TSU English 6 SBP

ENGLISH
TEACHER SUPPORT UNIT 6
Taking Care of Others and Oneself

English Teacher Support Unit 6

TAKING CARE OF OTHERS AND ONESELF
Before we start……
The Sixth TSU
At the end of the fifth TSU, you would have noticed that your students have improved on their English
skills even further. They would now be able to:

Let’s pause now for a moment and think about what we know about our students.
Many of our students have responsibilities thrust on them fairly early in life. Sharing tasks and duties with
the elders in the family is a part of their everyday lives. Many work quite hard - both at home and outside.
While, many are likely to be helping with household chores, cooking, running errands and caring for elders
and younger brothers and sisters, others may help with their parents in the field, in shops and other
outdoor work. They understand the difficulties their families face and are very capable of looking for
alternative solutions for problems when needed. Students at the secondary level have a great deal of
practical knowledge and a fairly developed sense of what is fair, questioning what they see around them
and what affects them. At this time they are also developing a sense of their identity and an understanding
of their needs and emotions. This is also the time when they are learning to deal with the many emotional
ups and downs in their lives. Isn't this rich experience s a wonderful starting point for discussion in the
classroom?
This Sixth TSU is all about helping them to describe and reflect on the work they do to help others and
themselves. It is also about encouraging them to think about the part they can play in making their own
environment and lives better. We are sure they will have a lot to reflect on and discuss.
• listen to, read and comprehend short narratives
• respond in full sentences
• solve and create riddles and puzzles
• write simple picture descriptions
• read and understand a story given in the TSU
• answer questions about events in their lives and about the place they live
• follow written instructions
• appreciate poetry and prose and be able to say whether they liked a piece
not
• write their observations about events in their neighbourhood
Why is creating an emotional connection with the theme important? Do you think
students learn language better when they connect emotionally?


2

Let us begin with two situations - in Activities 1 and 2 - which students can easily relate to. You may need
to prepare a little before presenting these two situations. You may want to read the passages a few times
before you take them up in the class. Here are some tips that may help you.
• Read slowly so that students have time to process the information.
• Pause between meaningful phrases.
• Consider punctuation marks.
• Make appropriate tonal variations.
• Use appropriate gestures and facial expressions.
Activity – 1: What should Ravi do?
Present this short event to students. You can read it out and explain in Odia where necessary.
Ravikiran is in the ninth standard. Every day he has to walk a mile from his house to take a bus. When he
gets off the bus he has to walk half a mile from the bus stop to school.
'Next year I will be in the tenth standard. If I have a cycle, I won't have to spend so much time getting to
school and I won’t be tired,' Ravi said to his parents. They set aside Rs 3000 from their meagre income to
buy him a cycle.
But Ravikiran’s grandfather has fallen ill and needs medicines which are going to cost Rs 1000. His sister
needs Rs 500 to buy books for her final year BA.
Ask the students: How will Ravikiran and his family solve this problem? If you are in Ravi’s position, what
will you do?
Your students may not be able to come up with solutions immediately. Do two things:
1. Give them some 10 minutes to think. You could ask them to work in pairs so that they can discuss the
problem better.
2. You could also ask some questions to help them think the problem through.
• Will Ravikiran be angry with his grandfather and his sister? Should he be angry?
• Will he agree to wait for one more year until the hard times pass?
• Should Ravi’s family seek help from others – maybe take a loan from the local money lender?
After the discussion, ask 'Do you know anybody who had to face a situation like Ravi’s?' If any student
comes forward to share some details, encourage him/her. Allow him/her to present the event or details in
Odia. If the narration is in Odia, after the student has spoken, you may ask for more details, or may
present the event in English. (You too can present a relevant situation, real or imaginary!).


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Did it work?
interesting difficult boring
Activity – 2: “Challenges of a Handicapped Child”
The story belongs about a handicapped girl C.N.Janaki, who has become the first handicapped person to be
part of a successful team of relay – Crossing the English Channel.
It was in 1987 that Janaki was struck by Polio. As a child she got the idea of trying to swim the English
Channel.
Janaki began training very hard in Bangalore to fulfil these conditions.
The unique attempt was made in 28 July 1992. ‘My fight’ said Janki. In the course of the swim was against
nature. The channel waters are so cold that I needed much more energy than usual to keep my arms
moving. Then I had the problem of my legs moving to the left or to the right, whichever way the waves
were moving. So I really needed a lot of energy. The water was very salty, and when it entered my mouth,
I felt sick. The seaweeds and jelly fish kept sticking to my body and felt very uncomfortable.
However, despite these problems, Janki successfully did her share of the relay. She swam for about two
hours and helped the relay team cross the 36 km Channel in 14 hours & 45 minutes. Stop for a minute and
ask –
What are the challenges of Janki? What were the problems that Janki faced while swimming the channel in
a relay team?
Wait for a few second and then say these are the challenges of a handicapped child. Let them come up
with answers of their own. Some may remember the text book connection and narrate it that is fine too.
(If you are a Class 9 teacher, you should use this as an opportunity to get them to read the lesson again
with more interest. Give them about 10 minutes to read the lesson). If you are in Class 10, remind them
about this story and ask a few questions based on lesson. Encourage students to share their views.
What is the focus of this activity?..................................................................
Did you make any modifications or try out
variations?...............................................................................................................
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Did it work?
Activity – 3: Lover of cats
Write the following sentences on the board. Make sure that everyone can see what you are writing. If
necessary, read out the sentences.
Mohan stopped his car; blew the horn.
Many cats appeared from nowhere and came near his car.
Mohan took out a bag full of biscuits.
He took out a plate and put the biscuits on it.
The cats started eating. A smile appeared on Mohan’s face.
Have a discussion with the students based on the following questions:
Here are the main features of this strategy to create a need for reading the text book:
• Ask a question or present a situation.
• Let the students guess the answers.
• Ask them to check whether the answers are present in the lesson.
• Allow a few students to share their responses.
• Ask for evidence (ask them to read out the particular part of the lesson that
supports their answer).
• Ask some more questions to make them read the lesson in detail.
• Whenever they experience difficulty, don’t hesitate to extend help.
Don’t forget to note down the effectiveness of this strategy for this lesson as well as
others.
variations?...............................................................................................................
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• Should you feed cats when people are going hungry?
• At least dogs are useful pets; why should someone raise a cat as a pet?
• Should you love animals only if they are of some use to us?
• Do you know anyone who loves animals?
• Do you have animals at home? What kinds of animals? Do you know how to care for them?
If students are interested, ask more questions. Treat this activity as an opportunity to help your students
share their experiences with confidence. You could ask students to write interesting events related to
their pet animals in simple sentences. The stories can be real or imaginary.
Did it work?
Activity – 4: Nisha, the girl your uncle brought home
Narrate this story to your students. Make tonal modulations as necessary.
One day during the Diwali holidays, your uncle from Burla brought with him a 14-year old girl called Nisha,
his neighbour’s daughter. Your uncle has come to Sambalpur on an official visit for two months. Nisha and
your uncle will stay with your family for Diwali, you are told. You become friendly with Nisha from the
first day. She is well-behaved and all the members of your family like her very much. She plays with you,
teaches you a trick or two, is helpful with household chores, goes with you wherever you go, becomes
friendly with your friends in the neighbourhood, etc.
After two months, it is time for your uncle to leave. On the last day, when Nisha has gone out with your
younger brother to buy vegetables, your uncle gathers all your other family members and breaks the news
that Nisha suffers from bone cancer. Her family is very poor and needs money to treat her. Your uncle
wants your family to contribute to her treatment. Your parents want to help, but there is not much money
left after your family’s needs are taken care of. Everyone feels helpless. There is a long silence which is
variations?...............................................................................................................
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broken only when Nisha and your younger brother come running in with a bag full of vegetables and
groceries.
Now ask your students these questions:
• How will you react to Nisha now? Will you see her differently now?
• What will you do – is it possible to raise some funds for Nisha’s treatment by selling something
at home?
• Will you show your emotions to Nisha – cry, perhaps?
• Has a similar event happened in your life or in the life of someone you know?
• There is a local Hakim who claims to cure cancer. You are not sure of his claim. But he is not
expensive. Will you take Nisha to him?
Note: If there is a problem in using a girl’s name (Nisha), replace it with a boy’s name (Dinkar). Use your
discretion.
Did it work?
Activity – 5: Can you find solutions?
Ask the students to work in groups to find solutions to these following issues. Any response is welcome.
(You can add more issues of interest your students, as you think fit. This activity can be spread over
several classes – say, for the first 10 minutes of a class - focusing on one issue at a time.)
• You are being teased or bullied in school
• You notice that another student is also being teased or bullied (she/he may or may not be your
friend).
• There is a lot of garbage near the school, on the streets, near your home.
• The lights go off regularly when you have to do homework in the evenings.
• Your neighbourhood does not have a tap and people have to walk a long way to fill water.
variations?...............................................................................................................
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Here are some suggestions for implementing this activity.
• Divide the students into groups of four/five
• Allot a specific problem to each group
• Give them 15-20 minutes to think about the solutions.
• Move around the class and help the groups. Try to provide English words whenever possible.
• After the group work discuss with them the best way to present their findings (e.g., group’s name,
one or two sentences about the problem, their solution to the problem, supporting arguments for
their solution).
• When one group presents, ask another group to comment on the presentation.
You could try a variant of this as well: Allot one issue to all the groups. If possible, allow them to select the
issue. Give them time to think of solutions and present their ideas. After each group’s presentation let the
other groups comment. Make a list of all the comments.
Here are some more suggestions for situations to choose for this activity:
• Parents ask their eldest daughter to stay at home to look after the new born baby / ailing
grandfather.
• Father meets with an accident/ falls ill. Some child in the family will have to stop schooling and go to
work.
• Grandmother is very old and needs to be looked after. But there is no one to help. So whenever
you return from school, she calls for your help. But you want to go out to play.
Did it work?
Activity – 6: Making our school a better school
Write '1 + 1 = 3' on the board. Ask the students: 'Is this correct?' When they say 'No', say 'You are wrong.
This is correct.' Then after a pause, say, 'In certain situations, this is correct. Can you think of some of
those situations?'
variations?...............................................................................................................
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Give them some time to think. If they come up with some situations, let them share their answers with
others.
Then tell them, 'On our own, each one of us can only achieve things to a certain extent. But, if we join
with another person, we can do a lot more. When we work in groups, we can achieve much more than
what we can achieve individually.' Then present these questions.
• Can you think of three things that you (as students) can do to make our school better? Safer?
• What can you do to make our classroom better?
• How can you improve our playground (if you have one, that is)?
• How we can make the morning assembly more interesting?
These are open-ended questions. Let them work in groups and come up with more ideas. (Refer to the
first TSU to know how to conduct a group activity).
Here are tips for conducting a successful group activity:
• List the ideas on a chart paper.
• Assign responsibilities to groups to implement some of their ideas.
• Observe their work and encourage them with comments, suggestions.
• Ask them to share their experiences and any problems they had during group work with others.
Are you wondering about the connection between this activity and learning English?
Well, to learn a language, one has to use it preferably in a natural situation. These activities help to
bring many natural situations into our classroom. Students learn the language without knowing that
they are learning it. Since language is used in the proper context there is no need for us to explain the
meaning of hard words. Above all, when they are keen to express themselves, and want their views to
be heard, they won’t see language learning as a burden.
Did it work?
variations?...............................................................................................................
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Activity – 7: Minor ailments and remedies
Ask the students, 'What are the common ailments/ diseases that affect us?' Do this as a whole class
activity. As the students mention health issues, list them on the board. Choose suitable strategies for
processing a list and use them. Don’t forget to ask these questions.
• When did you fall ill last time?
• How did you get cured?
• From those diseases mentioned in the list, which one are you afraid of the most?
• Have you been to a hospital? What do you see there? (If someone is interested, get the person to
describe their experience in a hospital).
• Do your parents or elders at home give you traditional, possibly home-made, medicines for cold
and cough, upset stomach, aches and pains?
Then write 'Prevention is better than cure' on the board.
• What is the meaning of this statement?
• Why is ‘prevention’ better than ‘cure’?
• What are the precautions you will take to avoid falling ill?
• Can you prevent all illnesses by being sufficiently careful? (What about cancer?)
Please add more questions based on and related to students’ responses.
Should we deal with ‘diseases’, a science topic, in the English class?
As your students learn subjects such as science, social science and math in Odia, the English class
presents an opportunity to discuss some of the concepts in these subjects in English. There is a double
benefit here: it will increase the students’ vocabulary; it will also help them widen their understanding
of other subjects. In addition, the classrooms will become a place of natural language learning. So don't
hesitate to choose topics from other subjects, and do discuss these in the English class.


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Did it work?
Activity – 8: On a winter's night
'Is there relationship between seasons and ailments? Can you classify diseases based on seasons?' Ask the
students to refer to the list they made earlier.
Develop a discussion based on the precautions to be taken for each season. Then ask, 'What will happen if
somebody doesn’t have a blanket in winter?' List out students’ responses on the board.
Give them enough time to read the lesson and find the words. You may follow these steps.
• Students present the words.
• Ask other students for their opinions.
• In case of a difference of opinion, read out the relevant part of the lesson and ask them to guess the
meaning of the words.
• Discuss the lesson.
• Ask them to copy down the sentences which shows the harshness of winter.
• Implement the activities suggested in the textbook.
Did it work?
variations?...............................................................................................................
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variations?...............................................................................................................
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Activity –9: A language project
Write the following words on the board:
Silent – listen
Tea – eat
Was – saw
On – no
Seat – east
What is so special about these words? Yes, two different words have the same letters. Can you collect a
few more words like these from your text book? How much time do you need to do this?
At end of the time given for the activity, collect all the words. Write them on a chart and put it up in the
class, if possible. Or write them on the board and say, 'Do you want know the meaning of some of the
words in this list? Copy them and refer to a dictionary.'
Did it work?
In TSU 6
• Which activity did your students like the most?
• Did you try out the variations of some of the activities? How did you modify or adapt them?
• Were the textbook activities useful to your students? Were you able to connect any more
activities in this TSU with the textbook? Do let us know.
At the end TSU 6, do you think your students are be able to:
• develop a stock of words related to subjects like Maths, Science
• express views in simple sentences
• construct simple sentences using known words
• create stories, narrate incidents and events in their lives in simple English
• copy in a meaningful context
variations?...............................................................................................................
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It is worth remembering the basic features of how TSUs assist the students in learning English.
• You conduct activities that involve listening to English in
situations that are interesting to students and where the
meaning can be understood from cues and clues in the
situation, material or conversation with the teacher.
• You create situations to enable students to use the spoken
English words they know or are learning, for the purpose of
communicating meaning in contexts that are relevant and
interesting for them.
• You ensure active listening in the mother tongue, as well as
situations where children have spoken in the mother tongue
by providing challenging situations where students need to
think on their own and figure out or create meaning.
• You allow students to respond in Odia to exercises that are
in English, so that eventually they may move towards English.
The important thing is that students begin to use their minds,
respond and use language structures. This is then carried
over to English.

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