Didactic unit: "Life skills: work & career"

Didactic unit

In order to fulfil the needs of the all the different students (ADHD, gifted students and students who are repeating the course), we will adapt some of the activities of the didactic unit we have been assigned, which is “Life skills: work & career”.

Ice-breaker activity

Number these inventions in order from 1 (you could not live without it) to 8 (you could easily live without it). (We use the warm-up activity that appears in the book, adapting it for the different students).

• For gifted children: They will have to number the inventions from 1 (they could not live without it) to 8 (they could easily live without it). Then, they have to explain why.
  With this activity, they will have to explain their choices, reflecting on what they like and what interest them.
• For ADHD students: They will just have to number the inventions (from 1 to 8), deciding which are more necessary for them to live.
  They will have to follow less instructions, focusing only on whether the inventions are indispensable for them to live.
• Students who are repeating the course: They will have to number the inventions in order of preference and they will also have to explain which is their use.
  Students will have to develop their knowledge, using the contents they already know.

Vocabulary activity

Write natural or manufactured for each material. Check your answers in pairs.

• For gifted children, we will adapt the activity saying that they have to describe the process of creating an object, including the materials, the different stages, etc. For example, how to create a cotton t-shirt.
  With this activity, they can be creative and we encourage them to think and design, developing their advanced skills.
• For ADHD students, they have to draw one object made of natural material (for example, wood) and one object made of manufactured materials (for example, plastic).
  This activity is appropiate for them because it is simple, the instructions are easy to follow so they will focus better on the activity.
• For those students who are repeating the course, they have to think of five natural materials and five manufactured ones.
  Since those students have already seen the unit, with this activity they can remember what they learned in previous years and can increase their vocabulary about this topic

Grammar activity

Complete the sentences with the passive forms of the verbs in brackets. (In order to study the grammar of the unit (present simple passive), we have adapted one of the activities from the book to the different needs of the students).

• For gifted children, we will give them sentences with gaps and the verbs (in the infinitive form) apart, and they have to match the sentences with the verbs, and put the verbs in the present simple passive tense.
  This activity increases the level of difficulty because they necessarily have to understand the sentences and they have to conjugate the verbs.
• For ADHD students, we will give them the same sentences with the gaps but giving them the verb the verb to the corresponding sentence, in the infinitive form.
  This activity is less demanding because they just have to conjugate the verbs, so they receive less instructions.
• For those students who are repeating the course, we give them some verbs in the infinitive form and they have to create sentences in the present simple passive, using those verbs.
  Since they have already studied this grammar point, they should be able to create new sentences using this verbal tense.

Listening activity

Listen to someone describing the process in the diagram. Match each stage a-f below to the correct picture. We have adapted the one that appears in the book:

• For gifted children: they have to listen to the audio in which the production process of an object is described, and then they have to describe the next step of production. For example, when the product arrives to the shops and costumbers buy it.
  In this activity, they have to be creative again, and think about how would they sell the product.
• For ADHD students, we will give them sentences that appear in the audio, containing gaps. They will have to fill the gaps, according to what they have listened to.
  They just have to pay attention to the audio and they just have to write one word, so they can be more concentrated.
• For the students who are repeating the course, we will give them some questions related to the audio and they will have to write short answers about it.
  They will have to pay more attention to the audio, being aware of the details and using more vocabulary.

STAGES:

• Pellets are sent to companies.
• Ethylene and propylene are heated to make a polymer.
• The oil is processed at a refinery. Ethylene and propylene are produced.
• The polymer is made into small balls called pellets.
• Oil is extracted from the ground.

Writing activity

You are going to write a review of a piece of technology you own. It could be a tablet, a computer, a smartphone, a games console or something else. (We also adapt the activity that the book proposes, in order to fulfill all the needs of the students).

WRITE ABOUT A TECHNOLOGICAL DEVICE.

• For gifted students: They will have to write a review about a technological device. We won't give them any instructions regarding structure, vocabulary, etc. REVIEW.
  They will have to be imaginative and creative, and plan their writing on their own, structuring the information, using new vocabulary,, etc.
• For ADHD students: They will have to do the same as the gifted students, but we will give them the instructions to follow, including the structure, vocabulary they may use, possible verbs, useful connectors, etc. REVIEW WITH HELP 
  They will only have to think about the device, and follow the instructions we give them.
• For the students who are repeating the course: They will have to compare one technological device that they have, with one owned by a friend of them. We won't give them any instructions. COMPARISON
  They will have to remember the vocabulary they already knew, including more words, and the extension of the writing will be a bit longer.

Final project

In order to work on the contents they have studied in this unit, students will develop a final project. This final project will consist on the real manufacturing of a product, which will be divided in two parts: The theoretical part will be the description of the process, including all the fases of production (using the vocabulary and different verbs they have learned during the unit), and the practical part will consist on building the product at a small scale. For example, a small table using pieces of wood and glue.

Students will be divided in groups by the teacher, in order to favour the inclusion of all the students. We will allow them to work freely, organising themselves when dividing the work. However, the teacher must pay attention to this aspect and intervene if necessary, because the needs of the gifted, ADHD and repeater students may not be fulfilled.