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Personal
Experience with Pollution
Subject Area
This activity
can be placed within the context of general language skills acquisition,
response journal, or a short story unit. Accordingly, it can be
used at any level or grade of the English, E.S.L., E.S.D. or Languages
curricula.
Learning
Outcomes
Teaching,
learning and evaluation will focus on the students ability
to:
- Develop
writing skills and vocabulary suitable for writing in the humanities
and the sciences;
- Integrate
personal experience with the language classroom;
- Contrast
personal experiences with those of peers from difference racial,
cultural, economic, geographical or experiential contexts;
- Discover
the reasons for the Developed Worlds preoccupation with
environmental issues.
Classroom
Development
The teacher
should provide texts which describe environmental degradation
or problems in the world. Possibilities depend on the grade, level,
subject and unit in which this activity is included, but they
can be novels, short stories, pieces from various news media,
essays, poems, even films or videos. Texts dealing with problems,
both internal and external to Canada, should be presented to students.
After completing
the activities that would normally be done with a text in your
class, the students should complete the following steps:
- Direct
students to consider a period in their lives or a situation
in which they have personally been faced with the results of
pollution, have been involved in a clean-up operation, or have
caused a polluting situation. Students can discuss what this
means, without going into personal details, so that all students
understand what is being asked of them.
- Students
can prepare to write according to whatever formula is used in
class, though hopefully the writing process will start in their
response journals.
- Students
should write a composition of at least a page describing their
personal experience with pollution. Instruct them to be only
as accurate as they feel comfortable doing, and they should
not write about anything which has very strong emotional attachments
unless they feel comfortable doing so. Remind them that what
they write will be shared with some other members of the class.
- After
they have written, instruct students in basic forms of revision
(reading aloud, reading sentence by sentence starting at the
end of the document, looking up all words of which they are
unsure), and have them submit an updated copy of the document
to you.
- Without
reading the submissions, redistribute the copies to other students
in the class who will act as editors. Students should be in
pairs with each student playing the role of author and editor.
Instruct the class that, as editors, they are not to comment
on the value of the writing, or to correct anything, but only
to do the following:
a) Read the work aloud so that the author can hear her own work
so that she can catch any errors;
b) Point out (not correct) any words which are illegible or
misspelled;
c) Ask questions about whatever is unclear in terms of grammar,
organization or ideas;
d) Ask the author to elaborate on certain sections or to describe
parts of the text that may seem commonplace to the author, but
not to the editor. Suggest that the author should expand the
description of these parts.
- Have
the editor work with the author until they are comfortable with
the work. Make sure that the amount of time allotted for a student
to be author and editor is clearly delineated, since you want
equal time to be spent revising both works. Then have the editor
read the work to the class.
As a follow-up to this activity, students can be directed to
respond in their writing folders to the reading having the strongest
impact on them.
- To accurately
evaluate the work done, you may wish to assign a mark for both
the author and the editor. If you plan to assign an editorial
mark, make sure that the editor provides written rather than
merely oral comments to the author.
Background
Any good
text on environmental degradation is useful, especially if it
contains a personal narrative. Look for something with new vocabulary
and challenging descriptions. The text must be localized for the
class level and subject
Timing
40 min
for introduction and reading. Writing time both in and out of
class. 40 min or more for editing. Time for students to present
writing to the class (optional).
Resources
The works
of any Canadian writer dealing with environmental problems (David
Suzuki for example).
Parsons, Les. Response Journals. Markham, Ontario: Pembroke,
1990.
Suzuki, David. A Planet for the Taking. In Language
at Work. Nigel Gough ed. Toronto: Holt, 1987. Pages 220-223.
Newspaper and journal articles dealing with overseas environmental
situations.
This
activity is designed to allow you the opportunity to write about
a personal experience related to an environmental concern. Also,
you will be able to experience the process of revising your writing
with the assistance of your own personal editor.
Complete
the following steps:
- Consider
a period in your life or a situation in which you have personally
been faced with the results of pollution, have been involved
in a cleanup operation, or have caused a polluting situation.
You may want to discuss what this means in a small group so
that you have clear idea of what you are to do.
- If your
class uses response journals, consider writing your initial
draft in it.
- Write
a composition of at least a page describing your personal experience
with pollution. You should only write about things you are comfortable
sharing with the class. What you write will be shared with some
other members of the class.
- After
you have written your first draft, your teacher will introduce
or review the basic steps of revising a draft (reading aloud,
reading sentence by sentence starting at the end of the document,
looking up all words of which you are unsure). After you have
completed your second draft, submit it to your teacher.
- Your
teacher will redistribute your work to another student in the
class who will act as your editor, and you will be his/her editor.
As an editor, you are only to do the following:
a) Read the work aloud so that the author can hear her/his own
work so that she/he can catch any errors;
b) Point out (not correct) any words which are illegible or
misspelled;
c) Ask the author to elaborate on certain sections or to describe
parts of the text that may seem commonplace to the author, but
not to the editor. Suggest that the author should expand their
description of these points.
- Work
with your editor on your piece until both of you are comfortable
with the work. And make sure that you fulfill the role of editor
to the best of your ability.
- Submit
your final piece for summative evaluation. Your teacher may
assign a mark for both the author and editor.
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