General information of the collection

This self-access reading is for middle school 3rd grade students who are studying English by the textbook, Middle school English 3, written by Kim seong gon et al and published by Doosan in 2009.
Target students are diversity from novice and advanced. But some of topics are only for advanced level students.
The first thing I concerned while I was choosing material is that it should be fun to read. Therefore I choose the topic, British Culture and 7 mysteries of the world which are interesting topics for students to read.
In addition, the second topic is 'different activities.' I tried to contain a lot of topics. Bookclub is for discussion. Future job is for out-of class activity. English language and 7 mysteris of the world is for treasure hunt activity. Some of categories for inclass activity and other activities for out-of class, I have metioned above. Similarily, Some of collections are based on the textbook but other collections are not based on the textbook. Therefore, 'diversity' of the reading texts are my second standard that I used while I was making this collection.
Also, I intended to treat different levels of students. Therefore I have searched not only easy texts but also difficult materials.
I hope that my materials would satisfy lots of different needs.

Additional information about Current issues

Two of links in 'Current Issues' section take time to see the whole text. Therefore, I posted the text in my blog. If you can't see the text in Metro.co.uk, you may refer to articles in my blog.

[Metro]Nimble-fingered teens take title as world's fastest mobile phone texters

Nimble-fingered teens take title as world's fastest mobile phone texters
Two South Korean teenagers have been crowned the fastest texters in the world.

The team of 17-year-old Bae Yeong Ho and 18-year-old Ha Mok Min went thumb-to-thumb against competitors from a dozen countries to win the title in a competition in New York City.
The LG Mobile World Cup challenged nimble-fingered youths on both speed and accuracy, and the winning team took home a $100,000 prize.
Second place and $20,000 went to the American contestants - 16-year-old Kate Moore of Des Moines, Iowa, and 14-year-old Morgan Dynda of Pooler, Georgia.
An Argentine team came in third and the Brazilians took fourth.
Other nations represented included Indonesia, Portugal, Russia, Mexico and Spain.
Bae said he would save his $50,000 share of the prize to study to become an opera singer, while Ha said she was saving for studies to become an engineer.
The challenge was to copy words and phrases in a contestant's native language off a monitor correctly, with no typos or abbreviations, and as fast as possible with the required capital letters and punctuation.
Some words were intentionally misspelled to test alertness.
Moore averages 12,000 texts per month, entering up to 3.5 characters per second.
She said: "Girls are faster because their hands are smaller. "I have perfect hands for texting - thin, long fingers. And fast, of course."
The 26 finalists who made it to the World Cup were chosen from more than 200,000 wannabes in a global text-off that began in May.


10.01.15

[Metro]South Korea blames North Korea over warship torpedo attacks

South Korea blames North Korea over warship torpedo attacks
South Korea has accused North Korea of firing a torpedo at one of its warships and killing 46 sailors.

President Lee Myung-bak vowed to take ‘firm action’ following the release of results from an international investigation into the sinking of the Cheonan corvette in March.
Seoul has already made clear that it has no plans for a retaliatory strike but will press its allies to take action against its neighbour – most likely in the form of tougher sanctions.
However, North Korea described the results of the investigation as a ‘fabrication’ and warned it will take strong measures – including war – if the south imposes sanctions.
The report said: ‘The evidence points overwhelmingly to the conclusion that the torpedo was fired by a North Korean submarine.’
It added: ‘There is no other plausible explanation.’
Both the US and Britain gave their backing to the findings, with foreign secretary William Hague describing the incident as a ‘callous act’.
China called for restraint but did not condemn North Korea.
The issue has plunged already icy relations between the two countries deeper into the freezer.
Some 58 sailors were rescued from the Yellow Sea on March 26 but 46 died.

(10.05.20)

Treasure hunt Questions for ‘7 Mysteries of the world’ Section

Treasure hunt Questions for ‘7 Mysteries of the world’ Section
1. The Mausoleum of Halicarnassus
A. What is the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus?
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B. How high was it?
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C. How was it destroyed?
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2. The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus
A. When was it built?
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B. How was this temple used?
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C. Who destroyed this building in 401?
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3. The Colossus at Rhodes
A. The Colossus was __________ oldest Wonder and was built by Chares of Lindus in 280 BCE.
B. Why was this wonder built?
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C. How long did it take to build this building?
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4. The Hanging Gardens of Babylon
A. Where was it?
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B. When were the gardens revealed?
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C. How did the garden look like?
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5. The Statue of Zeus at Olympia
A. When the Olympic game started? And where was it held?
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B. What was in the next to the statue?
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C. How was the statue big?
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6. The Lighthouse of Alexandria
A. When was the lighthouse started to be built?
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B. What did Sostrates’ do in the foundation?
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C. Where was the lighthouse built?
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7. Easter Island Statue
A. What is the own name of Moai?
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B. How does the statue look like?
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C. How many islanders were left in 1877?
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Treasure hunt questions for 'English Language' Section

Treasure hunt Questions for English Language Section

1. Interesting facts of English
A. What is the longest English word without the normal vowels?
- ( )
B. What is the most used English letter?
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C. What is the only one word in the English language with 3 consecutive sets of double letters?
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2. Difference between American English and British English

UK English vs US English

(UK) I’ve just had lunch. = (US) 1. ( )
(UK) 2. ( ) = (US) Do you have a car?
(UK) 3. ( ) = (US) Truck
(UK) At the weekend = (US) On the weekend
(UK) 4. ( ) = (US) Burned
(UK) 5. ( ) = (US) Color
(UK) 6. ( ) = (US) Recognize

3. English in Austria and New Zealand

Austrian English vs British English
(AE) 1. ( ) = Girl
(AE) Drongo = 2. ( )
(AE) 3. ( ) = Vest
New Zealand English : Meaning
(NZE) 4. ( ) = TV
(NZE) Cocky = 5. ( )
(NZE) Strides = 6. ( )

[Self-Access Reading] How to utilize 'Current Issues' section?

This section is for the students who have the highest proficiency level. Maybe their aim is to advance to ‘foreign language’ high school. The main purpose of this collection is learning words from news articles treating current issues.
First two articles come from BBC learning English. It provides difficult word’s explanation. Student tries to guess the meaning of the words and then check the meaning. This step is to adjust students to news articles. Then, students practice reading to the last 4 articles.
Teacher makes students read the articles without dictionaries at first. Then, try to guess the meaning of the difficult words. Students have to be checked what they have read. Moreover, students make vocabulary list to categorize the words. It makes students memorize the words easier as it is classified.
Moreover, by reading these articles, students may be able to build up background knowledge, schema, about the current issues. Also, students and teachers can discuss together about the topic.

[Self-Access Reading] How to utilize '7 Mysteries of the world' section?

I collected 7 articles. 6 texts come from 7 ancient wonders of the world. The 7th one is about Moai. There is a writing activity in the textbook about Moai. So I found the passage about that.
This part can be used as a treasure hunt activity. So teacher prepares some questions that can be answered by reading the texts. This material comes with the treasure hunt activity as well.
But two of the articles are difficult to read. Those difficult articles are for those who want challenge and have higher proficiency level.

[Self-Access Reading] How to utilize 'Book Club' section?

Book club integrates reading and speaking. Teacher selects a story and gives one chapter of the story for students to read. Before giving the article, teacher divide student’s role. There are Discussion leader, Story summarizer, Word attacker, Culture collector, and Opinion provider. Teacher can add other roles. Of course, teacher should tell what their role is.
Discussion leader obviouslly lead the discussion. Story summarizer summarizes the story so that other students realize the outline of the story. Word attacker finds the meaning of the difficult words, which means dictionaries should be given to them. Culture collector discovers the cultural difference between the story based on Western culture and Korean context. Opinion provider announce their thinkings or feelings that emerge from the story. Teacher may have to provide discussion topic but all the discussions are conducted by the participants. Of course, other students can express their feelings freely.
After reading the chapter, students discuss together. While discussing, teacher do not interrupt but can help them and students may have to speak in English. But if there level is not enough, teacher can allow them to discuss in Korean.
In the next time, teacher change students’ role and read the next chapter of the whole text. Then, do the same procedure again.
To use this method, teacher has to allocate students’ role carefully. Especially, discussion leader has to lead the entire discussion. So he or she has a leadership.
First, in this collection, teacher gives the shepherd’s story. It is short but selected to practice the method. Then move to other stories. For example, Frog prince consists of 4 chapters. It took 4 times to finish the text. Finally, Robinson Crusoe consists of two parts but it is long. So teacher can divide 4 chapters.

[Self-Access Reading] How to utilize 'English Language' section?

Korean students learn ‘American’ English. However, there are lots of different types of English outside Korea from British English to Indian English. So it is meaningful to notice that different Englishes.
By reading these articles, students may notice different kinds of English. Teacher can emphasize student’s English is acceptable if it is comprehension enough.
Teacher can prepare matrixes to show the difference at once. There are blanks in the matrixes so that students can fill in. So this section comes with treasure hunt activity.

[Self-Access Reading] How to utilize 'Jobs and Works' section?

What am I going to be? Future job is one of the important issues to middle school students. So it is important to read these articles to students. Although these texts are based on the US or the UK society, students may have a rough way to achieve their dream.
I select 4 jobs. Other jobs can be searched in the 6th address linked. If a student wants to become other occupation, teacher has to direct and help to search the 6th address.
Basically, this section can be used out of class so that students can have enough time to read. It would be helpful for them to summarize what they have read.
The 5th text is for students who want part-time job. Part-time job is a major source of money to teenagers. Hence, it is useful to know what they have to do.
These texts may be hard for students to read. Teachers guide is necessary. But after reading texts, teacher requires the summary what students have read.

[Self-Access Reading] How to utilize 'British Culture' section?

Learning language is also learning culture. So every chapter in the textbook contains culture corner. However, its portion is too small among the entire curriculum. So, I searched some websites about British Culture and I discovered some sites. I chose two of them. I also selected four themes of the culture section of the site. However, the themes I’ve selected are just examples. Therefore, teacher can use different topics in the ‘others’ websites.
How can we use these websites? Extensive Reading (ER) should not be a compulsory thing. ER should be enjoyable. Culture is an interesting topic to read. It would motivate students to read these sites. Let students read these texts freely. After reading the texts, teacher asks some questions, which should be prepared before, to students to do a discussion. Example discussion topics are given in ‘superstition’ section.
Clothes section and Christmas section provides automatic dictionary. However, it is difficult to middle school 3 students. So teacher may have to help students.

What we have learned from Focused in Intensive Reading (IR)

What we have learned from Focused in Intensive Reading (IR), p.221

Genre features and strategies are also used in IR. We have a rough idea that IR is rather passive reading but it is not. IR can be still interactive as our students can practice how to adjust reading strategies such as inferring from context by reading intensively.
Also, intensive reading can concentrate on genre features. It means that IR focuses on the own characteristics of the text. For instance, you can easily distinguish the difference between explanative text and narrative text by reading it. To distinguish that, you may focus on tenses or cohesive devices. Intensive reading can highlight these language devices while you are reading.