Overview

This unit undertakes to promote physical activity by reminding students of the need for exercise to keep a healthy body and mind, and to allow students to share a piece of their culture with classmates.  We will focus on dance and sports from the various cultures of the students as well as one of America’s favorite sports (basketball) and one or two dance forms currently popular in the United States. The unit is created for the ESOL, English to Speakers of Other Languages, program at the high school level, specifically targeted to students of English proficiency levels one and two, entering and beginning.

The diet of many ESOL students changes when they enter the school system and they may gain weight from eating food to which they are not accustomed. Conversely, some students refrain from eating during the school day because they cannot or will not eat the school food. Following a unit on food and nutrition, we will take time to explore reasons and ways to exercise and stay healthy through the enjoyable pastimes of dance and sports.

In the ESOL program we focus on basic vocabulary for science, social studies and math as well as conversational and functional vocabulary. Including the names of the muscular, skeletal, respiratory and cardio vascular systems of the human body, along with some basic science vocabulary related to exercise, will better prepare these students for science courses they will take at the high school level.

Rationale

Traditionally, if students are not members of a school sports team in high school, they stop being physically active altogether. As we learned in the seminar “Understanding Human Health and Disease”, a sedentary lifestyle is a contributing factor to obesity, diabetes and other more serious health problems. “Obesity is becoming more and more common…” as lifestyles change (http:/info.cancerresearchuk.org).

Many teenagers do not engage in enough physical activity due to the increased time required for other activities such as an increased academic workload, increased social activity, a job, or a combination of any of these. Additionally, ESOL students often face the daunting task of assimilation to a new culture, and may not have the opportunity to continue their previous form of exercise due to lack of time and/or availability. ESOL students, too, face a change in diet when they come to the United States that could easily result in weight gain.

Physical fitness needs be encouraged for the students’ physical and emotional wellbeing. Additionally, studies have shown the connection between physical activity and increased academic engagement. Also, students who learn by combining physical movements in tandem with saying or singing new information increase the likelihood of retaining that information. (Lengel)

Although high schools have a physical education requirement, four semesters – two credits – over four years, is not enough to satisfy the physical activity needs of growing adolescents. This unit seeks to encourage exercise and physical fitness through the sharing of national dance and sport customs of students from different cultures.

Although created for an ESOL classroom, I hope this will provide viable lessons and ideas for other educators as well. By providing guided lessons that introduce students to a popular American sport and two popular American dance forms, I will be sharing American culture, increasing student vocabulary in the sciences, and encouraging student sharing of the sports and dance native to the their cultures through informational power point projects to be shared with classmates, parents and the student body through on-line links. These activities will provide some health and science concepts and vocabulary while providing the literacy skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing required for English language learners.

It is my hope that students will gain understanding of the fact that America is made up of many different cultures and that all people and cultures have something to contribute.

Exercise in any form improves muscle tone, strengthens bones and muscles including the heart, and increases feelings of wellbeing. I hope that having students share healthy, fun forms of exercise will lead all students toward a healthy lifestyle.

In this unit I will use internet sources and film clips to showcase dance and sports from America and from around the world in order to showcase different cultures and to promote awareness of the many forms that exercise can take. Students will also be a resource. We will discuss the need for physical fitness and learn basic science concepts and vocabulary.

This unit is designed for a high school ESOL class, grades 9-12, with English language proficiency levels 1 and 2 (entering and beginning). Students will identify the need for physical activity and its benefits. They will share information about a sport or dance from their home country that provides the necessary physical activity. They will write an expository essay about their form of exercise. They will use the helping verb ‘should’ to add meaning to their texts. They will use direct address in the informational power point presentations.

We will create illustrated vocabulary lists as a class. Students will copy vocabulary into their notebooks, and keep notes and questions as we move through the unit. Graphic organizers will be utilized to organize information and guide discussion and research. Books and internet sources will be used to identify the muscular, skeletal and respiratory systems and their basic functions.

Students will interact daily with partners or in small groups in order to meet the speaking requirements of ESOL and to build fluency.

Students will refer to the diagrams of the systems of the human body to identify which systems, and specifically which muscle groups are utilized during the various sports and dances. They will guess which exercise forms provide the most cardiovascular benefit. After brief participation in some of the dance forms, students will have the opportunity to revise their estimates of cardiovascular benefit.

To meet writing requirements, students will choose a dance or sport native to their culture and, with guidance, prepare both an expository essay and a power point presentation to share with the class. These presentations will also be shared with the school through links on the on-line school newsletter. During presentations, students will use a graphic organizer to list details of classmates’ presentations.

These lessons will follow a unit on food and nutrition. Each lesson is planned for a 48-minute class. Each lesson will meet the following ESOL Speaking and Listening Standards: ELL.9-12.1.L: Process, understand, interpret, and evaluate spoken language in a variety of situations; ESOL.1.6.9 Speaking and Listening: 1.6.9.A Listen to others; ask probing questions, take notes; 1.6.9.B Summarize events and identify significant points; identify and define new words and concepts. Additional standards are included in daily lessons.

Access to bilingual and word-to-word dictionaries will be available to students throughout the unit and students will be able to access translation sources via the internet as needed as they work on their power point presentations.

Day One

Objective: Introduce basketball, ballroom dancing and hip hop as popular American forms of exercise and enjoyment. Explain expectations that students will share a sport or dance from their native countries.

Standards: See above for daily Speaking and Listening standards.

ESOL.1.4.9.A.1: Apply varying organizational methods.

ESOL.1.4.9.D.1: Maintain a written record of activities, course work, experience, honors and interests leading to the writing of a personal resume.

Today’s vocabulary: (sequence words as needed), dance, sports, basketball, ballroom dancing, hip hop, team, pair, individual, alone, together, movement, exercise, breathing

Procedure: Show video clips of basketball, ballroom dancing and hip hop.  Post labeled illustrations of each on separate pieces of chart paper. Write down vocabulary, reactions and responses to each. Guide students towards words “exercise” or “movement” for each. Explain that these are popular in America and that many people participate for fun and exercise. Students vote on favorites and complete a bar graph to show the results.

View a map of the United States with areas designated as hot points for ballroom dancing and for hip hop, and another with areas marked for location of major league basketball teams. Remind students that America is made up of many different cultures, and has many forms of dance and many sports. Explain expectations that students will share a dance or sport played in their home country to the class through a power point presentation. Begin illustrated class and individual vocabulary lists for unit.

Recap: Dance and sports are forms of exercise that are practiced in the US and other places in the world.

Homework: Match vocabulary to definition.

Day Two

Objective: Compare and contrast the two dance forms, guiding students to see that both require physical exertion. Identify and categorize new vocabulary.

Standards: See above for daily Speaking and Listening standards.

ESOL.1.4.9.D.1: Maintain a written record of activities, course work, experience, honors and interests leading to the writing of a personal resume.

Today’s vocabulary: compare, contrast, same, different, both, breath, tired, winded

Procedure:  Read vocabulary list aloud, referring to pictures/diagrams. Referring to chart of three popular American pastimes, create a labeled Venn diagram with the words “compare, contrast, similar, different, both, ballroom dancing, and hip hop”. Complete Venn diagram. Guide students to complete their own Venn diagrams. Review vocabulary as a class, then in pairs or small groups. Teacher models, then class creates sentences about basketball, ballroom dancing and hip hop using sentence frames (See Appendix 2).

Watch two-minute clips of each dance form and basketball. Ask students to act out one of the dance forms with a partner for 3 full minutes. Guide students to add the words breathing, tired, winded.

Homework: Sentence frames comparing/contrasting dance forms.

Day Three

Objective: To introduce the muscular, skeletal, respiratory and cardio vascular systems and basic vocabulary; take pulse; to invite parents to visit to share or to watch as students present.

Standards: See above for daily Speaking and Listening standards.

ESOL.1.4.9.D.1: Maintain a written record of activities, course work, experience, honors and interests leading to the writing of a personal resume.

Today’s vocabulary: muscular system, extend, contract, move; skeletal system, bones, support; respiratory system, breathe, inhale, exhale; cardio vascular system, pulse, heart, blood, arteries, pump, pulse

Procedure: Review vocabulary, calling on students to define three or four words. Remind students that good health means diet and exercise, and that dance and sports are forms of exercise. Elicit and list other forms of exercise, listing as well the students’ countries in which they are done. Ask for benefits of participation in the various dance and sports; list benefits.

Show and label the muscular, skeletal, respiratory and cardio vascular systems. Introduce new vocabulary. Students label their individual diagrams of the systems, writing new vocabulary on the correct diagram. Read and repeat vocabulary for each system. Show video clip of how to take pulse. Have students take pulse 3 times: first at rest; after doing 10 jumping jacks; again at rest. Students take home letter inviting parents to share dance native to their culture, or to simply watch as students present.

Homework: Complete sentence frames on dance or sport to present to class.

Day Four

Objective: To start students on the way to creating individual presentations of dance or exercise native to their culture.

Standards: See above for daily Speaking and Listening standards.

ESOL.1.4.9.D.1: Maintain a written record of activities, course work, experience, honors and interests leading to the writing of a personal resume.

Today’s vocabulary: sequence words as needed, rule, procedure, costume, ballroom, field, court, other dance and movement words as needed. e.g. glide, lift, twirl

Procedure: Remind students of unit expectations. Show power point of introduction to basketball, followed by blank 5-slide power point. Teacher creates 5-slide power point with the following wording: title page, student name, dance or sport; rules / procedures; dress; where and when; benefits. Students then use laptops to begin power point presentations by creating 5 slides as shown. When outline is complete, students fill in slides 1 and 2, and other slides if known. Students then search for pictures to insert. Homework: Share preliminary power point information with family and friends and ask for more information about dance or sport.

Day Five

Objective: Students will write an expository essay using a graphic organizer; then will continue power point presentations.

Standards: See above for daily Speaking and Listening standards.

ESOL.1.8.9: Research

ESOL.1.8.9.A Select and refine a topic for research
ESOL.1.8.9.B Locate information using appropriate sources and strategies
ESOL.1.8.9.C Organize, summarize and present the main ideas from research

ESOL.1.2.9.C.1: Produce work in at least one literary genre that follows the conventions of the genre

Procedure:

Teacher uses personal knowledge and internet resources to create web of knowledge about ballroom dancing, answering question words. Teacher models using topics to create sentences; editing for spelling and grammar and beginning to rewrite. Students create web and write following model.

Homework: Read aloud expository essay; check to see that all question words have been used and answered.

Day Six

Objective: Review unit concepts and vocabulary. Continue power point presentations if needed.

Standards: See above for daily Speaking and Listening standards.

ESOL.1.5.9-12.D.1: Use different types and lengths of sentences.

ESOL.1.5.9-12.D.2: Use precise language.

ESOL.1.5.9-12.F: Edit writing using the conventions of language.

ESOL.1.5.9-12.F.1: Spell all words correctly.

ESOL.1.5.9-12.F.2: Use capital letters correctly.

ESOL.1.5.9-12.F.3: Punctuate correctly ESOL.1.5.9-12.F.4: Use nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, conjunctions, prepositions and interjections properly.

ESOL.1.5.9-12.F.5: Use complete sentences.

Procedure: Review unit vocabulary and concepts whole group. Divide class into small groups, and assign each group a list of vocabulary and concepts. Each group, using suggested sentence frames then creates questions that would show mastery. Those students who need to complete their power point presentations do so.

Homework: Review diagrams of human body and vocabulary.

Days Seven & Eight

Objective: Students present information to class and visitors

Today’s vocabulary: (as needed as students present)

Standards: See above for daily Speaking and Listening standards.

ESOL.1.6.9 Speaking and Listening

ESOL.1.6.9.C Speak using skills appropriate to formal speech situations; use complete sentences; adjust pace, volume and stress

ESOL.1.6.9.D Contribute to discussions

ESOL.1.6.9.E Participate in small and large group discussions and presentations.

Procedure: Students take five minutes to present, and two minutes for questions. Students take notes on graphic organizer as classmates present. Teacher will guide notes on enlarged graphic organizer displayed in the front of the room. (See Appendix for graphic organizer.)

Homework: Share presentation with family.

Day Nine

Objective: Students demonstrate mastery of unit vocabulary and concepts

Standards: See above for daily Speaking and Listening standards.

Procedure: Class creates list of what went well with presentations and what we should change for next time. Students take quiz to demonstrate mastery of concepts and vocabulary.

Teacher Bibliography

Colburn, Alan & Nguyen, Huong T.  “Every Word You Speak”. The Science Teacher. April / May, 2012: 58-61

Hills, Andrew P., King, Neil, et al, Editors. Children, Obesity and Exercise: Prevention Treatment and Management of Childhood and Adolescent Obesity. New York: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, 2007. Chapters one through four are quite dense, however chapters five through twelve focus on physical activity, energy balance, interventions and other useful topics.

Joosten, Michael. Dance and Choreography. New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, 2010. Good information about physical aspects of dance. The pictures are good for discussion starters and for sequencing. Includes a glossary and bibliography.

Kobasa, Paul A., Editor in Chief. Human Body Works. The Skeletal System, The Muscular System. Chicago: World Book, a Scott Fetzer Co. Pictures and diagrams are a great resource for teachers and students.

Krogh, David. BIOLOGY A Guide to the Natural World. New York: Pearson Benjamin Cummings, 2009.  An excellent resource for non-science teachers! Pictures and diagrams explain systems of the body and basic functions of each.

Lengel, Traci & Kuczala, M. The Kinesthetic Classroom: Teaching Through Learning and Movement. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press: 2010.  This book offers physical movements that can be used to both teach and review content material.

Schloss, Joseph G. Foundation. New York: Oxford University Press: 2009. This is a very thorough history of hip hop, including major players, if you want the background and have the time to read it.

Seneviratina, Anuradha. Traditional Dance of Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka: Unesco – Sri Lanka Cultural Triangle Project: 1984. Excellent pictures, photographs and diagrams that would be good for comparison with other dances from Asian countries. Glossary included.

Smith, Karen L. Popular Dance: From Ballroom to Hip Hop.  New York: Chelsea House: 2010. This one tome covers several dance forms. It is a good reference for the teacher, but also for students.  If you’ve got a kindle, you can download the book and reference the pictures over and over using a projector or smartboard.

Trautman, Shawn & Joanna. Picture Yourself Dancing: Step by Step Instruction for Ballroom, Latin, Country, and More. Boston: Thomas Course Technology PTR, 2006. Book comes with a 75 minute DVD that is a good resource as it shows several styles of dance.

Welsh, Kariamu. World of Dance: African Dance. Chelsea House Publishers, 2004. Great information about dances particular to different regions; pictures are few, but excellent. Includes a glossary, bibliography and videography.

Student Bibliography

Bonney, Barbara. Soccer: The Fundamentals. Vero Beach, FL: The Rourke Book Co., Inc., 1997. Starting with the cover, this book is enticing and filled with easy-to comprehend soccer facts, figures and graphics.

Bonney, Barbara. Softball: Rules of the Game. Vero Beach, FL: The Rourke Book Co., Inc., 1998. Starting with the cover, this book is enticing and filled with easy-to comprehend softball  facts.

Bulman, George. Volleyball Play the Game. London: Blanford, 1994. Good for non-English readers as this has easy to comprehend sequential graphics. Index and vocabulary in bold type good for scanning text.

Collins, Paul. Martial Arts: Karate. Chelsea House Publishers, 2002. This is one of a series of martial arts books published by Chelsea House. They all have sequential pictures which aid comprehension. Good for middle to high-level readers.

Gifford, Clive. Know Your Sport: Track Athletics. Mankato, MN: 2009. This has an extensive Table of Contents which makes it easy to navigate. The text is placed on the pages in a fashion similar to a magazine or a web page, and it has many good pictures of both boys and girls.

Hop, J. R. Sports! Sports! Sports!: A Poetry Collection. New York: Harper Collins, 1999. I like to begin each topic with a poem, and this is a good resource as it is specifically dedicated to sports.

Jones, Jen. Gymnastics Essentials. Mankato, MN: Capstone Press, 2007. Beautiful color photographs and easy to read text. However, only one picture shows a male competing, most pictures show young girls practicing and competing.

Jakab, Cheryl. Our Body: Skeletal System. North Mankato, MN: Smart Apple Media, 2006.  The first two pages of this book makes it worthwhile! All the body’s systems are shows and labeled. More in-depth information is given along with tips to keep healthy. This is a great teacher resource too.

Knotts, Bob. Equestrian Events. Grolier Publishing: 2000. Good for several reasons: has all the components of an informational book including a table of contents. Excellent pictures of all aspects of the sport.

Lloyd, Bryant. Football: The Fundamentals. Vero Beach, FL: The Rourke Book Co., Inc., 1997. Even the cover of this book is enticing and filled with easy-to comprehend football facts. This same publisher also produces Soccer: The Fundamentals and a few other titles.

Morgan, Jed. Skateboarding. Smart Apple Media: 2007. The extensive Table of Contents makes this book easier to navigate. The text is placed on the pages in a fashion similar to a magazine or a web page. It has many good pictures.

Ramen, Fred. Basketball: Rules, Tips, Strategy and Safety. New York: the Rosen Publishing Group, Inc., 2007. Table of contents, glossary, index and current pictures make this a good resource.

Savage, Jeff. Wrestling Basics. Mankato, MN: Capstone Press, 1996. Contains many useful photographs, but text is difficult.

Stille, Darlene R. The Respiratory System. New York: Children’s Press, 1997. Includes many labeled diagrams as well as dense text rich with vocabulary that will be useful in high school and college science units. Also includes good advice on how to stay healthy.

Stored, Conrad J. The Circulatory System. Minneapolis, MN: Lerner Publications Company, 2005. Although geared toward younger children, this text has wonderful pictures, labeled diagrams and a glossary that will help students with necessary

biology terms.

Welsh, Kariamu. World of Dance: African Dance. Chelsea House Publishers, 2004. Contains about a dozen excellent pictures.

Web Sources

www.kidshealth.org Gavin, Mary MD 2007. What “Being Overweight” Means. This article defines overweight, how it is measured and why people become overweight.

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/743634http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/743634  Medscape Reference 2011 WebMD, LLC. “Exercise Physiology”.

http:/info.cancerresearchuk.  “The Causes of Obesity – Genes, Behavior and the Environment”. This article explains how lifestyle changes affect weight gain. More for teachers than students.

http://www.spellingcity.com/teachers-overview.html  This site offers vocabulary instruction, games and tests. There are lists grade by grade and high school level, including several science sections. Useful for advanced work.

http://www.kidskonnect.com/subject-index/31-health/337-human-body.html Site bills itself as a “safe internet gateway for kids”. Cited page shows basic graphics for each of the systems of the body and offers over a dozen links for each system, including pictures, games and puzzles.

Classroom Materials

Internet access; smart-board or projector and whiteboard to show film clips and pictures and to teach students to create power-point presentations; laptops for students; usual classroom materials such as chart paper, markers and student notebooks; a variety of low-level readers and picture books about sports and dance; enlarged diagrams of the muscular, skeletal and respiratory systems of the human body.

Appendix 1: State ESOL Standards, grades 9-12

ELL.9-12.1: Social & Instructional ESL – English language learners communicate in English for Social and Instructional purposes within the school setting.

ESOL.1.4.9 Types of Writing

ESOL.1.4.9.A.1: Apply varying organizational methods.

ESOL.1.4.9.B: The student will be able to write multi-paragraph informational pieces

ESOL.1.4.9.B.3: Use relevant graphics (e.g., maps, charts, graphs, tables, illustrations, photographs).

ESOL.1.4.9.B.4: Use primary and secondary sources.

ESOL.1.5.9 Quality of Writing

ESOL.1.5.9-12.D.1: Use different types and lengths of sentences.

ESOL.1.5.9-12.D.2: Use precise language.

ESOL.1.5.9-12.F.1: Spell all words correctly.

ESOL.1.5.9-12.F.2: Use capital letters correctly.

ESOL.1.5.9-12.F.3: Punctuate correctly

ESOL.1.5.9-12.F.4: Use nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, conjunctions, prepositions and interjections properly.

ESOL.1.5.9-12.F.5: Use complete sentences

ESOL.1.5.9-12.G: Present and/or defend written work for publication when appropriate.

ESOL.1.6.9 Speaking and Listening

ESOL.1.6.9.A Listen to others; ask probing questions, take notes

ESOL.1.6.9.B Summarize events and identify significant points; identify and define new words and concepts

ESOL.1.6.9.C Speak using skills appropriate to formal speech situations; use complete sentences; adjust pace, volume and stress

ESOL.1.6.9.D Contribute to discussions.

ESOL.1.6.9.E Participate in small and large group discussions and presentations

ESOL.1.8.9: Research

ESOL.1.8.9.A Select and refine a topic for research
ESOL.1.8.9.B Locate information using appropriate sources and strategies
ESOL.1.8.9.C Organize, summarize and present the main ideas from research

Appendix 2: Sentence Frames for Day Two Classwork and Homework

 Appendix 3: Graphic Organizer for Presentation Day