UNIVERSIDAD NACIONAL DE LA PLATA

FACULTAD DE HUMANIDADES Y CS DE LA EDUCACIÓN

DIDÁCTICA ESPECIAL Y PRÁCTICAS DOCENTES EN LENGUA INGLESA 2
CLASES PRÁCTICAS PROFESORA MARCELA JALO
Worksheet 7

You are expected to transfer the concepts we have discussed on TBLT and apply them in the design of tasks
for secondary education. Before you do so, let's analyse the following tasks.

The tasks that follow form part of a school project on the topic “Native Americans. When did it
all start? 1492 or before that?”

1. Analyse the tasks below. They belong to the first didactic sequence.
➢ Decide whether they are unfocused (U)/ focused (F)or consciousness-raising tasks (CRT).
➢ Identify the language feature/s the tasks are focusing on.
➢ What knowledge of the language is assumed SS already have?
➢ How can you help your ss understand language features?

2. Analyse the texts.

➢ What challenges are posed in order to teach the language using these texts?
➢ What content-obligatory language and what content-compatible language could be taught
within the context of this particular content domain?
➢ Analyse the text "The first Americans". It contains examples of the target language that the
teacher wants learners to notice. What text enhancement activities does she use? Can you
think of some others? Which ones? What other target language would you like learners to
notice?

3. Finally, how would you develop the second sequence of this didactic unit?
➢ Think of the conceptual content of this second sequence.
➢ Identify the linguistic /discursive feature/s you will focus.
➢ Explore some visual and textual input. Decide how you will use it in the design of the
sequence. Decide on what input you will use in your pre task and which one you will use in the
core task.
➢ Define a pre-task, a core task (tackling language), include a CRT and a follow-up task.

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 Sequence 1

“Native Americans. When did it all start? 1492 or before that?”

1. In your History class, you’re doing some research on Native American cultures. Your
teacher shows you a cartoon and asks some questions:
● Who are these people?
● Where are they?
● When was the 'discovery' of America?
● What was America like before the conquerors
arrived? Which of these two options is correct?
➢ There were several cultures in America BEFORE the
conquerors arrived.
➢ There weren’t many cultures in America BEFORE the
conquerors arrived.

2. Your teacher asks the class: “Who were the first Americans?” “Where were
they from?” “Who were their leaders?” and invites you to read the following
article to answer these questions.

The first Americans

Today there are 23 countries in North, Central and South America. But
five hundred years ago, a large area of South America – now Peru – was
part of the Inca Empire. In Central America, the Maya people were
important. And people in Mexico were part of the Aztec empire. In
North America, there were different groups in different areas, for
example the Apache, Navajo and Sioux. Today the name for these
different groups is Native Americans. The leaders of these people are
still famous today – the last Inca leader Tupac Amaru, the Aztec
Moctezuma and the Apache war hero, Geronimo, for example.
The Apache people were from the south and west of North America.
Geronimo was the grandson of an important Apache leader. He was
born on 16 June 1829. When Geronimo was a young man, there was a
war between Mexico and the USA, and the Native Americans. At that
time, his family’s land was part of Mexico. Now, it’s part of the United
States. Geronimo was an Apache war hero. From 1886 until 1909 he
was a prisoner of war in the United States. But what about other ancient
Americans like Mayan, Aztec or Inca people?
Let’s learn about them!

The first
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3. After school, your friend Lola, sends you a message with some questions:
Who was Tupac Amaru?

Who was Moctezuma?

Where were the Apache people from?

Who was Geronimo?

4. Now you want to write a summary of the main ideas from the text but you are not
sure of some information. You complete your notes with the help of your friend.

- Today there are 23 independent countries in North, Central and South

America.
- But 500 years ago, there were rich and important empires.
- The Inca Empire was in South America.
- The Maya and the Aztecs were from Central America and Mexico.
- People like the Apache, Navajo and Sioux …………… from North America.
- Geronimo was an important Apache leader.
- Tupac Amaru ………………………………………………
- Moctezuma …………………………………………………

GW.
A. Look at these two sentences from task 4. Then complete the statements that follow.

1. Today there are 23 independent countries in North, Central and South America.
2. 500 years ago, there were rich and important empires.

Focus on the underlined words.

There are is used to refer to present/past existence.
There were is used to refer to present/past existence.

Focus on the words in bold. Which of these time expressions refer to the past? Which one
refers to the present?
Today refers to the ……………………………………..
(500) years ago refers to the ………………………..

B. Now look at these two sentences. Then complete the statements that follow.

The Inca Empire was in South America.

The Maya and the Aztecs were from Central America.

WAS // WERE indicate:

the present / the past of the verb TO BE.

C. Then complete the other two sentences.

The Aztec people ………… from Central America and Mexico.

Moctezuma ……………… an important Aztec leader.

D. Now circle the correct option.

When the subject of the sentence is he/she/it, we use was//were.

When the subject of the sentence is people (they) we use was//were.
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5. Next, your teacher presents the following information and shares some quotes that
refer to Native Americans. Then she asks: “Do you agree with the word ‘savages’ to
refer to these people?” “Were Native Americans ‘Indian Savages’?”

Did you know ……?

In the Declaration of Independence of the USA,
Thomas Jefferson refers to Native Americans as
✱ The first Europeans arrived in
“merciless Indian savages” America in 1492.

Nicolás Avellaneda (Argentinian president 1874-1880)

✱ By 1570 there was a reduction in
the size of the native population.
said “Los indios eran un puñado de salvajes que
What were the reasons? European
impedían ocupar en nombre de la ley del progreso los
diseases, war and forced labour.
territorios más ricos y fértiles de la República”

✱ Between 1530 and 1870 more than

10 million Africans arrived in America
as slaves.

Final task.

Together with your classmates, you are going to do some research on the fights of
Native people in our territory in order to design other didactic sequences that will
form part of a didactic unit on “Indigenous people: fights and resistance in the past
and today”.