Moving from Discrete to Integrated Skill Instruction

Module 28, Unit 1, Activity 2

By Tom Connelly & Mu Mei Hsueh

Learner Population: 

• Grade: G7 (13-14 years old).

• Proficiency Level in English: Internedent - high level in the ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines

• Mix of English Language Learners (ELL) and native English speakers in an International school setting in Beijing. Here is the link: Tom & Mu Mei - Learner Profile Information

Note: the spreadsheet that contains an overview of the Learner Profile for Grade 7 students including the student is ELL/NON-ELL, if they have a learning disability, and their scores based on assessments during their 3 day, 2 night outdoor education program at their international school in Beijing.

Discrete Reading Development Activity - Mu Mei

Learning Goals: By the end of the activity, students will be able to:

Create a simple timeline showcasing an understanding of the chronological order and illustrating the sequence of events in the history of "Shui Quan Yu." Specifically by:

1. Extracting key details from the history of "Shui Quan Yu" to enhance reading comprehension.

2. Organizing extracted information chronologically, thereby improving understanding of historical timelines.

3. Utilizing visual aids on the timeline to reinforce comprehension and connect textual information.

4. Encountering and comprehending historical terms, contributing to vocabulary development.

5. Participating in group discussions to share insights and collectively understand the historical narrative.

Time Segment for Activity: 15 minutes 

Teaching Activities: Discrete Skill

Time	Discrete Skill Teaching Activities Description
Introduction (5 minutes)	Introduce the history of "Shui Quan Yu" by summarizing the key events mentioned in the text.
Text Overview  (5 minutes)	Hand out printed copies of the text to each student. Encourage them to quickly scan the text, identifying the main events and significant changes in the village.
Timeline Sketch with group (5 minutes)	Divide students into small groups, and provide each group with a Large paper or poster board. Instruct them to create a quick timeline sketch, marking it with dates and key events. (Emphasize the importance of simplicity and clarity due to the time constraint.)
Group Sharing (Extention activity)	Each group presents their timeline and discusses the reasoning behind the placement of events, such as: How did the village change over time? What were the significant challenges faced by the residents? How did external events, like the Sino Japanese War and the flood, affect the village?
Reflection (Extention activity)	Ask participants to reflect on the process and share one interesting thing they learned about the history of "Shui Quan Yu."

Materials: 

1. Large paper or poster board

2. Markers, pens, or colored pencils

3. Printed copies of the provided text: The text of the Reading Activity

Individual Response to Reflection prompt:

The integrated approach not only reinforces the reading goals but also extends the learning experience, such as:

1. Historical Understanding:

2. “The individual exploration” in the integrated activity encourages students to read the history of "Shui Quan Yu" while imagining life in the ancient village. This helps them apply their historical knowledge gained from the Discrete reading activity.

3. Language Development:

4. “The language detectives activity” in the integrated approach builds on vocabulary development. Students collaboratively translate "Shui Quan Yu" into English and other languages, expanding their language skills and comprehension of historical terms.

5. Connection Between Textual and Visual Information:

6. Visual elements in the integrated activity complement the timeline sketch from the first activity. Students imagine life in the ancient village, strengthening the connection between textual information and visualizing historical scenarios.

7. Synthesis of Information:

8. “The group knowledge review” in the integrated activity requires students to synthesize information from the reading, discussions, and investigations. This aligns with the goal of extracting key details from the history of "Shui Quan Yu" to enhance reading comprehension in the first activity.

Integrated Reading Development Activity - Tom

Learning Goals: By the end of activity, the students will be able to:

1. As individuals, read the history of Shui Quan Yu and envision what life would be like for the villagers in this area.

2. As a team, in the graphic organizer:

3. In writing translate the name Shui Quan Yu （水泉峪）into English and any other known language of the group. 

4. Through writing, I complete the history of Shui Quan Yu knowledge review. 

5. As a team, look at the ancient village itself and the surroundings around it. Then orally come up with hypotheses as to how the village got its name and why. Teams should be ready to share the information with the class. 

Time Segment for Activity: 15 minutes 

Teaching Activities: Integrated Skill

Time	Integrated Skill Teaching Activities Description
Individual Exploration (0 min to 4 min)	As individuals, students read the history of Shui Quan Yu while looking down upon the ancient village ruins and imagining what life would have been like for the ancient villagers.
Language Detectives (4 min  to 7 min)	As a group, students translate the name Shui Quan Yu （水泉峪）into English and any other known language of the group. Orally discuss if the name has different meanings in other languages.
Name Investigation (7 min to 10 min)	As a group, look at the ancient village itself and the surroundings around it and orally hypothesize how the village got its name and why. (This can be seen in the graphic organizer below).
Group Knowledge Review (10 min to 15 min)	As a group, in writing complete the Shui Quan Yu Knowledge Review.  (This can be seen in the graphic organizer below).

Materials: 

1. The text of the Reading Activity

2. The Shui Quan Yu Graphic Organizer to be used: Tom and Mu Mei Graphic Organizer

Individual Response to Reflection prompt: 

The reading goals in the discrete reading activity have become enhanced/supported by the integrated reading activity for the following reasons:

1. The understanding of the chronological order of the events taking place in the history of Shui Quan Yu is reinforced and clarified through the graphic organizer. This builds upon the goal of extracting the key details from the history of "Shui Quan Yu" to enhance reading comprehension.

2. The use of visual aids to reinforce comprehension of the contextual information is reinforced by the student's use of creative imagination as they imagine what life was like for the villagers as they read the history of Shui Quan Yu. This links what the students used as aids and brings into play the use of creative ingenuity as the students establish a connection with the place that they are in at that moment. 

3. Vocabulary development is built upon as students try to understand the meaning of the Chinese word （水泉峪）through translanguaging its meaning into a series of other language and pointing out the specific nuances and differences in these languages. 

4. Participation in group work is built upon through the Knowledge Review as the information must be synthesized as a group and the Knowledge Review answered as a team. This cements the importance of teamwork and group decision making. 

5. The reading goals at large are supported through an oral activity as the students communicate with each other and hypothesize with each other as to how Shui Quan Yu got its name. This builds upon what they learned through the reading activity and allows them to express their knowledge through one of the other principle means of language expression - speech; thus, the students must grasp the reading knowledge in order to be able to clearly express their own thoughts as to how the village got its name.

6. The reading goals at large are supported through a written activity which is important because it allows students to express their knowledge through one of the other principle means of language expression - writing; moreover, in order to clearly write the answers in the group knowledge review, i.e., graphic organizer, they must have synthesized it and understood it thoroughly. Furthermore, the writing activity is a group activity, so students’ understanding of the reading can be built upon other student’s understanding. This allows for students to teach one another and learn together.