What is adoption? Mrs. Mason 06/14/2019 Lesson Plan: 06/14/2019 Course: ESLDO Topic: Why do people choose to adopt children? Lesson Length: 30-40 minutes Language Strands: Reading, Listening, Speaking, Grammar Learning Goals We are learning: ⮚To preview and predict information before reading ⮚To speak about different aspects of adoption in society ⮚To correctly identify and explain parts-of-speech Success Criteria: We will know we are successful when we can: ✔Activate our prior knowledge and share our perspectives with the class ✔Engage in a group discussion using conversation prompts Target Expression: “adopt someone/something as” (My parents adopted me as their son when I was two years old. I adopted Jane as my English name.) Assessment and Evaluation: As Learning/For Learning: ●Questioning ●Observation Of Learning: ●Adopt a Word Activity ●Discussion ●Grammar Exercise What is adoption? Mrs. Mason 06/14/2019 Items Topic Introduction: “What is adoption?” Main Points/Ideas Review topic vocabulary and concept of adoption with the class. Time Allocated 5 minutes Brainstorm reasons for adoption together as a class. ***mind map worksheet*** Explain difference between adapt and adopt. Target Expression & Discussion: Break down the target expression and come up with more examples as a class. 10 minutes Ask discussion questions: What is adoption? Why do people choose to adopt children? Would you ever adopt a child? Why or why not? How is adoption viewed in your country? Do you know of any celebrities who have adopted a child? Text Reading: Read the news article “Celebrity Adoption” 15 minutes What is adoption? Mrs. Mason 06/14/2019 Ask questions to confirm student understanding paragraph by paragraph. Complete skimming/vocabulary worksheet. Grammar Point: Parts-of-Speech Quickly review the parts-of- 10 minutes speech. Remind students to use context to determine correct part-of speech. Confirm understanding with follow-up activity where students find a word they are interested in and present it to the class. ***Adopt a Word Worksheet*** Review Topic and Target Expression and Wrap Up Class 5 minutes Possibly assign another “Adopt a Word” exercise as homework. Have students create sentences using target expression or write a response to a discussion question. What is adoption? Mrs. Mason 06/14/2019 What is adoption? Mrs. Mason 06/14/2019 Celebrity Adoption Celebrity adoption has recently hit the headlines due to the activities of such globally famous actors as Angelina Jolie and her partner, Brad Pitt, and singers such as Madonna. Like many non-famous people, these celebrities have chosen to expand their families through adoption – so why do they receive mixed reviews in the press? Possibly because celebrity adoption is not as clear-cut as it seems. It seems to differ from ordinary adoption in at least four main ways. Firstly, it increasingly involves adopting very quickly – where ordinary people might have to wait years to adopt, celebrities can cut through the red tape and take the baby of their choice home in a matter of weeks. Some say this is not fair, it is seen as queue-jumping. Others argue that, being rich, celebrities can employ several adoption agencies at once and this may explain why they get quicker results. Secondly, the adoptee is often from another country. In the press it is alleged that despite there being deserving potential adoptees in the celebrity’s home country, internationally famous people apparently prefer adopting children from overseas. Madonna adopted a child in Malawi, Meg Ryan has adopted a Chinese child, Ewan McGregor has recently adopted a child from Mongolia, and Angelina Jolie has adopted children in places as far apart as Ethiopia and Cambodia. This is not a new trend either. After the Vietnam War, Julie Andrews adopted two Vietnamese children who had been orphaned. However, the criticism in such cases is that certain professionals believe that it is important for a child to be adopted by a family which has the same cultural and religious background and the same ethnicity. Others argue that it is better for a child to be adopted by any person, of any creed or colour, rather than spend extended amounts of time, undernourished emotionally and physically, in an orphanage. In countries ravaged by AIDS the orphanages are overflowing and resources are stretched to the limits. Malawi, for example, is reported to have over one million orphans and it has been pointed out that it can only help the situation if children from these orphanages are adopted. It has also been suggested that the international adoptions carried out by famous celebrities help to raise awareness of the problems faced by children in povertystricken countries and to make people in the western world more aware that adoption does not necessarily mean taking home a white baby. What is adoption? Mrs. Mason 06/14/2019 Thirdly, some celebrities seem to like adopting repeatedly. Where an ordinary adopter might settle for a family of between one and, say, four children, the celebrity carries on and on. The actress Mia Farrow adopted ten! Of course, famous people are rich enough to afford large families, though it could be argued that constant new additions to the family can be unsettling for the rest of the children. Finally, celebrity adoptions these days tend to centre on beautiful babies or toddlers. For non-famous adopters the choice may not be so ideal. Many children who need adopting are over five years old. They are not babies. Many are older still – teenagers need adopting too. They may have behavioral problems, medical conditions, or disabilities. For a nonfamous prospective adoptive parent, the chances of getting a beautiful, healthy baby are comparatively small. What is adoption? Mrs. Mason 06/14/2019 Celebrity Adoption: Reading Quiz Word Bank actress help rich press never overseas 1. Like many non-famous people, these celebrities have chosen to expand their families through adoption – so why do they receive mixed reviews in the __________? 2. Possibly because celebrity adoption is __________ as clear-cut as it seems. It seems to differ from ordinary adoption in at least four main ways. 3. Being __________, celebrities can employ several adoption agencies at once and this may explain why they get quicker results. 4. In the press it is alleged that internationally famous people apparently prefer adopting children from __________. 5. It has also been suggested that the international adoptions carried out by famous celebrities __________ to raise awareness of the problems faced by children in poverty-stricken countries. 6. Some celebrities seem to like adopting repeatedly. The __________ Mia Farrow adopted ten! What is adoption? Mrs. Mason 06/14/2019 Word adopt Meaning To take as one’s own. verb Part-ofSpeech Tom was excited to adopt a little girl. Example Sentence What is adoption? Mrs. Mason 06/14/2019 Adoption- Possible Discussion Questions How is adoption viewed in your country? Do you know anyone who was adopted? Can you think of any famous people who were adopted? How does being adopted affect a child’s view of themselves? What are some of the reasons people adopt children? What are some of the reasons people give children up for adoption? What do you think about the adoption system in your country? What do you think about couples that adopt children from different countries? What qualities make a couple or a person qualified to adopt a child? Should the adoption process be more or less difficult than it is now? Should people be able to decide what type of children they want to adopt? For example: boy or girl, hair color, age, etc. How much should the government be involved in the adoption process? What are orphanages like in your country? Would you ever adopt a child? What is the maximum number of children a couple should be able to adopt? What celebrities do you know of who adopted a child? What are some ways that adoption rates could be improved?
