Carolyn C. Smith
Write to Communicate
Objectives:
The students will be able to:
1. recognize that writing is worth learning.
2. identify that writing is different from talking.
3. identify that writing is more than finding words to fit ideas.
Vocabulary:
communicate, verbal, mute
Brainstorming questions:
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1. How do people communicate?
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2. Why do we communicate with one another?
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3. Can animals communicate with people and vice versa? If yes, how?
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4. Suppose we lived in a world without sound. How would you cope?
Procedures:
Explain and discuss how the terms above relate to the English language. Divide the class into small groups of three to four students each. Have the students to think of an idea that he wants to share with his classmates and write it on a 3 x 5 index card.
After about 3 minutes, tell them that they have exactly 10 minutes to share their ideas in the group but they can’t have any verbal communications. They can write or use sign language to get their messages across. At the end of the session, allow a few of the students to give the most difficult part of the task and the most helpful part of the task.
Related Activities:
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1. Have the students to choose a specific foreign country and tell how he would explain that he is from the United States.
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2. Have the students to write about helping a foreign student learn the rules of the class or school. Later have them to role play the same situation.
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3. Have the students to select a word or phrase and play charade. The class could be divided into teams and compete.