Module:	Cultures of the World
Unit:		Customs, Clothes and Food of Different Places
Task 2:	 	A Day in the Life of...

Description
Learners receive 2 letters from pen-pals from different parts of the world. Each letter describes a typical day of a teenager in that place i.e. Japan and England. In Part 1, learners complete a list on the differences and similarities between their life and that of their pen-pals. They then get into groups of 4 and discuss whose life they would like to lead and why in Part 2. Finally, in Part 3, each learner writes a letter to one of his/her pen-pals describing his/her feelings after reading the 2 letters.

5 Fundamental Intertwining Ways of Learning and Using Knowledge
	Communicating 	(Learners read about different life-styles and talk about their choice of life)
	Conceptualizing 	(Learners form some ideas on different life-styles)
	Inquiring 	(Learners find out whose life their classmates would like to lead)
	Reasoning	(Learners determine and explain why they would like to lead the life they choose)
	Problem-solving

Learning Targets (KS3) (Only relevant parts of the Learning Targets in the syllabus are presented 
                                           below.)
To develop an ever-improving capability to use English
�h	to interpret and use more extensive information through processes or activities such as describing, classifying, comparing, explaining (KDb)
�h	to establish and maintain relationships and routines in school and community situations (IDa)
�h	to converse and exchange points of view about feelings, ideas and experiences (IDb)
�h	to respond to characters, events and issues in imaginative and other narrative texts through oral, written and performative means such as: making evaluative comments, explaining one’s feelings towards characters and events and relating to one’s experiences (EDb)

Learning Objectives
�\	Text-types
letters
tables

�\	Vocabulary
School life:	study, uniform, tutorial, boarding school,  school meals, school outings 
Interests/ activities:	read comics, visit museums, go to concerts, go rowing,  feed the doves

�\	Language Items & Communicative Functions (KS3)
e.g.	Use adjectives to make comparisons and give descriptions of processes and situations	
	Studying in a boarding school will make you more independent. 
I am very happy to receive two letters from my pen-pals.	
e.g.	Use the simple present tense and gerunds to make general statements about the world and `universal truths’	
	Japan is an exciting place. 
Feeding the doves in the park is great fun.	
e.g.	Use a variety of tenses, reported speech, adverbs, etc, to refer to events in the past, present and future and to the frequency with which things occur	
	I have dreamed of going to Japan. 
My pen-pal told me that she liked her school. 
I will tell you more about my pen-pals next time.	
e.g.	Use adverb clauses of reason, concession, result, etc, to justify one’s behaviour and point of view in simple situations	
	I would like to study in a boarding school because I want to be more independent. 
I prefer to live like Miyoko so that I can go to the Ginza district on Sundays.	
e.g.	Use adjectives, adjective phrases, formulaic expressions to describe one’s feelings and responses to happenings and states of affairs in some detail	
	I feel excited about studying in another country.
I think I am too young to leave my family. 	

�\	Language Skills
1.	Reading (KS3)
	Understand, interpret and analyze different written texts
�{	make use of knowledge of the world to make sense of the written text
�{	acquire, extract and organize information relevant to specific tasks
�{	understand different feelings, views and attitudes
�{	recognize how writing conventions affect meaning and cohesiveness
�{	understand how sentences and parts of a sentence relate to each other
�{	understand the use of discourse markers
�{	know what a word or phrase refers to in the previous or subsequent context
2.	Listening (KS3)
	Listen for intended meaning, feelings and attitude
�{	identify key ideas in a passage, discussion or conversation
3.	Speaking (KS3)
	Present information, ideas and feelings clearly and coherently
�{	convey ideas and information in conversations or discussions
Participate effectively in an oral interaction
�{	seek and give clarification, explain what information one requires and why, rephrase one’s questions when necessary, sum up points made and redirect the discussion when the need arises
�{	make a balanced contribution without either dominating the discussion or being too reticent
�{	express, elicit and respond to ideas, opinions and feelings in a group discussion
4.	Writing (KS3)
	Present information, ideas and feelings clearly and coherently
�{	evaluate and make use of given information to complete specific tasks
�{	describe, express or explain ideas and experiences
�{	produce written texts appropriate to context, purpose and audience
�{	use strategies to arouse and sustain readers’ interest
�{	plan and organize ideas, and use appropriate cohesive devices
�{	use a wide range of language patterns for various purposes
�{	use appropriate tone, style and register for various purposes

�\	Language Development Strategies (KS3)
-Develop reference skills
�Y	use a dictionary to find out about pronunciation, usage and grammar
�Y	recognize the salient features of various text-types and use them efficiently for locating information and ideas
-Develop information skills
�Y	employ graphic forms (charts, tables, time-lines, etc) to aid the presentation of ideas

�\	Attitudes
�{	Keenness to participate in activities leading to improvement of knowledge and skills in the language (KS1)
�{	An awareness of English as an international language of communication (KS2)
�{	Respect for the different cultures of the English speaking world (KS2)

Task 2

You are Paul/Pauline. You have joined an international pen-pal club. You receive 2 letters. One letter is from Taro/Miyoko in Japan and the other is from Chris in England. Each person describes a day in his or her life. Read the letters and complete the tasks that follow.

Task 2 Part 1

Read the following two letters from Taro/Miyoko and Chris. Then complete the table.

Letter from Taro/Miyoko, Japan

Dear Paul/Pauline, 

I’m very excited to know you. 

I’m Taro/Miyoko. I’m 13 years old and I study in a secondary school in Tokyo. I wear uniform to school. When I enter the school building, I take off my shoes and put on slippers. In our school, we begin the day with exercises. We stay in school for lunch every day. I bring my lunch box to school. At the end of the school day, we have to help clean the classroom. We push all the chairs to one side and mop the floor. In school, we have to be polite to our teachers all the time.

After school, I rush to a tutorial school for more lessons. It is very late when I arrive home. I have half an hour for dinner. Then I have to do my homework. My life is so busy. 

In my free time, I listen to music and read comics. I love going to the Ginza district on Sundays. Many young people sing and dance in the streets. I sometimes join them too. 

What about you? Write soon!

Best wishes, 

Taro/Miyoko

	

Letter from Chris, England

Dear Paul/Pauline, 

Hi, I’m Chris. I’m studying in St Anne’s in England. It’s a boarding school for girls. I really miss my family. My parents think I will learn to look after myself here.

I share a room with 7 other girls. Each girl has her own cupboard. We have to get up at 6:30 every morning and arrive at the dining hall for breakfast by 7. Most of the girls hate school meals but I don’t. But I don’t like to follow a time-table all day.  We must study from 4  to 6 p.m. every day and we must go to bed by 10:30 p.m. At home, I read in my bed until midnight but I can’t do it here.

Lessons start at 8 every morning. On Monday, Wednesday and Friday afternoons, we have PE. My favourite sport is running. We run 5 to 10 km near the school. I love the fresh air. Sometimes, we have school outings. We visit museums or go to concerts. 

We can only leave school at weekends.  I go rowing with my friends in the river. I also feed the doves in the park.

I like this school. I have lots of good friends here.

It’s bed-time now. Write soon.

Love,

Chris

	

Task 2 Part 1:  Worksheet (1)

How is your life similar to or different from that of your pen-pals? Complete the table below. 
Put a  in the box if it is true. 
Put a  if it is false.  
Put a ? if the answer cannot be found in the letters.

		You	Taro/
Miyoko	Chris	
1.	wear uniform to school			?	
2.	take off shoes in school				
3.	begin the school day with exercises				
4.	lessons start at 8 a.m.				
5.	stay in school for lunch				
6.	clean classrooms				
7.	go to tutorial school				
8.	have a busy life				
9.	like listening to music				
10.	read comics				
11.	go to bed by 10.30 p.m.				

Task 2 Part 1:  Worksheet (2)
(*Teachers’ notes: This worksheet may be given to more able learners.)

How is your life similar to or different from that of your pen-pals? Complete the table below using the information from the letters. The first one has been done for you. You can add any additional items.

	You	Taro/
Miyoko	Chris	
1.	attend a day school	attend a day school	attend a boarding school	
2.				
3.				
4.				
5.				
6.				
7.				
8.				
9.				

Task 2 Part 2

You feel excited about your 2 new pen-pals. You tell your classmates about them. Form groups of 4-5 and discuss the following questions:

Whose life would you like to lead? 
Would you rather be any one of them? Why? 
Or do you prefer to be yourself? Why?

Task 2 Part 3

Now write a reply to one of your pen-pals. In the letter, describe your feelings after reading the 2 letters. 

Task 2 Part 1:  Worksheet (1)
How is your life similar to or different from that of your pen-pals? Complete the table below. 
Put a  in the box if it is true. 
Put a  if it is false.  
Put a ? if the answer cannot be found in the letters.

		You	Taro/
Miyoko	Chris	
1.	wear uniform to school			?	
2.	take off shoes in school				
3.	begin the school day with exercises				
4.	lessons start at 8 a.m.				
5.	stay in school for lunch				
6.	clean classrooms				
7.	go to tutorial school				
8.	have a busy life				
9.	like listening to music				
10.	read comics				
11.	go to bed by 10:30 p.m.				

Task 2 Part 1:  Worksheet (2)
(*Teachers’ notes: This worksheet may be given to more able learners.)

How is your life similar to or different from that of your pen-pals? Complete the table below using the information from the letters. The first one has been done for you. You can add any additional items.

	You	Taro/
Miyoko	Chris	
1.	attend a day school	attend a day school	attend a boarding school	
2.				
3.				
4.				
5.				
6.				
7.				
8.				
9.