UNIVERSIDADE PRESBITERIANA MACKENZIE

BRUNA ALCAZAR DIAS – TIA: 313.1096-6

DENISE PEREIRA MIRANDA DE BARROS – TIA: 313.8698-9

FERNANDA BASÍLIO CALDEIRA RAMOS – TIA: 4134816-8

LETÍCIA COSTA – TIA: 4131669-1

Knowing Thanksgiving

SÃO PAULO2016

Introduction: It is known that language teaching needs to be based on

communicative situations that include cultural aspects and lead the students

build their own knowledge about the language. For this reason, the purpose of

this work is to teach the student about one of the most famous holidays around

the world: Thanksgiving.

It is also known that children can learn a new language faster than an adult.

Thinking about it, we understand that the teacher has to “bring” to the child not

grammar rules - because he or she uses to learn this naturally, just listening to

the adults -, but emphasize the cultural aspects of a culture, it means daily

vocabulary. Once that, nowadays, it is more and more essential that the

students of regular basic education have a plural formation, because it deals

with all aspects of social life. The cultural diversity notion is still important and it

is a relevant component to the construction of knowledge providing a solid and

comprehensive basis.

It is clear, however, especially in the public school system that there is a

discrepancy between the social context and everyday life with the student’s

school career. Another fact is that students do not have contact with different

cultures, which prevents them from expanding their vision of the world.

It is also emphasizes the importance of process learning a foreign language

from in a meaningful and pleasurable way. The implementation of games as a

fun tool at school, for example, allow to the student assimilate more accurately

the taught content. According to the Brazilian educator named Celso Antunes, a

specialist in intelligence and cognition, point out the importance of a interactive

class within the environment school and says that “a utilização de jogos

pedagógicos pode favorecer e auxiliar o desenvolvimento das diversas

inteligências e auxiliar o processo de ensino-aprendizagem” (2003).

The theoretical reference of this paper was based on HANNA (2012) and PCNs

(2000). This work is organized in introduction, justification, theoretical reference,

objectives, methodology, schedule and bibliography.

Justification: This paper aims to develop the vocabulary of fourth grade

students. Therefore, after some classes, a game will be played with the

students simulating a daily situation during a typical Thanksgiving in the USA.

This theme was chosen because it provides contact with a real situation, and

teaches about a different vocabulary as well as know a new holiday.

Theoretical Reference

According to the Brazilian educational program, Parâmetros Curriculares

Nacionais – PCNs, the school needs to teach cultural aspects to the students

trailer to the proper language, and that different languages can help this

process:

Um conhecimento fundamental para a leitura da Pluralidade Cultural são as muitas linguagens que se apresentam como fator de identidade de grupos e indivíduos. Conhecer e respeitar diferentes linguagens é decisivo para que o trabalho com este tema possa desenvolver atitudes de diálogo e respeito para com culturas distintas daquela que a criança conhece, do grupo do qual participa. (p. 54, 1997)

The interaction and creativity are essential tools to teaching and learning

process of a foreign language. This process consists not only in a collaborative

exchange of thoughts, but also opinions and feelings. Comunication is very

important to this process, according to Hanna (2012):

O desenvolvimento das quatro habilidades básicas do aprendizado de língua estrangeira – ouvir, falar, ler e escrever – torna-se mais expressivo à proporção que houver oportunidade de se produzir linguagem mais verdadeira. (p. 58)

Thinking about that, working in pairs or groups inserted in a real world situation

becomes essential to produce significant communication (Brown apud Hanna

2012: 57).

Besides that, the teacher plays a fundamental position during foreign language

classes, as to organize, conduct, manage, facilitate and advise the learning

process. For a real and significant interaction it is necessary that students be

the focus. The classroom needs to simulate truly social situations, making the

acts of communication possible (grammatical, discursive, sociolinguistic and

pragmatic elements, for instance). These aspects will motivate and encourage

creativity and student’s autonomy. Therefore, using authentic material is

indispensable, once it will promote the practice of language in cultural contexts.

GOALS

The project's objectives are to lead the students to:

- promote values such as friendship, solidarity and respect through a

celebration;

- recognize the vocabulary related to the celebration of Thanksgiving Day;

- recognize the importance of culture to which the language is inserted;

- learn how to work in groups;

- motor coordination skills to perform artistic tasks;

- Use the materials provided by the school with creativity and economy;

- learn how to use the WH questions.

METHODOLOGY

After the presentation of the project, the teacher should explain to students the

reason for the initiation of the project, how it will be done, what are the

objectives of it and all the lesson planning.

The students will be taught about the Thanksgiving Day and the teacher will

always be concerned to transmit such knowledge in a playful manner, in other

words, using appropriate language to their clearly understanding, using images

to their deepen interpretation and also, wherever possible, videos and music.

They are going to learn about how are used the thanks in English through a lot

of activities and plays. Therefore, the professor will be the example to the

students giving them his own testimony about what is he thankful for and how is

the construction of this gratitude speech. Then, with help, the students will do

the same exercise.

Besides that, the students will be taught how to make and use the WH

questions in English. To complete their vocabulary, words in relation to

Thanksgiving Day will be represented to them as well.

The result of this activity aims to make an act of Thanksgiving Day with the

children, giving instructions to them asking for what they are grateful. On this

day, students will take some food dish made at home to celebrate together for

what they are thankful for, so doing an act of what is the day of thanksgiving.

The last class will be a board game with questions about the holiday to secure

the students' learning. It is not going to count points or worth a prize at the end,

so the activity will be focused on pure learning and children's entertainment.

SCHEDULE AND METHODOLOGY

First class

SUMMARY OF THE SUBJECT TO BE WORKED

Introduce the Project and the importance the Thanksgiving holiday for English Culture. Then, the teacher is going to show some examples of gratitude.

METHODOLOGY

Showing the Project, explaining all the steps and the expected result. Sensitizing the students about the subject from project. Presenting the first topic: Thanksgiving holiday and why it is important for the American’s lives. Then, the teacher shows for them some examples of gratitude.

NECESSARY RESOURCES

It will be necessary to use multimedia projector to show presentation in Power Point.

Second class

SUMMARY OF THE SUBJECT TO BE WORKED

Continuation of the project. Presentation of the food vocabulary about Thanksgiving Day and activities about it.

METHODOLOGY

Continuing the process about the project. In this class the teacher will show the food vocabulary about Thanksgiving. Then, she/he will propose activity that the students need to name the foods for improving the new vocabulary and food pictures for paint.

NECESSARY RESOURCES

It will be necessary to use multimedia projector to show presentation in Power Point and paper.

Third class

SUMMARY OF THE SUBJECT TO BE WORKED

Continuation of the project, presentation of the difference between WH-questions with dialog exercise about it and practicing pronunciation.

METHODOLOGY

Continuing the process about the project. In this class the teacher will show the difference between –WH questions through dialogs. Then, the students need to practice their speaking in pairs.

NECESSARY RESOURCES

It will be necessary to use multimedia projector to show presentation in Power Point and paper.

Fourth class

SUMMARY OF THE SUBJECT TO BE WORKED

Continuation of the project, every student need to say why they grateful are.

METHODOLOGY

Continuing the process about the project. In this class, it will happen the simulation about Thanksgiving Day, every student needs to sit on the floor in a semicircle facing the teacher. Then, each student will say why grateful from their lives is. While happen this activity, it will have lounge soft songs.

NECESSARY RESOURCES

It will be necessary to use a radio with soft songs.

Fifth class

SUMMARY OF THE SUBJECT TO BE WORKED

In this last class of the project, the students will play a game about Thanksgiving Day to improve their knowledge with more Thanksgiving’s information.

METHODOLOGY

Final class of the project. In this class the teacher will show game about Thanksgiving holiday. The students need to join on small groups to play the game.

NECESSARY RESOURCES

It will be necessary paper.

REFERENCESANTUNES, Celso - Jogos para a estimulação das múltiplas inteligências.

Petrópolis: Vozes, 2003.

BRASIL. Parâmetros Curriculares Nacionais: Ensino Fundamental. MEC:

Brasília, 1997.

HANNA, Vera Lucia Harabagi. Línguas Estrangeiras: O ensino em um contexto

cultural. São Paulo: Editora Mackenzie, 2012.