Project URL: http://www.teachnet-lab.org/mbhs/btao/country.htm

How it works:

This project is a follow-up activity to the story "China's Little Ambassador," by Betty Bao Lord.   While reading this story about a girl who moved from China to New York, the students became more interested in the home countries of their classmates. They chose a home country (other than their own) and navigated the Internet for source information on the country. Students were highly motivated to conduct web-based research. They practiced note-taking skills and integrated the facts they learned to design a travel brochure for the selected country. With the use of computer technology, they created travel brochures with different layouts. They presented their brochures orally in class and published their own work on the class web site.

Standards addressed in this unit:

• Use the Internet to locate and comprehend information related to the project; 
• Analyze and integrate facts and ideas to communicate information; and
• Produce a report demonstrating an understanding of the rules of the English language.

Materials needed:

Computer with Internet access, Microsoft Word, Microsoft Publisher, web page editor such as Netscape Composer

The students:

This project helps motivate ESL students and generates enthusiasm in reading and writing the English language. The navigation of the Internet for information research enhances their reading comprehension and note-taking skills. The follow-up activities of report writing for a travel brochure, and an oral presentation of the brochure, enables students to experience more active practice of speaking and writing the English language.

Overall value:

First of all, students will be able to enhance their comprehension in English through research on the Internet. Secondly, students can experiment with descriptive brochure writing. With computer technology, they have multiple and diverse opportunities to speak, read, and write in English.

Tips:

It is important to emphasize to students that they should describe and communicate information in their own words instead of copying and pasting. Teachers need to provide students with an editing checklist for common errors.  You may also want to provide additional web sites with travel information.

Bei Qi Tao has been an ESL teacher at Murry Bergtraum High School for eight years.  She is a TeachNet Project mentor.  Teaching is a great joy to her, and she enjoys introducing her students to the excitement of cyberspace.

E-mail: btao83028@aol.com

Subject Area: ESL

Estimated class periods  to complete: 8

Grade levels: 10-12