Script for a Lesson Presenting the Strategy Prediction

Preparation

1 Discussing the students' use of the strategy

The teacher begins, "We often predict without thinking deeply about it in our daily lives. When you ask your parents for permission to do something, do you ever predict what they will say? For example, you want to borrow money to buy a new computer game, and you plan to ask your mother this evening. On the way home from school, would you imagine how she's going to answer you? Maybe she'll remind you of how many games you already have or how much money you've spent on other things. By thinking of what she might say, you can prepare your own responses, such as, "I know I have a lot of other games, but this one will help me learn about history." You might play the conversation through in your mind until you have the confidence to ask your mother for the money. Let's take a few minutes for you to think of other times when you try to guess what will happen next. "Students can form small groups to brainstorm ways they have used prediction. Then a representative from each group can write all of their ideas on the board for the class to read or say them aloud when the teacher asks for them.

Presentation

2 Naming and explaining the strategy

"Today, we are going to watch a video about dinosaurs. Before we begin, l'd like you to guess what some of the words used in the video will be. When you guess what's coming up, it's called prediction. We use prediction to help us remember what we know and to get our minds ready for learning the new material.

Remember, we can learn best when new things are related to what we already know. If you're going to do a task on material you have some information on, use prediction based on that information to help you prepare for doing the task."

Practice

3 Using the strategy

"What words do you know related to dinosaurs? Please predict some you think you'll hear in the video. [Teacher writes the words students suggest on the board, labelling them 'Predictions': 'large,' 'powerful,' 'eggs,' 'bones'.] Write the words you think will be in the video in your learner diary. You don't need to write all of the ones we've predicted, only the ones you think you will hear. Now, I’ll play the video. You listen well for these words we've predicted. When you hear a word we've predicted, check it off on your paper."

4  Checking the strategy

"Did you hear the words we predicted?" [Teacher marks the words on the board that were in the video.] "Was it easier to hear them because you were thinking about them before we played the video? Maybe it was because when you have a word on your mind, it's easier to notice it when you hear it. What else did you hear, besides the words that we predicted? What did the narrator say about the eggs, for example?"

Evaluation

5  Evaluating the strategy's effectiveness

"Did prediction help you understand this video better? The next time you watch a video in this language, do you think you'll try to predict something about it first? In your learner diaries for this lesson, write about your own experiences using this strategy. Has it helped you in the past?"

Expansion

6 Expanding the strategy to help accomplish other tasks

"What other times can we use this strategy?" [Teacher may review the situations that students suggested when asked to tell how they had used prediction in the Preparation phase.] "Before asking your teacher a question, perhaps you could predict, what the answer will be. When you're reading, you might use prediction when you think of how the story will end. Before a test, you should predict what type of questions the teacher will ask and what material will be on the test. This helps you prepare for the test more efficiently. For the next day or two, try to be aware of when you are using prediction.*Write in your learner diary about the times you use it."

From A.U. Chamot, S.Barnhardt, P.Beard El-Dinary, J.Robbins,The Learning Strategies Handbook, Pearson Education,1999