The USA

We're going to work with a country where they speak English: the USA. We're also going to focus a specific state - North Carolina - a bit more than the other states, since we're going to collaborate with students from that state.

Why the USA?

In English class you need to be able to reflect on the way of life in areas where English is spoken. The USA is a country that influences and affects many countries in the world. It is a country that has been both praised and criticized in, for example, areas of politics and culture. That makes it a country important to learn more about and discuss.

In the classroom

We are going to look at different areas of life, as well as facts, important places and history. We will read, listen, discuss/present and write. We will also work with words and grammar. At the end there will be a writing assignment.

The states

Game: Name that state!

Teenage life in the USA

Youtube

The Daily Life of an American Teenager

10 Reasons Why Being A Teenager Is AWESOME

Texts

Time Magazine: The American Teenager in 2015

A young blogger's thoughts about American English 

 

Uppgifter

Homework for Tuesday week 9

https://glosor.eu/ovning/the-african-american-dream.9642084.html

The African-American Dream.pdf

The African American Dream - Famous People

Find information about the following famous African Americans. Write a few sentences about each person. Why are they famous?

• Rosa Parks
• Muhammad Ali
• Oprah Winfrey
• Barack Obama

Good luck!

Chase High School Website

2019-2020 CHS Student Handbook.pdf

At the moment, we have just started collaborating with students at Chase High School in North Carolina, USA.

Check out the Chase High School Website: https://chs.rcsnc.org/. Answer the following questions:

School info

1. What does the bell schedule look like (how long are the lessons and when do they start/end?)
2. What does the lunch menu look like? Is it different from the Swedish lunch menu? If yes, in what way?

Parents & students/Student Handbook

3. Scroll down in the Student Handbook. Pick three school rules that we don't have here at Fuxernaskolan. Do you think that we should have these rules? Why/why not?

Sports and clubs

In the USA sports and clubs are a part of school (extra curricular activities).

4. Name at least five sports that you can participate in at the school.

5. Name at least three different clubs that you can participate in at the school.

Indigenous people in Sweden?

You have read about indigenous (inhemska) people in the USA - the Native Americans. What indigenous people do we have in Sweden? Look for facts on the Internet and write about 50-100 words about it.

Present an Overview of Sweden

It is time to present an overview of Sweden to our collaborators in the USA. What can we tell them about Sweden in general? This is the plan for this assignment:

Lesson 1. You will pick one of these topics:

• The weather (What weather do we have during the different seasons? When is summer, fall, winter and spring in Sweden?
• Holidays and traditions (What holidays do we celebrate? How do we celebrate them? Do we have any specific traditions?)
• School (schedule, breaks, subjects, food, behavior etc.)
• Spare time (What do young people do? Sports?)
• Religion (Are we very religious, in your opinion? Are there many religions in Sweden, as far as you can tell?)
• Typical expressions (Do we have any typical expressions in Swedish? What do they mean in English?)
• Politics (How does our political system work? Do we live in a democracy? Do we have a monarch/king/queen?)
• Famous people (Are there any internationally famous Swedes? Who? What do/did they do?)
• Suggest your own topic (Is there anything that you would like to choose, but that is not on the list?)

You will think, look for information and write some information (about 50-100 words) about your topic in a document/here on Unikum (a bit risky). If you write in a document, put it in this assignment or share it with me. Remember, put some of your own thoughts into this. What is it like if you look at it from your perspective? Always be respectful and polite!

I will look at your text before lesson 2.

Lesson 2. You will finish your text and put it here: https://padlet.com/emh_pettersson/xgbjry9l8dxn (you double click and start writing). When I have approved your text, anyone with the link will be able to see it.

This link will be given to our American collaborators, in order to give them an overview of Sweden through your eyes.

Chase High School: Questions

Look at the website again: https://chs.rcsnc.org/.

What would you like to know more about? Work individually, in pairs or in small groups and try to think of questions to ask the students of Chase High School. It can be about the schedule, about school menus, sports, clubs, school rules etc. I will gather your questions in a document and send them to the students at Chase High School.

If you're in a group, only one has to write, but make sure you write all the names of the students in your group.

Homework for Friday week 48: irregular verbs

Irregular verbs 8B week 45.docx

Find information about an American Musician

American Musicians.pdf

A Sound History of the USA

Read the text "A Sound History of the USA". You can listen to the text here:

https://www.ovningsmastaren.se/ovningsmastaren/index.php/exercise/ljudmastaren/7677

Answer the questions at the end of the text. Write your answers here or in a Word document that you attach in this assignment/share with me (put the link to the document here, please).

American Dreams

Read the text "American Dreams". You can listen to the text here:

https://www.ovningsmastaren.se/ovningsmastaren/index.php/exercise/ljudmastaren/7676

The “American Dream” has to do with ideas about an ideal society for Americans. The idea that in the USA you can do whatever you want and/or become whoever you want to be.

Answer the questions at the end of the text and write them here/in a Word document that you attach in this assignment or share with me (put the link to the document here, please).

State Symbols of the USA

Read the text "State Symbols of the USA". You can listen to the text here: https://www.ovningsmastaren.se/ovningsmastaren/index.php/exercise/ljudmastaren/7675

This text has a lot of information and might seem a bit hard to read. Think of each paragraph (stycke) as one short text. After each paragraph try think of what you have learned and if there were any words that you didn't understand.

Answer the questions after the text. Write your answers here or in a Word document that you attach in this assignment/share with me (put the link to the document here if you share it with me, please).

Homework for Friday week 48 - irregular verbs

irregularverbs8bweek48.docx

Chase High School - Answers to Your Questions

Answers Chase High School.docx

Information for Chase High School

The students of Chase High School want to know the following:

• What winter is like here in Sweden.
• What a typical school day/school is like for us
• Some typical Swedish words and expressions.

They would very much like films, but some of you might want to make a PowerPoint or write a text. Choose what you want to contribute with, by yourself or in a group, and discuss it with me. You can put your documents/PowerPoints here.

More difficult: New York

First: Read the blog entry about New York (link below) and choose one of the poems about New York (also link below). What are your thoughts about the texts? Do they raise any questions about New York? Do they match your preconceptions about the city? How? If not, in what way? Do some research! 1. What do you want to know more about when it comes to N.Y.C.? Politics? Culture? Architecture? History? Famous people? Sports? Write what it is that you want to research a bit more. 2. Search online for different sources where you can find your answers. Write both facts and your own thoughts about what you find. Does it seem like a city that you would like to visit? Did you find the answers that you expected to find? What conclusions can you draw from what you have found? 3. Write your own blog entry about what you have learned and your thoughts about it. If you want, you can actually make your own real blog and call it "What I do in English class" (or something like it), and we can use it in the future as well. Do not forget to link to your sources in the blog. You can use the link below to create your blog. If you do not want to create a real blog, you can write everything in a document

Gleerups: New York

Before writing, you need two work with 2-3 of the texts about New York in Gleerups.

Being a teenager in Sweden today - reflections in the classroom

Do this by yourself. Hand in here on Unikum. What is being a teenager in Sweden like today? You can write about - issues that are important. - problems that you experience. - things that are easy. - other things that you want to share.

Wings - Teenage Life in the USA

Choose one of the texts about teenage life in the USA on pp.112-115 in Wings Red. Write your thoughts about the following: 1. What do you think of the teenager's life? Does it seem fun/interesting/boring/hard (or something else)? Why? 2. What similarities and differences can you find if you compare to your own life?

More difficult: The American Teenager in 2015

1) Read and pick out 15 hard words. Translate the words. 2) Write a short summary about the text. What is it about? What do you learn about American teens in 2015? 3) Compare to your life. What similarities and differences can you find?

Wings: Teenage life in the USA

Choose one of the texts about teenage life in the USA on pp.112-116 in Wings Red. Write some thoughts: 1. What do you think of the teenager's life? Does it seem fun/interesting/boring/hard (or something else)? Why? 2. What similarities and differences can you find if you compare to your own life?

More difficult: The American Teenager in 2015

1) Read and pick out 15 hard words. Translate the words. 2) Write a short summary about the text. What is it about? What do you learn about American teens in 2015? 3) Compare to your life. What similarities and differences can you find? Hand in here!