The City School PAF Chapter

1. The City School PAF Chapter Prepared by Humaira Shakil Prep I-English INTEL TEACH PROGRAM 2011 ACTION PLAN

2. Contents • Topic • Long term goals • Short term goals • Instructional strategies and tasks • Solutions to anticipated challenges • Timeline • Summary writing following Bloom’s Taxonomy • Resources • Conclusion

3. Around the World in Eighty Days. • Literature (novel) • Written by Jules Verne • Main characters Phileas Fogg Jean Passépartout Detective Fix Princess Aouda • Reading/ explanation, vocabulary, chapter synopsis, questions and answers, role plays.

4. Chapter synopsis ( summary ) • Chapter synopsis is the core area which if covered helps the students to answer the related questions very easily. Unfortunately, the students lack the skill of writing a proper chapter log. • A chapter log must include all important points in a chapter. • Therefore, my plan will provide effective methodology to guide students towards writing a good summary.

5. Long Term Goals • To adopt 21st century teaching methodologies to break old(routine) thinking patterns and enhance student’s lateral thinking and Literary skills

6. Short term goals • Focus on individual learning • Encourage them to work in groups and interact with each other • Develop anticipatory skills

7. Instructional strategies and tasks • Writing a good summary demonstrates that you clearly understand a text...and that you can communicate that understanding to your readers. A summary can be tricky to write at first because it’s tempting to include too much or too little information. But by following our easy 8-step method, you will be able to summarize texts quickly and successfully for any class or subject.

8. 1) Divide…and conquer. First off, ask the students to skim the text they are going to summarize and divide it into sections. Ask them to focus on any headings and subheadings. Also look at any bold-faced terms and make sure they understand them before they read. 

9. 2) Read. Now that they’ve prepared, ask them go ahead and read the selection. Read straight through. At this point, they don’t need to stop to look up at anything that gives them trouble—just get a feel for the author’s tone, style, and main idea.

10. 3) Reread. Rereading should be active reading. Ask students tounderline topic sentences and key facts. Label areas that they want to refer to as they write their summary. Also label areas that should be avoided because the details—though they may be interesting—are too specific. Identify areas that are unclear and try to clarify those points. 

11. 4) One sentence at a time.Once, they have a firm grasp on the text they will be summarizing. In steps 1–3, the text was divided into sections and the author’s main ideas and points were located. Now, ask the students to write down the main idea of each section in one well-developed sentence. Make sure that what they include in their sentences are key points, not minor details. 

12. 5) Ready to write. At this point, their first draft is virtually done.They can use the thesis statement as the introductory sentence of their summary and the other sentences can make up the body. Make sure that they are in order. Add some transition words (then, however, also, moreover) that help with the overall structure and flow of the summary

13. Once you are actually putting pen to paper (or fingers to keys!), remember these tips: • Write in the present tense. • Make sure to include the author and title of the work. • Be concise: a summary should not be equal in length to the original text. • If you must use the words of the author, cite them. • Don't put your own opinions, ideas, or interpretations into the summary. The purpose of writing a summary is to accurately represent what the author wanted to say, not to provide a critique.

14. 7) Check for accuracy. Reread your summary and make certain that you have accurately represented the author’s ideas and key points. Make sure that you have correctly cited anything directly quoted from the text. Also check to make sure that your text does not contain your own commentary on the piece.

15. 8) Revise. Once the students have written their summary ask them to check for accuracy, they should (as with any piece of writing) revise it for style, grammar, and punctuation. If there is time, they may share their summary with their peers. The summary should be so clear that the other person should be able to understand the main text based on their summary alone. If he or she does not, the student may have focused too much on one area of the piece and not enough on the author’s main idea.

16. The above slides were based on Bloom’s Taxonomy. • To write a proper synopsis of a chapter, the students should first read the chapter, understand and memorize relevant details. • Once, the details have been gathered they may create a rough draft and check for comprehensiveness. • If the details gathered are sufficient, they may formulate the chapter’s synopsis.

17. Solution to anticipated challenges Problems Solutions • The students may not be willing to read the chapter thoroughly. • The students may find difficulty in interpreting the meanings of new words. • They may not be able to access the internet at their homes. • The chapter may be divided into parts and given to groups to guess a certain phrase assigned to each group. • They will be provided with vocabulary to help them understand the text. • The students will be given access to school’s computer lab and library to facilitate them.

18. Useful Links for Vocabulary Building Through these links students can find easy definitions, words of the day, synonyms, antonyms, word games etc. to help enhance their vocabulary : • www.vocabulary.co.il • www.vocabulary.com • www.visualthesaurus.com • www.dictionary.reference.com/studenthandbook

19. Resources for summary writing: • School Library • Internet : • http://www.bookrags.com/studyguide-around-world-eighty-days/ http://thebestnotes.com/booknotes/Around_The_World_In_80_Days/Around_The_World_In_Eighty_Days01.html

20. Here is a sample summary: • In the short story "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty,"author James Thurber humorously presents a character who fantasizes about himself as a hero enduring incredibly challenging circumstances. In his real life, Walter Mitty lives an ordinary, plain life; he is a husband under the control of an overbearing, critical wife.  Thurber uses lively dialogue to give readers an understanding of Mitty's character. The story takes place over a period of about twenty minutes; during this brief time, Mitty drives his wife to the hairdresser and runs errands that his wife has given him while he waits for her. In between his worrying that he is not doing what she wants him to do, he daydreams about himself as a great surgeon, brilliant repair technician, expert marksman, and brave military captain. This story shows that fantasy is often a good alternative to reality.

21. November 2011 Time Line Involve them in group activities Enhance their Vocabulary Enhance their literary skills Assess their literary skills

22. Education is what remains when we have forgotten all that we have been taught. George Savile , Marquis of Halifax (1633-1695) English statesman and author. • A note of Thanks to The City School and INTEL!