•Agape Language Centre (English language learning):

https://agapelanguagecentre.com

•Cooperative ESL Ministries:

http://eslcooperative.ca

Cooperative ESL Ministries empowers churches to reach out in love to the immigrants and internationals in our communities.

•Cut it Out, by Laura Swart. Available at Indigo, Amazon, and Brush Education:

https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/cut-it-out-10-simple/9781550597585-item.html?ikwid=cut+it+out&ikwsec=Home&ikwidx=1

https://www.brusheducation.ca/books/cut-it-out

This short handbook will help you to write powerful, polished sentences.

•Blackbird Calling, by Laura Swart. Available at Indigo, Amazon, and Quattro Books:

https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/blackbird-calling/9781927443859-item.html?ikwid=blackbird+calling&ikwsec=Home&ikwidx=0

This novella chronicles the lives of Canadian Indigenous peoples, and as an extended metaphor describes our Saviour, calling us to come behind the veil. Short listed for the ReLit Award.

•Rocky Mountain College free Bible course:

http://www.rmcpathways.ca/courses/introduction-to-the-bible-for-free.html 

TEACHING ESL THROUGH STORY

Mar 10/22 Webinar hosted by CESLM

COURSE NOTES POSTED ON WWW.IAM-ESL.ORG

PRINCIPALS:

Student-generated curriculum

Fast-paced, engaging lessons

Teaching grammar without grammar lessons

Memory and learning

The four strands in every lesson (reading, writing, speaking, listening)

SLUSH PILE

Let’s generate some flash through the following exercises, then choose two to work on.

Story #1 (Plot):

The Lost Son, Week One

The Parable of the Lost Son

Luke 15.11-24

11 “There was a man who had two sons. 12 The younger son spoke to his father. He said, ‘Father, give me my share of the family property.’ So the father divided his property between his two sons.

13 “Not long after that, the younger son packed up all he had. Then he left for a country far away. There he wasted his money on wild living. 14 He spent everything he had. Then the whole country ran low on food. So the son didn’t have what he needed. 15 He went to work for someone who lived in that country. That person sent the son to the fields to feed the pigs. 16 The son wanted to fill his stomach with the food the pigs were eating. But no one gave him anything.

17 “Then he began to think clearly again. He said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have more than enough food! But here I am dying from hunger! 18 I will get up and go back to my father. I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven. And I have sinned against you. 19 I am no longer fit to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.” ’ 20 So he got up and went to his father.

“While the son was still a long way off, his father saw him. He was filled with tender love for his son. He ran to him. He threw his arms around him and kissed him.

21 “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer fit to be called your son.’

22 “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23 Bring the fattest calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. 24 This son of mine was dead. And now he is alive again. He was lost. And now he is found.’ So they began to celebrate."

MIND MANEUVERS

Read

Have each student read one sentence of the text. Make sure students understand the definitions of key words.

Examine

1. What did the younger son want from his father?
2. Why did he want this?
3. What did the son do when the famine came?
4. What caused him to change his mind about his lifestyle?
5. What was his plan of action?
6. How did the father feel while his son was away from home?
7. How did the father respond to his son’s request?
8. Why did the father say that his son was dead?

Abbreviate

Ask students to work with a partner to complete the following:

Summarize The Parable of the Lost Son in 3-4 sentences. Next, shorten your summary to two sentences.

Ask a few students to read their summaries out loud and correct their grammar orally, focusing on subject/verb agreement and verb tense.

Alternately, ask a few students to write their summaries on the board. As a class, correct the summaries for grammar, spelling, and syntax.

Proverbs

Ask students to work in small groups (3-4 people) to complete the following:

1. State the main idea of The Parable of the Lost Son.
2. Read the following proverbs:

 A wise son pays attention to what his father teaches him.

                                                                                 Proverbs 13.1    

Hard times chase those who are sinful. But those who do right are rewarded with good things.

                                                                                 Proverbs 13.21

The Lord trains those he loves. He is like a father who trains the son he is pleased with.

                                                                                 Proverbs 3.12

Hatred causes arguments, but love overlooks all wrongs.

                                                                                 Proverbs 10.12

3. Which proverb best describes The Parable of the Lost Son? Why?

NOTE: There is no correct answer here. The purpose of this exercise is to engage students in higher-level thinking by having them select and apply specific proverbs to their learning of the parables. This is far more powerful than asking them what the proverbs mean.

Story #1 (Plot):

The Lost Son, Week Two

MIND MANEUVERS

Summaries

1. Summarize The Parable of the Lost Son in one sentence.
2. State the main idea of The Parable of the Lost Son.
3. Recite a proverb that illustrates the main idea of The Parable of the Lost Son.

Oral Stories

Ask students to describe the following scenarios to a partner:

1. Describe what happened when you (or your child) first left home.
2. Describe a time when you made a poor decision.
3. Describe a time when you had a big celebration.
4. Tell us about someone you love.

• Have each pair of students choose one of their stories and condense it into three sentences. If the class is small, they can condense two stories, one each.
• Ask each pair to write one story on the board. Edit the story with the class.

Wordplay

1. With students, brainstorm for a list of speech ideas, about 5-10, relevant to the topic of fathers.

protection, providers, strict, role model, playful, joke-teller, wrestler, unique dad jokes, inspirational

2. Topics should be one word: love, strength, protectors, providers, etc. Write topics on the board. Next, have a few students write the topics on slips of paper and put them in a hat.
3. Have one, two, or three students pick a slip of paper and come to the front of the room. They have 30 seconds to think, then they must give a 60 second speech on the topic. (Hand out slips one at a time, or they won't listen to speeches; they will think about their own speeches).
4. While each student is speaking, audience members must write down 3 open questions. Ask 2-3 audience members to pose one question to the speaker; speaker answers.

HEART MANEUVERS

The Parable of the Lost Son describes a father who loves his children. In the same way, our Father in Heaven loves His children. What does this parable teach us about ourselves and our relationship with the Father?

Spend some time praying to your Father who loves you.

HOMEWORK (this is for an online course)

1. Oral Story

Read and record the story you shared in Module 2.1; speak as you would in regular conversation.

2. Record your rendition of Names of God and1 Corinthians 13. Make sure you sing on key.
3. Conference

Contact your instructor by email to set up a video conference through Pathways. During the conference, you will be asked to: 

#1. Give a two-minute speech on the following: 

The Parable of the Lost Son describes a father who loves his children. What are the qualities of a good father? What can we learn about God by reading The Parable of the Lost Son?

#2. Lead a discussion with your instructor about the topic of fathers:

• Prepare 5 questions in advance.
• Ask your instructor each question; after your instructor responds, summarize his/her answer.

Same lesson, different story….

MIND MANEUVERS

The Parable of the Good Samaritan

Luke 10.30-37

30 Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho. Robbers attacked him. They stripped off his clothes and beat him. Then they went away, leaving him almost dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down that same road. When he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32 A Levite also came by. When he saw the man, he passed by on the other side too. 33 But a Samaritan came to the place where the man was. When he saw the man, he felt sorry for him. 34 He went to him, poured olive oil and wine on his wounds and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey. He brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two silver coins. He gave them to the owner of the inn. ‘Take care of him,’ he said. ‘When I return, I will pay you back for any extra expense you may have.’

36 “Which of the three do you think was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by robbers?”

37 The authority on the law replied, “The one who felt sorry for him.”

Jesus told him, “Go and do as he did.”

Read

Have each student read one sentence of the text. Make sure students understand the definitions of key words.

Examine

1. What three things did the robbers do to the man?
2. Who was the first person to come along the road?
3. What did he do when he saw the injured man?
4. Who was the second person to come?
5. What did he do?
6. Who was the third person?
7. What three things did he do?

Abbreviate

Ask students to work with a partner to complete the following:

Summarize The Parable of the Good Samaritan in 3-4 sentences. Next, shorten your summary to two sentences.

Ask a few students to read their summaries out loud and correct their grammar orally, focusing on subject/verb agreement and verb tense.

Or alternately, ask a few students to write their summaries on the board. As a class, correct the summaries for grammar, spelling, and syntax.

Proverbs

Ask students to work in small groups (3-4 people) to complete the following:

• State the main idea of The Parable of the Good Samaritan.
• Read the following proverbs:                                                                  

Unfriendly people care only about themselves; they lash out at common sense.

—Proverbs 18.1    

Anyone who is kind to poor people lends to the Lord. God will reward them for what they have done.

—Proverbs 19.17

A person with unfaithful friends soon comes to ruin. But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.                                                                                                                                                     —Proverbs 18.24

It is better to meet a bear whose cubs have been stolen than to meet a foolish person who is acting foolishly.

—Proverbs 17.12

• Which proverb best describes The Parable of the Good Samaritan? Why?

NOTE: There is no correct answer here. The purpose of this exercise is to engage students in higher-order thinking by having them select and apply specific proverbs to their learning of the parables. This is far more powerful than asking them what the proverbs mean. 

Jigsaw: Assign a number (1,2,3,4) to each member of each group (i.e. the members of each group will have different numbers). Reassign groups: put all the number 1’s together, all the number 2’s together, and so on. Ask the students to share with their new group which proverb they chose and why.

HEART MANEUVERS

The Parable of the Good Samaritan describes a person who cares for his neighbor. What can we learn about our Father by reading The Parable of the Good Samaritan?

Spend some time praying to your Father who loves you.

HOMEWORK

Read

The Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10.25-37)

Examine

In a few sentences, describe the three people who came across the man on the road.

Abbreviate

Summarize The Parable of the Good Samaritan in 3-4 sentences. Next, shorten your summary to two sentences and correct your grammar, focusing on subject/verb agreement and verb tense.

Proverbs

In 3-4 sentences, describe which proverb best illustrates The Parable of the Good Samaritan.

MIND MANEUVERS

Summaries

1. Summarize The Parable of the Good Samaritan in one sentence.
2. State the main idea of The Parable of the Good Samaritan.
3. Recite a proverb that illustrates the main idea of The Parable of the Good Samaritan.

Oral Stories

Ask students to discuss the following questions with a partner:

1. Priests and Levites were holy men, leaders in the community. Who are the holy people or leaders in your community?
2. Samaritans were hated in Jesus’ time because they were racially mixed and their beliefs differed from mainstream Jewish beliefs. Describe some of the people in your culture who are different from others. How are they treated?
3. In what way are you different from the other people in the class? In what way are you the same?
4. Describe a time when your situation was the same as the robber’s, the injured man’s, the priest’s, or the Sama ritan’s. Share your story with a partner.

• Have each pair of students choose one of their stories and condense it into three sentences. If the class is small, they can condense two stories, one each.
• Ask each pair to write one story on the board. Edit the story with the class.

Wordplay

1. With students, brainstorm for a list of speech ideas, about 5-10, relevant to the topic of neighbors. Topics should be one word easy. Write topics on the board. Next, have a few students write the topics on slips of paper and put them in a hat.
2. Have one, two, or three students pick a slip of paper and come to the front of the room. They have 30 seconds to think, then they must give a 60 second speech on the topic. (Hand out slips one at a time, or they won't listen to speeches; they will think about their own speeches).
3. While each student is speaking, audience members must write down 3 open questions. Ask 2-3 audience members to pose one question to the speaker; speaker answers.

HEART MANEUVERS

The Parable of the Good Samaritan describes a person who cares for his neighbor. What can we learn about how to treat other people by reading The Parable of the Good Samaritan?

Spend some time praying to your Father who loves you.

HOMEWORK

1. Oral Stories

• In a media recording, describe a time when your situation was the same as the robber’s, the injured man’s, the priest’s, or the Samaritan’s.

2. Record your rendition of Names of God and1 Corinthians 13. Make sure you sing on key.
3. Conference

Contact your instructor by email to set up a video conference through Pathways. During the conference, you will be asked to: 

#1. Give a two-minute speech on the following:

The Parable of the Good Samaritan describes a person who cares for his neighbor. What can we learn about how to treat other people by reading The Parable of the Good Samaritan? What can we learn about God?

#2. Lead a discussion with your instructor about the topic of neighbors:

• Prepare 5 questions in advance.
• Ask your instructor each question; after your instructor responds, summarize his/her answer.

Please do not book this conference until you are properly prepared. If you are unable to answer all the questions, you will be required to book another conference and answer the same questions again before moving on to the next module.

Similar lesson, different ESL level (beginner)….

1. TELL A TALE

Read

Have each student read one sentence of the text. Make sure students understand the definitions of key words; take your time with this. Encourage them to slow down and enunciate every sound clearly. Correct for sounds that impede communication. Encourage students to bring a copy of the text in their first language to each class.

God Made All Things

The first story in the Bible tells us how our world was made. God made the heavens and the earth. He made day and night. He made water and land. He made fish that live in the water. He made birds that fly in the air. He made plants and animals that live on the land. Last, he made a man and a woman. Their names were Adam and Eve. God looked at all the things he made, and he was happy. He said it was very good. God wanted to be a special friend of Adam and Eve. He wanted to teach them how to have a good, happy life. To learn these things, Adam and Eve needed to love and obey God. Then God could teach them many good things.

You can find this story in the Bible in Genesis 1:1–2:4.

Summarize

Ask students to work individually to complete the following tasks in writing. If they cannot write, do the exercises orally. If the questions are too difficult for students, pop two Tylenol and move on to the summary.

• Answer the following questions:

1. Name 10 things that God created.
2. What were the names of the man and the woman?
3. How did God feel about what he had made?
4. What were God’s plans for Adam and Eve?
5. What two things did God require of Adam and Eve?

• Summarize our Genesis story in 3-4 sentences. Next, shorten your summary to one sentence.

Ask a few students to write their one-sentence summaries on the board. As a class, correct the summaries for grammar, spelling, and syntax.

Apply

Have students work in pairs. The tasks for each person are as follows:

            Person #1: Tell a story in response to the question below;

            Person #2: Summarize the story in the second person point of view (you said that your country is hot and musky);

When students finish the activity, switch roles. As students are sharing, visit different groups and correct for verb tense and subject/verb agreement.

 Question

1. Describe your country, city, or home. Speak in the simple present tense.

III. TALK TO GOD

• What did you learn about God by reading the story?
• Spend some time praying to God, who loves you. Thank Him for the things He has given you.

For the next four stories, we’ll focus on generating material. Use some of the same activities in Story #1 to deepen these lessons. All stories have plot, character, conflict, theme, and setting.

Story #2 (Setting):

Photo prompt: snow day

I’ll write while you shout out the following.

1. LIST 10 sensory details, things you can see, hear, touch, taste, smell:

cold, exciting, beauty, mountains, pine, white, cliffs, soft, trees, sunshine on snow/mountains, hard time walking, heavy breathing

2. List 7 colours:

white, red, green, black, grey, blue, yellow

3. LIST 5 things THE CHARACTERS MIGHT BE THINKING:

I’m hungry where are we going hope not lost please slow down deep beautiful, loveit

4. LIST 3 THINGS YOU CAN’T SEE BUT SUSPECT MIGHT BE IN THE AREA (be creative):

bear, cougar, rabbits, avalanche, eagles, other side hill, snowmobile

5. LIST 3 WEIRD THINGS THAT LIKELY AREN’T IN THE AREA:

toilet, diesel trucks, hut

6. LIST 5 INTELLECTUAL, ABSTRACT, LOFTY WORDS:

anticipation, flabbergasted, exhausted, acceleration, awesome, majestic, aneurysm, hyperventilation frostbite, entrepreneurship 

TASK: Take 5 minutes to write a three-sentence story. Your story must use three words from three lists.

TASK: One person will read his/her story. Another will summarize it to me in third person. Another will retell the story in the present tense.

Story #3 (Conflict):

• All Together: Brainstorm everyday places where an interaction/micro-conflict might occur:

• Choose two:

• Brainstorm possible interactions in each of the two places:

• Breakout Rooms Your story must use one place and one interaction/conflict. It should be five sentences in length with a beginning, climax, and ending (story arc).

Story #4 (Character):

Think of someone you know. I will name a body part/noun, and in 20 sec, you must write down as many descriptive words as possible:

Skin :

Hair :

Fingers :

Torso :

Clothing :

Put your person into a place that is familiar/comfortable.

List 5-10 objects in that place (30 sec)

List 3 things he/she would do in that place (60 sec)

List 3 things (direct quotations) he/she would say in that place (if silent, describe the silence/outside noises) (30 sec)

State an emotional undercurrent running below the surface. Optional: use pathetic fallacy, things happening outside in nature that parallel the character’s mood (ie a storm brewing, a barn door swinging open, the streetlamp flickering…)

Write a short paragraph describing your person doing something in his/her place.

Story #5 (Theme):

Billy Collins Method

• Ease the reader in with an unassuming event and an image/detail or two
• halfway through, when the reader is committed, drop a bomb

Examples from Whale Day: p. 24, 5, 20

• List everyday events: drinking your morning coffee, taking out the garbage; driving to your boxercise class, scolding your partner.
• Write the story like BC does: the event, the details.

Example

I’m drinking my evening coffee (describe seemingly random details, old cream that gathers into little clumps that float to the surface) and see the Big Dipper, and I begin to think of constellations, the way humans are compelled to impose shape/meaning on chaos…..Foucault, deconstruction…and then an ending that blows the top off.

WE WILL NOW REWRITE ONE STORY FROM YOUR SLUSH PILE.

Single-digit stories: 50 shortened to 30 then 15 then 6 words.

Single-digit Stories:

I went travelling, found my home.

8/17/2009

—Thomas Massey

A thousand wrinkles. A thousand stories.

3/9/2011

—Gareth

A penny saved, a whim squandered.

2/7/2013

—Izzy Sundet

One candle, unattended. Only ashes remain.

2/1/2013

—Alexia

Late. Speeding. Pulled Over. Really Late.

1/6/2013

—Melody Bennett

Partied through life. All 23 years.

2/11/2010

—Steven Meretzky

It cost too much, staying human.

2/11/2010

—Bruce Sterling

CONCISE SYNTAX

Examples of sentence frames

Suggested text: Artful Sentences

The longest is the loveliest.  -Truman Capote

The darkest is the scariest.

My classes were dull, my masters, with a few exceptions, were dull, the school life in general, apart from the sports, was dull.

My dinner was fabulous, my wines, with a few exceptions, were fabulous, the table setting in general, apart from the center piece, was fabulous.

Sentence Frames to Work From

The trunk and the branches and the twigs were terrible black. (Note: Golding plays with parts of speech here).

-William Golding

Of all the inanimate objects, of all men's creations, books are the nearest to us for they contain our very thoughts, our ambitions, our indignations, our illusions, our fidelity to the truth, and our persistent leanings to error. But most of all they resemble us in their precious hold on life.
― Joseph Conrad…

Many times during the night I woke to listen, listen, but there is no sound at all. The silence is as thick and soft as wool. -May Sarton

The refrigerator hums. A bee thumps heavily, insistently, against a window pane.

-Michael Cunningham

Onlookers young and old line the curb, transfixed. – Sidney Petrie

Lightening split all around him; rain cut in at his face; thunder crashed against his eardrums. Another bolt of lightening, closer. Then another, closer still. -William Goldman

SHARE AND CELEBRATE

http://100wordstory.org/submit/

http://www.sixwordstories.net/2009/07/submit-a-story/

More curriculum from I-AM ESL (these are excerpts; readings are from Laura Swart’s book Cut it Out, which teaches students how to remove the dross from their sentences without becoming technicians of English grammar):

Excerpt #1

CONTEXTUALIZE: TEXT TALK

Ask students to read Arctic Inuksuk (either the intermediate or advanced level) and circle every noun and underline every article. This should take about 10 minutes.

Next, have each student read one or two sentences of the text out loud. Correct for noun stress and article unstress. Ask students to repeat their lines up to two times. 

Intermediate Reading:

Artic Inuksuk

by Laura Swart

The Canadian Arctic is covered by permafrost, and the inuksuk shows people the way to go. “Inusuk” (plural inuksuit) is an Inuktitut word which means “to act like a human.” It comes from the word  “inuk,” or “a human being.” Each inuksuk is a unique creation, a figure in the shape of a person built by placing stones on top of stones. The Inuit use inuksuit for navigation: because of the white landscape, a marker is needed to show the way. Inuksuit also protect the Inuit; they point out dangerous places with thin ice or strong currents, good hunting grounds for seal, walrus, or whale, caches of food or hidden objects, and the migration routes of caribou. They are important to the community; they show where decisions are made, where people have died, and where celebrations are held. Inuksuit remind the people about their history and culture—they are used for communication, so they are like pieces of language.

Advanced Reading:

Artic Inuksuk

by Laura Swart

The Canadian Arctic is governed by permafrost, not by people, and the inuksuk—the only enduring landmark—shows the way. “Inusuk” (plural inuksuit) is an Inuktitut term which means “to act in the capacity of a human.” It comes from the word  “inuk,” or “a human being.” Each inuksuk is a unique creation, a figure in the shape of a person built by placing stones on top of stones. The Inuit use inuksuit for navigation: on a stark white landscape whose contours and expressions rise and fall with the shadows, a marker is needed to show the way. Inuksuit act as guardians to the Inuit; they point out dangerous places with thin ice or strong currents, good hunting grounds for seal, walrus, or whale, caches of food or hidden objects, and the migration routes of caribou. As emblems of the community, they mark where decisions are made, where people have died, and where celebrations are held. Inuksuit are a summons of Inuit history and culture—they are contemporary, yet something repeated: narratives unfolding, indelible pieces of language.

Literal Response 

As students give their literal responses, correct for noun stress and article unstress. 

1. Which words are unclear to you? 
2. Summarize the text in one or two sentences.
3. Where is the Canadian Arctic? Which territories are in the Canadian Arctic?
4. The text lists a number of purposes for the inuksuk. Which one do you think is the most important?

Critical Response

Correct minimally during critical responses.

1.Why is the inuksuk so important to Inuit culture?

2. Why is the inuksuk in the shape of a man? 
3. The author says that inuksuk are “remnants of the past.” Is it important to remember the past? Why or why not?
4. In what way are inuksuit “pieces of language”?

Personal Response

Correct minimally during personally responses.

1. Describe an object of importance in your culture or in your home. 
2. Describe an important community celebration in your culture. 
3. What is your favourite type of food?
4. Describe an aspect of the landscape in your country.
5. Describe a time when you were lost or you lost something of value.

INDEPENDENT PRACTICE: HOMEWORK

Read The Wise Men Visit Jesus (Matthew 2:1-12); The Escape to Egypt (Matthew 2:13-18); and The Return to Nazareth (Matthew 2:19-23).

Recite each of the following verses out loud five times in the morning and five times in the evening. Focus on noun stress and article unstress. 

John 14.6 

I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Ezekiel 34.16  

I will search for the lost and bring back the strays.

Luke 19.10 

The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.

Excerpt #2

CONTEXTUALIZE: TEXT TALK

Ask students to read Montreal Bagels (either the intermediate or advanced level) and circle every adjective (montreal, weak, ubiquitous, unbaked, wood-fired, singed, multi, whole, blue, sesame, pumpkin, poppy, cream, strawberry, smoked; though multi and blue are part of a single word, they are still descriptive and therefore stressed) and every adverb (high, over, inside, up).

Have each student read one or two lines of the poem. Correct for noun stress, name stress, adjective/adverb stress, and unstress. 

Intermediate Reading:

Montreal Bagels

by Laura Swart

I can smell the aroma of bread baking, and it makes me weak. I press my face up against the glass and look inside the bagel shop. A man is tossing dough high in the air. Over and over he's tossing, and the dough keeps falling into his hands. He kneads it and he works with it and he tosses it up again, and it's yielding: A hole is forming in the middle. He lines up the unbaked bagels and puts them in a wood-fired kiln. They come out singed. I go inside the bagel shop. 

There's multigrain, whole wheat, blueberry, sesame seed, pumpkin seed, poppy seed, cream cheese, strawberry jam, and smoked salmon bagels. I have to choose. I have to fill that hole in the middle. 

Advanced Reading:

montreal bagels

by laura swart

the aroma of bread baking makes me weak (mon Dieu!) 

and i press my face up against the glass and look inside 

a man is tossing dough high in the air 

over and over he's tossing 

and the dough keeps falling 

into his ubiquitous hands 

he kneads it and he reasons with it and he tosses it up again 

and it's yielding: a hole is forming in the middle 

he lines up the unbaked bagels 

puts them in a wood-fired kiln 

and they come out singed

and i go inside 

there's multigrain, whole wheat, blueberry

sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, poppy seeds 

cream cheese, strawberry jam, smoked salmon

i have to choose 

i have to fill that hole in the middle 

Literal Response 

As students give their literal responses, correct for noun stress, name stress, adjective/adverb stress, and unstress.

1. Which words are unclear to you?
2. Summarize the text in one sentence.
3. What type of bagel would you order? 

Critical Response

Correct minimally during critical responses.

This piece, on a deeper level, is about our relationship with God the Father. There is a hole in each person’s life that needs to be filled. Sometimes He kneads us and reasons with us; sometimes he puts us through fire.

1. Why is the narrator drawn to the bagel shop? 

The aroma of Christ. No one can come unless the Father draws him. If you are seeking God, it’s because he has first drawn you, not the other way around.

2. Who created the hole? If the man represents God and the bread represents people, why does the man create bread with holes in it?
3. Who is trying to fill the hole?

History shows us that people perpetually search for a way to earn their way to heaven. This is a basic human desire because God created us with eternity in our hearts (Ecclesiastes 3:11 (Links to an external site.)); some call this a God-shaped hole. The Bible tells us that there is nothing we can do to fill the hole or earn our way to heaven; we have all sinned (Romans 3:23 (Links to an external site.)), our sin earns us death (Romans 6:23 (Links to an external site.)), and no one who is righteous in him/herself (Romans 3:10 (Links to an external site.)). Thus we have a hole that we cannot fill, no matter what we do. Jesus is the only one who can fill the vacuum in our lives. Jesus satisfies our hunger; he is our Bread of Life.

4. Can you think of any ways in which humanity needs to be kneaded and reasoned with? Do you think there are any “holes” in Canadian culture or in your culture?
5. Why is the fire necessary?

Personal Response

Correct minimally during personal responses.

1. Give an example of a hole on your life—something that’s missing. How have you tried to fill that hole?
2. Describe a time when you had to yield to someone or change the way you did things.
3. Describe an immense challenge that you have faced (fire). 

 INDEPENDENT PRACTICE: HOMEWORK

Read Jesus...in Nazareth (Luke 4:14-21); Peter Says That Jesus Is the Christ (Matthew 16:13-17); Jesus Heals a Man Who Could Not Walk (Mark 2:1-12); and Jesus Calms the Storm (Luke 8:22-25).

Recite each of the following verses out loud five times in the morning and five times in the evening, focussing on noun stress, name stress, adjective/adverb stress, and unstress. 

John 6:35

I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.

Psalm 34:8 

Taste and see that the Lord is good.

Excerpt #3

CONTEXTUALIZE: TEXT TALK

Watch the video clip of aurora borealis, then have students read Yukon Lights (either the intermediate or advanced level). Each student should read one sentence of the text out loud, repeating the sentences two or three times. Make sure students slow down as they read. Correct for word endings and consonant sounds. Refer to our five principles of teaching consonants in week one.

Intermediate Reading:

Yukon Lights, by Laura Swart

In the winter time, Yukon nights last a long time, and they are very dark. This is when you can see aurora borealis in the sky. The Cree people call aurora borealis the Dance of the Spirits. Aurora borealis occurs when the sun releases energy-charged dust particles that gather into a plasma. This plasma then moves toward the earth's atmosphere. A stream of plasma, called a solar wind, reaches the atmosphere in two to five days. It hits the gases in the magnetic field, making them glow in different colours, depending on the types of gases and how close they are to Earth. When the solar winds strike oxygen atoms, dark reds brighten the sky; when they strike nitrogen molecules, you can see the colour pink. Nearer to Earth, oxygen atoms produce shades of green, and nitrogen molecules produce blues and violets.

But I think something more is involved. Aurora borealis is more complex than anything we can understand. When we look at aurora borealis, we can see God’s creation, and this makes us think about how wonderful God is.

Advanced Reading:

Yukon Lights, by Laura Swart

When Yukon nights are long and dark, and when winter thins out into spring, aurora borealis sweeps across the horizon. This Dance of the Spirits, as the Cree call it, occurs when the sun releases energy-charged dust particles that gather into a plasma and plunge toward the earth's atmosphere. A stream of plasma, or solar wind, reaches the atmosphere in two to five days and strikes the gases in the magnetic field, making them glow in different colours, depending on the types of gases and their proximity to Earth. When the solar winds strike oxygen atoms, dark reds illuminate the sky; when they strike nitrogen molecules, brilliant pinks begin to glimmer. Nearer to Earth, oxygen atoms produce shades of green; nitrogen molecules produce blues and violets.

But I think something more is involved, as the Cree describe it. Aurora borealis cannot be bracketed by quantitative data. Something else is at play, something that subsumes us and overwhelms us and draws us in, so that we do not remain what we once were.

Literal Response
As students give their literal responses, correct for word endings and consonant sounds.

1. Which words are unclear to you?
2. Summarize the text in two sentences.

Critical Response
Correct minimally during personally responses.
1. Often in literature, light is used as a symbol—something with a deeper meaning. What do you think light symbolizes?
2. There are many idioms related to light: see the light, don’t hide your light under a bushel, give the green light, out like a light, in light of, light at the end of the tunnel, her face lit up, and shed light on are a few examples. Choose two or three idioms and discuss their meanings.
3. What do the Cree people mean by Dance of the Spirits?
4. What other events in life have the power to change people?

Personal Response
Correct minimally during personally responses.
1. Describe something in nature that overwhelms you, draws you in.
2. Light is synonymous with understanding, while darkness depicts confusion or erroneous thinking. Describe a time when you made a decision based on incorrect thinking, or when you gained understanding in a situation that helped you make the right decision.
Note: Pose this question in two parts. Give students time to think. Don’t be afraid of silence.
3. Describe a significant event (or person) in your life that impacted your thinking or behaviour.
4. Ignoring all financial considerations, would you rather spend the next five years in a bustling urban setting or a secluded mountain or coastal town?
5. If you could be enlightened and learn the truth about a single aspect of your past, present, or future, what would it be?
6. When was the last time you told a lie? What was the result?

INDEPENDENT PRACTICE: HOMEWORK
Read Signs of the End (Mark 13:1-3; Matthew 24:3-14, 21-25, 29-35) and The Sheep and the Goats (Matthew 25:31-46).

• Answer the following questions in a short speech:

1. Often in literature, light is used as a symbol—something with a deeper meaning. What do you think light symbolizes?
   2. Light is synonymous with understanding, while darkness depicts confusion or erroneous thinking. Describe a time when you made a decision based on incorrect thinking, or when you gained understanding in a situation that helped you make the right decision.
   3. Describe a significant event (or person) in your life that impacted your thinking or behaviour.

Excerpt #4

CONTEXTUALIZE: TEXT TALK

Have each student read one or two sentences of Halifax Gateway (either the intermediate or advanced level), repeating their sentences two or three times. Correct for long vowel sounds.

Intermediate Reading:

Halifax Gateway, by Laura Swart

I'm standing in the reception area of Pier 21. It is renovated now and has reopened. I'm thinking back to the day in 1948 when I arrived at the Halifax waterfront. The Halifax waterfront is called Canada’s gateway to freedom. I came Canada to escape war, poverty, and pain. I came to find a new life. I brought a small suitcase with a pair of trousers, two collared shirts, a bible, and some crumpled photographs. Everything else I left behind.

I remember stumbling from the boat. The wind snapped at my face and the grey gulls were circling in the air. I walked into Pier 21,put my suitcase onto the pile of other baggage, and laid down on the wooden floor to get some sleep. I was very tired, but I couldn’t sleep. I was homesick and alone. And I was afraid, wondering how I would survive in this new country.

Today, as I look around at the new Pier 21, I'm thinking that I have been changed by my decades in Canada. I have been broken and rebuilt like an old piece of furniture. And I don’t feel well. I walk outside the building and search the beach for pieces of sea glass. I pick them up and turn them in my hands, looking at their blue and red colours. The gulls begin to fly away, and I feel like the Atlantic wind. I feel like I can’t find a place to call home.

Advanced Reading:

Halifax Gateway, by Laura Swart

I'm standing in the reception area of Pier 21—renovated now, reopened. And I'm thinking back to the day in 1948 when I arrived at the Halifax waterfront, Canada's gateway to freedom. I had come Canada to escape—war, poverty, affliction—to find a new life. I carried a small suitcase with a pair of trousers, two collared shirts, a bible, and some crumpled photographs. Everything else I left behind.

I remember stumbling from the boat: gusts of salty wind snapped at my face and grey gulls hung heavy in the air, suspended like marionettes. I walked into Pier 21, dumped my suitcase onto the mounds of other baggage, and stretched out on the unyielding wooden floor to get some sleep. I was physically exhausted, but I laid awake for hours, desperately homesick and alone. And I was afraid, wondering how I would make it in this new country.

Today, as I look around at the new Pier 21, I'm thinking that I too have been refurbished by my decades in Canada, stripped and rebuilt like an antique armoire. But I'm unsettled. I walk outside the building, search the beach for pieces of sea glass. I pick them up and turn them in my hands, touching their evanescence, their muted blues and cabernets. And the gulls begin to melt away, and I'm shifting and turning like an Atlantic wind, trying to find a place to touch down.

Literal Response
As students give their literal responses, correct for long vowel sounds.

1. Which words are unclear to you?
   2. Summarize the text in one sentence.
2. Why did the narrator come to Canada?
3. What did the narrator bring to Canada?
   5. How did he/she feel upon coming to Canada?

Critical response
Correct minimally during critical responses.
1. What does it mean when an immigrant is stripped and rebuilt? What is he/she stripped of? In what way is he/she rebuilt?
2. The narrator says, I'm shifting and turning like an Atlantic wind, trying to find a place to touch down. What does this mean?
3. Do you think the narrator found the life that he/she was looking for? Explain.
4. Why is Pier 21 called Canada’s gateway to freedom?

Personal Response
Correct minimally during personal responses.
1. What did you bring with you to Canada?
2. How did you feel when you arrived in Canada? 3. Have those feelings changed? If so, how?

INDEPENDENT PRACTICE: HOMEWORK

Read Gethsemane (Matthew 26:36-46); Jesus Arrested (Matthew 26:47-56); Jesus Before the Sanhedrin (Matthew 26:57-68); and Peter Disowns Jesus (Matthew 26:69-75).

• Answer the following questions in a short speech:

1. Was does it mean when an immigrant is stripped and rebuilt? What is he/she stripped of? In what way is he/she rebuilt?
   2. The narrator says, I'm shifting and turning like an Atlantic wind, trying to find a place to touch down. What does this mean?
   3. Have you travelled to a different country or city? What did you bring with you? How did you feel when you arrived?