Planning Lessons

After you have developed a unit outline, you will need to select and schedule activities for each lesson. It is helpful to build your lessons around a common format. For example, each Monday class might begin with a listening activity and then have a series of reading activities. On Wednesday you might work on grammar and writing. Having a common format to your lessons gives you a framework on which to build each unit and helps your students to become accustomed to your teaching routine.

Following is an example of how a topic and text can be used to develop a unit outline for a course in English for-- Computer Science. Following the unit outline is a two hour lesson plan.

The activities given here would be appropriate for a wide range of topics. Suggestions for other activities can be found in Chapter Three, Developing Language Skills. This sample unit has the following format:

I. Text of the reading passage which forms the basis of the unit (Figure 14).

II. Unit Outline: Content of unit, skills focus, and teacher's objectives.

III. Lesson Plan: Detailed outline of activities for a two-hour meeting.

IV. Student worksheets to accompany the lesson.

You should evaluate your program to determine whether you have met your goals and objectives, and then make adjustments to your program based on this evaluation. See Chapter Six, Program Management and Evaluation, for suggestions for testing.

II. UNIT OUTLINE

(Content of unit, skills focus, and teacher's objectives)

Program: ESP for Computer Science

(This unit outline forms the basis for two class sessions. The lesson plan for one of the class sessions, which develops listening and reading, and study skills, follows this unit outline. The other class session would develop the grammar and writing skills outlined below.)

Topic: Software

Content:

Reading Assignment: Scientific Applications Software by John C. Nash, from Byte, December 1985. (See Figure 14). Vocabulary terms: program, style, computations, convenient, categories, package, equipped, programming language, operating system.

Visual Aid: Catalog/Chart: Software Tools for Scientific Computations.

Mini-lecture topic: Selecting Software: Reading a Catalog.

Skills focus:

Listening: Listening for specific information.

Number practice: Dollar amounts from $100.00 to $1000.00; decimals to one place.

Reading skills: Recognizing the author's organizational patterns.

Study skills: Using a catalog.

Writing skills: Writing a business letter.

Grammar focus:

Reading: Sentences that begin with subordinate clauses. See how the author uses them.
Example: "When considering a particular program or package, you first have to determine what it is supposed to do."

Writing: Structures used to make requests:

Example: "Please send me information about .." "I would like to know...", etc.

Objectives:

Listening: Students will be able to understand a lecture which describes the characteristics
of software programs, as demonstrated by their ability to answer questions about the lecture.
Students will be able to understand dollar and decimal amounts used in context, as demonstrated by their ability to correctly write the numbers they hear.
Reading: Students will be able to recognize the organizational pattern of a text, as demonstrated by their completion of an outline of that text.

Study Skills: Students will be able to use catalog descriptions in English to identify software appropriate for their applications, as demonstrated by their selection of such software.

Writing: Students will learn the form of a basic business letter in English, as demonstrated by their ability to write a short letter asking for information about software programs.

Grammar: (Reading) Students will learn the structure of subordinate clauses, as demonstrated by their ability to find such structures in the reading text.

(Writing) Students will learn how to make polite requests in writing, as demonstrated by their ability to use such structures in writing a business letter.

LESSON PLAN

(This is the teacher's lesson plan. Worksheets needed by the students for completion of the exercises outlined below follow this lesson plan.)

Homework Assignment: Read "Scientific Applications Software" and answer the questions about the article
(A reading selection appropriate to the unit topic serves as the core content of the unit. The students will find it helpful they are given the reading assignment as homework before the unit is introduced. This background reading will prepare them for the content of the lesson and give them added context for comprehension of the classroom exercises. See Student Worksheet 1: Reading Comprehension Questions.)

Class Activities:

A. Mathematics language comprehension exercise. (5-10 minutes) Read the following and ask students to write the number they hear:

1. the software sources are listed on page 146.
2. The MATH/LIBRARY Program is available for $440.
3. The program costs $320 when purchased by universities.
4. NAG FORTRAN can be used with Microsoft FORTRAN 3.13.
5. You will need MS-DOS 2.0 to run most scientific programs.

(This activity is described more fully in Chapter Three, LISTENING COMPREHENSION)

B. Vocabulary building.( '10 minutes)

See vocabulary exercise on Student Worksheet 2: Listening Comprehension Exercises. Read the sentences aloud and ask students to write the words they hear.

C. Listening Exercise: Mini-lecture (15-30 minutes)

Read the Mini-lecture (See Teacher's Script, below) asking students to answer the questions they hear on their worksheets. Then read the passage again so they can complete the close exercise. (See Student Worksheet 3: Cloze Exercise).

D. Reading/Study Skills (20-40 minutes)

Outlining: Complete the outline exercise together in class. (See Student Worksheet 4: Reading Activity)
Teacher's Script for Mini-Lecture:

MINI-LECTURE: SCIENTIFIC SOFTWARE PRODUCTS

Software provides useful tools for scientific computations. For those who do not know how to program computers, software makes the full power of the machine available. Even those who can program the computer often find it more convenient to use a commercial software package to save time and effort.

Look at the catalog, "software Tools for Scientific Computations." Here you see four categories of scientific software. Look at numbers one through four on your worksheet. Write the four categories of scientific software there.

Now look at the information given for each software package. Four pieces of information are given for each software package. The information given for each package includes the name of the package, the cost, a short description of the program, and an address where the software is available.

Look at the first program listed, "MATH/LIBRARY." What is the cost of this program for individuals? Now look at number five on your worksheet. Write the cost of MATH/LIBRARY at number five.

The description of MATH/LIBRARY tells which computers it is designed for. It is designed for an IBM PC or PC XT. The computer must be equipped with Microsoft FORTRAN, a programming language, and the operating system MS-DOS 2.0.

Now look at the description of NAG FORTRAN at the bottom of the first column of the catalog. For which computers is it designed? Write the name of the two computers at number six on your worksheet.

The catalog descriptions also list the kinds of mathematical problems that the programs can solve. These differ from package to package, and it is this information which tells you whether the software package will be useful to you. But the description does not tell the whole story. In order to really know if a program will help you in your application, you'll have to try it!

Figure 14. Reprinted with permission from the [)December 1985 issue of BYTE: magazine. Copyright by McGraw Hill Inc. New York 10020 All rights reserved.

Figure 14 Continued.

Figure 14. Continued.

Figure 14. Continued.

STUDENT WORKSHEETS

(Note: Answers are given in parentheses for the convenience of the teacher. These answers would not, of course, be included in the student copies of the worksheets.)

Student Worksheet l: Reading Comprehension Questions

Reading: Scientific Applications Software by John C. Nash, from Byte, December 1985.

Assignment: Read the article and answer these questions before coming to class.

Comprehension Questions:

1. According to the author, what are three major consider-a/ions in choosing scientific applications software? (The purpose of the package, the style in which it's presented, and its overall quality.)

2. What are some purposes for which scientific software has been developed? (To perform particular computational tasks, as a general tool for data analysis, or to educate users.)

3. What are the three aspects of program style that the author considers important? (The way in which the program must be used, the level of satisfaction or frustration you experience while using it, and the suitability of the program's packaging and documentation.)

4. Why is it difficult to find commercial software that is easily modified by the user? (Because there are difficulties in protecting the authorship of such programs.)

5. What considerations does the author mention regarding software quality? (Interactions between the scientific software an word processors or database managers, reasonable results on approximations and iterative processes such as floating point decimal operations, and diagnostic information that allows troublesome situations to be understood and corrected.

6. How can the buyer assess the quality of software?
( By reading reviews by professionals in the field and checking authorship, methods of program development, the history of the software, and the reputation of software producer and vendor.)

Student Worksheet 3: Cloze Exercise.

MINI-LECTURE: SCIENTIFIC SOFTWARE PRODUCTS

Directions: Some words are missing from this passage. The missing words are contained in the word list. First read the passage silently. Then listen as you hear it read twice. After the first reading, you will have two minutes to fill in the missing words. Then you will hear it again and can check your answers.

Word List

software	where	IBM
individuals	the	kinds
those	lists	linear
for	must	can
tells	program	you'll
of	description	package
find	be	order
commercial	include	does
computations	how	full

Software provides useful tools for scientific For those who do not know to program computers, software makes the power of the machine available. Even who can program the computer often it more convenient to use a software product to save time and effort.

The catalog, "Software Tools for Scientific Computations," four categories of scientific software. These General Scientific Software Collections, Software for Algebra, Software for Nonlinear Equations, and for Mathematical Programming.

The information given in the catalog each software package includes the name the package, the cost, a short of the program, and an address the software is available.

The first program listed, MATH/LIBRARY, costs $440. It is designed for an PC or PC XT. The computer be equipped with Microsoft FORTRAN and operating system MS-DOS 2.0.

The catalog descriptions also list the of mathematical problems that the programs solve. These differ from package to and it is this information which you whether the software package will useful to you. But the description not tell the whole story. In to really know if a will help you in your application, have to try it!

Student Worksheet 4: Reading Activity

READING ACTIVITY: Completing an Outline

Directions: Use the reading text to complete the following outline. [NOTE: Suggested answers are given in parentheses.

SCIENTIFIC APPLICATIONS SOFTWARE

A. Purpose of a Software Package

1. (for a particular computational task)
2.(as a general tool for data analysis)
3.(to educate users)

B. Style Considerations for Purchasing Software

1.(the way the program is used)

a.(single programs or subroutines)
b.(menu-driven)
c.(user modifiable)

2.( level of satisfaction you experience using it)

3.(packaging or documentation)

C. Quality Considerations

1.(operates correctly on tasks shared with other programs)
2.(approximations and iterative functions are reasonable)
3.(diagnostic information is output)

D. How to Judge Software Quality

1.(reviews by competent professionals)
2.(documentation of authorship)
3.(methods of program development)
4.(history of the software)
5.(reputation of producer and vendor)