What else can weak learners do?

They can think !!

Who are our clients? Weak learners / non readers at the

end of elem school / beginning of JHS

false beginners

a history of failure and frustration

low self image - pessimistic

have usually opted out - negative attitude to school in general

and English in particular

Psychologically speaking……….

send a message that we are aware of their problems

avoid at all cost a re-run of material they have already failed at

or materials that seem to be designed for younger learners

break out of the cycle of repeated failure

need materials that can overcome these obstacles

What materials ?

age-sensitive of current relevance are perceived by the students to be

interesting have the potential to stimulate

thought

use English not to talk about itself

but to prompt thought about topics and interesting fields of knowledge

the “what else” factor

Reading to read or reading to think ?

A low reading level does not necessarily mean a low thinking level

or topics different from those that interest mainstream young teens

What kind of materials ?

Across all the skills we can incorporate or

infuse thoughtful-ness

Some examples…………………….

Topic : Being a smart consumer

Skill : fact and opinion

Ads want us to……… a. buy things b. tell the truth c. look good d. know the truth

Imagine you are writing an ad. Which of these sentences would you use ?

Our smart cell phone can do everything! We have beautiful clothes, just for you Do you really need a new computer ? People everywhere love our cookies! In my opinion, these boots are no good. Read our newspaper. It gives you all the

facts.

What do you ask yourself when you buy things ?

a. Does this store really have the best brands?

b. Do my friends have these sneakers?c. Do I need these sneakers?d. Are these sneakers really the best in town?

Thinking skill : compare and contrast

Topic : Same and Different

Reading comprehension

Can these two boys be twins? Read and decide.

1. They have the same mother.They have the same father.They are both tall.They are both thin.They have blonde hair.They don’t like the same things.They don’t have the same birthday.They are good friends.

2.

Mr Black, Mr Green and Mr White were sitting in the park.

Mr Black said: “Look, our hats are all different colours. But none of us is wearing the colour that is the same as his name.”

“That is true,” said the man who was wearing a white hat.

What colour hat was each man wearing ?

Teach grammar in a “thought-full” way

Read about two friends. Do the facts show that they live near or far from each other, or either ?

near far

either

They like the same music

They write to each other by e mail.

They play basketball together every day.

They send SMS messages.

They do homework together

What skill are we testing?

People buy / buys sandals at a shoe shop

grammar

People buy sandals / coats at a shoe shop

vocabulary

Lots of people wear sandals in summer.

They have great sandals at this shop.

fact and opinion

T F or NEE ?

There are three aliens. The aliens are the same size. The spaceship made a lot of noise. The spaceship is near a city. The spaceship door is open. The aliens come from Mars. They want to attack the city.

Comparative adjectives

Jack’s car is more expensive than Leo’s car, but cheaper than Lisa’s car. Frank’s car is not as expensive as Lisa’s car.

Who has the most expensive car ?

Thinking about vocabulary

The cyclists are at the starting line. Do they know who the winner is ?

Yes / no Greg won the race. Does he get a prize

or a prince ? Someone damaged my bike. Am I

happy or angry ? Someone cheated in a maths test. Does

the teacher give him 0 or 100?

Bob beat Steve in a tennis game. Who was the winner: Steve or Bob?

If you collect posters do you keep them or sell them?

Does a polite person say Thank you or Go away?

Cause and effect

Which was the cause ?

Jack never learned to read. It was too hard for him.

Jack opened a coffee shop. He lost his job.

He had many coffee shops. He made a lot of money.

He lost his job. He didn’t know how to read.

Logical thinking

Is it possible ? Logical?

I didn’t do my HW because it rained yesterday

Dan has a new car. He walks to work every day.

My sister is in America. I will meet her tomorrow .

We are lost. The GPS is not working.

Dinner is not ready. The GPS is not working.

There aren't any oranges. I am going to eat one.

Puzzlescross matching information

Tom plays basketball and he has only one neighbour.

Sam has a blue cell phone and he lives next door to the red house.

Ella lives in the yellow house and she likes jazz.

The boy who likes hip hop has a digital camera.

Conclusion

Choose topics that are relevant, interesting, age appropriate

current, cool

Avoid materials that talk down to students

Try to incorporate technology

Be on the look out for what else