skkn cấp tỉnh raising the students awareness of protecting the environment through the integrated reading topic environmental problems for the 10th students at thach thanh 4 high school

THANH HOA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION & TRAININGTHACH THANH IV HIGH SCHOOL ---  ---RESEARCH RAISING THE STUDENTS’ AWARENESS OF PROTECTING THE ENVIRONMENT THROUGH THE INTEGRATED READING T

THANH HOA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION & TRAINING

THACH THANH IV HIGH SCHOOL

- 

 -RESEARCH

RAISING THE STUDENTS’ AWARENESS OF PROTECTING THE ENVIRONMENT THROUGH THE INTEGRATED READING TOPIC ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS

FOR THE 10 TH STUDENTS AT THACH THANH 4 HIGH SCHOOL

BY USING SOME POSITIVE TEACHING TECHNIQUES

Author : Nguyen Thi Anh Tuyet

I INTRODUCTION

1 Reasons for research

With the aim of improving the quality of full education for the young, to meetthe human resources for the industrialization and modernization of thecountry, to meet the needs of learner, general education has been stronglyreformed according to century’s goals They are learning to know, learning to

do, learning to assert themselves, learning to live together So the goal ofgeneral education has shifted from equipping the knowledge to the necessarycapability for the students

In addition, the popular education method has also been innovated in order toraise the sense of initiative and creativeness of the students, which is suitablewith the characteristics of each class , students’ psychology and the age;strengthen the students’ groupwork and train the skill of applying theknowledge to the life to integrate the life skills for themselves The content

of life skills education has been integrated in many subjects and othereducational activities With the advantages of the subject, I find that theeducation of life skills through English is practical in the stage of theglobalization

During the teaching process at Thach Thanh 4 High School, when applyingsome positive techniques in teaching English and integrating the life skillseducation for students, I realised that it is suitable with my students and the

characteristics of the school So, I bravely choose the topic “ Raising the students’ awareness of protecting the environment through the integrated reading topic “Environmental Problems” for the 10 th students

at Thach thanh 4 High School by using some positive teaching techniques.”

2 Purposes

We have known that intergrating knowledge in solving a problem of lesson isessential, which make learners not only study and improve the knowledgefrom other subjects but also help them understand and solve the matter fastand perfectly Intergrated knowledge of subjects such as: Geography, Physics,

Biology, Chemistry, Civic education and life in Unit 9: Protecting the environment, English 10 provide them a brief information about the serious

state of environment pollution and climate change Morever, with the images,videos about the environment being destroyed, students are aware of theirduties in protecting the environment – the habitat of all species as well.Consequently, students learn life experiences and adjust their behavior Inorder to do this, teachers must have appropriate teaching methods andtechniques to stimulate students' creative thinking and making their lecturesmore attractive

On the subject, I study and apply some positive teaching techniques to teach

the integrated reading topic Environmental Problems for the class 10B1.

Applied these techniques, I helped my students participate in the lectureactively and limit their laziness in groupworks

As we known, species extinction, environment pollution and climate changeare urgent problems of the globe The information of this theme is great, so I

help students study the topic Environmental Problems in four parts in each

paragraph: the reality, the causes, the consequences and the solutions.Besides, I give my students chances to discover the interest of the lesson bygiving each group a handout contained duties and doing the task 2 followingthe gameshow format “ Who wants to be a millionaire? As I mentionedabove, the lesson is so attracting that my students are all excited at doingresearch to get more information which is not mentioned in the passage

4 Methods

To make my solutions effectively, I have used some following methods

Firstly, I always get advices from colleagues through co-working

Secondly, I usually study, create and use new methods in teaching Englishsuch as using images, pictures, posters, real objects, etc

Thirdly, I apply science and technology in teaching, use projecters, presents,video clips to make the lesson actively For example, I show a cartoon aboutthe people’s interference with the nature

Next, I apply four positive teaching techniques to teach this topic: the cloth technique in lead-in, the graft technique in practice, the mindmap inconsolidation and the questioning technique when giving the duties for thestudents

table-Besides, I help students study some punishments in the Criminal Code of theSocialist Republic Of Vietnam for the environmental crime through someparticular violations in further practice to raise their awareness of protectingenvironment

Lastly, I use the format of gameshow “ Who wants to be a millionaire?” toteach the task 3, which inspires the students

II CONTENT

1 Theoretical Background

Normally, the teacher is considered to succeed in teaching reading skill whenhe/she helps students practise some new words, do all the tasks andunderstand the lesson in one or two periods Each lesson relates to a theme, so

it requires the teacher has both technique knowledge and understanding aboutthe places, people and events from the lessons However, the teacher must not

explain so much that makes the lesson excursive Part III Reading in unit 9: Environmental Problems is an exciting lesson that have attracted me as I

love the nature but the nature are in danger Everyday, I can see theenvironmental issues in the real life as well as on the television, radio ornewspapers The humane race are affecting their habitat through almost theiractions such as cooking, using vehicles and water, etc It is all due to the lack

of serious awareness of many people They think that what they do is small,not enough to harm the environment Others argue that environmentalprotection is the responsibility of the governments Therefore, as a teacher, Ialways want my students - the future owners of the country aware of theirresponsibility in protecting the environment and regulate their behavior bythemselves in order to have a healthy living environment

2 Realities before applying the research

Thach Thanh 4 High School is a newly established school, located in themountainous areas of Thanh Hoa province We have many dificulties when

we carry out the renovation of teaching method Most students are theMuong ethnicity minority Their awareness and thought are not as quick asthe students of the same age in other areas Morever, English is a specificsubject which is uneasy for students in mountainous areas, so our teachingand learning English have many difficulties Teaching some reading topics, Inoticed that most of my students engaged in the lectures passively Throughlearning, I found that they were interested in these topics but theirbackground knowledge on these topics was very limited Besides, theinformation about these topics are not much, and the given exercises arefamiliar, such as "true or false", "answer the questions", “ complete thesentences with one or two word” … Therefore, they do not attract thestudent's thought very much Realised that, I myself always make manyquestions such as “ How to stimulate students' thought?”, “ How to attract thestudents in learning?”, “ How to make students gain the most knowledgeabout the topic and take out life experiences for themselves?”, so I havestudied and applied some positive techniques to teaching these intergratedreading topics and got some success

3 Solutions

There are many positive teaching techniques, such as questioning technique,mindmap, grafting technique, table-cloth and KWL technique, etc To applythese techniques effectively, the teacher must not only follow the specificprocesses of each technique but also it requires creative flexibility andpedagogic method In the research, I will present the steps to implement fourpositive teaching techniques which I applied to teach the integrated reading

topic Environmental Problems and give the lesson plan to illustrate.

3.1 Questioning technique

In teaching, the teacher’s question system plays an important role, which isone of the determinants to the quality of the students’ knowledge Instead of

presenting a lecture by reading and copying, the teacher have to prepare aquestion system It motivates students think, discover knowledge, developslesson contents, and encourages them to brainstorm and discuss the content ofthe lesson logically Furthermore, the question system is used to orient andguide students discover the essential things, the rules of phenomena, stimulatethe exploration, the curiosity, etc During the conversation, the teacher is anorganizer, students are person exploring and creating new discoveriesactively Besides, students gain the joy, excitement of explorers andconfidence when they find that they have contributed their opinions in theteacher’s conclusions As a result, students both gain new knowledge andlearn the way to get it.

Environmental Problems is an interesting topic However, to make the

lecture more interesting, I had to prepare a list of questions which canmotivate them think and participate in the lesson actively When teaching the

lead-in, if the teacher uses the closed-question " Do the human race interfere

the nature? or “ Do the people destroy their habitat? ” , students only giveanswer "Yes, they do " or " No, they don’t" without brainstorming With thisclosed-question form, teachers neither develop the students’ thought nororient the knowledge they need to acquire in the unit Instead, I play a cartoonabout the people’s interference with the nature and use the opened-questionform “ What are people doing with the nature?” and ask them to discuss ingroups Students’ discussion was very exciting They gave many differrentanswers, such as “ People are killing the animals”, “ People are cutting down

trees” and “People are polluting the air ”… Using opened-question, I will not

only stimulate students’ thought, provide students many opportunities to sharepersonal ideas but also help students memorize and test their knowledge

3.2 Table-cloth technique

Table-cloth technique is a collaborative learning organization that combinespersonal and group works The goal of this technique is to stimulate, promotestudents’ engagement actively, enhance individual independence andresponsibility, and develop interaction between students

For students, they will learn how to approach with different strategies andsolutions through this technique Students will be trained in thinking,deciding, and solving problems Furthermore, it helps to raise the relationshipbetween students, enhance collaboration, communication, share experiencesand respect each other To apply this technique effectively, the teacher mustfollow its sequence of steps

First, the teacher gives

students a question or task ,

and divides the students into

small groups Each group will

be delivered an A0 paper

divided into smaller parts as

shown:

Each member of the group sits in a position corresponding parts

Next, the teacher asks students work individually in a few minutes,concentrate their thoughts on answering questions or tasks and write theirown opinions on suitable part of the A0 paper

After, the students have to discuss in groups to give group’s mutualagreement and write them in the center of the A0-cloth-table Withdisagreements, individuals can reserve and keep in the surrounding of thetable-cloth

Finally, the teacher calls the representatives of the groups to present theirideas in front of the class Other groups can give comments and feedbacks,the teacher concludes

In the “Environmental Problems” topic, I use the cloth-table tecnique in

lead-in I ask my students work in 4 groups and give each group an A0 paperwith the task:

“Watch the cartoon about the people’s interference with the nature andanswer the question “ What are people doing with the nature?” I find that

most of my students participate in the lesson actively and discuss the questionenthusiastically As a result, they gave many interesting answers

In conclusion, table-cloth technique is a simple teaching one that is easy toimplement It can be organized in all subjects, lessons, or grades like grouplearning However, it can overcome the limitations of group learning, such assome passive members do not participate in group’s activities It requires allmembers to work individually, think and write their own opinions beforegroup’s discussion Since then, all members can participate in discussing andhave opportunity to share personal ideas and experiences, self-assess, andadjust their own perceptions

3.3 Grafting technique:

Grafting technique is a technique that organizes jointly learning activitiesbetween individuals and groups It is used to solve a complex tasks It notonly stimulates the students’ active participation in groupwork but alsoenhances the role of the individuals in the collaboration

To use this technique effectively, teachers and students must follow twostages illustrated in the following diagram:

Stage 1: Intensive group.

Students are divided into small groups of 3 to 6 students Each group isassigned a task to in-depth study a different content of learning The groupshave to research and discussion Each member must master the content of theassignment and be able to present the content to other groups Each studentbecomes an in-depth field investigator in the stage 2

Stage 2: Pieces group

After completing the task at the stage 1, students from different intensivegroups join together into new groups called pieces group At this time, each

of the students in “intensive group” became "pieces" in the "pieces group".Students must assemble the array of knowledge into a "master picture" Thenthe teacher asks the students from the "intensive groups" in the "piecesgroups" represent their content

Finally, the teacher gives pieces groups a new task This task has synthesized,generalized the whole content that was learned from the intensive group

When teaching the reading topic Environmental Problems, I apply the

grafting technique in teaching task 2 I divided the students into 4 groups andgive each group a task Each group has to study their own paragraphs with 4factors: the reality, causes, the consequences and sollutions

Group 1: Study the paragraph A and find out the information, pictures or

video to illustrate the content of the paragraph `

Group 3: Study the paragraph C and find out the information, pictures or

videos to illustrate the content of the paragraph

Group 4: Study the paragraph D and find out the information, pictures or

videos to illustrate the content of the paragraph

Then I rearrange the groups A new group consists at least one student in eachgroup in stage 1 to help them understand the lesson perfectly Finally, I call arepresentative of each group to show their ideas in front of the class Othergroup can give comments or feedback if they do not agree

When using this technique, I find that my students are good at searching theinformation related to the topic They give interesting information, pictures

and videos about the environmental problems which are not mentioned in thepassage.

3.4 Mindmap technique

Mindmap is a thinking organization tool, the easiest way to transmitinformation into the brain and then send them out At the same time, it is avery creative and effective means of recording the information

Mindmap technique is a form of note that can use colors and images toexpand, deepen the ideas Teachers who use the mind map in teaching willbring high efficiency, develop logical thought, and analytical capability

Students will understand the lesson more, remember longer rather thanmemorize or learn by heart

To apply the mind map technique to teaching, the teacher must follow foursteps

Firstly, the teacher gives a picture or a keyword presented an idea, adefinition or a main content in the centre of the map

Secondly, the picture or a keyword in the centre will be developed and linked

to pictures or keyword called the sub-topic level 1 by major branches

After, the main branches will be continued to branch out to images, topics level 2 related to the main branch

sub-Finally, branching will be continued The related definitions, content andproblem are interconnected to create a "master picture" describing the theme

in the centre clearly and completely

There are many ways to organize the topic in the form of mind maps, such ashierarchical diagrams, network diagrams, sequence diagrams, relationaldiagrams, etc The students can choose a suitable way to make the mindmapwith personal point of view and experience

In the reading topic “Environmental Problems”, I apply the mindmap

technique to teach further practice This task is also a test to access thestudying process of the students

3.5 Lesson plan to illustrate

As the research pays attention to give some new ways of teaching Part III Reading in unit 9 English 10, I would like to present it in the form of a

lesson plan which contains both the content and the interdisciplinaryknowledge inside Here is the content.

Warm up:

Teacher: show the video about the people’s interferences with the nature:(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfGMYdalClU&t=60s)

and gives question:

“ What are people doing with the nature?”

I use the table-cloth technique to teach this task I ask students work in groups

of four or five and give each group an A0 paper Students write down theirown ideas in the surrounding of the paper Then, they discuss and write themutual agreement in the centre of the paper I call the representative of eachgroup give answer in front of the class Other groups can give comments

Students: finish their groups’ A0 paper.

Teacher: Feedbacks by showing the pictures on the screen and introduces:

“The natural environment is the decisive factor for life on the Earth Look at the pictures about things people are doing with the nature

“ Human race is doing harm to it through their actions and habits day by day.They are destroying the forest, putting the rubbish, chemical pollutants intothe environment Morever, they are hunting or capturing animals forrecreation or entertainment.These cause many bad consequences, such asclimate change, pollution, species extinction and so on This means nature isthreatened To know more about the reality, causes, consequences of

environmental problems, we study Unit 9-Part III Reading: Environmental Problems"

Teacher: shows the passage on the screen

Teacher: asks students read individually and choose the best title for it.

a Environmental problems: What are they?

b Environmental protection: How important is it?

c Environmental sollutions: How practical are they?

Teacher: calls on students to give answer and feedbacks:

a Environmental problems: What are they?

Vocabulary:

-Teacher gives vocabulary by asking students to look at the pictures on thescreen and guess the words or phrases together

global warming (np) : /ˈɡləʊblˈwɔːmɪŋ/ consequence (n):/ˈkɒnsɪkw(ə)ns/

ice melting (np): / aɪsˈmeltɪŋ / heatwave (n): /ˈhiːtˌweɪv/

impact (n): /ˈɪm.pækt/ come out of: /kʌm aʊt əv /

come down: / kʌm daʊn / vehicle (n): / ˈvɪə.kəl

respiratory / rɪˈspɪrətəri / legal (adj): /ˈliɡəl/ – illegalbalance (n): /ˈbæləns/ upset (v): /ʌpˈset/

Teacher: Calls some students to read the words to check their pronunciation

Vocabulary checking

Teacher: gives the students handouts

HANDOUT:

Task 1: Complete these sentences with the words or phrases given in the box

illegally ice melting heatwaves vehicles respiratory consequences impact come out of

1 The tiger is an endangered animal because people are destroying theirnatural habitat and hunting _

2 The smoke from the _can cause diseases

3 Floods, and polar are serious of global warming

4 The loss of forests can have a negative on the environment

5 The waste gases which _ vehicles, machines or factories cause airpollution

Teacher: gives cues by showing the pictures and calls on two students to go tothe board and write down their answer

Teacher:gives feedback:

KEY:

1 illegally 2 vehicles / respiratory 3 heatwaves / ice melting consequence

4 impact 5 come out of

PRACTICE:

Teacher: introduces: “ Now, we will study the content of each paragraph withpresentation of groups.”

Task 2: Groupwork and presenting.

To teach task 2, I applies the graft technique with two following steps:

Step 1: I establish 4 intensive groups and give each group a task Each groupprepares this task at home in groups All the members have to study, discuss

to get so much information about the task that each of them can show itinfluently before other groups.

Group 1: Study the paragraph A about the global warming.

Group 2: Study the paragraph B about deforestation.

Group 3: Study the paragraph C about air pollution.

Group 4: Study the paragraph D about endangered animals

Step 2: After reading the passage, I ask the students to perform the "piecesgroup" stage Members of new groups must discuss, collect the information,documents, and pictures or videos about their environmental issue todemonstrate what content will be presented in the "pieces group" Each

“pieces group” apoints a member to represent their ideas

Teacher: Calls on the representative of group 1 to go to the board and give illustration

Student: The represent of group 1- Nguyen Tam An shows the slides and introduces:

“ Paragraph A is about Global warming What is global warming?

“ It is a phenomenon of climate change characterized by a general increase in average temperatures of the Earth, which modifies the weather balances and ecosystems for a long time It is one of the biggest issues facing humans today.”

“ In fact, the average temperature of the

planet has increased by 0.8 degree

Celcius compared to the end of the 19th

century Each of the last three decades

has been warmer than all previous

decades since the beginning of the

statistical survey in 1850

At the pace of current CO2 emissions,

scientists expect an increase of between

1.5° and 5.3°C in average temperature

by 2100 If no action is taken, it would

have harmful consequences to humanity

and the biosphere.”

She continues: “ Have you ever asked yourself the question: What causes global warming? Look

at the picture”

“Global warming occurs when carbondioxide and other air pollutants collect inthe atmosphere and absorb sunlight andsolar radiation that have bounced off theearth’s surface Normally this radiationwould escape into space, but thesepollutants, which can last for years tocenturies in the atmosphere, trap the heatand cause the planet to get hotter.

These heat-trapping pollutants-especially carbon dioxide, methane, nitrousoxide, water vapor, and synthetic fluorinated gases-are known as greenhousegases, and their impact is called the greenhouse effect.”

She continues introducing about the greenhouse effect by showing thepicture:

“The increase in greenhouse gases is linked to human activities The scientistsbelieve that human activities are very likely the main cause of globalwarming since the mid-twentieth century, mostly because of :

BURNING FOSSIL FUEL

The massive use of fossil fuels is

obviously the first source of

global warming, as burning coal,

oil and gas produces carbon

dioxide-the most important

greenhouse gas in the atmosphere

as well as nitrous oxide

DEFORESTATION

The exploitation of forests has a

major role in climate change Trees

help regulate the climate by absorbing

CO2 from the atmosphere When they

are cut down, this positive effect is

lost and the carbon stored in the trees

is released into the atmosphere

WASTE DISPOSAL

Waste management methods like

landfills and incineration emit

greenhouse and toxic gases

-including methane - that are released

into the atmosphere, soil and

waterways, contributing to the

increase of the greenhouse effect

MININGModern life is highly dependent on

the mining and metallurgical

industry Metals and minerals are

the raw materials used in the

construction, transportation and

manufacturing of goods From

extraction to delivery, this market

accounts for 5% of all greenhouse

gas emissions

OVERCONSUMPTION

Finally, overconsumption also plays a

major role in climate change In fact, it is

responsible for the overexploitation of

natural resources and emissions from

international freight transport, which both

contribute to global warming.”

“ Global warming can have serious consequences As the Earth’s temperaturerises, the ice in the poles is melting, which causes the increase in the sea level

In Vietnam, research has shown that the average sea level rises about 2.8 mmper year If the earth continues warmer, it is expected the sea level rises tomaximum of one metre by 2100 and there is at least 40% of the MekongDelta and 10 – 12% of the area of land will be disappeared

Compared with the satellite images taken 10 years ago, the coast in theMekong Delta has been dented by about 200m to 240m Mangroveforest arenearly disappeared The coastal erosion phenomenon is taken place in most

of the coastal provinces of our country.”

“Global warming can also cause extreme weather events like heatwaves,drought or obnormal storms There used to be about 12 storms a year, whichoften took place from April to November Nowadays, there are more 12storms in a year and they are often more complicated

The storm which caused the most damage is 5th one called Linda It happenedfrom 31st October to 3rd November 1997.”

“ Another consequence of global warming is heatwaves It is a period ofabnormally hot weather, often defined with reference to a relative temperaturethreshold, lasting from two days to months without the wind