Carol Lumm, ESOL Instructor
Community Education Center
City College of New York
The Rose
Center
LESSON TITLE: The Rose Center
FOCUS OF LESSON: Provide students the opportunity to explore the Internet, increase vocabulary, comprehension and listening skills, and apply critical thinking practices.
OBJECTIVES: ESOL students need to be exposed to the other venues in which they will be required to read beyond the traditional short story, novel, play, articles, etc. in the classroom. By utilizing the web sites on the Internet, the student is encouraged to improve word recognition, increase their vocabulary and comprehension of the English language. By the very nature of a web site, students are encouraged to search for words, be more concise in vocabulary usage when doing a keyword search, enhance their ability to read and follow instructions outside the classroom setting, and acquire new knowledge that the student may have felt was beyond their reach.
LEVEL OF STUDENTS: ESL 3/ 4
APPLICABLE LEARNING STANDARDS: ELA 1, MST 1
PREPARATION TIME: According to the instructor's expertise with Internet research, should be no more than 30 minutes.
IMPLEMENTATION TIME: 3 class periods (3 hours each session)
MATERIALS/SUPPLIES: Access to the Internet
ROOM ARRANGEMENT: Not applicable
INTRODUCTION FOR TEACHERS:
Prior to the lesson, students should be introduced to the concept of the Internet - a general history, the various types of web sites available, the importance of checking for an update date, and the agenda of the web site creators/designers (political, educational, etc.). Students also should have a general knowledge of how to use the computer (mouse, getting into and out of programs, etc.). Also, students should have had prior instruction in writing summaries.
PROCEDURE:
Day 1
1. Introduce the students to museums, specifically to the American Museum of Natural History (location, purpose, types of exhibits, etc.) and then focus on the Rose Center.
Questions:
1. What are some of the museums in the student’s native country that they have visited?
2. What interested them the most? The least? Why?
3. Do the students visit museums in New York often? Which ones? Why?
4. Who do they go to museums with? Family? Friends? Classmates?
5. Why do the students think museums are so fascinating to so many people?
6. What do the students know about the American Museum of Natural History?
7. What do they know about the Rose Center?
8. What do they know about astronomy and its related fields of study?
9. What do they think is included in the Rose Center exhibit?
2. The first task for the students is to write a composition about what they think will be on the web site and in the actual museum exhibit. Discuss briefly afterwards. Inform the students they are going to visit the Rose Center via the Internet.
Questions:
a. What information is provided on the museum’s home page?
b. What would they do to find information on the Rose Center using the computer and the Internet?
3. Instruct students to click on the Rose Center <http://www.amnh.org/rose> link.
Questions:
c. What further information is there about the Rose Center?
d. What do they think is the rationale for the museum curator’s selection of these specific topics for the Rose Center page?
and Space Watch: http://www.amnh.org/rose/spacewatch/spacewatch.html
Activity 1:
Read each segment of the Constructing link and click on the pictures to view the construction process. Write a composition summarizing the text and include as detailed as possible a description of the actual construction process using as many descriptive words as possible.
Activity 2:
Read the text of the Space Watch about the coming alignment of planets. Discuss briefly the concept of gravity. Write a composition about what they think may happen when this alignment occurs between the planets.
5. Instruct the students to click on the Interview link http://www.amnh.org/rose/interviews.html
Activity 1:
Read the text about Neil de GrasseTyson and discuss the text.
Questions:
A. Based on his picture, what do you think he is like as a person?
B. Why do you think he chose this career?
C. If you had the opportunity to have a job other than what you are doing now, what would you choose as a career? Why?
Activity 2:
There are questions at the bottom of the Interview web page. Write your own answers to these questions first. Afterwards click on each question to listen to Mr. Tyson’s answers. Write a summary of his answers for comparison. If your answers are different, write an analysis of your thoughts and Mr. Tyson’s to explain the differences. Following this activity, class discussion should be used to clarify any confusion.
Day 2
The class visits the Rose Center. Instruct students to take notes on the exhibits and vocabulary as they walk through the exhibit.
Day 3
Following the museum visit, a review of the exhibit and vocabulary should be generated from class discussion.
Questions:
1. What was the first thing the students saw upon entering the Rose Center?
2. What was their first impression?
3. Which part of the exhibit did the students look at first? Why?
4. What did the students learn about black holes from the film at the Center?
5. What did the students learn about the Big Bang Theory from the laser show and the development of the universe time line?
6. What are some of the scientific terms they learned? What do they mean? What is their importance?
7. In the section on the earth, what impressed the students the most?
8. Did the students learn anything new about volcanoes, groundwater, El Nino, the atmosphere? What?
9. Would the students take their family and/or friends there on their own? Why?
Activity 1:
Students choose at least two items that were the most memorable to them and write a composition describing or explaining these items.
Activity 2
Students choose at least two items from the entire exhibit (volcanoes, groundwater, rocks, El Nino, etc.). They then search on the Internet for more detailed information and write a summary of what they find. The students must notate the exact web site from which they obtained their information. This activity should then be followed by a discussion in class as a means to solidify new vocabulary and concepts.
NOTE: If the students do not have access to the Internet from their home, they should be encouraged to go to the library or ask a friend/relative who does have access to use the Internet to further enhance their experience of this lesson.
ASSESSMENT: Assessment is a continual process through oral discussions for verbal comprehension of new subject material and by writing as a means to increase vocabulary and ability to express critical thinking
REFLECTION: When this lesson was used with my ESL students, it was received with a lot of enthusiasm particularly from students who had little exposure to the Internet. By being placed in a situation where they were required to use their available knowledge of English, the students accepted the challenge to raise their level of comprehension and vocabulary. After being guided through the process of an Internet research and actual museum visit, the students readily explored the follow up Internet research successfully. One of my students was particularly enthusiastic about the project because he has a great interest in science and astronomy. This is definitely a lesson I would use again next semester.