Listen to Write, and Write to Read
National Hsinchu Senior High School
Chiu-yun Li
Introduction
This study aims to explore the possible integration of listening instruction and differentiated
instruction (DI). The paper first focuses on the operation of listening instructions in different genres
with the help of graphic organizers (GO), then centers on the elaboration of an action unit plan
where DI was employed, and lastly elucidates the analysis of students’ performances on their
worksheets and discusses findings elicited from their questionnaires. Hopefully, this paper can
finally help shed light on the effectiveness of implementing listening activities with DI.
Initially, facilitating students’ listening ability in English took priority. All students were
trained to polish their listening over this semester. As each lesson went on, they were given a GO
where they had to complete it by listening only. On each listening GO listed clues which helped
students identify specific information for note-taking. Such kind of listening GO varied with
different genres and different missing information was designed as the listening genre changes.
Such listening instruction had continued for three months before students were officially ushered
into a DI learning environment, where all pupils had to apply the skills they acquired from previous
listening activities to accomplish the assigned missions.
In the lesson instructed in a differentiated way, whole class was homogenously divided into
five groups: advanced, upper-intermediate, intermediate, and two basic groups. The former three
groups were made up of high-achievers and received worksheet A, where the tasks were more
challenging, while the latter two groups of slower-learners received worksheet B, which included
more learning aids for users to complete the tasks. All of them were required to listen to an
assigned listening material, take notes, discuss with their peers, reconstruct a passage based on
their notes, and compare as well as revise their writing together with partners from other groups.
With their worksheet accomplished, students could piece up the whole picture of the passage they
listened to—the reason why this study is called Listen (in order) to Write, and Write (in order) to
Read. In the activity with DI, students were hoped to realize the importance of collaborative
learning and active learning, to cherish the value of mutual respect and appreciation, and further
to learn to have empathy for those with diverse learning styles and different learning schedules.
At length, to know how listening instruction ran over this semester and whether this action
unit plan worked effectively, an online questionnaire was given and the results were analyzed,
shown in the final part of this paper. Despite much positive feedback from 80 students, some
comments are worthy of further inquiry, because they reveal students’ genuine opinions on the
conduction of listening instruction with GO, and the implementation of DI in class.
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Part I: Listening Instruction
Listening Objectives
1. Students can learn to focus on target messages while listening.
2. Students can note down key words with the help of instructions on GO while listening.
3. Students can reconstruct what they note down while listening into correct dictions or
sentences to complete their GO.
4. Students can answer the given questions on the GO after listening by reconstructing their
notes into grammatically correct sentences.
Time Required
50 minutes for each worksheet
Materials
Worksheets
CD player
Prior Knowledge
Since the last semester, students have been required to make it a routine to listen to English
every day. They were asked to listen to the daily radio program of the assigned English magazine
(English 4U), and the next day, a daily listening quiz was given. The quiz consisted of one to two
paragraphs with five blanks. The paragraphs were excerpted from the daily passage in the
magazine. In other words, the listening materials were given in advance and what they had to do
was try getting accustomed to the way foreign teachers read the passage—the reading speed, the
accent, and some reduced forms. In class, students filled in the blanks based on what they listened
to—it was read by foreign teachers on an mp3 file. At first, students filled in the blank for one word.
As they got used to this testing mode, they filled for a chunk, such as a phrase or a collocation.
In addition, students were also trained to take dictation when taking the vocabulary test.
More specifically, students were trained to literally write down what they heard, when the teacher
read sentences inclusive of vocabulary needed to memorize for the lesson in the textbook. The
same as the daily listening quiz mentioned above, the vocabulary test was designed from an easy
level; all the sentences they heard came from the textbook—example sentence(s) for each
vocabulary. As time went by, the test would get more and more challenging because the sentences
they had to write down would become far more different from the ones in the textbook.
In this semester, while daily listening quiz for the magazine is canceled, the vocabulary
dictation remains. What replaces the daily listening quiz is the unit test, where students are also
required to “listen” in one section. The short paragraphs for the dictation are slightly modified and
read by the teacher. In brief, the participants in this study all have got used to “dictation” applied in
various testing modes.
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Teaching Procedure
Before Teaching: To make an effective and efficient GO
For every lesson, a GO worksheet is prepared. GO is initially used to guide students to
quickly grasp a comprehensive map for the whole passage. Therefore, the graphs must be
presented in a logical, if not logical enough, at least plausible, way. With proper arrangement of
each graph on the GO, students can “read” important messages of the passage by themselves.
However, as “listening” is incorporated in GO and “reading” is disallowed, to complete GO by
listening only turns to be challenging. The following are some tips for a helpful and effective
“listening GO.”
First, besides a clear and cogent GO arrangement, the extent to which the text is adapted
should take priority. Students may have trouble writing down fitting answers while or after they
listen if the text is changed enormously. It is recommended to start from the text slightly modified
and then gradually to the one with much more adaptation.
Second, the span between two blanks and the length of each blank also count a lot, for
students are absolutely unable to note down a great deal of information within seconds. Like the
aforementioned daily listening test, the length of the blank is supposed to be from short to long,
from simple to complex.
Third, offering explicit clues for a specific listening target is also suggested. It is challenging
for students to note down everything they hear. As a result, to help build their confidence in
listening, specifying what they have to pay more attention to while taking notes is needed. Take
the paragraph below, for example.
In many languages, certain animals seem to have specific characteristics. As you’ll find
in Chinese, swallows are traditionally seen as lucky signs, snakes represent evil and danger,
and cranes are said to symbolize long life. Similarly, animal imagery can be found in many
English expressions, and it has given color to this language.
The most significant message in the above paragraph is the corresponding image each
animal projects. Therefore, the text is adapted as shown in figure 1 below. A clue on the right is
given—please focus on the subject and object in each sentence while listening—so that students
can be well guided to know what to do when listening: note down only the subject and object in
each sentence. In this case, they will have no problems filling the missing information.
Figure 1
In brief, the way the GO presents will account for whether students can be fearless of and
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successful in taking notes while listening. The more clear indication is given before they hear, the
higher chances they have to give the right answer, and in consequence, the more likely they are to
develop their listening ability in this learning mode—listen with GO.
While Teaching : To sharpen students’ listening with the help of GO
A test on vocabulary is prior to the listening session with GO, since unfamiliar new words
always perplex students. In addition, a warm-up classroom activity or a brief introduction for the
lesson is carried out so that all pupils can know the theme of the lesson they are learning.
Then students are directly ushered to their GO without any glance at the textbook. As stated
above, an instruction in what should be noted down is offered in the hope of reducing students’
anxiety about what they are going to listen. Then the listening material is read (or played) twice,
and afterwards, everyone is asked to share their notes with their partners—usually five people in a
group. They discuss with one another, attempting to piece up the picture of their GO.
Last but not least, the listening practices with GO begin with the passage read at a slower
speed by the teacher, and progressively at a normal speed by the native speaker on CD player. The
following is a detailed elaboration of how students were led to “listen to write,” sharpening their
listening ability step by step in different genres.
Listen to Descriptive Phrases
The selected passage for descriptive genre is mainly about specific images certain animals
project. As a result, the chosen words set as blanks for students to fill in could be how the author
narrates an animal with a specific phrase. Accordingly, the blanks could be the “image” an animal
has, “specific phrase” as well as “its meaning,” and the “description” of an animal (See Appendix I).
To prevent students from getting panic, instructions in how to listen to target words are
presented on the worksheet. In other words, students are reminded of what they have to take
notes of while listening before listening is carried out.
This passage is divided into three parts. For the first paragraph, students were asked to take
notes of the subject and object in each sentence to match the corresponding “image” with each
animal, as introduced before. For the second paragraph, students were led to “specific phrases”
and their corresponding “meaning.” Finally, they were required to write down how to “describe” a
person or a situation with an animal-related phrase. The exact instructions are shown below
(Figure 2).
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Figure 2
When executing listening, the teacher read the text by herself, because she could adjust
speaking speed, especially when she was reading key words. By so doing, most students could feel
safe and easier in doing the worksheet.
Listen to Narrative Clusters
The selected passage for narrative genre is a story, narrated by a boy, who tells what
happened to his best friend, Kyle, over the three years of senior high school. At first, setting GO
blanks for this passage was a challenge, because most GO for a narrative story would center on the
storylines by categorizing the story into exposition, climax, and resolution. However, such
categorization is too abstract for students to catch and react to by listening only. In this case, the
graphic organizer was designed in another form (see Figure 3 below). By filling in the “verb
constituent” of the sentence to answer the question, students construct the images of the two
characters as well as the events happening between them (See Appendix II).
Before listening was given, all students were sure to have understood how to identify a “verb
constituent” in a sentence. Two examples were given: “Kyle is handsome,” and “Kyle looks like a
nerd.” After making sure everyone knew that the verb constituent “is handsome” and “looks like a
nerd” were the target they were going to note down, then, as illustrated below, they were guide to
complete following columns one by one.
Figure 3
Besides listening to the verb constituents, students were also guide to listen to a whole
sentence for two paragraphs. The original of the text is stated below.
Three years later, Kyle and I were seniors. His glasses now suited him. At that time, he
had become a handsome, popular young man. Though sometimes I still teased him about
being a nerd, he was so popular that almost every girl wanted to go out with him.
On the last day of high school, Kyle was assigned to give a speech. I patted his shoulder
and said, “Hey, big guy, you’ll do a great job!”
Before this listening session got started, the teacher offered an oral instruction: “Everyone
will hear four changes of Kyle and please write them down.” They thus had to write the sentences
which depict the changes of Kyle over these three years, as illustrated in figure 4 below.
Figure 4
On the whole, the text in each column is highly similar to the listening text—the passage of
this unit. As a result, most students had little difficulty filling in the blanks, except for some blanks
the answer to which includes more words. Nevertheless, they could still complete the filling
mission with the collaborative discussion in the post-listening session.
Listen to Topic Sentence and Supporting Ideas in an Expositive Genre
This is a passage about how color affects our daily life. The structure of the passage is
organized enough for teachers to facilitate students’ writing. As a result, the graphic organizer for
the passage turns out to the columns shown as follows (Figure 5).
Figure 5
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To begin with, students were instructed to know “topic sentence,” “supporting ideas,” and
“concluding sentence.” They were also hinted to listen to specific transitional words, such as “In
fact,” “In brief,” “Additionally,” and so on. Different from reading when readers can retrieve
information again and again, listeners in a listening task have a hard time turning back to
“re-identify” which sentence is the exact topic sentence. Therefore, offering clues to such
information-tagged sentences as topic sentence or concluding sentence is needed.
In addition, the listening task in this unit turned to be read by a foreigner—with the CD
player—not the English teacher. However, whenever a sentence was read, a pause was given, so
that students wouldn’t feel such great panic when taking notes.
Listen to Causality with Slightly Paraphrased GO
This passage discusses gender differences, beginning with an example illustrating a classic
scenario when a couple is in dispute over something trivial. This part of the graphic organizer is
copied from that in the lesson plan of Kelly Fan from National Yangmei Senior High School (see
Figure 6). All of the sentences in this part of the GO are paraphrased with a conjunction “because.”
Therefore, students were guided to listen to the causality among the sentences they heard. The
following are the original of the text.
Jim and I got into another fight over the socks and shirts everywhere in the living
room—again! I was really made, and it was impossible for me to communicate with him
after he asked me to “stop nagging.” With his eyes closed, he said that he had been “stressed
out recently and needed silence.” I waited for an apology from him, and I almost exploded
because all he did was keep changing channels!
I complained to my best friend, but she only laughed and said, “Oh sweetie, give him a
break. Men and women are born different. It’s almost like they’re from different planets.
Have you heard of Mark Gungor and Dr. Amen? I’ve learned more about men from these two
experts.”
Compared with the above texts, despite slight modification of each sentence, the graphic
organizer below shows the same information in a clearer, more logical way. From this perspective,
when doing the filling on this graphic organizer, not only did students practice listening, they also,
in some way, learned to paraphrase what they just heard.
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Figure 6
Listen with GO much Paraphrased
In this lesson, students were introduced the story of Apple of Discord and the Trojan War.
Again, they were asked to listen to one paragraph and then filled in the blanks of the GO. However,
different from the previous GO worksheets, it was much more challenging this time. The original
text is as follows.
In this famous quote, it is easy to see that Helen’s beauty was seen as the cause of the
Trojan War. After all, her beauty had driven the Trojan prince Paris to abduct Helen. Helen’s
husband, the king of Sparta, thus declared war on Troy. However, neither Paris’s passion nor
the king’s anger alone burned the great city of Troy to the ground. The seeds of destruction
had already been planted as a result of a contest among three goddesses.
Figure 7
The texts on the GO as mentioned in Figure 7 are paraphrased substantially, though.
Students, while listening, could refer to some information listed on the part of Language Highlight.
Therefore, even confronting complicated clusters, such as “neither Paris’s passion nor the king’s
anger alone,” they might not give up in no time.
Besides challenging substantially changed texts on the GO, students were also offered a song,
If by Bread, in this lesson. They were asked to complete the lyrics while listening to this English
love song. Surprisingly, it would have been an easy job for students, since it was sung very slowly,
but it turned out to be far more difficult for them than I had expected. Many students had
difficulty discriminating the exact singing words because of linking, contractions, and some
reductions in the song. It suggests that compared with the reading passages in the textbook, such
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authentic materials as an English song seem to pose higher barrier for students to stride over.
Listen for Answering Questions
In this lesson, students learned to answer the questions based on their notes while listening,
as shown in Figure 8.
Figure 8
As shown in Figure 8, guided answer sentences were given and students just did the filling.
Then, the answer to each question became more and more challenging—from a chunk to a
complete sentence (see Q4 in Figure 9).
Figure 9
Take question 4 for example; students had to write down the whole sentence to answer the
question. What’s more, they also had to think twice before they answer, as there might be two
answers to question 6. The following is the original text.
I can’t remember when it first started annoying me—her hands pushing my hair that
way. But it did annoy me anyway, for they felt rough against my young skin. Finally, one night,
I lashed out at her, “Stop doing that—your hands are too rough!” She didn’t say anything in
reply, and never did she end my day with that special expression of love again. That night, I
found myself lying awake long after she left my room. Regrettably, I never told her I was
sorry.
Clearly, the answer to question 6 can be “never told her she was sorry,” or “found herself
lying awake (long after her mother left the room).” Students must get a comprehensive
understanding of the last two sentences—That night, I found myself lying awake long after she left
my room. Regrettably, I never told her I was sorry—and then they could cast an answer with a
grammatically-correct cluster.
Part II: Listening Incorporated with Differentiated Instruction
After three-month listening training in different genres with GO, students are hoped to have
grasped some listening skills. They have been trained to take dictation, take notes for specific
information, and even reconstruct their notes to answer a question. In consequence, they are
hoped to take further challenge: do the dictogloss in which differentiated instruction is carried out.
Hopefully, in this action unit plan, by incorporating listening and DI, the possibility of
simultaneously implementing four basic skills can be explored and how DI works in this school
could be examined.
Objectives
1. After listening, students can answer the questions on the GO (listening).
2. After listening, students can write a paragraph based on the answers to the questions on the
GO (writing).
3. After listening, students can share their paragraph with peers from other groups (speaking).
4. After listening, students can get a whole picture of the story they listen to (reading).
5. After the activity, every student is hoped to accomplish his own task by learning collaboratively
with their counterparts in the same group and peers from other groups.
Reading
The “Hero” Called Frankenstein, from Sanmin B2L9
Three paragraphs excerpted as the listening materials
The title of this novel comes from the name of its hero, Victor Frankenstein, an enthusiastic
scientist. He discovered an incredible secret about the creation of life. Excited by this discovery,
Frankenstein kept exploring the secret in order to create a human being. Often, he stole and
collected dead bodies from graves and slaughterhouses in the dead of night. Fascinated by his
experiment, Frankenstein buried himself in it all day. Eventually, on a dark night, Frankenstein’s
creature came to life.
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Contrary to Frankenstein’s expectations, the creature that he had made turned out to be a
giant, frightening monster. Frankenstein was so scared that he ran away in horror. The following
day, the monster disappeared; he wandered the world by himself. Because of his terrible
appearance, he was not welcome anywhere. Hatred gradually grew in the monster’s mind, and this
drove him to murder Frankenstein’s brother. Frankenstein blamed himself after learning of his
brother’s death. He thought that if he had not created the monster, his brother would not have
been killed. Just as Frankenstein fell into a terrible depression, the monster turned up in front of
him.
Meeting Frankenstein again, the monster poured out his heart immediately. In tears, he
begged Frankenstein to create a female monster for him, since it was impossible for human beings
to love a monster. Otherwise, the monster promised to make Frankenstein’s life more miserable.
At first, Frankenstein agreed and started to make a female monster. However, he changed his mind
and destroyed the half-finished creature. The thought that the two might bear children frightened
him. Later, the monster became so angry about what Frankenstein had done that he killed
Frankenstein’s wife and his best friend in revenge. To prevent more misfortunes, Frankenstein
followed the monster to the North Pole to hunt him down. However, he never succeeded—he died
from the cold in the end. Discovering Frankenstein’s death, the monster then disappeared with
regret.
Time Required
2 periods; 100 minutes
Preparation
2 versions of worksheets, 5 speakers, computer & projector
Students’ Level
All boys whose English proficiency ranges from upper-intermediate to advanced (PR 88-98)
show a phenomenon of double peaks in English academic performances. They all have got used to
group activities in English class and have learned some skills at taking notes while listening.
Before Teaching
Students were categorized into five groups in advance, with three groups privately marked
high achievers (H groups) and two groups, slower-learners (L groups). H groups included advanced,
upper-intermediate, and intermediate groups. L groups were two basic groups. Such homogenous
grouping was done on the basis of students’ weekly listening grades over this semester and exams
from the two midterms. They were categorized based on the two dimensions of academic
performances because H groups and L groups were to be assigned different listening and writing
tasks in a DI environment.
Five missions were designed, with slight variation for H groups and L groups respectively.
Hence, two versions of worksheet were designed for H groups and L groups. Five speakers were
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prepared as well for the use in listening task. Every group received one speaker in which different
listening material was installed ahead.
In terms of the rationale of DI, the aforementioned grouping was based on students’
readiness. Then, tiered activities were offered but students of different levels were all hoped to
achieve the same learning objectives. That is, such differentiation is differentiating students’
learning process, and with this differentiated instruction, both L group and H group could acquire
the same learning contents by fulfilling similar tasks.
Besides grouping and worksheet designing, a PowerPoint to help run tasks efficiently was
also a must. It was to streamline transition activities in case students get lost during the activities.
After all these prerequisites were well prepared, then it came to the notification of DI to students.
All students were informed before this action plan was carried out that they were going to
be instructed in a very different way in the upcoming lesson, L9. They also had a quick review on
what they had done over the last three months in listening. The concept of “dictogloss” was thus
introduced.
Different from dictation, dictogloss is a technique used to reconstruct what is heard in a
meaningful context (http://goo.gl/E0cSkn). In other words, no longer do students just listen and
note; further, they also have to reconstruct their notes for a certain purpose.
In consequence, participants in this action unit plan were asked to “listen” and “take note,”
as they used to do like dictation, but further they were challenging the “reconstruction” of their
notes into something meaningful for a certain purpose. To help them succeed in writing a
meaningful context, a passage depicting a story was chosen therefore, for story-writing is easier for
a novice to get started.
The selected passage, The “Hero” Called Frankenstein, contains three paragraphs (A, B, C)
which delineate the story of the novel Frankenstein. The three paragraphs turned to be the
listening materials for this action plan. Students, based on their group level, were confronted with
different listening tasks. Advanced group listened to paragraph B and C; upper-intermediate group,
paragraph C; intermediate group, paragraph A, the easiest one. All the H groups had to answer the
questions on the worksheet based on the notes they took while listening (see Figure 10 or
Appendix VIII).
Figure 10
Compared with the listening material for H groups, that for L groups was relatively longer.
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The two basic groups were asked to listen to three paragraphs (A, B, C), but what they had to do
was just fill in the blanks on their worksheet, where more information for their reference was
offered (see Figure 11).
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Figure 11
Aside from dictogloss, the rationale and spirits of differentiated instruction (DI) was also
briefly introduced to students. Not only were they hoped to know teacher’s motive of employing
DI in class and how DI might be used in the following activity, they were also expected to have a
clearer learning map over this semester, namely, learning from listening with GO to listening with
DI.
While Differentiated Instruction
The following are explicit teaching procedures of how listening and writing teaching were
differentiated in tiered activities.
Procedure 1: Get Started
Teacher’s guidelines:
1. Divide students into 5 groups in advance and announce the number lists on the blackboard.
Then have them sit together by combining desks into a big one (see Figure 12).
2. Deliver worksheets (see Appendix VII & VIII) and speaker prepared for each group.
3. Give directions with the help of PPT (see Appendix IX). Draw their attention to the messages on
the slide and remind them to finish the assigned tasks in time.
Figure 12
Procedure 2: Task One
Teacher’s guidelines:
1. Make students quickly go through the worksheet. Then, tell them that they are going to start
the first task—listen and write.
2. Read the directions on the slide, and make sure every group has known how to use the speaker
(see Figure 13).
3. Give them 10 minutes to listen with their speaker and answer the questions on the worksheet.
4. Give them 5 minutes to discuss their notes with their group members.
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Figure 13
Procedure 3: Task Two
In this teaching session, differentiated instruction is conducted officially. Students in L groups
and those in H groups received different versions of worksheet, thus doing different tasks.
L groups had to deal with three paragraphs in listening but they only needed to fill in the
blanks on their worksheet. The task was similar to what they used to do, dictation. Nonetheless,
they still needed to do some information transferring—transfer their notes into proper words to fill
the blanks, because all the sentences with blanks were paraphrased by teacher earlier. Namely,
they were not just doing the dictation, but rather, they were also challenging something similar to
reconstructing the notes into valid information for the completion of each sentence.
After that, they were given a make-up session when they were allowed to open the textbook,
checking their answers by reading. Actually, in such a make-up session, those who had failed to
complete the blank-filling by listening should have given alternative listening instruction instead of
directly stepping into reading instruction. Alternative listening instruction could be the teacher’s
reading the listening materials at slower speed rather than the native speaker’s reading, or offer
them another worksheet on which the sentences were never paraphrased so that students could
just focus on dictation.
H groups, on the other hand, had to answer the questions after they listened. Compared
with the task for L groups, their task was more challenging, because it required their
reconstruction of what they noted down while listening (see Figure 14 below). Therefore, only one
listening paragraph was assigned for them to handle. To further differentiate the instruction for the
advanced group, they were asked to tackle two paragraphs, as mentioned earlier.
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Figure 14
Teacher’s guidelines:
1. Give praises to groups who conduct themselves well and complete the task on time in the first
task.
2. Read the slide on the PPT for task two.
3. Give 15 minutes to H groups to write a paragraph based on the answers elicited from their
discussion. Remind them to cooperate to incorporate the assigned words, phrases, and
patterns into their writing.
4. Have L groups open the textbook and check the answers on their worksheet. Help them with
words, phrases, or sentence patterns that they don’t understand and ask them to write them
down on the worksheet. Then, make them consult the dictionary, discuss with their peers, or
ask the teacher for difficult words, phrases, or grammar.
Procedure 4: Task Three
With the help of textbook, teacher’s explanation, and peer consultation, students in L groups
in this teaching procedure should have finished the comprehension of the three paragraphs they
heard. Then, they began their writing practice.
To get them well-prepared for paragraph writing, two graphic organizers were illustrated on
their worksheet. One is character chart and the other is river flow chart (see Figure 15). Character
chart is used to help students understand the personality traits of the main character as well as
things s/he does. River flow chart is used to help students tell the storyline in a clear, logical, and
smooth way.
In this task, students in two L groups were asked to discuss with their group members to
accomplish character chart. They had to choose either Frankenstein or the monster he created to
for this chart. Then, they filled in specific characteristics of the main character they chose.
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Figure 15
As for students in H groups, advanced group kept on their paragraph writing on paragraph B
and C, whereas the other two groups who only dealt with one paragraph were asked to share their
writing with the peer from the other group. They were repaired; the one from upper-intermediate
group, with paragraph C, and the one from intermediate group, with paragraph A, exchanged their
respective paragraph writing. Namely, after this task, they were supposed to have completed
gathering two-thirds of the story.
Teacher’s guidelines:
1. Give praises and then have them read the PPT slide for task three (see Figure 16).
2. Ask L groups to work together to complete character chart. Encourage them to find specific
words for the narration of the character in the textbook.
3. Except the advanced group, pair students from the other two H groups. Have the new pair
exchange their respective paragraph writing to piece up paragraph A and C. Ask them to do the
peer revision together and have them ensure the quality of these two paragraphs.
4. Have students in the advanced group keep on their paragraph writing.
5. All the above are done within 10 minutes.
Figure 16
Procedure 5: Task Four
In this learning session, students were to accomplish most of their worksheets. However,
there was still some difference between tasks for slower-learners and high-achievers.
Those categorized in L groups were actually slower at the acquisition of English listening and
writing skills. As a result, they were given a second chance, in which they were allowed to finish
their listening task via reading, as elaborated in task two. In this session, to build their confidence
in writing, in addition to character chart, another graphic organizer, river flow chart (see Figure 15),
was offered as well. With this chart, they could discuss together which five scenarios appealed to
them most. Then, combining character chart and river flow chart, they were hoped to tell a story
from either Frankenstein’s perspective or the monster’s—write the summary of the story.
As for H groups, the three groups were rearranged (see Figure 16). Everyone was
re-allocated to a new team of three, each of whom came from different groups. In other words,
the new team was composed of students from three levels of H groups, and each of them also
possessed their own paragraph writing.
The student from advanced group was designated to lead his new team. His first job was to
share the two paragraphs (paragraph B & C) he had done with the other two. With one paragraph
overlapped (paragraph C, done by upper-intermediate and gathered by intermediate), they were
encouraged to make a comparison. What’s more, the leader also had to learn the only paragraph
he didn’t deal with from the partner from the intermediate group (paragraph A). After all these
were done, they teamed up to piece together the whole picture of the materials they heard. Surely,
the leader was also reminded by the teacher to make sure every one of his team had fully
understood the three paragraphs of the story, including hard words, phrases, and complicated
patterns they used in their writing.
Teacher’s guidelines:
1. Give praises and then have them read the PPT slide for task four (see Figure 16).
2. Ask L groups to work together to complete river flow chart. Encourage them to choose five
plots collaboratively.
3. Regroup students in three H groups into teams of three. Designate the student from the
advanced group as the leader.
4. Have the leader share paragraph B and C with this teammates. Have the one with paragraph A
share his writing with the leader. Have the one with paragraph C share his writing with the
leader. Encourage them to do the peer review and revision.
5. All the above are done within 15 minutes.
Procedure 6: Checking Answers
Students in L groups were assigned to write their answers on the blackboard for their
classmates in H groups (see Figure 17). As mentioned before, L groups dealt with blank-filling on
their worksheet while listening, whereas H groups did Q & A by writing complete sentences. The
17
sentences on the worksheet for the two basic groups were actually paraphrased by the teacher
and the combination of those sentences could turn into the paragraphs H groups worked at by
dictogloss. As a result, the share of the answers on the blackboard not only provided
slower-learners with confidence and sense of achievement—they could also contribute to
something—but also offered high-achievers reference to revise their sentences of the paragraph
they had complied.
18
Figure 17
Teacher’s Guidelines:
1. Have students in L groups write answers to each question by lot.
2. Once a paragraph is done on the blackboard, ask students in H group to revise their sentences
in different color.
3. If time permits, the teacher can also explain some difficult words, phrases, and patterns.
4. Have everyone open their English book, read out aloud, and take notes, compare their writing
with the paragraph on the textbook.
5. The above teaching session needs approximately 30 minutes to go.
Procedure 7: Task Five—Wrap up
As this wrap-up session was over, students in L groups would have finished their worksheet,
except for a passage writing left as their homework; students in H groups would have done the
entire worksheet and obtained a full understanding of the story. Thus, in this ten minutes, all
groups were asked to double-check whether they had finished their worksheet before they handed
it in to the teacher. In addition, they were also reminded of their homework (see Figure 18). With
this activity wrapped up, compliments for their good performances during the class were also
given, as shown on the slide in Figure 18 below.
Teacher’s guidelines:
1. With the team of three, do the critical thinking together.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Have all students go back to their original group and seat well.
Ask H groups to make sure of the completion of their worksheet and hand it in to the teacher.
Have L groups do their paragraph writing as homework. Encourage them to do it with group.
Read the bonus on the slide. Encourage them to challenge it.
6. Give compliments on them and their good job.
19
Figure 18
After Teaching
The learning process of students with two different levels was differentiated in this action
unit plan. Slower-learners did easier listening task in which they mainly took the dictation, whereas
high-achievers challenged difficult dictogloss, which required them to listen, take notes, and
reconstruct. Slower-learners were offered two graphic organizers before they began to write, while
high-achievers kept on their reconstruction of the notes they took into a paragraph. While
slower-learners were encouraged to write with their group members and were left more time to
do their writing task, high-achievers were asked to finish their writing individually during the class.
Despite differentiated learning process in listening task as well as writing task, most students
completed their worksheets as expected and also achieved the anticipated learning objectives.
The following are the detailed illustrations of how DI in listening and writing works. Students’
work on L9 will be analyzed, followed by the findings of their questionnaire. 80 students filled out
the questionnaire on line, expressing their opinions on listening instruction with GO over this
semester and their thoughts about differentiated instruction on L9.
Analysis of Students’ Work on L9
All students’ worksheets were collected. Generally speaking, the majority of the students did
well on their worksheets, except still some students really frustrated the teacher because of their
lousy attitude toward “writing worksheet.” There is a contrast shown in Figure 19 below. The left
one is the worksheet from a student with Asperger syndrome, who has difficulty understanding
linguistic subtlety and therefore is slower at acquiring a foreign language. Nonetheless, he worked
very hard at his worksheet. By contrast, the worksheet on the right comes from a student who is a
habitual lazybones. Seldom did he hand in his homework on time; never was he found taking notes
on his textbook. Even though having been granted differentiated instruction, he still showed a
passive learning attitude, which is really very frustrating to a teacher.
20
Encouraging work
Frustrating work
Figure 19
Many slower-learners, whose academic performances fell behind oftentimes, surprised the
teacher with their awesome worksheets, however. They did well in every task—not only the
listening part but also the passage writing, which was left as their homework. Interestingly, most of
the slower-learners finally chose to write individually, rather than work with their group members,
suggesting that they thought they could also make it as high-achievers did in class, or that this
assignment was actually not so difficult for them to challenge, because they had got the outline of
their passage writing with the help of two graphic organizers.
As a matter of fact, some slower-learners did a great job in their writing (see Figure 20). Take
the passage writing below for example. It was done by a student ranked 29th in a class of 45. His
article is fluent without grave errors. Although slightly changed by the student and thus somewhat
different from the original, the story still impresses its readers with proper arrangement of
storyline: exposition, climax, and resolution.
[It was a story about an enthusiastic scientist, Frankenstein, to explore more new
invents who explored something incredible. He was hatred everyone didn’t agree him. Then
he started to make something new. One day, he discovered an incredible secret about the
creation of life. The creature that Frankenstein made came to life.]exposition Frankenstein was
so worry worried about it, and so scared. Frankenstein hated his work, and wanted to kill it.
The creature knew this, and therefore [hatred gradually grew in the monster’s mind, and this
drove him to murder Frankenstein’s brother. Frankenstein fell into a terrible depression
because the monster asked him to make a pretty female monster. Frankenstein buried
himself in this work in beginning again. But Frankenstein regretted, and destroyed the
half-finished creature. The action made the monster so angry that he killed Frankenstein’s
wife and his best friend in revenge. ]climax [Frankenstein knew if he didn’t made the monster,
those tragedy hadn’t have happened. Frankenstein wanted to bear children with his wife, but
it couldn’t come true. With these things happened, Frankenstein was so tried, he finally died
in depression and felt tired. Discovering Frankenstein’s death, the monster then disappeared
with regret.]resolution
21
Figure 20
Another example came from one student who ranked 42nd out of 45. The following is his
article, with the red part corrected by the teacher.
Victor Frankenstein, an enthusiastic scientist, in order to explore the human’s secret, he
had researched many times. Diligent by Working diligently on his research, he discovered an
incredible secret about the human of coming to life how to make human come to life. As a
result, he buried himself in created ing a creature who was stolen from graves. That night,
the creature came to life and but then Frankenstein had escaped. Since then, the creature
was crowded out in wandering everywhere, ; gradually, he became fierce with hatred. He
requested Frankenstein to create a female for him, but he Frankenstein destroyed the
half-finished female because he scared feared that the creature would bear children with the
female. Later, the creature became so furious that he killed Frankenstein’s wife and his best
friend in revenge. It was regrettable to Frankenstein felt regret about the fact that his loves
lover was killed, and thus he said “If I had killed the creature, my wife and friends wouldn’t
had been murdered.” Then he decided to kill the creature. They fighted fought in the North
Pole with cold environment. In the end, Frankenstein died from the cold. The creature fell felt
so regret about what he had done. Since then, the creature disappeared and had never
shown up.
Obviously, there are more grammatical errors in this paragraph. Nevertheless, readers can
still comprehend it without much difficulty. From these two cases, it proves that slower-learners
could also paraphrase the story they listened to, which is similar to the task of reconstruction
high-achievers did.
In other words, by offering differentiated instruction, slower-learners could accomplish the
easy version of listening task, though they were allowed to complete their blank-filling by referring
to the textbook—with the help of “reading.” Besides, thanks to DI, they could also reconstruct the
story they heard—with the aid of two graphic organizers—though they might have read the story
dozens of times before writing.
In conclusion, slower at acquiring English though, slower-learners, scaffolded with
differentiated instruction, could also successfully fulfill the listening task and the writing task. Also,
because of retrieving the information on the textbook ever and again in different tasks, they could
gain the full comprehension of the story Frankenstein by themselves, which was much more
encouraging to the teacher, who used to urge them to study English by arranging tests for them.
Besides slower-learners, high-achievers also succeeded in achieving the listening and writing
tasks via dictogloss, as revealed on Figure 21.
Intermediate group
Upper-intermediate group
Figure 21
Advanced group
High-achievers’ success in doing the dictogloss without much difficulty mostly results from
the workout of previous listening instruction. Not only is it reflected on most high-achievers’
worksheets but it is also shown on students’ questionnaire (see Figure 22). As shown in the figure
below, fifty-nine out of the eighty students answering the questionnaire on the Internet agree with
the facilitation of listening instruction with GO; 74 percent of the students thought that previous
listening training contributed much to their challenge in dictogloss.
22
Figure 22
To sum up, it is a success to differentiate students’ learning process by offering different
listening and writing tasks. Such listening and writing instruction incorporated with differentiated
instruction has been proved possible and plausible in this unit action plan.
Teacher’s Reflection
The following are two sections of teacher’s reflection on the listening instruction carried out
over this semester and the differentiated instruction implemented in lesson nine. The
effectiveness of these two instructions will be discussed first and then it is followed by the
teacher’s meta-cognition about this project. To examine whether the two instructions work,
students were invited to answer the questionnaire on the Internet. There were total 80 students
answering the questionnaire. The findings are illustrated below.
Effectiveness of Teaching and Learning
As far as learning objectives are concerned, the following three figures have indicated that
the execution of listening instruction with GO indeed facilitates their ability to “listen to key
messages” and “take notes while listening.” As shown in Figure 23, over eighty percent of the
students thought they made progress in their listening, suggesting that most students benefit from
this listening instruction. More specifically, over half of them (60%) thought the progress suggests
that they could seize the key points when listening (Figure 25), or that they had acquired skills at
taking notes while listening (Figure 24).
Figure 23
23
Figure 24
24
Figure 25
As for the effectiveness of differentiated instruction in L9, up to three-fourths of the
students (78%) agreed that DI helped them with the comprehension and the master of the passage
in lesson nine (see Figure 26).
Figure 26
What’s more, most of the students approved of the implementation of differentiated
instruction (see Figure 27 below). First, up to 89 percent thought they could learn something in
each task. Secondly, 75 percent realized the importance of collaborative learning thanks to DI.
Thirdly, 71 percent felt they could make contribution as a contributor in a group. Finally, 79 percent
of the students regarded highly the diverse learning environment created by DI. In brief, the
employment of DI did have brought some influences on these students. They learned that they
could learn by themselves rather than from the teacher; they had to cooperate with others, or
they would fail to complete their worksheet; they had to contribute something to their group as a
giver and they couldn’t just wait for others’ answers as a taker. Most importantly, they started to
appreciate and cherish such a learning environment where diverse learning styles and different
learning paces were both respected and tolerated.
25
Figure 27
Interestingly enough, when it comes to testing, the two instructions in this project seems to
still have a long way to go. That doesn’t mean they are less effective than didactic instruction, but
suggests that the way we test students is not diverse enough. As mentioned before, when asked
whether they “felt” they made progress in listening, most students gave a positive answer (see
Figure 23). However, the real statistics were not so optimistic, also reflected in their questionnaire.
In the Figure 28 below, when asked whether their listening grades improved, one-fourth of the
students disagreed and still some had different thoughts about the effectiveness of this listening
instruction on the test. In fact, such a finding is not surprising because the listening instruction
conducted over this semester is never a test-oriented instruction; it is not designed to help
students with listening test, but to help facilitate their ability to note down certain information
while listening and to reconstruct the notes after listening.
Figure 28
Similarly, as manifested in Figure 29, the comparison between the two graphs indicates that
the differentiated instruction did provide some students with confidence when they prepared for
the review test on this lesson; nevertheless, almost half of the students (up to 49%) responded
that they didn’t make significant progress in the test. This suggests that the assessment we are
used to employing now cannot precisely evaluate what students learned from this differentiated
instruction. Traditional paper-pencil tests, mostly composed of cloze test, passage completion,
vocabulary spelling, reading comprehension, etc. are mainly used to help gauge students’ mastery
of linguistic knowledge. However, the DI conducted in this lesson never focus students on linguistic
accuracy but mostly, fluency in some way. From this perspective, it is not surprising to see the gap
between students’ self-evaluation and the real academic performance.
Figure 29
Despite the disparity discussed above, most students still think highly of the two instructions
implemented in this semester. As disclosed in the following Figure 30, up to eighty percent of the
students answering the questionnaire hoped to have other listening instructions incorporated in
regular learning lessons. Over sixty percent of the students hoped to undertake similar
differentiated instructions in the near future, as shown in Figure 31. Both indicates that such
26
diverse learning modes and varied instructions have brought certain positive influences on
students’ learning attitude and in shaping their learning styles.
27
Figure 30
Figure 31
Meta-cognition for Executing the Listening Instruction and Differentiated Instruction
Honestly, the conduction of the two instructions has come to be a breakthrough in my
teaching career. Never have I thought I can successfully challenge the two tasks under the pressure
from a tight schedule. First, designing graphic organizers for a listening purpose was never an easy
job, because it required time and patience to lay out a proper one. Secondly, the employment of
listening instruction during the class was also stressful because it was challenging the teacher’s
time management and students’ patience, especially to some slower-learners whose listening
ability was below the average and thus who tended to give up in learning. Thirdly, conducting DI in
a class full of boys gave rise to chaos most of the time, testing a teacher’s classroom management
and instant reaction to whatever in a mess occurred. Fourth, the two instructions were often
swaying my belief, questioning the necessity of implementing them in my school.
However, all the hardship has been proven worth it. When designing listening graphic
organizers, I got more and more clear idea of how to guide my students to comprehend the text
and its structure. Because of such a listening instruction, my students had to learn to adjust
themselves to the change from reading to listening as a source of input. To understand what was
read, students had to urge themselves to “open” their ears to English. Compared with the situation
when whole English approach is used by the teacher, such mode of listening instruction seems
more successful in keeping students open their ears.
As regards DI, it opens a widow for me to the marvels created by such a complex instruction.
First of all, I see my students’ multiple intelligences. Some students slower in learning English
showed their interpersonal intelligence, doing their best in cooperating with partners. Some
students who often failed to write grammatically correct sentences in translation surprised me by
their creative writing. Still some who were very passive in English class became active in doing the
assigned tasks, partly because of their self-awareness and partly because of peer pressure. Thanks
to this chance to carry out DI, my teaching no longer focused on students’ scores only; rather,
trying to bring out their best and guide them to appreciate other merits of their classmates came
to my priority too.
Second, to streamline such a complex instruction required scrupulous and even sometimes
painstaking plan in advance. Every step and task had to be arranged coherently so that students
could follow the instructions easily. This accidentally contributed to my ability to plan and
maneuver a classroom activity efficiently. Now, no longer am I scared of conducting any classroom
activity, no matter how intricate it is.
Finally, DI did do good to some students who might be disregarded or abandoned in a
traditional learning setting. DI is never a cure-all, but a measure worth our while a try. To me, after
running this “necessary disaster” in this action unit plan, DI has become a “disastrous necessity” in
my teaching. I received many positive responses from disadvantageous students. I also found their
progress, very slight though it was! As to high-achievers, some may whine about it but their
complaints all turned out to be great outgrowth eventually.
With the soon advent of the 12-year compulsory education, I think such a laborious but
meaningful instruction can raise our hope in helping more future students who have difficulty
surviving the senior high schoolwork. We don’t have to teach every lesson with DI, but we can
incorporate its spirit in our teaching most of the time. Whether it has been a regular teaching
activity in our teaching, it is also essential that we keep reminding ourselves to cooperate with our
colleagues. It is a trend in the future, when collaboration will play a big part in alleviating our
teaching burden.
28
Appendix I
While Reading
In Chinese,
snakes,
longevity.
Class: _____ No. _____ Name: ____________
Please focus on the
subject and object in
each sentence while
listening.
are symbolized as good luck,
, and
,
Animal Imagery
In English, there are also many animal-related phrases and sayings.
By using simile, we have phrases
1. “
” to describe someone silent
2. “to do something “
” when so
much noise is made
3. “like a white elephant” to express something
, namely, a waste of money
4. “as proud as a peacock” to describe
Please focus on the
meaning of each
phrase when taking
notes.
5. “like a chicken” to mean that
6. “as busy as a bee,” meaning
describe someone who is always
Please focus on specific 29
“phrases” shown in
this paragraph and try
to take notes of each
meaning.
in English, used to
.
By using some imagination or association, we have sayings
7. “When the
is away, the
will play”
8. “Let
lie”
9. “There is
in every flock”
10. “March comes in like a
, and goes out like a
used to describe the weather in March.
Make a guess!
,”
Appendix II
Class: _____ No. _____ Name: ____________
Please focus on the verb constituents
when listening.
Q: What is the narrator’s first impression on Kyle?
On a Friday, I met Kyle, who
and
. I thought he must
,
because no one with a good social life would take so
many books home for the weekend.
Q: What happened to Kyle when the narrator met him?
A group of boys ran toward him and
out of his hands. They
.
His glasses
Kyle
. The boys
his glasses.
They became good
friends.
Three years later
as
Kyle
narrator
Q: How did the narrator react when seeing his new classmate bullied by some mean boys?
Seeing a sad expression on Kyle’s face, I
,
, and
.
I helped him carry his books as we walked home together. On the way, we
. I also found him a cool guy. Before we said goodbye, I
over the weekend.
Kyle
Q: What was the change in Kyle?
At the time when Kyle became a senior,
1.
2.
3.
4.
30
Appendix III
A Colorful Life
Class: _____ No. _____ Name: ____________
Paragraph 1: Introduction (A story of color to grab readers’ attention)
Look around. Color is everywhere!
Eg. 1. yellow: school bus 2. green: ____________________
3. _________: _____________________
4. ________: ___________
5. black: mood
Language Highlights:
1. linking V: turned green;____________ 2. be to: ____________ 3. urge: _________________ 4. occur: ______________________ 5. mood: _______________
31
Paragraph 2-4
Colors play an important part in languages.
Topic sentence: ____________________________
_________________________________________
Colors have a practical use in life.
Colors affect your appetite.
Topic sentence: ____________________________ Topic sentence: _____________________________
_________________________________________ __________________________________________
Supporting examples:
1. ____________________ looks a bit green.
Supporting examples:
1. School buses and taxis are yellow because
Supporting examples:
1. Fast-food restaurants are often decorated in
2. ____________________ feels blue.
Concluding sentence:
yellow ___________________________
_________________________________.
2. Some traffic signs and _______________
____________ are labeled red because
red indicate ______________.
bright colors to _______________________.
2. Blue is said to __________ our appetite
because
_____________________________.
Concluding sentences:
For those who are ________________, blue
dishes and bowls might help!
_____________________________________
____________________________________.
Language Highlights:
1. so as to: _____________________________
2. than (準關代): ________________________
1. apply: _______________________________
2. since: _______________________________
1. hardly: _________________________________
3. describe: _____________________________
3. as for: _______________________________
2. for the purpose of Ving: ____________________
4. transitional words:
4. transitional words:
3. (which is) p.p.: ___________________________
4. in comparison with N: _____________________
Paragraph 5: Conclusion (Wrap up the reading with the second part of the story)
Colors are commonly used in daily routines and conversations.
Eg. 1. You look a little green. = You look pale and unhealthy
3. Wii is red hot! = ___________________________________
2. I’m just feeling a little blue. = ____________________________________________
4. Amber is tickled pink. = _________________________________________________
Appendix IV
While Reading:
Class: _____ No. _____ Name: ____________
While you are listening, besides noting down as many detailed messages as possible, you also have
to try taking note of the causality, i.e., cause and effect.
because
Jim and I got into another
were everywhere in the
living room again.
I was really mad and found it difficult to
Jim
I waited for Jim’s
he said nothing. I almost
but
I
my best
friend, but she wanted me to
My best friend mentioned about
two
because
he asked me to
because
all Jim did was
because
men and women
like they’re from
response
—
Mark Gungor and Dr. Amen.
.
. It is
.
At first, I thought experts only choose
. But later I looked for their
on the Internet.
I found that
Mark Gungor
Theories
Facts
When men are under stress, they
usually go to the
“
” to relax.
It is not necessary
Dr. Amen
The
in women’s are
and
than those in men’s.
Since men’s brains are less
active than women’s, men
Women are more likely to
Men often
with friends.
.
.
when they watch TV.
My
I was amazed at it because
responses
for women, especially when we’re
.
32
.
No wonder when Jim and I
have a fight, I’m always
Well, I guessed I had to
Jim for that.
.
Conclusion
I realized that men’s and women’s brains simply work differently.
Epilogue:
To my surprise, the mess in the living room was gone.
Though Jim never made an “oral” apology, he did try to
by
watching TV with his hand
until we went to bed.
Appendix V
B2L7 The Fight over the Golden Apple
Class: _____ No. _____ Name: ____________
Before reading:
Listen, Sing & Feel!
If
by Bread
If a picture paints a thousand words,
Then
The words will never show
the you
If a face could
Then where am I to go?
,
?
.
Tomorrow and today,
.
a thousand ships,
If the world
revolving spinning slowly down to die,
.
And when the world was through,
Then one by one the stars would all go out,
.
,
You’re all that’s left me too.
And when my love for life
.
,
.
While-reading:
Introduction: a Contest Sparking off the Trojan War
The king of Sparta
Troy because Paris, the prince of Troy,
Helen, the queen of Sparta. However,
Language Highlight:
1. It is easy for us to see that….
2. … Helen’s beauty was seen as the cause of…
.
It is a contest among three goddesses that
.
3. Neither Paris’s passion nor the king’s anger
alone burned...
4. the seeds of destruction had already been
planted
5. … as a result of a contest
33
Language Highlight:
Body 1: Story of the Golden Apple of Discord—the key event resulting in a famous war
Three goddesses, Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite liked to
when there were disagreements. This time, they were fighting
over
. To avoid being blamed, Zeus had
Paris make the difficult choice. To win the name of “the fairest,” the three goddesses
promised Paris
:
 Hera offered him
Europe and Asia.
 Athena offered him great
.
 Aphrodite offered him Helen, the
in the world.
Paris chose Aphrodite, for he had already lost his heart to Helen at first sight.
Body 2: The Trojan War
Aphrodite helped Paris take Helen to Troy. The
Spartan king waged
war on Troy, which continued for
years. Despite having won many battles,
the Spartans could never
Troy. Then, Athena,
, provided the Spartans with a key to winning the
final victory—the Trojan
.
The Spartan soldiers,
, which
was later considered
by the Trojans, crept out at night
and ushered in the Spartan army to
a successful surprise
,
finally
the greatest war in Greek mythology.
Conclusion: Resonating with the Title—A Human War for a Battle among Goddesses
As in many Greek myths, humans in the Trojan War were like
in the
hands of gods and goddesses. That’s probably the reason many Westerners believe that
humanity can’t control their destiny.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
This is exactly what happened with the…
… the Trojan War, which actually started…
To avoid being blamed, …
Zeus had Paris make the difficult choice for him.
To win the golden apple, …
promised Paris all that a man could…
offer him great battle skills
8. Idioms and phrases:
Language Highlight:
1. Aphrodite, having won the contest, helped…
2. … as she had promised
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Athena, who was still angry about…
provided them with the key…
the key to winning
What began with an apple must end with a horse.
… a big wooden horse, which the Trojans considered a gift
of peace.
8. , bringing an end to…
9. Idioms and phrases:
Language Highlight:
1. As in many Greek myths, …
2. it seems that…
34
Appendix VI
 While Reading
Part One
When the narrator was little…
Q1: What did the narrator’s mother used to do night after night?
 She would _____________________________ and __________________________________,
even long after the narrator’s childhood.
Q2: What did the narrator’s mom do as a nightly routine?
 She would always __________________, push _______________________________________,
and then _____________________________________.
The narrator
must be a
BOY / GIRL.
As a teenager…
Q3: What was it that made the narrator feel annoyed?
 The hands ____________________________________ the narrator’s skin.
Q4: Annoyed, what did the narrator say when she lashed out at her mother?
 ____________________________─___________________________________________.
Q5: What was the mother’s reaction?
 She ________________________________, and never did she _______________________
____________________________________________________________________ again.
Q6: How did the narrator feel after her mom left her room and why?
 She felt regret, for she _________________________________________________________.
Even years after that night…
Do you think she would eventually
apologize to her mom?
Y/N
Q7: What did the narrator miss about her mother?
 She missed _____________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________.
Q8: Why did the memory of that night seem close and far away sometimes?
 The memory was always there─____________________________________________________.
WHAT?
The main event: _______
______________________
___________________
HOW WAS HER FEELING?
Twist: _______________
______________________
___________________
HOW WAS HER FEELING years later?
2nd Twist: ____________
______________________
___________________
 Why did the author change how she felt
about her mom’s hands?
 Have you ever done anything regrettable to
your parents and still you haven’t said sorry
to them?
35
Part Two
The past: Part 1
The present: Part 2
Q: How did the hands feel?
A: They felt ______________ because …
My mom’s hands
Note down as much as possible
Part Three
On special days, I spend the night with her in the old house because now my children are ___________
and __________, and Dad is already __________.
On the eve of one _______________, before I went to sleep, I felt my mom’s __________ but
_________ hand _____________________________________________________________________.
Then, she kissed gently on my ____________.
For the _____________ time, I recalled the time I complained,
“_____________________________________________________.”
Then I caught her hand in mine involuntarily.
The special night…
My apology:
With the ________________________, I told her ____________________________________________
_______________________________.
Mom’s reaction:
To _____________________, Mom didn’t know what I was talking about. She _____________________
_______________________________ long ago.
Why did the mother still brush the
narrator’s hair away even when
she was already a grown-up?
Did you believe that her mother
had already forgotten that night?
If not, why did she say she had?
Conclusion
After that, I had a new appreciation for my gentle mother and __________________________________.
The ______________________________________________________________ suddenly disappeared,
and ________________________________ to be found.
The mom in the
“mom song”
Which does your mom resemble? How?
The narrator’s
mom
36
Appendix VII
The “Hero” Called Frankenstein
Before Listening
Class: _____ No. _____ Name: ______________ Group _____
Something I need to learn:
Confined by incessant rain, Mary Shelley, along with her friends, amused
themselves by reading ghost stories and writing their own supernatural tales.
Shortly afterwards, she conceived the idea for Frankenstein, and created this first
masterpiece of hers. Having been fictionalized many times, Frankenstein, with
great originality, forms the basic framework and offers many inspiring elements to
modern sci-fi movies.
While Listening
Q1: What is Frankenstein? What personality does he have?
Frankenstein is ____________________________________.
Q2: What did Frankenstein discover? How did he feel about it? What did he do to keep exploring the secret? What was his finally intention?
by the discovery of an incredible
, he stole and collected
from graves and slaughterhouses, in the hope of exploring more about this secret and even creating
.
Q3: Fascinated by the secret, what attitude did Frankenstein have?
Fascinated, he
his experiment all day.
Q4: What did Frankenstein finally make?
Eventually, on a dark night, Frankenstein’s
.
A
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Something I don’t know and I want to learn (from Q1-Q4):
Vocabulary
Phrase
Sentence Pattern
Q5: What was created by Frankenstein? Did it meet Frankenstein’s expectations?
Frankenstein’s creature turned out to be a
,
Q6: Seeing the creature, how did Frankenstein react? Seeing Frankenstein’s reaction, how did the creature respond?
B
Frankenstein’s expectations.
Frankenstein was so
that
. As for the creature, he
the world by himself.
Q7: Why was the creature unaccepted by the world? Knowing it, what kind of emotion arose in the creature? What this emotion resulted in?
The creature’s appearance was so
that he was not welcome anywhere.
gradually grew in the monster’s mind, which
further drove the creature to
.
Q8: What did Frankenstein think when he was blaming himself for his brother’s tragedy?
Blaming himself, Frankenstein thought that if he
the monster, his brother
.
Q9: Who showed up just as Frankenstein fell into a terrible depression?
Just as Frankenstein fell into a terrible depression,
turned up in front of him.
Something I don’t know and I want to learn (from Q5-Q9):
Vocabulary
Phrase
Sentence Pattern
Q10: What did the monster do to Frankenstein when he met his creator? What did he beg Frankenstein to do?
The monster
when he met Frankenstein. In tears, he begged Frankenstein to
for him.
Q11: Did the monster threat Frankenstein? What did he say?
, he
Frankenstein by telling him he would make Frankenstein’s life
.
Q12: How was Frankenstein’s response? Why did Frankenstein change his mind for the monster’s request?
At first, Frankenstein
. However, he
the half-finished creature, since he
couldn’t imagine the two monsters
.
Q13: When the monster knew what Frankenstein had done, what did the monster do in revenge?
Knowing it and feeling angry, the monster
in revenge.
Q14: To prevent more misfortunes, what did Frankenstein attempt to do? What was the ending between Frankenstein and his creation?
To prevent more misfortunes, Frankenstein attempted to
but he never succeeded. Learning the
creator’s
, the monster
.
C
Something I don’t know and I want to learn (from Q10-Q14):
Vocabulary
Post-listening
Let’s bridge listening to writing!
Phrase
Sentence Pattern
Directions: Discuss with your group members and complete the graphic organizer of this story.
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Revise the story by incorporating the
following elements.
1. explore
2. hatred
3. incredible
4. come to life
5. bury himself in
6. bear children
7. in revenge
8. so… that…
9. 假設語氣(與過去事實相反)
10. participial construction (分詞構句)
Critical Thinking
Q1: Who should be responsible for the monster?
Q2: What exactly contributed to the tragedies in Frankenstein?
Q3: Why does the author call Frankenstein “Hero?”
Appendix VIII
The “Hero” Called Frankenstein
Before Listening
Class: _____ No. _____ Name: ______________ Group _____
Something I need to learn:
Confined by incessant rain, Mary Shelley, along with her friends, amused
themselves by reading ghost stories and writing their own supernatural tales.
Shortly afterwards, she conceived the idea for Frankenstein, and created this first
masterpiece of hers. Having been fictionalized many times, Frankenstein, with
great originality, forms the basic framework and offers many inspiring elements to
modern sci-fi movies.
While Listening
Q1: What is Frankenstein? What personality does he have?
A
Q2: What did Frankenstein discover? How did he feel about it? What did he do to keep exploring the secret? What was his finally intention?
Q3: Fascinated by the secret, what attitude did Frankenstein have?
39
Q4: What did Frankenstein finally make?
Q1: What was created by Frankenstein? Did it meet Frankenstein’s expectations?
B
Q2: Seeing the creature, how did Frankenstein react? Seeing Frankenstein’s reaction, how did the creature respond?
Q3: Why was the creature unaccepted by the world? Knowing it, what kind of emotion arose in the creature? What this emotion resulted in?
Q4: What did Frankenstein think when he was blaming himself for his brother’s tragedy?
Q5: Who showed up just as Frankenstein fell into a terrible depression?
Q1: What did the monster do to Frankenstein when he met his creator? What did he beg Frankenstein to do?
C
Q2: Did the monster threat Frankenstein? What did he say?
Q3: How was Frankenstein’s response? Why did Frankenstein change his mind for the monster’s request?
Q4: When the monster knew what Frankenstein had done, what did the monster do in revenge?
Q5: To prevent more misfortunes, what did Frankenstein attempt to do? What was the ending between Frankenstein and his creation?
Post-listening
Let’s bridge listening to writing!
Directions:
1. Discuss with your group members and write a paragraph based on your answers to the questions.
2. Exchange your paragraph with the other two groups’ and write them down to complete the story.
A
Transform your answers into a
paragraph, which must include
11. incredible
12. explore
13. fascinate
14. bury oneself in
15. come to life
16. participial construction (分詞構句)
Transform your answers into a
paragraph, which must include
1. turn out
2. hatred
3. depression
B
4. so…that…
5. 假設語氣(與過去事實相反)
6. participial construction (分詞構句)
C
Transform your answers into a
paragraph, which must include
1. pour out one’s heart
2. bear children
3. in revenge
4. since 表 because
5. so…that…
6. participial construction (分詞構句)
Critical Thinking
Q1: Who should be responsible for the monster?
Q2: What exactly contributed to the tragedies in Frankenstein?
Q3: Why does the author call Frankenstein “Hero?”
40