, and words
  11. independent / main clause : grammatical unit containing both a subject and a verb that can stand alone as a sentence
  12. phrase: group of words functioning a single unit in a sentence (the adobe inside the villa); differs from a clause in that it lacks either a subject or a verb
  13. lack of agreement: either of two types of grammatical errors that occur when 1) lack of subject-verb agreement: the writer’s subject does not match in number with the corresponding verb (Remember: singular subjects take singular verbs, and plural subjects take plural verbs), or 2) lack of pronoun-antecedent agreement: the writer’s antecedent (word, phrase, or clause to which the pronoun refers) does not match in number with the pronouns (Remember: singular pronouns require singular antecedents, and plural pronouns require plural antecedents).
  14. punctuation: symbols that tell the reader how to behave while reading a sentence; the following are the 10 most frequently used English punctuation symbols: 1) period: ends a sentence that is not interrogative or exclamatory, 2) comma: called for in any of 18 situations, but used to briefly pause, but not stop, a reader, 3) question mark: ends an interrogative statement, 4) exclamation point: should only be used in the most emotional situations; N.B.: DO NOT OVERUSE, 5) quotation marks: only to be used when citing the exact words of a writer or speaker, not for emphasis as dorky people do with their fingers. They are foolish and wrong. 6) semicolon: used to fuse two independent clauses, 7) colon: introduces a logical sequence, effect, fact stated before, or a description, 8) ellipses: account for the omission of a word or words and can also slow down a sentence; N.B.: Do not call ellipses “the three dots” as you will sound unsophisticated and foolish. 9) parentheses: used for appositive phrases, documenting sources, or providing some statistical or style information, 10) em-dash: looking like an elongated hyphen, it creates an appositive.
  15. run-on sentence: a pair of grammatical errors that occurs when the writer loses sight of sentence boundaries, incorrectly omitting necessary punctuation or coordinating conjunctions.
  16. sentence fragment: a grammatical error that occurs when the writer produces a group of words that lacks either a subject or verb; N.B.: Some writers have enough control to attempt a rhetorical fragment (in which a writer deliberately does not include either a subject or verb in an independent clause to change the rhythm, emphasize an idea, show shock, or achieve some other effect) but most attempts fall flat.
  17. sentence variety (syntax): there are four sentence structures: 1) simple: The singer bowed to her adoring audience.; 2) compound: The singer bowed to her adoring audience, but she sang no encores.; 3) complex: The singer bowed to her adoring audience, but sang no encores.; 4) compound-complex: The singer bowed to her adoring audience and ignored their pleas for an encore, but instead she went to a party in her honor at a nearby club.; strong writers ensure that they do not just confine themselves to one type of syntax, unless attempting repetition or parallelism.
  18. simple sentence : contains only one independent clause

PARTS OF SPEECH

  1. adjective: modifies nouns or pronouns, giving more information about them (The Irishman wore orange and green socks, because they were the colors of his nation.)
  2. adverb: modifies verbs, adjectives (including numbers), clauses, sentences, or other adverbs (basically anything except for nouns); typically answer questions such as how?, in what way?, when?, where?, why?, or to what extent?; in English, adverbs often end in –ly, BUT THIS IS NOT ALWAYS TRUE (I quickly realized that we met yesterday at the Shaman’s obi).
  3. article: combines with nouns to indicate the type of reference being made by the noun, and may specify the amount of that reference; English has two classifications of articles: (1) definite articles refer to a particular member of a group (The top I.B. student went to the school of her choice.), (2) indefinite articles refer to any member of a group (An I.B. student has a better chance of getting into that school, but that will depend on her application.).
  4. conjunction: connects two words, phrases, or clauses; an acronym to remember English’s conjunctions in F.A.N.B.O.Y.S. (For And Nor But Or Yet So)
  5. interjection: has no grammatical connection with the rest of the sentence other than to express emotion (The congregation responded with a thunderous “Amen!”)
  6. nouns: person (teacher), place (forest), object (iPod), or abstract concept (truth); can serve as the subject of a clause (After Muhammad left the mosque, he played soccer.) or the object of a verb (After Muhammad left the mosque, he played soccer); comes from the Latin nomen “name”; The most basic classification of nouns is to separate proper from common. Because proper nouns denote particular people, places, or objects, proper nouns have their initial letters capitalized (The word spider is not capitalized, but the word Spider-Man is).
  7. parts of speech: classifications of words that group them by their behavior in sentence structures; English currently recognizes eight (noun, verb, adjective, adverb, preposition, conjunction, and interjection), but some grammarians, usually those well versed in Ancient Greek, refer to nine (the ninth being participles, which share feature of both nouns and verbs)
  8. preposition: introduces a prepositional phrase (there are about 140 prepositions in English); expresses a relationship between other parts of speech (e.g. The two governments disagreed over how to solve the border dispute.).
  9. pronoun: substitutes for a noun (The sentence Amir gave his fez to his friend could easily be restated as He gave it to him.); the phrase that is replaced by a pronoun is called the antecedent; the two main types of pronouns are personal (I, you, he, she, it, we, they) or possessive (my, mine, her, hers, his, our, ours, your, yours, their, theirs). The personal pronouns (shown above in their subjective forms for when they are the doer of an action in a sentence or clause) also have objectives forms (me, you, him, her, it, us, them) for when the action in a sentence or clause is done to them.
  10. verb: denotes an action (to read), occurrence (to decompose), or a state of being (to exist); in English, verbs vary only by tense (I go, I went, I will go) or number (I am, The three of us are ), whereas Spanish and other Romance language change or inflect verbs for tense, gender, mood, number and aspect.
  11. verb tense: alteration to a verb form to indicate time, usually past, present, or future in English; Chinese does not use tense, but employs certain adverbs to show time when needed.

LITERARY GENRES