Brigham Young University-Hawaii School of Education
Teacher: Chaelin Yu Class: Advanced Mid/Adults
Lesson Title: Cancer Treatment
Materials
 Reading Passage ( http://www.esl-lab.com/cancer/cancersc1.htm
)
Content Standards
 ACTFL Can-Do Statements
I can follow the chronological plot in a simple short story
Lesson Outcomes
 Learners will be able to learn how to predict unfamiliar vocabulary.
 Learners will be able to understand the chronological order and the details of the context.
Background
The learners in the classroom are mostly young adults from early 20s to mid 20s. Their first language is
Korean and many of them are preparing TOEFL and TOEIC tests for their future plans. Although some of them are not fluent in expressing their opinions and thoughts, they understand English well and are sufficient in verbal communication. They have studied English mainly for the College Scholastic Ability
Test (CSAT) for three years or more, so they are able to understand academic reading passages with many details.
Experiencing illness during the life is inevitable in human’s life. It is something that we all go through whether it would be our own or someone else’s. The reading passage is a story of a man experiencing cancer and changing his attitude. Sophisticated vocabulary in context will stretch the learners’ ability to think and figure out the meaning of them with the details around the vocabulary.
After that, the learners will be able to check their prediction as they learn vocabulary with an activity. Being able to figure out the chronological order of events or emotions is important in reading comprehension as well and the lesson will provide a good opportunity for the learners to learn how to organize the chronological order in the context.
The lecture model for this lesson is appropriate because the lesson includes individual work and a partner work. The student will predict the meaning of the vocabulary that they do not know in the context prior to vocabulary lesson. Then, for the reading part, which comes next, the learners will find time conjunctions and the details that follow them. The students are familiar with graphic organizer and have used them several times before, so using graphic organizer to summarize the content would be effective for them. Then, the learners will write similar experiences of their own in chronological order with emotional expression as homework after the lesson.
Anticipatory Set
Do: Collect the homework. Hand out the packet sheet to the students. Write the activities that are going to be held during the class. (Collect homework- Vocabulary-Reading Comprehension-Review +
Homework)

Say: Good morning (or afternoon) everybody. Today we are going to read a short reading passage
(pointing at the order on the board). First, we are going to talk about the vocabulary that we can see in the passage. Some of them could be unfamiliar with you. We are going to practice predicting the meaning of unfamiliar vocabulary by looking at the surroundings. After we check the real meaning of the vocabulary, we are going to one activity, using the vocabulary. Then, the reading comprehension activity will be followed, which we are going to see what happened in the context in chronological order with time conjunction. I am going to collect the packet after the class and return it back at the beginning of the next class as usual.
Instructional Sequence
Vocabulary
Say: Please read the reading passage silently. As you read, I want you to underline some unfamiliar vocabulary and write down the meaning of them as you look for the clues around the vocabulary. I also want you to indicate the reason why you think next to the vocabulary (1). For example, I would underline…dire. The word prognosis sounds similar to the word “diagnosis”, so I think it is a noun.
Then, dire becomes an adjective that describes prognosis. Since cancer is never good news, I would guess “dire” means something not good, or even horrible. Okay? Like this, I want you to look at the clues that help you to guess the meaning of the vocabulary before you use the dictionary to find out the meaning. I will give you about 10 minutes to do this.
Do: Wait for the students to finish the activity.
Summative Assessment: float around the class and check the speed that the learners show when working on the assignment. If they get lost, briefly explain them how to do the activity.
Say: Okay, did you finish underlining and writing down the meaning that you predict? Now turn to your neighbor and explain some of them. (note: the number and arrangement will depend on the situation).
Formative Assessment: Observe and listen to the pairs sharing their opinions. Listen to the students if they are guessing the meaning of the vocabulary based on the clue words that surround the vocabulary.
Say: Now let us check the real meaning of the vocabulary.
Do: Go to vocabulary list and check the meaning as a class (2). After checking the meaning, go to vocabulary activity (3).
Say: The next thing we are going to do is a vocabulary assessment. You are to put words in blanks so that the sentence makes sense.
Formative Assessment: Students work on vocabulary assessment and after that, collect them to check if they have understood the meaning of new vocabulary that they can use it in an example sentence.
Reading Comprehension
Say: Now, let’s go back to the reading passage and talk about chronological order of events. When you are reading a passage that is chronologically set, what you want to do is to find the phrases that contain time, days or even order. Let’s look at this reading passage. Do you see…”initially”? It shows that this happens the very first. Then the next paragraph starts with “As the months progressed…” and it shows that time has passed since he was diagnosed as a cancer. The next paragraph starts with “During the last few months…”. Now, do you see the pattern? They are at the very beginning of the paragraph in order to indicate the time that the event happened. These are your guides to figure out the order of the events. Once you find those guides, then you can find the details that you are looking for. Marking them would help you find them faster when you have to solve reading comprehension problems.
Do: Have students mark the conjunctions in different shapes as the teacher writes down the conjunctions and mark them (i.e. triangle or oval).

Graphic Organizer
Say: Alright, now let’s summarize what we learned today with a graphic organizer (4). I am sure that some of you have noticed that the time conjunction functions as a mark in every first sentence of the paragraph. Do you see the blanks there? You are to write down the time conjunctions there and write the details for each of the time conjunction. When you write the details, I want you to use the vocabulary that we learned today. Notice that the graphic organizer is going up. This shows that there was a change in his attitude.
Do: Give students time to work on the task and while observing the students’ answer, check the answer when checking the packet.
Review + Homework
Say: When we meet unfamiliar vocabulary, what should we do?
Do: Wait for students’ reply and summarize the answer with the class.
Say: When you try to see the order of the events, what can be your guide?
Do: Wait for students’ reply and summarize the answer with the class.
Say: Now, look at the last part that we have. Please write one question that you had during the class on the last page as you look back and review the lesson by yourself. Your homework for the next class is to write a similar experience when you felt the change of your emotion as the time passes by.
Please make sure that you use time conjunction as a marker for each paragraph.
Closure
Finding order of events is very useful especially in academic reading. There are guides that help you to wherever you want to arrive. Also, rather than looking up the dictionary, practice guessing the meaning of the vocabulary related to the environment. It would make you not panic when you meet the vocabulary that you do not know later in standard test like TOFEL or TOEIC. The skills that we learned today, recognizing chronological events, and one more, predicting meanings of unfamiliar vocabulary are helpful. I hope you guys remember these skills and use them in your own way, eventually. Have a wonderful rest of the day.
Reflections
When I prepared for this lesson plan, I visualized what it would be like to be in the class with young adult students. As I imagined the setting, I was able to set the environment in several ways. First, I teach everything in English during the class. Second, the students also use only English for questioning and listening. This is because I know that they have no opportunity to speak English in daily life. However, they have to prepare for TOEFL and TOEIC test and they need a lot of exposure to English. Third, the students switch the seat every class so that they can interact with different kinds of people. I would prefer to have a class where they have tables that are portable so that the students can do the partner work. I believe that there are students who are less or more advanced than average proficiency in the class. I want them to mingle and interact together so that they can be motivated by one another. After setting the environment, I thought about the materials that I would use. I have been noticed that I like making my own worksheet to give the students. This allows me to check how the students make individual works during the class and after the class; I can collect them and check how actively they were engaged during the class. At the same time, I can check how effectively they receive the new information in their own ways. This is why I made a “packet” for the lesson. Since they are advanced level learners and they have already taken CSAT, I expect to see their prior knowledge that can be fused with the new knowledge by checking their note they made after the lesson.

<Packet>
1
I once had a friend that was diagnosed with terminal cancer, and the news that he might only live up to six months was a great shock to him, his family, and his friends. However, in spite of the dire prognosis, he was initially determined to look into all available treatments that might cure or extend his life. I think that when you find yourself in such situations, you tend to look up every possible avenue for hope of preserving your life.
As the months progressed and his health grew worse, I noticed an unexpected change in attitude that came over him. He had also been a jovial person with an upbeat personality, but rather (than) give in to discouragement and self-pity, he took comfort his faith in God and humanity.
His conversations focused on others rather than himself, and he spoke of the afterlife as something he was prepared for, believing that his deceased ancestors, including his mother and father, were there waiting for him.
During the last few months, weeks, and days of his life, he was kindly cared for by family, friends, his loving wife, who looked after both his physical and emotional needs, and workers from a local hospice came to the home to help regulate his medication and provide any other needed support. He didn't complain about his fate, and he willingly allowed others to serve him, realizing they were the benefactors of something more.
Indeed, one might ponder why God allows death and suffering in our world, but for me, such experiences taught me to value family more and kindness for others. You often can't learn these important attributes in the lap of luxury, and perhaps, such an experience is the greatest and final gift the terminally ill can give those left behind.

2
• diagnose (verb): determine the nature of a problem
• - This test will diagnose whether she has the disease.
• terminal (adjective): ending in or approaching death
• - His wife has a terminal illness and isn't expect to live through the end of the week.
• in spite of (preposition): regardless of
• - Nathan was very cheerful in spite of his medical condition.
• dire (adjective): awful, fearful, nearly hopeless
• - The family found themselves in dire financial conditions after the loss of their father.
• prognosis (noun): a prediction of the course of a disease
• - With the development of new medications, the long-term prognosis for someone with that disease is good.
• jovial (adjective): merry, cheerful
• - My sister was still somewhat jovial in spite of her medical condition.
• upbeat (adjective): cheerful, positive
• - In spite of all my mother's emotionally challenges, she always tried to remain upbeat about life.
• self-pity (noun): a feeling of sorrow for personal sufferings
• - Although she was suffering from cancer, the woman felt there was little time for self-pity and devoted the rest of her life to service.
• deceased (adjective): dead
• - Both of my parents are deceased, and I only have one brother who is still living.
• hospice (noun): a program providing medical and emotional care for the terminally ill and their families
• - A local hospice came into our home to care for my grandfather while he was terminally ill.
• benefactors (noun): someone who helps other people
• - Many benefactors have contributed goods and money to the poor in our area.
• ponder (verb): reflect or think deeply on something, meditate
• - When you find yourself in dire circumstances, people often tend to ponder the purpose of life.
• attributes (noun): qualities or characteristics
• - There are so many attributes I admire in Mindy, my sister.
• lap of luxury (noun): a condition of wealth and comfort
- Some people live in the lap of luxury while others live a relatively simple lifestyle from day to day.

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Advanced Level Assessment
When I was making a lesson plan for advanced level learners, I came up with an idea called “packet”. It is a word that I have heard from different TESOL class. I figured out that I like making worksheets for the class to have the students work on, so that later, I can check if the student was actively engaged in the class or not.
Therefore, I bundled up the worksheet that I would use in the class and made it as a
“packet”. I would prepare one packet for each lesson and each packet will contain about four to five pages that are necessary for the lesson. I am sure that if I were to use the “packet” for a semester, I would make it as a workbook.
For the lesson plan that I made, page 1 has a reading passage that I would use for the lesson. The class starts with the vocabulary that are not familiar to the students.
Right after I distribute the packet, I will tell the students that they will indicate unfamiliar vocabulary with highlighter or a colored pen, and write the meaning that they guessed for the vocabulary. I will make sure to let the students know that they are to use arrows or indications so that I can see how they made the guess after collecting them. The students will experience “reading to learn” during the process because they will be asked to read the surroundings of the vocabulary to analogize the meaning of the vocabulary and write them down. When I check how they made the analogy to find out the meaning of the unfamiliar vocabulary later on, I would look for arrows or indications that show the relationship between the unfamiliar vocabulary and the surroundings. By doing so, I can check if the students followed my instruction correctly and if so, how they did it. I also am going to make comments on their note taking when I check their packets.
Page 2 consists of vocabulary from the reading passage. I will explain to the students that they are to select words and fill in the blanks. They are the key vocabulary of the reading passage to understand the context. They are also covered in vocabulary assessment where the student has to fill in the blank with right vocabulary.
Page 3 is a vocabulary assessment page where the students are to fill in the blanks.
From the word bank at the bottom of the worksheet, there are more words than the blanks so that the learner has to actually think about the meaning of them deeply.
The distractors are antonym (termporary) and a word that seems similar with the answer (ponder). I will instruct students to read the sentences and know the meaning of the key vocabulary that help him/her to fill in the blanks. The following is the answer key.

Page 4 is a graphic organizer where the learners can check their understanding of what they learned during the class. In the class, the students are to learn how to figure out the chronological order of the events that happened in the context. The students are familiar with graphic organizer since they have used it several times before the class. As an instruction, I will tell the students to write down the time conjunctions in blanks and the details under each of the conjunctions. They will be instructed to use the vocabulary that they learned in the context for the details. I expect to see answers like following. I will mainly look for the vocabulary that they use and the right order of the events.

- Shock
- Look up every hope
-Jovial -Did not complain
-Took comfort in God and about his faith and humanity. -Willingly allowed others to serve him.
-His conversation focused on others rather than giving in to discouragement and self-pity
-Be prepared for afterlife
The last part where it says Questions? is a part where I can get some feedbacks during the class. The student usually have short self-review time at the end of the class and write one question that has lingered during the class. This will give me great feedbacks from students when I collect and check them. I would look if the lesson materials and skills were adequate for them, how clear the instruction was, if there is any student who needs extra help, and how the activities affected the learners and so on.
For the homework, I will tell the students to write similar experiences that they had which they felt the change of attitude or emotion as the time went by. I will be looking if the student is able to use time conjunction in each paragraph and describe the details accordingly. The student will have their homework on piece of paper to hand in before the next class starts.