(( go through Exercises pp. 30-31

We have NOT HAD much time to PRACTICE your conversation skills OR do Group Discussions on Teams. I would LIKE to WORK on those two things in today's online class. Conversations START with a sentence and CONTINUE sentence by sentence (the yellow boxes below). It is important, however, that the sentences be CONNECTED to each other. One technique to MAKE sure that sentences are well-connected and conversations FLOW smoothly IS to THINK of Thought Questions (the blue boxes below). Sometimes we will WRITE them DOWN, and sometime we won't. The conversation pattern that we are AIMING for... LOOKS like this:

The yellow boxes REPRESENT the sentences in a conversation. The first sentence is the Conversation Starter, a single sentence that TELLS people in a conversation group what HAPPENED (a) to Marion Swift or (b) to Holly Jones. We have all SEEN the scene in the video, hopefully more than once. The sentence REMINDS us of the scene and BRINGS that image into our heads.

The sentences that FOLLOW (the answers to our Thought Questions) PROVIDE interesting details and related information. They MAKE the conversation interesting and relevant. To LEARN how to SPEAK English, you NEED to PRACTICE (a) SAYING these sentences and (b) LISTENING for the information in them. This is exactly what the 3-Minute Routine was DESIGNED to ACCOMPLISH.

LET me WALK you through the process with a demonstation here in our General Meeting. I will CALL ON groups one by one to PARTICIPATE. During this lecture your cameras and microphones have been TURNED OFF. I HOPE you are all LISTENING very carefully. In order to PARTICIPATE in this demonstation (ie. COMMUNICATE), however, we NEED to SEE you and HEAR you. Therefore when I CALL ON your group, please TURN ON your camera and your microphone. It will only be for a few minutes, and then I will CALL ON another group.

You will have to SPEAK as loudly and clearly as you possibly can, so that the other people in your group can HEAR (a) what you have SAID and (b) how you have SAID it (each word). I will (a) do the writing and (b) TIME you (the 3-Minute Routine). Are you ready? I will SHOW you 2-3 minutes of one of the assigned videos. WATCH carefully and USE your imagination to HELP you FOLLOW (or RECONSTRUCT the dialog and narrative). This is a conversation, NOT a listening comprehension exam. You do NOT have to HAVE the right answer. You just have to HAVE your own idea about what HAPPENED in the video story.

REVIEW the conversations and CHECK the flow of each conversation.

MAKE any corrections that will IMPROVE the conversation, the flow, or MAKE it more interesting.

REPEAT from the beginning with a new video clip, if there is time.

Before we GO to Teams, I would like to HAVE you DO today's Flash Quiz. It FOLLOWS the same pattern as this conversation (and the Flash Quiz at the end of Week 2):

Question #1: WRITE the Title and Section of the video that I SHOW you.

Question #2: WRITE a Conversation Starter.

Question #3: WRITE a Thought Question.

Question #4: WRITE a full-sentence Answer to that question.

You will HAVE 10 minutes to WRITE your answers DOWN and SUBMIT them. (Slow students can SUBMIT their answers up to ten minutes late. Then it will be TOO LATE.) As soon as you SUBMIT your answers ...

... GO to your channels on Teams. One person should OPEN a new meeting. The others will JOIN that meeting. Then WRITE your first message: Your group's name ... and ... Week 5.

CHOOSE your Leader. Then WRITE your second message: the Leader's name.

Finally WRITE the plan in two messages:
(third message) Plan A: 3-Minute Routine and
(fourth message) Conversation Starter, then Level 6 - 7 Pairs.

USE all the remaining class time for your own Group Discussions (same procedure as the Demonstation). Your Leader will TIME you. Everyone must (a) KEEP their cameras and microphones TURNED ON, (b) SPEAK loudly and clearly, and (c) one student must WRITE DOWN their own sentence (during the third minute, while everyone REPEATS it).

END the class with a Flash Quiz (free choice of scene from memory).

During the Group Work Leaders should MAKE SURE that all students that are online KEEP their microphones ON (so that they can SPEAK) AND their cameras ON (so that they can SEE each other).

At the top of your report WRITE
(message #1) your group's name, "Week 7",
(message #2) the leader's name,
(message #3) Plan A: 3-Minute Routine, and
(message #4) Conversation Starter, then
Level 6-7 pairs.

Follow the 3-Minute Routine explained in Lesson 1 for each sentence (and question, perhaps). The sentences should be about scenes from the assigned videos.

If you HAVE any questions about what you are supposed to be DOING, first DISCUSS the problem with your group, then ... if you are still in doubt, DO what you or your group THINK is right, (RAISE your hand if you're in the classroom) and SHOW it to the teacher (the PDS Cycle).