Theory of critical thinking development lesson plan "Crimes & Punishment"

T. Kuzminykh, K. Kuznetsova, Y. Bryukhova 752 gr

Theory of Critical Thinking Development Lesson Plan

УМК “New Millennium English 10 - 11” под редакцией О.Л. Гроза

Topic: Crimes and Punishment

Time: 80 min

The Aims of the Lesson:

1. Communicative:

• Developing reading skills - scanning

• Developing speaking skills – monologue

• Developing writing skills – continuation of the text

• Developing audio skills – scanning

2. Developing Critical Thinking:

• Thinking independently

• Exploring thoughts underlying feelings and feelings underlying thoughts

• Developing confidence in reason

• Clarifying issues, conclusions, or beliefs

• Analyzing or evaluating arguments, interpretations, beliefs, or theories

• Distinguishing relevant from irrelevant facts

• Making plausible inferences, predictions, or interpretations

3. Educational

• Introducing famous detectives from Russia, UK, USA


• Identifying key elements of a detective story

• Analyzing different methods of investigation

• Developing collaborative skills

• Fostering tolerance

A Foreign-language Lesson Plan

Involving the topic “Crimes and Punishment”

Instruction and Activities

Evocation

Ask the students

Is the modern world a dangerous place to live? Why are there so many crimes? Why do people commit crimes? Who protects the society? Who helps the police to solve crimes?

Time: 5 min

Realization of meaning

1) Present portraits of different detectives to the students (Sherlock Holmes, Miss Marple, Hercule Poirot, Allan Pinkerton, Erast Fandorin). Students should name them

Time: 2 min

2) Ask students to form 5 groups and distribute them the pictures.


Time: 1 min


3) Ask the students to examine the pictures for a few minutes, discuss and jot down all the information about the detective on the picture they know. Then they should tell the class about the detective. The rest of the class should write down necessary information

You can suggest the following plan for the presentation of detectives:

Where is he/she from? How old is he/she? Is he/she famous or not? What is her/his main method of investigation? How does he/she find evidences? Does he/she always succeed in investigations or not?

Time: 7 min

4) Distribute the cards and ask the students to match the detective and the description of his conducting an investigation individually.

1) Sherlock Holmes A. Uses logic and life experience. The way of conducting an investigation can be described as calm, penetrating. A master of


psychological portrait. Very penetrating and shrewd 2) Hercule Poirot B. This detective travels a lot round the world (Japan, England, and

Germany). He is lucky and this sometimes saves his life. Has reached a high rank being just a young man. Has a peculiar trait – grey temples

3) Miss Marple C. Uses the most up-to-date equipment. The author of the finger-print method, ear-form method. The technique can be described as rather aggressive. He organized the first detective agency in the USA

4) Allan Pinkerton D. A very distinguishing Belgian detective, who solves most of the cases sitting at home. Likes to ask unexpected questions and can take a deep insight into people’s characters.

5) Erast Fandorin E. Uses the deduction method of conducting an investigation. An ace in medicine, chemistry, ballistics, physics, etc. Also uses the help of street orphans which he calls “his ears, eyes and legs”

Keys: 1 – e2 – d3 – a4 – c 5 – b

Time: 5 min

5) Ask the students to discuss in pairs what method of investigation they consider to be the most successful one. Ask them to make a list of advantages and disadvantages of every method and present them to the class (draw a table for every method on the board consisting of 2 columns ‘+’ and ‘-‘ . the students should come up to the board, name an advantage/disadvantage and put it in the column). The rest of the class can add advantages and disadvantages.

Time: 10 min

6) Ask students whether they like reading/watching detectives. Then ask what they consider to be the key elements of any detective story

Time: 2min


7) Distribute the scheme given below and ask the students to fill it in individually with the key elements that they think to be the most important ones in a detective story. In the middle they should put the most essential to their mind element. Draw the same scheme on the board and when the students finish discuss their schemes and make a general one on the board.

Time: 7 min


8) Ask the students if they have ever dreamt of being a detective and solving a murder case. Now they have a chance to be a real detective. Ask them to help to one detective who investigates the murder that happened at Gurney Manor. To introduce them the crime scene he recorded everything on a tape and now they will listen to the recording. He also drew a plan of the house and wrote down the testimonies of the suspects. The students’ task is to listen to the tape, examine the plan and study the testimonies.

First introduce them the plan of the house and the testimonies. Let the students study them and discuss the testimonies so that they will understand the situation given.

Then switch on the tape for the first time and let them listen to it. After the first listening discuss it. You can ask the students to retell what they understood. While listening they can mark some places on the plan of the house

The switch on the tape for the second time. Suggest them writing an essay where they will explain who the murderer is and their reasons for such a decision.

Consulting their notes as necessary, students brainstorm about the possible events and characters. They may write about the character's feelings and thoughts, tell the story that leads up to the murder, or narrate the events that follow. Encourage students not only to describe the crime but to invent an original story related to the event illustrated. Remind students of the characteristics of narrative writing. You might write the information on a piece of chart paper or on the board so that writers can refer to the list while working.

Focuses a clear, well-defined incident or series of related events.

Develops plot, character, and setting with specific detail.

Orders events clearly.

Uses description and dialogue as appropriate to develop setting and character.

Shows events rather than just telling about them.

Establishes and maintains a tone and point of view.

Uses a logical and effective pattern of organization, such as chronological order, flashback, or flash-forward.

Uses transitional words and phrases to maintain coherence and establish sequence within and between paragraphs.


P.S. If you want students to create a more formal piece of writing, allow additional class sessions for them to revise, type, and edit their papers. Alternately, you might have students do simple "first draft" writing, or write in their journals or writer's notebooks

Bellow you will see the list of the testimonies and the plan of the manor. You can also find them in the book Streamline English – Destinations, Units 24-25

Evaluation: When the students finish ask them to form groups according to the suspect they consider to be the murderer. They should discuss their reasons for

blaming this very person first in group and then present their conjectures to the other groups. If students write their stories in their journals, you might read and simply note things that stand out as specific and well-detailed. You can also ask students to present their stories and let the whole class decide:o Whose story was the most logico Who used the deductive methodo Whose story was the most captivatingo Who invented the most unexpected endo Who made the most penetrating study into the culprits characters o Etc.

The results of this activity range from a restatement of the vocabulary from the brainstorming on the board or chart paper to a detailed story with fleshed-out characterizations, depending upon the student and his or her abilities; therefore, a variety of finished products may result, each reflecting individual student's efforts.

Time: 20-25 min



Reflection

Ask student to tell what they learnt during the lessons on the topic, which tasks they liked most of all and why, whether they liked such form of lesson or not and why.

Suggest the students writing a “sinkvein”. Explain to them that “Sinkvein” is a short poem of 5 lines written according to special rules: The first line presents the subject or the theme. The second line gives he description of the subject/theme from the first line. It consists of 2 adjectives The third line consists of 3 verbs characterizing the actions of the subject/theme The forth line presents the authors opinion on the subject/theme. It’s a full phrase consisting of 4 words And the fifth line is the synonym to the word in the first line generalizing and summarizing the subject/theme

Give the students an example of “sinkvein” on the topic of the lesson Ask the students to read out their “sinkveins”