Layout
- Rapport Building
- Pre-reading
- About the Lesson
- Reading Comprehension
- Assignment and Project work
Rapport Building with students
Rapport building with students is the process of developing a positive and trusting relationship between a teacher or educator and their students. It involves creating an environment where students feel comfortable, safe and supported to express themselves, ask questions, and engage in learning activities.
The benefits of rapport-building with students are numerous. It helps to establish a positive classroom culture, reduces the likelihood of conflicts and disciplinary issues, and enhances student engagement and academic achievement. Additionally, students are more likely to approach their teacher for help or support when they feel a strong sense of rapport with them.
Rapport Building
- Have you ever had a teacher who made a big impact on your life? What made them such great teachers?
- Do you think the way we learn today is similar or different to the way the students in the story learn? Why or why not?
- How do you think education might look like in the future? Will technology play an even bigger role?
- If you could design your ideal classroom, what would it look like?
- Do you think it’s important for teachers and students to have a good relationship? Why or why not?
- What do you think are some of the most important qualities of a good teacher?
- What do you think the story is trying to say about the role of technology in education?
About Lessons
This story takes us to the world of the future, where computers will play a major role. Let the children talk freely about how they imagine the schools of the future that their own children might go to. You might want to explain the ideas of ‘virtual reality’ and ‘virtual classroom’. The term ‘virtual reality’ refers to a reality created by computer software, and a ‘virtual classroom’ is not a real classroom but one where learning is through computer software or the Internet. The children may know what a robot is, and be able to guess what a robotic teacher would be.
Unit- 1 Read the Text
MARGIE even wrote about it that night in her diary. On the page headed 17 May 2157, she wrote, “Today Tommy found a real book!”
It was a very old book. Margie’s grandfather once said that when he was a little boy his grandfather told him that there was a time when all stories were printed on paper.
They turned the pages, which were yellow and crinkly, and it was awfully funny to read words that stood still instead of moving the way they were supposed to — on a screen, you know. And then when they turned back to the page before, it had the same words on it that it had had when they read it the first time.
“Gee,” said Tommy, “what a waste. When you’re through with the book, you just throw it away, I guess. Our television screen must have had a million books on it and it’s good for plenty more. I wouldn’t throw it away.”
“Same with mine,” said Margie. She was eleven and hadn’t seen as many telebooks as Tommy had. He was thirteen.
She said, “Where did you find it?”
“In my house.” He pointed without looking, because he was busy reading. “In the attic.”
“What’s it about?”
“School.”
Comprehension Questions
- Who wrote about the incident in her diary?
- When was the book found by Tommy?
- What did Margie’s grandfather say about the old books?
- Why did Tommy say it was a waste to throw away books?
- How many telebooks had Margie seen compared to Tommy?
- Where did Tommy find the book?
- What was the book about according to Tommy?
- What did Margie think about the old-fashioned books?
- How did it feel to read words in the old books?
- What happened to the words on the page when they turned back to the previous page?
Unit-2 Read the Text
Pre-reading Questions
- Who is Margie?
- Why does Margie hate school?
- What type of teacher does Margie have?
- How does the mechanical teacher evaluate Margie’s homework and tests?
- What happens when the County Inspector visits Margie’s house?
- Why was Margie disappointed with Inspector’s visit?
- Who is Tommy?
- What happened to Tommy’s teacher?
- Why does Margie ask Tommy why anyone would write about school?
- What might be the overall theme or message of the text based on the pre-reading information?
Margie was scornful. “School? What’s there to write
about school? I hate school.”
Margie always hated school, but now she hated it more than ever. The mechanical teacher had been giving her test after test in geography and she had been doing worse and worse until her mother had shaken her head sorrowfully and sent for the County Inspector.
He was a round little man with a red face and a whole box of tools with dials and wires. He smiled at Margie and gave her an apple, then took the teacher apart. Margie had hoped he wouldn’t know how to put it together again, but he knew how all right, and, after an hour or so, there it was again, large and black and ugly, with a big screen on which all the lessons were shown and the questions were asked. That wasn’t so bad.
The part Margie hated most was the slot where she had to put in homework and test papers. She always had to write them out in a punch code they made her learn when she was six years old, and the mechanical teacher calculated the marks in no time.The Inspector had smiled after he was finished and patted Margie’s head. He said to her mother, “It’s not the little girl’s fault, Mrs Jones. I think the geography sector was geared a little too quick. Those things happen sometimes. I’ve slowed it up to an average ten-year level. Actually, the overall pattern of her progress is quite satisfactory.” And he patted Margie’s head again.
Margie was disappointed. She had been hoping they would take the teacher away altogether. They had once taken Tommy’s teacher away for nearly a month because the history sector had blanked out completely.
So she said to Tommy, “Why would anyone write about school?”
Comprehension Questions
- Why did Margie write about Tommy finding a real book in her diary?
- What did Margie’s grandfather tell her about the time he was a little boy?
- What did Tommy think about the idea of printed books?
- Where did Tommy find the book?
- What was the book about?
- What is the mechanical teacher?
- Why did Margie hate the mechanical teacher more than ever?
- What did Margie’s mother do when she saw how poorly Margie was doing on her geography tests?
- What did the County Inspector do when he arrived?
- How did Margie feel about Inspector’s visit?
- What happened to Tommy’s teacher?
- Why did Margie ask Tommy why anyone would write about school?
Unit-2 Read the Text
Pre-reading Questions
- What is the conversation between Tommy and Margie?
- Why did Margie say, “Well, I don’t know what kind of school they had all that time ago”?
- Who was the teacher in the old kind of school?
- Why did Margie say “A man isn’t smart enough”?
- Did the kids in the old kind of school learn the same thing? If yes, how?
Tommy looked at her with very superior eyes. “Because it’s not our kind of school, stupid.” This is the old kind of school that they had hundreds and hundreds of years ago.” He added loftily, pronouncing the word carefully, “Centuries ago.”
Margie was hurt. “Well, I don’t know what kind of school they had all that time ago.” She read the book over his shoulder for a while, then said, “Anyway, they had a teacher.”
Sure they had a teacher, but it wasn’t a regular teacher. It was a man.”
“A man? How could a man be a teacher?”
“Well, he just told the boys and girls things and gave them homework and asked them questions.” A man isn’t smart enough.”
“Sure he is. My father knows as much as my teacher.” “He knows almost as much, I betcha.”
Margie wasn’t prepared to dispute that. She said, “I wouldn’t want a strange man in my house to teach me.”
Tommy screamed with laughter. “You don’t know much, Margie.” The teachers didn’t live in the house. “They had a special building, and all the kids went there.”
“And all the kids learned the same thing?”
“Sure, if they were the same age.”
Reading Comprehension
- What is the conversation between Tommy and Margie about?
- What kind of school is Margie familiar with?
- What is Tommy’s opinion of the old kind of school?
- How is the old kind of school different from the new kind of school?
- Who was the teacher in the old kind of school?
- Where did the kids go to learn in the old kind of school?
- Did all the kids learn the same thing in the old kind of school?
- What is Margie’s opinion of having a strange man in her house to teach her?
Unit-3 Read the Text
Pre-reading Questions
- What does the main character’s mother want her to do?
- What is the “mechanical teacher”?
- What is the lesson for today’s class?
- What was the school like when Margie’s grandfather’s grandfather was a little boy?
- How do the kids in the old school help one another?
“But my mother says a teacher has to be adjusted to
fit the mind of each boy and girl it teaches and that each kid has to be taught differently.”
“Just the same they didn’t do it that way then. If you don’t like it, you don’t have to read the book.” “I didn’t say I didn’t like it,” Margie said quickly.
She wanted to read about those funny schools. They weren’t even half finished when Margie’s
mother called, “Margie! School!”
Margie looked up. “Not yet, Mamma.”
“Now!” said Mrs Jones. “And it’s probably time
for Tommy, too.”
Margie said to Tommy, “Can I read the book some
more with you after school?”
“May be,” he said nonchalantly. He walked away
whistling, the dusty old book tucked beneath his arm.
Margie went into the schoolroom. It was right next to her bedroom, and the mechanical teacher was on and waiting for her.
It was always on at the same time every day except Saturday and Sunday because her mother said little girls learned better if they learned at regular hours.
The screen was lit up, and it said: “Today’s arithmetic lesson is on the addition of proper fractions. Please insert yesterday’s homework in the proper slot.” Margie did so with a sigh. She was thinking about the old schools they had when her grandfather’s grandfather was a little boy.
All the kids from the whole neighborhood came, laughing and shouting in the schoolyard, sitting together in the schoolroom, and going home together at the end of the day. They learned the same things, so they could help one another with the homework and talk about it.
And the teachers were people…
The mechanical teacher was flashing on the screen: “When we add fractions 1⁄2 and 1⁄4…”
Margie was thinking about how the kids must have loved it in the old days. She was thinking about the fun they had.
Comprehension Questions
- What is the mechanical teacher and when does Margie use it?
- What does Margie’s mother believe about learning and why does she believe it?
- What does Margie want to read about and with whom?
- How did children in the old schools help each other?
- How is the arithmetic lesson presented in the story?
- What is Margie thinking about while using the mechanical teacher?
Assignment and Project work
Topics for Discussion
- The pros and cons of learning from a mechanical teacher versus a human teacher
- The differences between the education system in the story and modern-day schooling
- The importance of a regular school schedule versus a flexible learning environment
- The benefits of learning with peers versus learning alone
- The impact of technology on education and the role of traditional learning methods
- The pros and cons of learning at home versus learning in a school setting
- The significance of preserving traditional teaching methods versus adapting to new ones
- The value of learning for fun versus learning for grades and achievement
- The role of imagination in education and how to foster creative thinking in the classroom
- The significance of equal access to education for all children, regardless of location or socioeconomic status.
Interpret the Following Statements
- “Science and technology revolutionize our lives, but memory, tradition and myth frame our response.” – Arthur Schlesinger
- “The science of today is the technology of tomorrow.” – Edward Teller
- “Technology is a useful servant but a dangerous master.” – Christian Lous Lange
- “Science and technology are the engines of prosperity and the gateway to opportunity.” – Neil deGrasse Tyson
- “The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.” – Nelson Mandela
- “Science and technology have brought about advances in medicine, transportation, communication and many other fields. They have also brought us the possibility of destroying ourselves.” – Martin Rees
- “Science and technology have made the world a better place to live, but it is not without its challenges.” – Marissa Mayer
- “The good thing about science is that it’s true whether or not you believe in it.” – Neil deGrasse Tyson
- “Technology is just a tool. In terms of getting the kids working together and motivating them, the teacher is the most important.” – Bill Gates
- “Science is a way of thinking much more than it is a body of knowledge.” – Carl Sagan
Topics for Debate
For “Science and Technology as a Bane”:
- Technology is responsible for social isolation and has caused a breakdown in face-to-face communication.
- The development of nuclear weapons and other military technology has led to an increase in war and violence.
- Technology has made us too reliant on machines, resulting in a lack of manual and practical skills among people.
- The widespread use of social media and the internet has created new problems, such as cyberbullying and addiction.
- The impact of technological advancements on the environment has been negative, leading to pollution, climate change, and other ecological problems.
For “Science and Technology as a Boon”
- Technology has allowed us to improve medical treatments, leading to better health outcomes and longer lifespans.
- The development of renewable energy sources and other green technologies has helped us to address climate change and reduce our carbon footprint.
- Technology has made it easier for people to connect with each other, facilitating communication and promoting understanding.
- The use of technology in education has opened up new learning opportunities and has made education more accessible to people around the world.
- Technology has made many everyday tasks easier and more efficient, saving time and improving productivity.