Part 3: Teaching in an elementary school

Section 3 – Questions 21–30

Questions 21 and 22
Choose TWO letters, A–E.

Which TWO topics were the aims of the geography lesson related to?

A. global inter dependency
B. manufacturing methods
C. the environmental impact of trade
D. transport systems
E. the development of writing tools

Questions 23 and 24
Choose TWO letters, A–E.

Which TWO problems do Dean and Hannah identify in their lesson?

A. the materials
B. the student grouping
C. the lesson structure
D. the teacher coordination
E. the timing

Questions 25–30
Complete the flow-chart below.
Choose SIX answers from the box and write the correct letter, A–H, next to questions 25–30.

A. export routes
B. future
C. talk
D. homework
E. worksheet
F. history
G. producers
H. methods of transport

Geography lesson plan: student activities

• Examine a pencil and discuss where the component materials come from.
• Locate the top 25 ________ on a world map.
• Discuss the pros and cons of different 26 ________.
• In groups, discuss countries’ possible 27 ________ to the USA.
• Complete a 28 ________ about pencil distribution within the USA.
• Share ideas about the 29 ________ of pencils.
• Prepare a 30 ________.

Keys

1. A
2. D
3. D
4. E
5. G
6. H
7. A
8. E
9. B
10. C

Transcript

Section 3: You will hear two trainee teachers called Dean and Hannah talking about their recent teaching practice in an elementary school.

Hannah: Hi Dean, did you have a good weekend?

Dean: Yes, it was good to relax after a whole week of teaching practice. I really enjoyed the experience though.

Hannah: Yes, so did I. And I think it went well. Anyway, are you okay to talk about the report we’ve got to write on the geography lesson we taught together?

Dean: I was thinking we could make notes now and then divide the actual writing up between us.

Hannah: Sure. Good idea. Let’s begin with

our lesson aims, shall we?

Dean: Right. Well, I know the main one was getting the class to think about how people in different parts of the world are connected to each other through the things they buy and sell.

Hannah: Yes, we took that from the syllabus for grade four, and then we decided to use pencils as our example, because they’re relatively simple in design, and everyone’s used a pencil at some time or other. We should include that information too.

Dean: Right, and we also wanted to get the class thinking about how things are moved around the world in different ways, from the farms and the mines to the factories and then the stores.

Hannah: That wasn’t in the core syllabus — I think we added that ourselves.

Dean: Yes, I think you’re right. Okay, then the last section of the report contains a post-lesson analysis. We have to mention any problems we identified in our lesson when we taught it. So, any ideas?

Hannah: Well, I know we were really satisfied with our handouts and worksheets. We both thought they’d been at just the right level for the class.

Dean: And I don’t know about you, but I think we worked well as a team.

Hannah: Absolutely. Neither of us was too dominant, and we supported each other. Personally, the thing I think we didn’t get right was the way we paced things. Some things seemed to be rushed, and others seemed to drag out too long. I don’t know how you feel about that.

Dean: The same as you. If we did the same lesson again, I’d want to make some adjustments to that, but keep the same basic lesson plan.

Hannah: Okay, we see eye to eye on that. But there’s one other thing. At the time, I seem to remember we both thought that organizing the children in sets of six didn’t work very well, and that pairs would have been better for certain tasks, so that the shyer kids got more chance to contribute.

Dean: Yes, I remember that too, and we should put it into our report as well.

Hannah: Now, should we go over our lesson plan together before we write the report? It seems ages ago now.

Dean: Fine. Well, the whole lesson was based on the production and distribution of pencils. First, we gave out the pencils and got the students to decide what they’re made of.

Hannah: Then, when they’d come up with all five of the component materials, we talked about which countries produce most of these materials.

Dean: Yes, and we got volunteers to come to the front and mark the location of those on a map of the world. I remember they were really keen to volunteer. We had to stop them from calling the answers out loud.

Hannah: Right. Then we brainstormed all the different ways of getting goods from one place to another, and what the advantages and disadvantages of each one would be.

Dean: I remember one girl talking about using horses.

Hannah: That’s right, she seemed to be a bit stuck in the past. It was hard not to smile.

Dean: Yes. After that, we put them in small groups, and each group represented each of the countries on the map. They had to use their atlases to decide an itinerary for sending their raw materials to the USA, specifying the different ports and places on the way there.

Hannah: That’s right. And by the time they’d done that, it was break time.

Dean: And after the break, they had to imagine they were pencil manufacturers in Chicago and fill in details on a worksheet about how they dispatch their pencils to different parts of the country.

Hannah: Oh yes, okay. And then we had a class discussion about whether people will still be using pencils in 2050 and whether the design of pencils is likely to change.

Dean: And to round the lesson off, the kids had to spend ten minutes planning a short presentation for another class about possible developments. And that was it!

Hannah: Good, so I’ll write up that part.