H1H1 Virus (Swine Flu): Exploring Facts and Evaluating Opinions by Tilla Alexander, OACE, and Debra Brooks, BEGIN
About the Authors:
Tilla Alexander has been teaching for the Office of Adult Continuing Education for the past 15 years. She has been teaching upper level ESL at Mid-Manhattan Adult Learning Center since 2001. Her students are from diverse countries: West Africa (Guinea, Ivory Coast, Senegal, Mali, Gambia), Central Africa (Zaire, Rep. of Congo), East Africa (Eritrea), the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Honduras, Costa Rica, Colombia, and France.
Debra Brooks currently teaches ESOL at BEGIN Brooklyn Language Work-Study, a welfare-to-work program. Her professional career has also extended outside of the United States. Debra has taught ESOL in Haiti and she became a Peace Corps Volunteer in Guinea-Bissau, West Africa as a teacher trainer. As a teacher trainer she also conducted a workshop for Guinean teachers to gain a better understanding of the Brazilian educator Paulo Freire and his educational beliefs.
Reflection on the Lesson: The lesson went well. The students participated fully and seemed to enjoy the activities. They gave a great deal of feedback and information, some of which I would like to research further. We had a large turnout: 22 students, so it was necessary to use 11 cartoons for the pair activity. Unfortunately, we didn’t have time to hear all of their presentations. The first part of the lesson worked well. Everyone got a chance to speak with the group, even some students who are generally quiet in class. Some new questions were brought up such as, “If someone is contagious and they stay at home, won’t they infect their family?”, “I think they should stay in the hospital.”
H1H1 Virus (Swine Flu): Exploring Facts and Evaluating Opinions Lesson Plan
