Reading plays an important role in the elementary school’s teaching and learning. We will not directly tell students to read a passage. Instead, we offer a series of ways to introduce them the topic and then lead them into the concept of reading by thinking.

We divide the lesson into two parts. In the first period, we start by a dialogue between two teachers. Then we introduce the scenic spots by making a mind map of students own. In the end, students need to present the mind map in an efficient way.

In the second period, we introduce the reading from the textbook. Then students need to rewrite the reading by what they have learned from the first period. They need to work together to rewrite the reading. They need to integrate the ideas of transportation, places, fun things into their writing. We will give teachers a clear procedure in the following introduction.

Period One-

Warm up:
The dialogue between two teachers (Heidi and Joe)

Presentation:

• PPT Introduction : places around Hsinchu: （10 minutes）

1. Show some scenic spots of Hsinchu, another county and one foreign country from the ppt
2. Ask some questions about the place:

(1) Where is it? It’s ____.
(2) How can we get to ___?
We can get there by ___.
(3) Can we get to the ___ by ___? Yes, we can. No, we can’t.

3. The teacher asks students: What other places would you like to go?
4. The teacher writes the places offered by students on the blackboard.

• Mind map Introduction and teaching:（10 minutes）

1. The teacher makes a ppt about how to make a mind map.
2. The teacher explains and demonstrates how to do it on the blackboard.
3. The teacher shows a real example on the poster for the students.
4. The teacher needs to remind student that the first layer has thicker arrows.
5. The teacher needs to remind student that the second layer has thinner arrows.

• Mind map by the students: （10 minutes）

1. Each team gets a list of places around Taiwan, a rubrics paper of presentation, a poster and some markers.
2. Each team draws the mind map on the poster.
3. Each team needs to list 2 places in Hsinchu, 1 place around Taiwan, 1 foreign country.
4. Students need to draw a suggestion transportation branch about how to get to these places.
5. Students need to practice how to explain the mind map in an easy way.

Production:

• Present your mind map: （15 minutes）

1. Each team practices the presentation according to the tips and rubrics for the presentation.
2. Each team takes turns going to the front and doing the presentation.
3. The whole team needs to present the mind map orally according to the tips.
4. The teacher needs to assess each team. Each team also needs to assess yourself and other teams.

• Self and peer assessment sheet of the presentation （5 minutes）

1. Each team will have an assessment sheet of the presentation.
2. Each team needs to assess itself and the other teams.

Wrap up:
Thank you for all of your help. With these mind maps, I think teacher Joe will have a good understanding of Hsinchu and Taiwan. I will also collect all your video clips to help him know more about how to get to these places.

Period Two

Warm up:

Teacher Joe loves your suggestions of the places. He also loves the mind maps and videos about your brief introduction. Next Sunday is his birthday. I want to give him something special as the birthday gift. He still wants to know more about the places. Can we write some special points about the place or draw some pictures to help him know more about the places? I will combine all your articles together and send him as a gift. First, we need to learn how to introduce a place in a good way. Let’s see the reading article on the book. It’s a very good example of a brief introduction to a place. We can learn how to do it from this.

Presentation:

• Context: p30（10 minutes）

1. Silent reading: The teacher gives everyone 1 minute to read the sentences in the textbook without any voice.
2. Question and answers: seven questions to help you write a short introduction to the place about the article
3. We rewrite a paragraph like this page. In this paragraph, we need to think about the following questions first.

a. Where is it?
b. When do you go there?
c. Who goes there with you?
d. How can you get there?
e. Why do you go to the place?
f. What can you do there?
g. How do you feel?

• More Introduction to the places（10 minutes）

1. The teacher introduces more special things about these places and encourages students to say about it. For example, you can raise hand and say, “I see bikes in 17KM coastline.”

2. The teacher also use the 7 questions which will be presented in the paragraph to ask the students to describe and answer for some of the places.

Production: Rewrite the page

We will have a team work and rewrite p30. Please follow the instructions. （30 minutes in all）

-Grouping: （5 minutes）

1. Four people in one group
2. Each team comes to front and get an A3 white board with 8 cloze blanks, 4 color markers, and a worksheet with a word bank.

-Discussion: （5 minutes）

3. The team discusses and decides the place, time, person, feeling and so on.
4. Like the learning experts, each one in the team has the task. You write your own parts on the A3 white board.

-Copying and drawing: （10 minutes）

5. Copy the whole paragraph on your blank page of your homework book.
6. Draw some beautiful pictures about the place on the same page.

-Practicing: （5 minutes）

7. The whole team practices how to read the paragraph.
8. The whole team come to the front and share your place and paragraph.
9. Students need to work together to think of one place and some experience or suggestions about the place.
10. Students draw a picture about this place.

-Presentation: （5 minutes）

11. The whole team takes the book and goes to the front.
12. The whole team makes an oral presentation about the place together.

Wrap up:

These clear introduction and beautiful pictures are really helpful. I will combine all the articles to be a guidebook for teacher Joe as a birthday gift.

Students love the process of working together and sharing the ideas in front of the class. With a clear direction, students can really learn a lot and think more from the class.