This document outlines an approach for using newspaper articles to teach English language skills to newcomers in Canada. It presents three sample news stories that could be used, along with exercises focused on vocabulary, reading comprehension, writing, and integrated language skills. Students would read the news articles, complete comprehension questions, discuss vocabulary, and write summaries or responses. The goal is for students to practice their English reading and writing abilities through engaging with authentic texts on familiar topics from newspapers.

1. PRACTICING READING AND WRITING THROUGH NEWSPAPER ARTICLES Jana Ciobanu Calgary Immigrant Educational Society YWCA of Calgary SukranBicer Maple Leaf Academy TESOL 2011 New Orleans, LA U.S.A

2. The Canadian Language Benchmarks (CLB) CLB-Based Approach

3. LINC ProgramLanguage Instruction for Newcomers to Canada 12 benchmarks, divided into three proficiency stages Intermediate proficiency Advanced proficiency Basic proficiency Ddd Fffff The Schematic Structure of the Canadian Language Benchmarks

4. WHY NEWSPAPERS?

5. News Story 1 Pacifiers Recalled Due to Lead Benchmarks: 4, 5, 6 (Pre-Intermediate and Intermediate)Theme/Unit: HealthText Type: Informational Text Learning Objectives:Students read a short authentic newspaper article on a familiar topicStudents demonstrate comprehension of simple, explicit, short (one-two paragraphs) textsStudents get the gist, key information, and important details of the textTechnology Used for Teaching: Board, overhead projector, LCD Projector, smart board.Vocabulary and Reading Skills and Strategies: Skimming and scanningGuessing vocabulary in context and vocabulary practiceGrammar andWriting Skills and Strategies:RewriteOne-sentence summary Writing an e-mail to the editor expressing their concern

7. grammar analysis, i.e. active/passive

8. draw on general knowledge Pacifiers Recalled Due to Lead

9. WHILE-READING The Calgary Herald, October 17, 2008 http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/story.html?id=7c71bba1-eeed-4396-8013-34b98cd4404e

14. BecauseRE-WRITE PRACTICE : Because of _______________________, __________________________________. Due to ___________________________ , ___________________________________. I couldn’t get to sleep last night because of____________________. Because it was raining, he stayed home I couldn’t get to sleep last night because it was noisy in the next apartment.

15. POST-READING 2. Why-that’s-why Game

16. POST-READING 3. WRITING A SUMMARY SENTENCE Student response: My Brand baby pacifiers sold across Canada in Everything for a Dollar stores have been recalled due to high level of lead. Andrey, LINC 5

17. POST-READING III. Writing Skills 1. E-MAIL WRITING • Have students write an email to the editor expressing their concern:

18. POST-READING Student Response: Yi Hao, LINC 5

19. News Story 2 2 Lecture For Spitting Leads Police To Murder Arrest Benchmarks: 5, 6, 7 (Intermediate and High-Intermediate)Theme/Unit: Bylaw/Community SafetyText Type: Informational Text Learning Objectives:Students read a short authentic newspaper article on a familiar topic Students demonstrate comprehension of simple, explicit, short (one-two paragraphs) textsStudents get the gist, key information, and important details of the textTechnology Used for Teaching: board, overhead projector, LCD Projector, smart boardVocabulary and Reading Skills and Strategies: Scan for information; skim for overall meaningRead to understand, summarize, evaluate, and re-tellIntegrate and synthesize informationSpot vocabulary in contextReading for detailsGrammar and Writing Skills and Strategies:Organize, record or document; inform or persuadeReproduce informationRequest information or justify a requestPresent an analysis or comparison

20. NEWS STORY 2 PRE-READING PRE-READING ACTIVITY Show the article headline•Have students speculate on the possible content. Lecture for Spitting Leads Police to Murder Arrest

21. The Calgary Herald, January 23, 2009

22. WHILE-READING I. Reading for Details and Sequencing•Have students complete the sequence of the events in the news story. The first and last events are given:Two police officers see a man spitting on the street____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Police officers arrest him.

23. WHILE-READING I. Reading for Details and Sequencing Student response:Two police officers see a man spitting on the street____They walk over him to give him a warning.________ ________ ____He starts to act nervously.___________________________ ________ ____They run his name through the CPIC._______________________ ____They find out that he is wanted on second-degree.________ ____murder charges._____________________________________________Police officers arrest him. Setu, LINC 5

24. WHILE-READING II. Reading Comprehension:1. MULTIPLE-CHOICE QUESTIONS 1. What is the Calgary bylaw mentioned in this news story about? a) smoking b) waste and recycling c) public behaviour d) community standards 2. What is the minor event in this news story? a) fighting at a party b) spitting on the street c) stabbing someone d) murdering someone 3. “Lagrelle remains in custody”. What is the synonym in the story for the underlined phrase? a) nab b) detain c) approach d) charge 4. “Lagrelle was wanted in the on the second degree murder charges in connection with the November slaying”. What is the synonym in the story for the underlined word? a) infraction b) warning c) homicide d) wound

26. WHILE-READING II. Reading Comprehension: 3. TRUE-FALSE QUESTIONS •Ask students to read each statement and decide whether they are true or false. •Ask them to correct the false ones Lagrelle was arrested because he was spitting on the street. T/F 2. Lagrelle stabbed L’hirondelle to death at a party in Edmonton. T/F 3. Because Lagrelle started to act nervously, Calgary police officers T/F asked for his ID.

31. POST READING VOCABULARY POSTER Student response: Clark Kent turns out to be Superman Ruslana, Davoud, and Jankiben, LINC 5

32. POST-READING I. Integrated Skills2. POSTER PRESENTATION Ask students to make a poster on a bylaw topic such as parking, public behaviour, and waste and recycling and present it to the class. Students vote on the best one(s)

33. POST-READING POSTER PRESENTATION Student response: Diana, Galyna, and Ahmed LINC 5

35. POST-READING II. Writing Skills: 2. NOTICE WRITING Have students look at the picture of Marlborough Park, which shows some problems existing for several months. Ask students to write a notice to the community newspaper describing three to four problems in the park and explain what they think should be done. Encourage them to tell the residents of their community why it is important to make changes.

36. POST-READING Notice Writing COMMUNITY NOTICE TO ALL RESIDENTS OF THE MARLBOROUGH COMMUNITY : Student response: For several months there have been problems in the community park. The swing and the bench have been broken, the garbage has been thrown all over the park and the braches of the trees have been broken as well. The Marlborough Park is the only park in our neighborhood and that’s why it is important to keep it in an excellent state. Save our park! Thank you for your understanding and cooperation. Sincerely, Violeta Rata

37. News Story 3 Reinvent Your Resume Benchmark: 5,6,7 (Intermediate) Theme/Unit: EmploymentText Type: Informational Text and/or Business/Service TextLearning Objectives:Students demonstrate comprehension of advanced specialized texts.Students get the gist, key information, and important details of the text.Based on the information in the newspaper, students express their opinions about creative resumes and their benefits.Technology Used for Teaching: board, overhead projector, LCD Projector, smart board.Vocabulary and Reading Skills and Strategies: Scan for information; skim for overall meaningRead to understand, summarize, and evaluate and interpret informationIntegrate and synthesize informationSpot unknown vocabulary in contextGrammar and Writing Skills and Strategies:Write a summary of the article using the 5W's Design a creative Resume that could possibly grab the employers’ attention.

38. PRE-READING I. Predicting the Content • Show theses pictures and ask them to predict what the article will be about. http://reader.metronews.ca/digital_launch.aspx?eid=5dfa8c68-9120-4727-aa01-75749f33379e&skip=true

39. WHILE-READING

42. Have them discuss in groups whetherapplicants’ age, picture, marital status and hobbies should be included in the resume

45. Solving billing problems and dealing well with customer stress

46. Communicating effectively with a variety of peopleGrab this bag and be carried away by my commitment! Grab this bag and be carried away by my commitment! Leila and Vinh, LINC 5

47. Integrated Skills with Newspapers

48. REFERENCES Drake, L. & Hall, J. (2009, January 23). Lecture for spitting leads police to murder arrest. The Calgary Herald, pp. A3 Hinshaw, D. (2011, January 5). Reinvent your resume. The Metro, pp.13 Pacifiers recalled due to lead. (2008, October 17). The Calgary Herald, pp. E1 Pawlikowska-Smith, G. (2002). Canadian Language Benchmark 2000: Theoretical Framework. Ottawa: Centre for Canadian Benchmarks

49. Email address Jana Ciobanu janaciobanu@yahoo.com SukranBicer sukranbicer@hotmail.com

50. QUESTIONS?