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Informed individuals navigate through the system by understanding what is expected of them as a patient. By being more aware, learners might be more of an advocate for their own needs. Start to identify students' background information, specific health concerns and general knowledge about health information.
For low level literacy learners, background information may include identification of: numbers, days of the week, months of the year, reading a calendar, use of the telephone, body parts, and knowledge of basic illnesses.
Being able to identify of body parts is necessary when communicating with a health provider. Learners will need to be able to recognize and name body parts and the five senses.
A "webtivity" is an internet activity which can
be used in adult ESOL classrooms. Click on the webtivity
link below, print it or save to your folder.
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These lesson plans and webtivities introduce/review
body parts by using Total Physical Response (TPR)
and are appropriate for students assessed at Foundations
to High Beginning and correlate with the Florida Adult
ESOL Standards. Are you familiar with TPR? Would
this activity work with your students in your classroom?
The webtivity can be completely printed out for use
in the classroom or learners can use the computer
to complete the lesson. Do your students use computers?
Why or why not? How could using the computer enhance
the lesson? Post 3 to 5 sentences to the bulletin
board. |
 To
use Total Physical Response (TPR), the instructor says a
single action command, "blink" or a phrase "point to your
eye", then demonstrates the action. Learners will then follow
the command. Using TPR helps the learner first internalize
the message through touching or moving the body, then associating
it to a word(s). TPR gives immediate understanding of a
situation. Students physically respond to the language along
with listening to the language. It builds confidence because
it offers instant understanding, regardless of the educational
level of the learner. Learners are experiencing success.
Using TPR takes the classroom from being a traditional class - an instructor "teaching and performing" - to a classroom where the students are doing the performing and teaching. All levels of ELLs can benefit from TPR. Even the beginning literacy learner is acquiring language by responding to the directions.
Using TPR has short and long-term retention. Asher compares retention with TPR to
riding a bicycle, even after years of not riding a bicycle, after a few tries, proficiency
returns. To find more information about TPR, click on http://www.tprsource.com/asher.htm.
Practice in your classroom with TPR using body parts. Say:
- Touch your head - Touch your stomach - Touch your shoulder - Touch your throat, etc.
- Touch your head, then your toes - Touch your head, shoulders, knees and toes.
- Shake your head - Wiggle your toes - Bend your knee.
Instructor touches a part of the body and students say the name of it. In pairs, one student touches a part of the body and the other student says the name of the body part. Students then can label the body parts on a drawing of a body. For an extensive list of "502 Words that Can Be Learned with Total Physical Response (TPR), By Domain" Compiled by Reid Wilson, click on http://www.languageimpact.com/articles/rw/500words.htm
Explain if your head hurts, it is called a headache. If your stomach hurts, it is called a stomachache. If your throat hurts, it is called a sore throat. If your shoulder hurts, it is a sore shoulder.
Students will now hear the illness and touch the body part that does not feel well. The teacher will say:
- I have a stomachache. Students will touch their stomach.
- I have a sore shoulder. Students will touch their shoulder.
Students can then practice in pairs, one giving commands and the other responding.
Explain if someone has the flu, the symptoms might be a cough, chills, fever, etc. Demonstrate coughing, having chills, or a fever. Again, let student practice in pairs.
Students make BINGO cards using pictures of different body parts. Caller describes a symptom; students find the body part that goes along with symptom. The BINGO winner is the next caller.
Select six students to stand in front of the room. Each
student will be given an ailment. Examples of aliments:
broken arm - put an arm in a sling; fever - student with
a thermometer in their mouth and washcloth; sprained ankle-
a bandage wrapped around the ankle; a rash - use lipstick
or liquid blush on the arm; swollen elbow - press an ice
bag to the elbow; bad back - heating pad; nausea - paper
bag. Teacher will call out the name of one student with
an aliment, saying "______ has a rash. The student will
respond by saying "Yes, I have a rash and ______ (calls
another student's name) has a broken arm". If a student
makes a mistake, another student in the audience can answer
and take his/her place, until all students and aliments
have been identified.
Instructors can begin to help intermediate language learners by asking questions to identify their need for more information.
- Would it help to know more about your health and / or your body? How?
- Sometimes, is it difficult to come to school because of health problems? What kinds of problems?
- Do you have concerns about visiting a doctor's office, hospital, or clinic? What kinds of concerns?
- Do you need information and / or resources to help you take care of your health questions or concerns? What would be helpful?
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