"SHAKESPEARE DOES IT, COLE PORTER DOES IT, EVEN BERTOLD
BRECHT DOES IT: COME ON, BABY, LET’S HAVE A LESSON WITHIN A LESSON"
Kevin Muir, Oregon Geographic Alliance summer Institute, July
1995
OVERVIEW:
Students will have the opportunity to be in a classroom in which they do
not understand the language of instruction. By simulating the experience
teachers can get a better understanding how to teach students who do not
speak our language when the come into our classroom
CONNECTION WITH THE CURRICULUM:
Geography, Foreign Language, ESL Instruction and Learning.
TEACHING LEVEL: 4-12
CONNECTION TO NATIONAL GEOGRAPHY STANDARDS:
9: Characteristics, Distribution, and migration of human population;
13: Forces of conflict and cooperation shape division of Earth’s surface.
CONNECTION TO OREGON CONTENT STANDARDS:
Describe the physical and human characteristics of places.
Describe the distribution and movement of human populations, ideas, and
products
MATERIALS:
One lesson plan, one obscure foreign language (or not so obscure, if you
count China’s population).
PROCEDURE:
Part One:
Teach the lesson in the foreign language. Give no visual clues or aids
for a while, then slowly feed the students words or phrases in their native
language via the overhead until they at last understand what they are to
do. Once they are working, you may switch back and finish both lessons in
English.
Part Two:
(THE LESSON WITHIN THE LESSON) A BRIEF LOOK AT UNCONTROLLED Vs CONTROLLED
URBAN GROWTH
CONNECTIONS WITH THE CURRICULUM: Geography, Civics, and Government
CONNECTIONS TO THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHY STANDARDS:
1: maps, globes, and other geographic representations, tools, and technologies.
3: patial organization of Earth.
13: forces of conflict and cooperation shape division of Earth’s surface.
14: human actions modify the physical environment.
18: how to apply geography to interpret the present and plan for the future.
CONNECTION TO OREGON CONTENT STANDARDS:
Describe the physical and human characteristics of places. Describe the
distribution and movement of human populations, ideas, and products. Explain
the ways in which humans and the physical environment impact and influence
each other.
MATERIALS:
Sugar cubes or other building blocks
River strips (paper), with surrounding wetlands
Pen/pencil
Features you want to include (mountains, hills, sewage plants, airport,
forests, etc., wildlife corridor, etc.)
Scrap paper to place on table with land usage indicated in writing, (e.g.:
"Park.")
PROCEDURE:
Discuss the objective of the simulation. Divide the class into groups of
approximately four students. Each group gets a set of building blocks, a
river strip with surrounding wetlands, and whatever other features you choose
to include. All cities have a population of 600,000 to 800,000 people. The
groups will construct what is essentially the Central Business District
and some outlying areas (e.g. downtown, NW to Thurman, S. to I-405, E to
17th).
