Current Events and the Classroom

As future TESOL professionals, many of us have a heightened sense of cultural sensitivity.  This added sense of cultural awareness is as critical today as ever before, especially considering the recent current events. 

Although I am a special ed teacher, my current schedule has me teaching 8^th grade inclusion social studies.  When I was assigned this course for the first time last year, I was terrified that I would not be knowledgeable enough in the curriculum to be able to teach it, as I struggled with history throughout my academic career.  To my relief, I found that it was much easier for me to relearn the content than I had expected, perhaps due to the fact that I have a greater appreciation for history as an adult.  The increased amounts of life experience and background knowledge that I have gained since middle school certainly help also. 

All of this being said, I was nervous about going into work the day after the announcement of Osama bin Laden’s death because I was worried that the kids would be asking questions that I did not know the answers to.  As I mentioned previously, my background is in special education, not history.  It takes a great wealth of understanding of history to be able to explain to students the situations in which the United States finds itself today.  I was also worried that some students would not be as culturally sensitive to their Muslim peers as I expect them to be.  My co-teacher and I always go to great lengths to explain that the US is involved in a war on terror, not on the religion of Islam, and we certainly hope that this is ingrained in our students. 

One of the main reasons that I have chosen to blog about this topic is so that I can share with all of you a very well written article that provides students with background information about Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda, as well as the impact of bin Laden’s death on the United States.  I find that is always a challenge to discuss current events with students because they sometimes lack the necessary facts to understand what is going on presently.  This article does a great job of providing students with a basis for discussion in a clear, respectful way.

KidsPost Article on Osama bin Laden's Death

*Aware - informed; alert; knowledgeable

*Relief - alleviation, through the removal of pain, distress, oppression, etc.

*Announcement – the public or formal notice of something

*Background - one's origin, education, experience, etc., in relation to one's present character, status, etc.

*Ingrained - firmly fixed; deep-rooted; embedded

*Basis - anything upon which something is based; fundamental principle; groundwork.

Vocabulary Practice

1. Were you __________ of the problem before they informed you about it?

2. It was such a ___________ to find out that the tests came back negative.

3. It was ________________ in me as a child to always treat my elders with respect.

4. What is his educational _______________?  Did he attend college?

5. What is the _____________ for this decision?

6. There will be a public service __________________ about hurricane preparation coming soon.

Point of View

It is important that when teaching writing we also make students aware of point of view to ensure that their writing will be clear and that they will direct what they are saying to the appropriate and intended audience.  My blog was written in the first person because I am the narrator and I am directly involved in the story.  I also use the second person because I am directly speaking to all of the readers of this blog (you).  A sample written in the third person point of view would involve the subjects he, she, or it.  Read the sentences below and decide if it is written in the first, second, or third person point of view.

1. Mrs. Robinson and her son went to the supermarket this morning. _________________

2. You should have studied more last night to prepare for the exam. _________________

3.  We all attended the gala and had a wonderful time. ___________________

The Royal Wedding

Okay, I know many of you are probably rolling your eyes at the title, but I had to go there.  I hope this topic isn’t too redundant!  The funny thing is that when I first got wind of the royal engagement, I thought it was ridiculous that people were making a big deal of the upcoming nuptials.  I cannot believe that only a few months later I was becoming such a huge sap and was DVR-ing every special on television. 

Luckily for me, I am already awake at 5 AM and was able to see Princess Kate’s walk down the aisle without having to set the alarm clock any earlier.  I was surprised with her dress choice because it was so simple, but she could not have looked more elegant in my opinion.  I admire how caring the young couple appears to be towards one another.  I thought it was so cute that Prince William mouthed, “Are you happy?” to Kate as they were departing Westminster Abbey in the coach.   

I also enjoyed gaining a little bit of insight into the history of England’s monarchy.  Even if the royal family does not hold any true political power in the UK, it was still interesting to hear about their years of reign in Britain.

The Line of Succession to the British Throne - Are you on this list?? ;-)

*Redundant – exceeding what is usual or natural

*Nuptials – a wedding or marriage

*Aisle - a walkway between or along sections of seats

*Elegant - tastefully fine or luxurious in dress, style, or design

*Admire – to regard with pleasure

*Insight - an instance of capturing the true nature of a thing

Vocabulary Practice

1. Many people ____________ their older siblings and try to live up to the expectations that they have set.

2. “Class, please make the ____________ wider between the desks so we can walk through the room.”

3. I would like to gain some ____________ into the way the administration works.

4. Did the couple have a long engagement before their ____________?

5. They live in a very ____________ home with fine décor and furniture.

6. It is frustrating to read a passage that is ____________ and simply says the same things over and over.

Homophones

Homophones are words that are pronounced or spoken the same way, but have different meanings.  Homophones can be words that are spelled exactly the same (as in bark the sound a dog makes, and the bark of a tree) or they can be spelled differently.  Homophones can be confusing to ELLs, especially in the area of encoding (spelling).  Frequent exposure to common homophones can be a helpful way for ELLs (and all students) to learn which homophones are associated with the proper definition.  Some of the most commonly confused homophones include their, there, and they’re (as seen in my writing) and to, two, and too, also present in my blog.  Using the description of each homophone in the chart below, create an original sentence using each homophone.

Homophone	Meaning	Sentence
Their	Possessive form; belonging to more than one person
There	Describes a relative location
They’re	Contraction – They are
Too	Also
To	Preposition showing relationship to words in a sentence
Two	The number (one, two, three…)

(My) Season Opener

Last Monday, I attended my first Yankee game of the season.  I was lucky enough to have off the Monday and Tuesday following Easter, so Paul and I thought it would be a great time to get to our first game of the year.  We quickly logged onto StubHub as soon as we realized the Yanks were playing the White Sox at home.

On our way to the stadium, with all of the directions jumbled in our heads on how to get to Geneseo, Manhattan College, and other frequently visited northern destinations, we inadvertently got mixed up and did not approach the stadium from the same way we usually do.  Because of this, we had a hard time locating the parking lot that we prefer to park in for easy exit from the stadium.  Luckily, we circumnavigated the stadium enough times to finally find it!   

Once inside, we reluctantly climbed to the highest deck of the stadium to our seats.  Although the hike may have been long, I was really quite impressed with our $4.99 StubHub seats.  The new stadium was designed in such a way that even though we were up so high, we still felt close to the field and were able to see everything.  That being said, these seats certainly did not beat the views we got last summer when we toured Yankee Stadium.  The tour is something I would definitely recommend – it was a relatively inexpensive way to see things in the stadium that we never would have seen otherwise.

Yankee Stadium Homepage

*Stadium - a sports arena, usually oval or horseshoe-shaped, with tiers of seats for spectators

*Jumbled - to be confused mentally due to a large amount of mixed up information

*Inadvertently – Unintentionally; not done on purpose

*Destination - the place to which a person or thing travels or is sent

*Locate - to identify or discover the place or location of something or someone

*Circumnavigate - to go or maneuver around

Vocabulary Practice

1.  I wonder if the kids that I mentioned in my last blog were looking to ________________ the globe when they took their father’s boat from the harbor!

2.  Would you mind helping me ________________ my glasses?  I believe I left them in this room.

3.  Their next vacation ________________ is to Montego Bay, Jamaica.

4.  When travelling, I like to visit local baseball ________________ to see the different layouts of the arenas.

5.  The waiter was pouring water into our glasses and ________________ dropped the entire pitcher on the table!

6.  At times, when I give my students a math test, the information seems to be ________________ in their heads and it is difficult to decipher which rules need to be applied to the problems.

Adverbs

An adverb is a part of speech whose function is to modify or describe any other part of speech besides a noun.  The questions that adverbs usually answer include, how?, in what way?, when?, where?, and to what extent?  In English, adverbs typically end in the suffix –ly, as seen in the words quickly, rapidly, or nicely.  A frequently used adverb that does not end in –ly is well. 

Add more description to the sentences below by filling in the blank with an adverb.

1. I colored the picture _______________ to make sure I did not go outside of the lines.

2. He ran off ______________ in attempt to make it to school on time.

3. I am not feeling ___________; I have a high fever and a cough.

4. Please speak __________ so that the students can better understand you.