Engaging Students in Language

Making Connections:
Engaging English Language Learners &
Striving Readers in Language, Literacy and
Global Issues

Dave Wilton
Assistant Outreach Director

www.facingthefuture.org

From Ch. 1: Envisioning Our Future
Writing Warm-up

 Write continuously
 Include every idea
you think of
 Share with a
neighbor


Agenda

Your Visions
Who is Facing the Future?
Why Use Global Issues & Literacy?
From the Teacher Perspective
From the Student Perspective
Give and Take
Reward for Your Patience


About Facing the Future
 Seattle-based nonprofit
founded in 1995
 Interdisciplinary global
issues and sustainability
curriculum for K-12
 Over 1.5 million students
reached annually
 All 50 U.S. states and over
100 countries
 Professional development
and consulting
www.facingthefuture.org


Using Math & Real World Data
to Develop Global Competence
Globally competent students must have the
knowledge and skills to:
 Investigate the World  I’m Curious
 Weigh Perspectives  I Have an Opinion
 Communicate Ideas  I Want to Share It
 Take Action  I Want to Be Involved
 Apply Interdisciplinary  I Want Bring My Talents
& Disciplinary Expertise to Bear

~ Anthony Jackson,
Asia Society VP of Education


Defining Sustainability
“Meeting our own needs without limiting the ability
of future generations to meet their needs”
World Commission on Environment & Development, 1987

Social
Well-being

Sustainable
Communities Strong
Flourishing
Environment Economy


Think, Pair, Share
What is something you
are doing to engage your
literacy students with a
global issue?

(If you momentarily can’t think of
anything, what is something you
would like to do?)


Development Rationale

25% of students in
grades 4-12 read below
grade level
21st century literacy
demands
Student engagement
“The emphasis on different types of thinking strategies,
reading strategies, and vocabulary was excellent for [my
students].”
~ Jill Berge, Literacy Teacher
Rose Hill Junior High, Washington

Why Global Issues & Literacy?
 Make language learning
purposeful
 Motivate with content-based
learning
 Gain skills and knowledge
needed to excel academically
 Apply skills to current, relevant,
and interconnected topics
 Make meaningful contributions
to their communities through
service and action


Iceberg Model
for understanding root causes and
leverage points of global issues


Ways to Use This Resource
 Language acquisition for
intermediate English language
learners and striving readers
 Reading comprehension of
nonfiction materials in English
language arts classes
 Increasing knowledge of global
issues in science and social
studies classes
 Student engagement in the
classroom around current,
relevant issues

Incorporating Best Practices
 Engaging language and
literacy activities
 Explicit reading
comprehension instruction
 Explicit vocabulary instruction
 Differentiated instruction
 Real-world content and
themes
 Multiple reading, writing,
speaking, and listening
opportunities


Chapter Components
 Activating Knowledge
 Vocabulary Development
 Dialogue
 Reading
 Writing
 Culminating Activity
 Assessments (formative &
summative)
 Content-Based Themes


Chapter Overviews
Reading Skills & Writing Genres
1.Envisioning our Future 6.Improving Quality of Life
o Reading Skill: Main Idea o Reading Skill: Drawing Conclusions
o Writing Genre: Poetry o Writing Genre: Realistic Fiction
2.The Natural World 7.Peace & Conflict
o Reading Skill: Textual Details o Reading Skill: Theme
o Writing Skill: 5-Sentence Paragraph o Writing Genre: Advice Column
3.Environmental Issues & Solutions 8.Community Development
o Reading Skill: Cause & Effect o Reading Skill: Context Clues
o Writing Genre: Persuasive Essay o Writing Genre: Speech
4.Thinking about Consumption 9.Creating Our Future
o Reading Skill: Sequencing o Reading Skill: Character Traits
o Writing Genre: How-To Guide o Writing Genre: Letter
5.Population Around the World
o Reading Skill: Making Predictions
o Writing Genre: Community Plan


Inside the Teacher’s Guide


Ch. 1: Envisioning Our Future
Components, Timeline, Standards


Finding Main Ideas & Writing Poetry

 Content and language
objectives based on the
lesson topic
 Each chapter structured
around essential
questions
 Language development
through mastery of content


Activating Knowledge
o “In this photo,
I see...”

o “The problem
might be…”

o “I wonder
why…”


Writing Warm-up

 Respond to the following
questions. Write continuously and
include every idea you can think
of. Be ready to share with your
partner.
o What is the biggest problem in the
world today?
o Why does this problem exist?
o What do you think is a solution to
this problem?


Expanding Vocabulary

 Guess what each word
means based on the
picture
 Online Thesaurus &
Vocab Grabber


Using Words in Context

society

environment

economy

Fill in the blanks using
the words below:
o Society o Economy
o Environment o Sustainability

Using Words in Context


Ch. 3: Environmental Issues
Dialogue

 Students read dialogue about freshwater availability
independently and then in pairs as an A – B dialogue
 Use info from graph to choose correct fill-in-the-blank
answers

Dialogue

A: What does this graph show?
B: The graph shows the amount of water /
raindrops per person in the world.

Dialogue

A: It looks like the amount of water per
person has increased / decreased over time.
B: How do you know?

Dialogue

A: Well, in 1900 there were more than 20,000 /
25,000 cubic meters of water available per
person.
B: Yes, and by 2000 only about 5,000 / 10,000
cubic meters of water were available per person.

Dialogue

A: Do you think the total amount of water in
the world is less now than in 1900?
B: No, the total type / amount of water in the
world is always the same.

Dialogue

A: So why do you think the amount per
people / person had decreased?
B: The amount per person may have
decreased because the number of people
has increased.

Dialogue

A: Oh, I see. If more people / person are
using the same amount of water, there will
be less water for each person.
B: That’s right. It is like when you and three
friends plan to share a pizza. If another
pizza / friend joins you, you will have to
divide the pizza among more people. Now
you have five people who want to eat the
pizza.

Dialogue

A: I see what you mean. If
there were fewer / more
people in the world, more
water would be available to
each person.
B: That’s true, but there
would also be more water
available for other people if
each person uses less /
more water.

This Audio Interlude
Brought to You by . . .
The students of David White Espin
• Teacher at Secondary Bilingual
Orientation Center, Seattle, WA
• Co-author of chapter in TESOL
Classroom Practice Series, Authenticity
in the Language Classroom and Beyond
• Pilot-tester and contributor to Making
Connections


Reading Skill Focus: Main Idea


Pre-Reading: Anticipation Guide


Ch. 4: Thinking About Consumption
Pre-Reading: Consumption Match-Up
 Match the Did You Know cards with the Hidden Impact cards
 Share information to find your partner


Chapter Reading: Been Around the World


Reading Skill Follow-Up: Main Idea


Comprehension Questions


Writing about Sustainability: Poetry


 Step 1: Use the
Writing Organizer on
to help write bio-poem
 Step 2: Edit the poem
using the Edit
Checklist
 Step 3: Have a
classmate read and
edit poem using same
checklist
 Step 4: Correct and
rewrite poem.
 Step 5: Share poems
with the by reading it
aloud.

 Step 1: Use the
Writing Organizer on
to help write bio-
poem
 Step 2: Edit the poem
using the Edit
Checklist
 Step 3: Have a
classmate read and
edit poem using same
checklist
 Step 4: Correct and
rewrite poem.
 Step 5: Share poems
with the by reading it
aloud.
 Step 6 Evaluate using
Writing Rubric


Culminating Activity: Making Global Connections

 Demonstrate global
interconnections
 Discuss how changes in one
issue affect other issues
 Stand in circle, toss ball of
yarn and explain how your
global issue is connected to
previous global issue Copyright © 2010, Facing the Future

Extension & Action Project

 Art Extension: Students
create their own Global
Issues Mobile using
photos & drawings

 Action Project: Students
select a global issue they
are most concerned
about, brainstorm
sustainable solutions,
and take part in Global
Youth Service Day

Assessment

 End of chapter review
of:
Vocabulary
Content
Comprehension
Outlook & Beliefs


Curriculum Resources
Teacher’s Guides
Over 30 free lessons available
at www.facingthefuture.org

Student Textbooks
Written for grades 6-12. Preview
chapters available online

Curriculum Units
1-2 weeks in length. Most
free to download online

THANK YOU!

Staying Connected
 Visit www.facingthefuture.org
 Sign up for FTF e-newsletter
 Respond to survey
 Become a Peer Educator
 Contact FTF:
dave@facingthefuture.org

“We must teach our students that
they can be architects of the future,
rather than its victims.”
~ Buckminster Fuller

Engaging Students in Language

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