Читать книгу English for Life Grade 12 Learner’s Book Home Language - Lynne Southey - Страница 6

Introduction

The theme of this cycle continues the first cycle’s theme and concerns what is happening to the earth. You will read different kinds of texts – visual, informative and literary – and go through the writing process for essay writing, practising the different steps. You will also hold a formal group discussion for which you will need to do some research.

Reading for comprehension

You will read several different kinds of texts in the activities below. There are different strategies that you can use in order to increase your understanding of the passages.

First of all, it always helps to know something about what you are about to read – but how do you know if you haven’t read it yet? You skim it to see what you can pick up. You can look at the title, key words, pictures and captions to get a general idea. This is the pre-reading stage.

Then, during reading, you can either confirm or correct your first impression. Ask yourself questions about what you read; for example, what does this refer to, or who said this, or what does this mean?

You will usually be given questions to answer after you have read the text: the post-reading stage. These questions will help you to check whether you have understood what you have read.

When you are presented with a visual text, you also need to understand the various elements: font, colour, placing of elements, pictures, etc. A visual text might take the form of a cartoon like the one you studied in the previous cycle, or a map or graph, or even a diagram or picture.

A useful question to ask of all texts is: ‘What is the purpose and who is the intended audience?’

In the activities below you will practise reading different texts.

Activity 2.1 - Reading a map (individual and pair)

 A map is a very useful way of presenting information, but it can be more challenging to understand than a written text. The map below details the movement of the Gulf Stream. The part of the globe you can see is the Northern Atlantic Ocean. Examine the map carefully.

[Gulf Stream, from: http://www.sciencepoles.org/index.php?/articles/&uid=468]

1.Now discuss the questions below with a partner and then write out the answers individually:

a. Which of the arrows represents the Gulf Stream that warms Europe? How can you tell?

b. Look on a globe or map of the Earth and explain what land mass each number on this diagram represents.

c. In which direction (clockwise or anticlockwise) does the current move?

2. Write a paragraph in which you describe the movement of the Gulf Stream current. Use the diagram to help you with the details.

 Swap with your partner and check each other’s paragraphs.

Activity 2.2 - Reading about ecosystems and biomes (individual and pair)

Pre-reading:

 Think first about what an ecosystem is. How would you describe your ecosystem? You are going to read a text about ecosystems and then do a closer examination of biomes.

What is a biome?

A biome is a large area with similar flora, fauna, and micro-organisms. Most of us are familiar with the tropical rainforests, tundra in the arctic regions, and the evergreen trees in the coniferous forests. Each of these large communities contains species that are adapted to varying conditions (availability of water, temperature and soil type). For instance, polar bears thrive in the Arctic while cactus plants have a thick skin to help preserve water in the hot desert.

The major biomes: mountains (high elevation); tundra; temperate forest; marine/island; desert; tropical dry forest; cold climate forest; grassland savannah; tropical rainforest

What is an ecosystem?

The words ‘ecosystem’ and ‘biome’ are often confused. There is a slight difference in meaning between the two words. An ecosystem is usually much smaller than a biome. A biome can be thought of as many similar ecosystems throughout the world that are grouped together. An ecosystem can be as large as the Sahara Desert or as small as a puddle.

Ecosystems are dynamic interactions between plants, animals, and micro-organisms and their environment, working together as a functional unit. Ecosystems will fail if they do not remain in balance. No community can carry more organisms than its food, water and shelter can accommodate. Food and territory are often balanced by natural phenomena such as fire, disease, and the number of predators. Each organism has its own role to play.

How humans have affected the ecosystems

We have affected ecosystems in almost every way imaginable! Every time we walk out in the wilderness or bulldoze land for a new parking lot we are drastically altering an ecosystem. We have disrupted the food chain, the carbon cycle, the nitrogen cycle, and the water cycle. Mining minerals also takes its toll on an ecosystem. We need to do our best not to interfere in these ecosystems and let nature run it course.

[Adapted from the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism http://soer.deat.gov.za/themes.aspx?m=492&amid=3444]

1. Use your dictionary and thesaurus to find the meaning of the following words:flora; fauna; evergreen; coniferous; thrive; temperate; dynamic; drastically

2. Write out answers to the following questions.

a. Explain the difference between a biome and an ecosystem.

b. What is needed to make up an ecosystem?

c. What are the consequences of human activity, such as property development or building a dam, for an ecosystem?

3. You will be familiar with to some extent with most of the biomes mentioned above. Below is a table with the names of the six major biomes in the first column and a brief description in the second column. Link them up.

The six major biomes	Description
Fresh water	1. This biome occupies about one fifth of the Earth’s land area. This biome accounts for two thirds of land plants and contains about 70% of carbon present in living things.
Marine	2. This is the coldest of the biomes. This is a treeless plain with frost-moulded landscapes, extremely low temperatures, little rain and poor nutrients.
Desert	3. This biome has a low salt content – usually less than 1%. It includes ponds, lakes, streams, rivers and wetlands.
Forest	4. This biome is dominated by grasses rather than larger shrubs or trees. It includes savannahs and temperate areas.
Grassland	5. This biome covers about one fifth of the Earth’s surface and occurs where rainfall is less than 50 cm a year.
Tundra	6. This biome covers about three quarters of the Earth’s surface. It includes oceans, coral reefs and estuaries.

Discussion

Remember the rules for group discussion:

 Be polite and encouraging.

 Give everyone a turn.

 Don’t interrupt.

 Use appropriately formal language.

Practise these rules in the activity below.

Activity 2.3 - Planning for and holding a discussion (group)

 Organise yourselves into groups of four. You are going to discuss the biome in which you live. As a preliminary activity, discuss which biome your area falls under and how you know.

 There are four aspects of your biome that your group will discuss:Its extentIts characteristicsWhat it was like a hundred years agoWhat human activities have occurred in the biome

You will each do research on one of the aspects. Decide who will do which.

 Your teacher can do a quick check to see if you all agree on what your biome is.

 Use the library or the Internet to do research on the aspect that has been assigned to you. Make notes so that you can return to class and inform your group of what you found. The rest of the activity depends on your doing this.

 When you regroup, take turns telling the others about your research. You can make notes as you listen to the others. After each person has spoken, you can ask any questions you need to so as to clarify everything. When you are all satisfied with this part of the activity and all four of you have all the information, you can move on to the next step.

 As a group you will now link the different inputs by discussing what the effects of human activities have been on your biome. Make notes when you have finished. As a group you can compare and amend your notes. You will use them in the following activity.

Paragraph writing

You wrote a paragraph in Activity 2.1 without any guidance about how to go about this, except what you have learnt in previous years. What criteria did you use to write and to check your partner’s work? Both these tasks would have been more focused if you had guidelines on paragraph writing, and a checklist or rubric to check your partner’s against. Here is this information to help you improve your paragraph writing.

Information box

A paragraph has a topic sentence that states what the paragraph is about. For example: ‘There are several explanations put forward for why the dinosaurs became extinct.’ This topic sentence informs us that the paragraph will give us explanations about why the dinosaurs became extinct. We expect to hear what the ‘several explanations’ are in the remainder of the paragraph. However, the topic sentence is not always necessarily the first sentence of the paragraph.

The supporting sentences will all be linked to the topic sentence. We do not expect to read about the size of dinosaurs unless this has something to do with why they became extinct. Linking words such as ‘this’, ‘however’, and pronouns such as ‘it’, ‘they’ should be used to relate the sentences to each other. It is a good idea to vary the length of the sentences as well as of the paragraphs, especially in creative writing.

Paragraphs have different functions or purposes: to explain, to describe, to illustrate, to compare and/or contrast, and to argue are some of these purposes.

Here is a checklist you can use to write and evaluate a paragraph:

The paragraph:	√
has a topic sentence which introduces what the paragraph is about.
has at least two sentences.
has linking words to make sentences coherent.
contains only one topic.
has a clear function.

Activity 2.4 - Writing a paragraph (individual)

 Go back to the paragraph you wrote in Activity 2.1. Check it using the information above. Can you see anything that you could change to improve it?

1. Write a paragraph using the notes you made during your group discussion. Your purpose is to explain how human activity has changed your biome. Do not write more than five sentences.Use the writing process (see Activity 1.7) and the checklist above. Edit your work before handing it in to your teacher for evaluation.

Essay writing

An essay is a coherent piece of writing that contains a heading, an introduction, a body comprising several paragraphs and a conclusion. You could be asked to write any of the following kinds of essays:

Type of essay	Features
Narrative	Tells a story, can use direct speech, has a resolution.
Descriptive	Creates a picture using adjectives, appeals to the five senses, uses figures of speech.
Argumentative	Presents an argument for or against something, uses persuasive language, is subjective and one-sided.
Discursive	Presents both sides of an argument in an unbiased way, is objective, but can end with a personal point of view.
Reflective	Presents views, ideas, thoughts, feelings about something, is personal rather than objective.
Expository	A ‘how to’ or a factual essay in which you give an exposition of how something could be arranged or how something works or give well-researched information about a topic. You use words such as accordingly, since, as a result, so, because, then, consequently, therefore, for this reason, thus, to structure your essay and show cause and effect.
Literary	A response to a literary text interpreting, evaluating, or reflecting on some aspect of the text: story, character, language, conflict, or theme.

The names of the different types of essay reflect their purpose. It may happen that you are asked to write an essay and you are given the topic without the type of essay being specified, in which case it is up to you to decide what type of essay to write. It is very important that you do this correctly so as not to misinterpret the topic and write the wrong kind of essay. Therefore reflect carefully on what you are being asked to do before launching out on the strength of one word in the given topic and risking a totally irrelevant response.

The writing process is a very important part of writing an essay. All essays need to be brainstormed, planned, organised, drafted, edited and rewritten.

We have discussed several different aspects of essay writing here. In the next activities you will practise these in different ways, one step at a time.

Activity 2.5 - Analysing topics (individual and pair)

1. Below are several different essay topics. Discuss them with your partner. What does the topic mean? What should the essay be about? What kind of essay should you write? Make notes for yourself on each of the topics after you have discussed them.

 Animal Farm is an allegory that can be related to the situation in many countries where revolution has taken place. Write an essay of 400-450 words in which you discuss this statement with reference to the novel (25 marks).

 You belong to an environmental group. Write an essay of 400-450 words in which you describe a recent activity in which your group participated (50 marks).

 Climate change is a myth. Write an essay of 400-450 words in which you support or oppose this statement (50 marks).

 Reasons for and against immigration: why it is difficult to decide. Write an essay of 400-450 words in which you respond to this topic (50 marks).

 You are a doctor who works for ‘Doctors without borders’ and have recently come back from a war-torn country. Write an essay of 400-450 words in which you describe the conditions in the refugee camp where you worked for three months (50 marks).

 Your experiences as a doctor working in a refugee camp have led you to think deeply about your beliefs concerning armed struggle. Write an essay of 400-450 words in which you share your conclusions (50 marks).

 The conservation of wildlife in South Africa (50 marks).

 Keep your notes for the next activity.

Activity 2.6 - Writing an introduction (individual and pair)

 Before you write the introduction asked for below, discuss with your partner what the purpose of an introduction is and what it should contain. Your teacher will ask for responses to this question before you continue.

1. Choose one of the essay topics given in Activity 2.4 and write an introduction.

 Swap with your partner and then discuss and evaluate each other’s introductions.

 Your teacher will ask several of you to read your introductions to the class for discussion and general feedback.

Activity 2.7 - Writing a conclusion (individual and pair)

1. Follow the same steps as in the previous activity to write and get feedback on a conclusion. Your conclusion should be to the essay for which you wrote an introduction.

Activity 2.8 - Writing an essay (individual)

1.Choose one of the topics below and write an essay of between 400 and 450 words (50 marks). Use the writing process (organise your collected ideas, draft, write and edit). Your teacher will take in your work for evaluation. You must hand in your planning as well as your essay. Your teacher will discuss the rubric for essay writing with you.

 The climate in my home town

 What I can do personally to lessen global warming

 Endangered species should not be preserved

 The hailstorm

You can use the following rating scale to assist you when you draft your essay.

Rating scale for essay where 1 = 0-29%; 2 = 30-49%; 3 = 50-59%; 4 = 60-74%; 5 = 75-100%

Criteria	1 2 3 4 5
1. Has the essay been well planned using the writing process?
2. Has the topic been interpreted accurately?
3. Is the essay well paragraphed, and is there adequate development in each paragraph?
4. Is there an interesting introduction?
5. Does the conclusion round off the essay satisfactorily?
6. Are the paragraphs coherent and do they follow each other logically?
7. Is the vocabulary appropriate?
8. Is the grammar accurate?
9. Has the essay been edited?
10. Is the essay neat and well presented?

Poetry

In your literature exam at the end of the year, you will have to answer questions on an unseen poem. The poem below is one of those on the approved list. You are going to practise reading it and answering questions on your own. Your teacher will then discuss the answers with you when you have all finished.

Another catastrophe linked with climate change and global warming is the extinction of plants, animals and birds. The following poem was written by William Blake, who lived from 1757 to 1827. He is astonished by the tiger, its beauty and power. Imagine how disturbed he would have been to know that 200 years after his death, the tiger may well be extinct.

Read the poem below on your own and then write out answers to the questions that follow.

Activity 2.9 - Reading a poem (individual and pair)

Pre-reading:

 Skim the poem to see what it is about. Notice the old English spelling which should tell you something about the time in which the poem was written.

During reading:

 Listen and follow in your book while your teacher reads the poem to you.

The Tyger

by William Blake

Tyger! Tyger! Burning bright

In the forests of the night,

What immortal hand or eye

Could frame thy fearful symmetry? (4.)

In what distant deeps or skies

Burnt the fire of thine eyes?

On what wings dare he aspire?

What the hand dare seize the fire? (8.)

And what shoulder, and what art,

Could twist the sinews of thy heart?

And when thy heart began to beat,

What dread hand? And what dread feet? (12.)

What the Hammer? What the chain?

In what furnace was thy brain?

What the anvil? What dread grasp

Dare its deadly terrors clasp? (16.)

When the stars threw down their spears,

And watered heaven with their tears,

Did he smile his work to see?

Did he who made the Lamb make thee? (20.)

Tyger, Tyger! Burning bright

In the forests of the night,

What immortal hand or eye

Dare frame thy fearful symmetry (24.)

[Public domain]

Post-reading:

Questions

1. What is the poet’s attitude towards the tiger? Motivate your answer.

2. Do you think this is a religious poem? Motivate your answer.

3. Who is the poem addressing?

4. What is the effect of all the question marks in the poem?

5. What or who is the creator of the tiger being compared to?

6. Write out the rhyme scheme of the poem, using a b c d, etc.

7.Answer the questions about the juxtaposition of images:

juxtaposition: placing of unlike things together

a. Why do you think the poet chooses to contrast the tiger with a lamb?

b. What do each of them symbolise?

8. Quote an example of personification in the poem. Explain its effect.

9. Quote an example of alliteration in the poem. Explain its effect.

10. The first and last verses are the same except for one word. Which word has changed and why do you think the poet changed this word?

 With your partner, take turns reading the poem aloud, each taking a verse at a time.

 Today, tigers are an endangered species. With this in mind discuss with your partner whether it is acceptable to keep tigers in a zoo. Before you start, jot down a few ideas so that you can contribute to the discussion. Your teacher will ask for feedback from several of you when he or she goes over the answers to the questions above.

Novel

When you read a novel it is important to be able to picture the setting. An author spends effort creating it, describing where the action takes place. The setting for The Great Gatsby is Long Island, New York, off the east coast of America. The narrator refers to East Egg and West Egg. The characters drive to New York. Here is a map to help you visualise this area (as pre-reading activity).

Activity 2.10 - The setting of a novel (individual and pair)

Pre-reading:

 Nick Carraway, the narrator in The Great Gatsby, tells the reader about the people and setting of the novel in Chapter 1. Read the extract below, taking this into consideration (during reading).