Lecture npotes on 5E instructional model in under age education.pdf

ince 2018 I have been teaching English as a Second

Language (ESL) in private schools at secondary and higher

secondary levels.

During this period, I have observed lack of interest among the

students, their inadequate knowledge about articles and their usage

in the English language. Therefore, it motivated me to identify some

of the key problems experienced by teachers and students, and

explore research-based strategies to address the identified issues

and concerns related to uses of articles in English language. I believe

that ESL teachers need to enhance their understanding of articles in

order to effectively teach ESL learners. The articles’ system has

remained one of the most difficult concepts of English for ESL

learners.

Literature suggests that there are common issues related to the use

of articles among ESL learners such as overuse, underuse, or

substituting the articles wrongly (Shakur & Khanum, 2021). It is

acknowledged that many second language learners have issues in

using articles in the target language and unconsciously make errors

because they did not have enough knowledge about articles in their

first language (Butler, 2002; Shakur & Khanum, 2021 ). Research on

the use of articles also suggests that Urdu as a first language, which

does not have any articles, is a barrier in teaching and is challenging

for Pakistani learners. Therefore, they either ignore articles or use

them excessively even if it is not required (Shakur & Khanum, 2021).

According to Alhaisoni, Gaudel, and Al-Zuoud (2017) most of the

errors in the article are made due to overgeneralization and in

appropriate transfer from the first language to the target language.

Such errors indicate the problems students face in learning English

as a second/ foreign language in schools.

Likewise, the Japanese students make errors in using the articles as

the concept of definite and indefinite articles is missing in the

Japanese language (Butler, 2002) similarly in Urdu language there

are no articles. Due to the lack of understanding between their first

language and the target language, students find it challenging to

grasp the concept of articles.

For deeper understanding of the topic, I reviewed multiple research

studies related to the acquisition of articles in different languages such

as Urdu, Arabic, and Japanese. I discovered that all these languages

share a common feature: they lack a system for articles. Therefore, the

learners face challenges in understanding articles while learning

English.

Literature suggests some recommendations to engage ESL learners in

building the concept. English articles are unteachable but can be

learned by exposure to language and the learners need to understand

them through personal experiences (Shakur & Khanum, 2021).

Furthermore, the study suggested that all language teachers need to

review the work of students and identify the errors during usage of

articles, along with grammatical and language errors. English teachers

also need to be aware of the rules of definite and indefinite articles

when engaging ESL learnes, and without understanding the rules it

would be difficult for them to use it properly (Miller, 2005). Similarly, the

study also reveals that the essence of all languages is different from

each other. Therefore, learners do not necessarily need to assimilate

their first language and the target language. Moreover, contextualised

and meaning-based activities are essential for teaching articles related

to the real-life context.

In the concept of the article system in English, it has been suggested

that learners need to understand the “Noun Phrase” because articles are

used in noun phrases (Butler, 2002). Therefore, focusing on the

countable and uncountable nouns in noun phrases would be helpful to

understand the article system better. In a nutshell, all these findings and

strategies would be helpful for teachers to address the identified

problems and enable students to use articles appropriately.

Subject

English

Topic

Definite and Indefinite articles

Class

Duration

45 minutes

Prior

Knowledge

Students’ familiarity with articles i.e., usage of a, an, the in

sentences.

Students

Learning

Outcomes

By the end of the lesson, students will be able to:

Differentiate between definite and indefinite articles

with examples.

Identify the articles from texts.

Write a paragraph using definite and indefinite articles.

Learning

Resources

Whiteboard, board markers, duster, short story,

worksheets.

Time

Content and teacher/ student activity

5 mins

Engage

The teacher will ask students to observe the classroom

silently for one minute. The students will be given a chance

to make sentences using any one object available in the

classroom. Students will write their observations on the

whiteboard after which the teacher will collect their

responses by asking the reasoning behind the responses.

For instance, the students will write: ‘There is a rostrum in

our class.” In response, the teacher will ask them the

rationale behind the use of the article ‘a’ with the noun

‘rostrum’.

mins

Explore

The teacher will instruct the students to sit in pairs. A short

story “Hungry Dogs” (Refer Annexure A for the story) will be

provided by the teacher in this paired activity with the

following instructions:

Underline the articles ‘a’, ‘an’, and ‘the’.

Also underline the succeeding words.

Discuss with your partner why specific article(s) is/ are

used with the words.

After the completion of pair work, the teacher will randomly

call the students to share the identified articles and the

reasons bhind the use.

mins

Explain

Teacher will now announce the topic “definite and indefinite

articles.” Based on the reasons identified by the students,

the teacher will explain the concept of definite and indefinite

articles. In addition, the teacher will also explain the basic

rules of articles and their use in sentences with examples.

For instance,

Articles are small words that are used to modify nouns.

E.g., The dog barked loudly. (Dog is modified by the

article ‘the’).

Articles always come before nouns they modify. E.g., He

found a pen in the classroom. (Pen is preceded by the

article ‘a’).

Definite articles are used to define specific things while

indefinite articles are used to define indefinite things.

E.g., The cat climbed the tree to catch a bird. ('the' is

used before 'cat' )

Definite: Let’s go to the head office. (Referring to a

specific office that is known to both the speaker and

listener).

Indefinite: He is riding a cycle. (Referring to any cycle, not a

specific cycle).

Time

Content and teacher/ student activity

mins

Elaborate

The teacher will ask students in pairs to write a small

paragraph on their favorite activity in the school using

definite and indefinite articles (at least three).

5 mins

Evaluate

The teacher will ask students randomly to share their work in

front of the class. Students will share their work and the

teacher will ask why the students use ‘a’, ‘an’, and ‘the’ with

different nouns in the paragraph.

Homework

Students will be asked to write a short paragraph on their favorite sport

(100-150 words) by using articles a, an, and the.

Annexure A

Story:

Read the story in pairs and underline the definite and indefinite articles

in the story. Share your responses with the class.

Hungry Dogs:

Three dogs lived in the city. They were very close friends. One day, all

of them were hungry. So, they started searching for food, but they

couldn’t find anything. At last, they found a bone lying under the water.

They tried hard to get the bone, but they failed. One of them thought

that if we were able to drink all the water, we could get that bone. They

started drinking water. Even when their stomachs were full, they didn’t

stop drinking water, which caused their stomachs to burst, and they

died.

The moral of the story is that we shouldn’t try an impossible task in a

foolish manner.

Source:

Students will be asked to write a short paragraph on their favorite sport

(100-150 words) by using articles a, an, and the.

Alhaisoni, E., Gaudel, D. R., & Al-Zuoud, K. M. (2017). Article errors in

the English writing of Saudi EFL preparatory year students. Advances

in Language and Literary Studies, 8(1), 72-78.

Butler, Y. G. (2002). Second language learners ‘theories on the use of

English articles: An analysis of the metalinguistic knowledge used by

Japanese students in acquiring the English article system. Cambridge

University Press, 24(3), 451-480.

Miller, J. (2005). Most of ESL Students Have Trouble with the Articles.

International Education Journal, 5(5), 80-88.

Shakur, N., & Khanum, T. (2021). The English article system and

second language Pakistani learners: A case study. Pakistan Journal of

Society, Education and Language, 8(1), 46-63.

References

Variables:

A Bridging Tool

Between Algebra and

Other Areas of

Mathematics

Sadam Hussain

eing a mathematics teacher, I have experienced that my

students feel difficulties in learning algebraic concepts.

Similarly, Bhutta and Rizvi (2021), also found that the

students’ performance in Algebra in middle school

remains low as compared to other math concepts.

Variables, in my opinion, is the most fundamental notion in algebra,

and it can be used for a variety of sub-concepts in algebra that

develop linkages with arithmetic, pattern finding, and geometry. I

selected a student-centered approach to help grade VI students to

gain conceptual knowledge about variables so that they can

understand the basic concepts of algebra. Algebra is an extension of

arithmetic and pattern-finding in which letters (variables) represent

numbers or values.

The concept of a variable seems simple (a letter represents a number),

but it is extremely complicated because letters in mathematics are

used in a variety of ways (Russell, O'Dwyer, & Miranda, 2009). In

arithmetic, ‘m’ is mostly used to represent a metre as a unit, not the

number of meters and when ‘m’ is used as a variable, in algebra,

students might misinterpret and use it as a label for the unit (meter).

Furthermore, students frequently make mistakes (a variable for an item

name), and they identify letters with their alphabetical placements

(Bush, & Karp, 2013; Russell, O'Dwyer, & Miranda, 2009; Welder,

2012). Students often associate 'a' with 'apple' from primary school

lessons and sometimes with '1' as ‘a’ it is the first placed letter of the

English alphabet.

Welder (2012) has identified four different strategies to overcome the

challenges or misconceptions dealing with variables in algebra.

Firstly, finding missing values in equations like 3+y=14 could be

introduced by providing arithmetic equations with missing values and

allowing students to use different symbols for the missing values.

Secondly, if variables are needed to generalise patterns, students

should be encouraged to learn how to locate, record, and express

pattern rules in words first, and then variables can be introduced

afterwards. Thirdly, the use of abbreviations and letters might be

distinguished by pronouncing and writing the word ‘meter’ instead of

the letter ‘m’. While it will require time and effort, this approach will

help students understand the abbreviation of a variable. Finally,

variables could be taught by giving students a mathematical

expression or equation and then having them translate the expression

or equation into word(s), phrases or a story before introducing the

concept of variables.

Subject

Mathematics

Topic

Variables (Algebra)

Class

Duration

60 minutes

Prior

Knowledge

Students have an understanding about the use arithmetic

operations (addition and subtraction) to find the missing

numbers.

Students

Learning

Outcomes

By the end of the lesson, students will be able to:

Define variables as letters to denote numbers in

algebra.

Understand the concept of the variables and their use

in real-life situations.

Learning

Resources

Stationery items (copy, pencil, ruler, geometry box,

eraser, sticky notes, etc.), worksheets

Time

Content and teacher/ student activity

5 mins

Engage

The teacher will ask students the following questions:

Have you watched the movie “Tare Zameen Par”? (If

students say no, then the teacher will explain the plot of

the film and draw connections between the film’s plot with

math).

Note: The teacher should inform students about the plot of the

novel i.e., the movie is based on the story of a boy Ishan, who

was weak in identifying and recalling content. One day, the

teacher asked him to read a passage from a book and at that

time he said that he couldn’t read the text because the letters

were dancing.

After this, the teacher will ask the students the following

question:

Can you imagine how the letters will dance?

The teacher will then engage the students in a ‘dancing

numbers and letters’ activity in the class.

mins

Explore

The teacher will divide students into groups of 5 and provide

them with a worksheet. The worksheet has three parts and

each part is pinned. Refer to Annexure A for worksheet.

Students will be asked to open the first part and complete it

after which they will be allowed to open the second, and finally

the third part of the worksheet.

Instructions for 1st part:

This part has 4 squares and each square needs to be filled

with one or more numbers.

In the first square, add all the numbers and write their sum

in the empty box.

In the second square, the sum, which is 45, is already

given. You have to identify and find out the number to be

added to 8 and 20 to get 45.

In the third square, the sum 45 is given with one number

that is 15. Identify the number that, when doubled and

added to 15, equals 45.. Write that number in both empty

boxes.

In the fourth square, only the sum 45 is given and you

have to write down the three numbers whose sum is 45.

Remember that the numbers should be different from the

previous squares.

After completing the first part, the teacher will ask students to

open the second part.

Instructions for the second part:

There are 4 questions in this part. They are related to the

arithmetic operations that you have learned previously.

Time

Content and teacher/ student activity

5 mins

Now find the missing numbers in each question.

Follow the instructions in question ‘c’ to find the number

which, when added to itself, and then subtracting 13 from

the sum, results in 17.

Later on, the teacher will ask the students to share their

answers. The teacher will ask the following probing

questions to the students regarding the activity above:

What did you find in all the situations that were provided

to you? (missing numbers/ values)

What else do we call that missing value? A missing value

is also known as ______. (an unknown value)

Are missing values only found in arithmetic or can they

also be found in other fields of mathematics like

measurements, geometry, etc?

What else can we use instead of symbols? (variables)

In terms of mathematics, what do we call an unknown

value that is represented with symbols? (variable)

mins

Explain

Based on the discussion above, the teacher will share that:

Algebra is a generalised form of arithmetic and pattern-

finding in which letters (variables) replace numbers or

values.

A value of the variable can vary if the sum, difference,

product, or quotient of the expression is not given.

Let's take an example: If the expression is X+5=11, then

the value of ‘x’ could be any number. It may be 1 or 2 or 5

or 11 or 290 or any other number.

Since only 6 added to 5 equals 11, the variable's value is 6.

mins

Elaborate

To enhance the student’s understanding of variables, the

teacher will engage them in an activity.

Activity details: The teacher will show some items from the

class (like pencil, eraser, ruler, pen, copy, book, etc.) and label

them with price tags by using sticky notes. The teacher will also

show the students a list of variables and their values. Next, the

the teacher will ask the students if they have Rs. 100 to spend

at the store. They will be inquired regarding which items they

would like to buy and will be tasked to share the list of items

available within that amount. Secondly, the students will be

asked to represent those items, with their amounts, and the

variables that were used.

With the help of this activity, the teacher will discuss that the

variables do not label any object or item, but it’s the numerical

value or amount that is shared. In other words, the variable

doesn’t have any fixed numerical value, but can vary.

Homework

Write these statements and equations mathematically by using any letter,

where the number is unknown.

1. + 7 = 15

2. 20 - = 9

3. Hafeez had some apples. He bought 14 more apples, and now he has 21

apples. How many apples did Hafeez initially have? _________

4. Sana had 20 marbles, but she lost some of them. Now she has 3

marbles left. How many marbles did Sana lose? ___________

Time

Content and teacher/ student activity

mins

Evaluate

Finally, students will be asked to open the last pin of the paper

and look at the third part that they need to complete by

following the given instructions:

This part has three questions. You need to write the

statements mathematically and also use the variables in the

mathematical statements.

Annexure A

Fill with the same number

Complete the blanks.

a. 17 + 23 = b. - 15 = 75

c. ( + ) - 13 = 17 d. 100 - = 89

Write these statements mathematically by using any letter, where the

number is unknown.

Ali had some pencils. He bought 2 more. The number of pencils Ali

now has is _______________.

Add 30 to a certain number. The resultant number is ______________.

Babar added two same numbers and subtracted 3 from it. The

resultant number is _______________.

Bhutta, S. M., & Rizvi, N. F. (2021). Assessing teachers’ pedagogical

practices and students’ learning outcomes in mathematics and science

across primary and secondary school levels: A nationwide study

[unpublished report]. Aga Khan University Institute for Educational

Development, Pakistan.

Bush, S. B., & Karp, K. S. (2013). Prerequisite algebra skills and

associated misconceptions of middle-grade students: A review. The

Journal of Mathematical Behavior, 32(3), 613-632

Russell, M., O’dwyer, L. M., & Miranda, H. (2009). Diagnosing students’

misconceptions in algebra: Results from an experimental pilot study.

Behavior Research Methods, 41(2), 414-424.

Welder, R. M. (2012). Improving algebra preparation: Implications from

research on student misconceptions and difficulties. School Science

and Mathematics, 112(4), 255-264.

References

Teaching

and

Learning History

Sardar Hussain

course is a exploration of literature to understand why history is

difficult to teach and what are the research-based strategies that help

in developing the students’ interest in the subject.

Based on my teaching experiences, I have experienced that students

consider history as a boring subject. According to Harrisa and Haydn

(2006) the research conducted to explore students’ attitude towards

history as a subject in England found that many students think that

history is on the timetable because the students want to sleep in the

class. One of the possible reasons could be that usually teachers use

traditional lecture methods to teach history that lead students to lose

their concentration. According to Hover and Yeager (2004) history

teachers whose instructional skills are good, can make the lesson

interesting as compared to those who use traditional lecture method.

History is also given less importance as compared to other subjects. In

middle school curriculum, history is not a major component within the

social studies curriculum. Therefore, it becomes difficult for the

teacher to draw students’ attention towards history (De Oliveira,

2008).

Teaching approaches matters. Harrisa and Haydn (2006) found that

students enjoy interactive activities such as role playing, drama,

presentations, discussion, debate, making things, and so forth.

Teaching history through movies is another technique to teach history

effectively. Movies help students identify and analyse different stories

about the past and explore the nature of historical interpretations, an

important element of effective historical thinking (Marcus, Metzge r,

Paxton, Stoddard).

Different effective teaching strategies like role play, drama, discussion,

movie watching, and project methods for history are emphasised in the

literature. Implementaion of these strategies by the teacher is essential

to make history engaging for students.

s a social studies teacher, I have faced difficulty in

teaching history. Therefore, the focus for one of the

assignments in the Curriculum, Teaching and Learning

Subject

Social Studies

Topic

Mughal Rule

Class

Duration

65 minutes

Prior

Knowledge

Students already know about:

Names of historical figures known for their conquests

or leadership.

Conquerors from different parts of the world.

Students

Learning

Outcomes

By the end of the lesson, students will be able to:

Identify the ruler who laid the foundation of Muslim

rule in India.

Identify the first ruler of the Mughal Empire.

Discuss the life and ruling period of Zaheer-ud-Din

Babur.

Learning

Resources

Textbook, maps, worksheets, multimedia, stationery

Time

Content and teacher/ student activity

5 mins

Engage

Some questions will be asked from students to probe their

prior knowledge. Some sample questions are given below:

Who was the first ruler to come to India?

Name Muslim dynasties who ruled over India before the

Mughals.

Note: Have students draw a timeline on the given chart

papers to show Muslim dynasties who ruled over India before

Mughals. Assist where required.

mins

Explore

Students will be divided in groups and each group will be

provided a handout about Zaheer-ud-Din Babur.

(https://historypak.com/zaheeruddin-babar/)

Students will read the story and answer the following

questions in their groups:

Who was Zaheer-ud-Din Babur?

When did he come to India?

What is the Battle of Panipat?

What was his strategy as a commander?

Who were the two significant individuals in Babur's early

life that played a role in shaping his personality and skills,

and what were their contributions?

Describe the circumstances under which Babur became

the king of Ferghana at the age of 12.

How did he navigate the challenges posed by his enemies

at a young age?

Discuss the significance of Babur's successful conquest

of Samarqand and his brief rule there.

mins

Explain

Each group will be given 3-4 minutes to present their

timelines and their findings from the story above in front of

the class. Then, the teacher will consolidate all the points

and will add if something is left. The teacher will also show

the timeline to give students a clear understanding about the

topic. (Refer to Annexure A for the timeline)

By the end of this activity, the teacher will address any

questions or misconceptions the students still have.

mins

Elaborate

The teacher will facilitate a discussion on the impact of

Babur’s rule in the subcontinent, encouraging the students to

think critically about the positive/negative aspects of his

rule, including his contributions to architecture, art and

governance. They will then work in groups to create either a

timeline or visual representation depicting key events in

Babur’s life.

Homework

Students are asked to design a poster highlighting Babur’s struggle in

India.

Time

Content and teacher/ student activity

5 mins

Evaluate

Students will be asked to write a small paragraph of 3-4 lines

describing what they learned from the class.

Annexure A

De Oliveira, L. C. (2008). “History Doesn't Count": Challenges of

Teaching History in California Schools. The history teacher, 41(3), 363-

378.

Harris. R, Haydn.T "Pupils' enjoyment of history: what lessons can

teachers learn from their pupils?" The Curriculum Journal 17, no. 4

(2006): 315-333.

Haydn, T., & Stephen, A. (2022). Learning to teach history in the

secondary school: A companion to school experience. (5th ed).

Routledge.

https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429060885

Marcus, A. S., Metzger, S. A., Paxton, R. J., & Stoddard, J. D. (2018).

Teaching history with film: Strategies for secondary social studies.

(2nd ed). Routledge.

https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429060885

Van Hover, S. D., & Yeager, E. A. (2004). Challenges facing beginning

history teachers: An exploratory study. International journal of social

education, 19(1), 8-21.

References

ATOMS:

Imagination of an

Abstract Concept

of Science

Shella Asad

comprehension about the universe. This topic also demands

visualisation and conceptualisation of models at the micro-level and

application at the macro-level, something which challenges a teacher

to draft a lesson plan accordingly. Similarly, according to Cokelez

(2010), understanding the nature of the atom is complicated because

its structure is abstract and cannot be seen with naked eyes. As a

result, teachers struggle in disseminating the concept of atomic

structure as students face difficulty in imagining the abstract structure

of an atom.

Moreover, teaching and learning of the atomic structure is significantly

more difficult at the elementary level where the concept of the

structure of an atom is mentioned in grade 7 science books,

specifically in Pakistan. Learners at this level are unable to visualise

and elaborate the concept of the structure of an atom. According to

Polat-Yaseen (2012), teaching about atoms and atomic structure to

elementary students is a challenging task because it is difficult to

imagine how atoms look like”.

Hence, modeling atomic structure can help thinking and working

scientifically on the concept of the atom and models can also provide

pictorial representations to the students (Polat-Yaseen,2012). Models

are valuable tools as they can be used to understand abstract science

concepts such as the structure of atoms. Consequently, teachers of

science amongst other teachers use metaphors and analogy (Polat-

Yaseen,2012) in teaching concepts of science. Others use different

symbols to help students understand the microscopic concept at a

macroscopic level. These include structural formulas, and ball-and-

stick models (Wu, 2003).

Furthermore, the analogy of the solar system can also be used to

describe the structure of atoms (Nakiboğlu & Taber, 2013) and

teachers believe that the use of models in science education supports

meaningful teaching and learning processes. In 2012, Cokelez also

stressed budding models and integrating those models into the

syllabus as classroom activities. Teachers on the other hand also

prefer to choose easy models in their instructions rather than

explaining all the concepts from the textbooks that are not enough to

clarify the abstract concept of structure of atoms (Polat-Yaseen,2012),

which also facilitates teachers and learners in understanding the

concept of the structure of the atom easily.

he idea of the atom serves as a cornerstone in the field

of science in the quest to understand the fundamental

components of matter. Its significance comes from

being the smallest indivisible unit of an element, which

represents a significant advancement in our

Subject

Science

Topic

Structure of Atom

Class

Duration

55 minutes

Prior

Knowledge

Students already know about:

The nature of an atom.

The structure of an atom which is made up of tiny

particles.

Students

Learning

Outcomes

By the end of the lesson, students will be able to:

Describe the structure of an atom.

Differentiate between atomic number and mass

number.

Draw the model of the atomic structure of the first ten

elements in the periodic table.

Learning

Resources

Blackboard, Chalk, Duster, Periodic Table, small wooden

sticks and pieces of paper, colored paper/markers

(different colors for protons, neutrons, and electrons),

glue or tape for model of the atom,

and a laptop (short video clip).

Time

Content and teacher/ student activity

mins

Engage

The teacher will distribute pieces of paper and wooden sticks

among students.

Students will hold a piece of paper or wooden sticks in their

hands.

They will make small pieces of paper or wooden sticks (as

small as possible) until they become unbreakable.

The teacher will question the students, including the

following inquiries (with the possibility of additional

questions):

Did you tear the paper into pieces or break the wooden

sticks?

What happened when you tore the paper into pieces or

broke the wooden sticks?

How small can you make them?

Imagine that a piece of paper or sticks represents an

object. How does breaking it down help us understand its

smaller components?

After that, the teacher will encourage the students to join the

small pieces.

The teacher further probes the students by asking the

following questions:

Based on your observation, why do scientists consider

the atom to be a tiny particle?

How does breaking paper and wood support the idea that

all things are made of atoms?

Can you think of other everyday examples that illustrate

the idea that everything is made up of atoms?

mins

Explore

The teacher will ask students to share ideas on the activity

and relate the process with the concept of science.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNroKeV2fgk

(2:24 and then from 3:21 to 3:59)

After watching the video, the teacher will ask the following

questions:

What was the title of the video?

What does an atom look like?

Write the names of the sub-atomic particles of an atom.

Differentiate between a proton, electron, and neutron.

Why is an atom neutral?

Draw and label the structure of an atom.

Homework

Students will be asked to create a model of any two periodic elements

numbered between 11 and 15 either by using play dough or any other

materials they like and also attach a note with their model describing the

placement of each component.

Time

Content and teacher/ student activity

mins

Explain

Students will share their responses to the questions above. The

teacher will consolidate the responses and explain the concept

of an atom.

Next, the teacher will illustrate the atom's structure on the

board, labelling it using colored markers or paper. (different

colors for protons, neutrons, and electrons).

The teacher will explain the terms ‘atomic number’ and ‘mass

number’, and differences between them.

Then, the teacher will show students the periodic table and

inform them about the first ten elements of the periodic table.

The positions of the atomic number and mass number in the

periodic table will also be highlighted by the teacher to facilitate

the students in understanding the periodic table’s properties.

5 mins

Elaborate

Students will draw and label the structure of the first ten

elements of the periodic table in their notebooks and label

them.

The teacher will assess the task in the class.

mins

Evaluate

Students will do an analysis in pairs and write a brief description

on the ‘structure of an atom’.

They will be encouraged to include all the concepts taught in

the class regarding atom and its structures.

Cokelez, A. (2012). Junior high school students’ ideas about the shape

and size of the atom. Research in Science Education, 42(4), 673-686.

Fuse School. What is an atom? [video]. YouTube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNroKeV2fgk

Nakiboğlu, C., & Taber, K. S. (2013). The atom as a tiny solar system:

Turkish High School students’ understanding of the Atom in relation to

a common teaching analogy. Concepts of Matter in Science Education.

Polat-Yaseen, Z. (2012). A comparison between elementary school

students' mental models and visualizations in textbooks for the

concept of Atom. Australian Association for Research in Education

(NJ1), 1-19.

Wu, Hsin-Kai. (2003). Linking the microscopic view of chemistry to

real‐life experiences: Intertextuality in a high‐school science

classroom. Science education, 87(6), 868-891.

References

Teaching

and

Learning of

Prepositions

Tahira Jabeen

under at

on outside she in

above

across down

between by

with

near beside

to choose a topic that I believe is challenging for students. Although I

didn’t have experience in teaching these grades, but I took it as a new

learning experience to assist the teachers in their teaching and

learning. Grasping the underlying concepts also required a substantial

amount of time for me. During my research, I utilised the national

curriculum, research articles and other resources. However, by

analysing different sources I observed that it isn’t difficult, particularly

for students of one context hence for the students globally. The

reasons behind the difficulty in learning prepositions are attributed to

the difference in languages and direct translation of one’s national

language or mother tongue into English. According to Penny (2001)

these types of errors occur due to improper or partial learning of the

foreign language.

Prepositions are known to be extremely difficult for English language

learners to master due to multiple meanings Lorincz et.,al (2012).

Having more than one meaning creates confusion for the learners as

well as the teachers on how to make the lesson understandable for

students with appropriate use of prepositions. Such errors may be the

result of the influence of one language upon another. According to

Brown (1987), learners’ errors are attributed to transfer, the context of

learning, and communication strategies. The tool for identifying and

understanding errors involves the existence of reasons for errors that

are made by the learners (Erdoğan 2005).

The literature proposes various strategies and activities to engage

learners in developing their understanding of prepositions.

According to Lorincz et., al (2012), three approaches are analysed and

evaluated such as, the traditional approach, the collection approach,

and the prototype approach. The traditional method of teaching

prepositions is through explicit grammar instruction. Students focus on

learning prepositions individually within context, with no further

expansion (Lam, 2009, p. 3). Furthermore, this approach does not

allow students to think out of the box and build up their understanding

about the rules of using prepositions. One alternative to the traditional

method of teaching prepositions is to use collocations (rather than

teaching prepositions individually, it can be taught in chunks).

s a learner and teacher it was always difficult for me to

use prepositions in sentences. I always find difficulty in

teaching and learning prepositions as they are used in

different scenarios. As I was instructed to choose a

lesson either from grade 4 or 5 for teaching, I decided

The collection approach is the combination of words that follow the

rules and are learned by heart by the students. For instance, rather

than only teaching, the teacher can teach combinations of words for

example work on, to rely on, on time, etc. The third type of teaching

preposition is the prototype; despite having multiple meanings of a

preposition the dominancy of one meaning comes under prototype.

For instance, the preposition ‘on’ has multiple meanings, but the

typical definition is “contact of an object with a line of surface”

(Lindstromberg, 1996, p. 229). Teachers can take advantage of

resources that provide learners with accurate ideas as well as take the

time to explore the various meanings of prepositions and how they

relate to one another.

Subject

English

Topic

Prepositions

Class

Duration

70 minutes

Prior

Knowledge

Students have familiarity of using vocabulary to indicate

the direction or position of an object.

Students

Learning

Outcomes

By the end of the lesson, students will be able to:

Identify prepositions.

Use prepositions in real world context.

Learning

Resources

marker, white boards, balls, basket with chits

Time

Content and teacher/ student activity

mins

Engage

The teacher will take students outside the classroom. Four

students who are willing to participate in the activity will be

selected. From those students two students will be

blindfolded and two will be the guiders. While other students

in the class will be observing the activity.

The teacher will hide balls on their way and also keep

hurdles in between. The guiders will be instructed to guide

their fellow students and help them reach the end mark by

collecting all the balls. The one who will collect the most

balls will win the race.

After the activity, the teacher will ask following questions

which will help the students to reflect upon the activity:

Was it easy to guide your fellow students? Why or why

not?

How did you help your fellow students to reach the balls

and the end point?

Did you use any specific words to describe the way or

position of the balls? If yes, then specify which ones.

mins

Explore

Students will be asked to observe the positions of the

objects in the classroom. After that, the teacher will ask each

student to take out one chit from the basket and write a

sentence describing the location of that object.

As soon as students will complete their sentences, they will

exchange their chits with their fellow students and read their

sentences. Students will identify words which help them in

understanding the location of the object and write that word

on the anchor chart placed in front of the classroom.

mins

Explain

The teacher will ask one of the students to read all the words

and ask them regarding their terminology. As per their prior

knowledge, they will be able to identify that these are

prepositions or they could also say that these words help to

describe the position, direction, and location of the objects.

The teacher will then present the topic, ‘Preposition’ and

explain the term in detail while also sharing some daily life

examples of using prepositions.

Homework

The students will be tasked to describe a scene or scenario by using at

least three prepositions to indicate the positions or movement of the

various items. They will be encouraged to use their imagination and

creativity, and use prepositions in different ways.

Time

Content and teacher/ student activity

mins

Elaborate

Create a story of 100-120 words by using prepositions,

describing the positions and movements of characters, and

objects.

mins

Evaluate

The teacher will randomly call few students in front of the class

and ask them to share their stories. The teacher will also be

giving students feedback where needed.

Ahmad, N., Ahmed, S., Bukhari, M. A., & Bukhari, T. A. (2011). The

nature of difficulties in learning English by the students at secondary

school level in Pakistan. Journal of Education and Practice, 2(10), 18-

24.

Arthur Cassell. (2017, January 27). Compound prepositions | The parts

of speech | Grammar | Khan Academy [Video]. YouTube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EaUOGYWrPdc

Brotherson, V. (2018, October 23). Outlook – free personal email and

calendar from Microsoft. Pinterest.

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/484277766178998647/

Humeid, A. M. A. A., & Mohammed, A. (2013). Compound prepositions

used by Iraqi EFL university students. International Journal of English

Linguistics, 3(2), 98-114

Lorincz, K., & Gordon, R. (2012). Difficulties in learning prepositions

and possible solutions. Linguistic Portfolios, 1(1), 14.

References

Air is

No More an

Abstract Concept

of Science

Tajun Nisa

and blow balloons; but they consider the hollow object empty without

mentioning the existence of air inside. Although children are familiar

with the word “air” but the properties of air like mass, pressure, volume,

and even its existence in the stationary form are very challenging for

the students to understand due to their abstract nature (Bulunuz &

Jarret, 2012). In addition, the colorless, odorless, and tasteless nature

of air makes it difficult for the students to imagine its existence in

nature (Bulunuz & Jarret, 2009). They cannot use their senses to

observe and predict the properties of air when the air is not moving.

As a science educator, I've faced challenges with students struggling

to analyse the characteristics of stationary air. i.e., mass, pressure and

its existence. They think air has no pressure when it is at rest and

cannot justify the existence of air because they cannot see it and air is

also the lightest state of matter, so it has no mass. To address

students' misconceptions about the properties of air, I decided to teach

this topic at a community-based school in Karachi.

Moreover, it is my personal experience that to run a science class

using inquiry-based teaching strategies like discrepant events, a

teacher should have a well-planned lesson. There are certain ways of

prior planning, among which one is the 5E Model of lesson planning.

It is a pedagogical framework designed to enhance teaching

effectiveness by promoting active and engaging learning experiences.

Comprising five distinct phases—Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate,

and Evaluate—the model encourages a student-centred approach that

aligns with constructivist principles. The Engage phase captures

students' attention and curiosity, while the Explore phase enables

hands-on exploration of concepts. In the Explain phase, teachers

provide structured explanations, rectifying misconceptions, and

establishing a conceptual foundation.

earners of science believe in the existence of matter

when they can see it with naked eyes, and they consider

hollow objects empty if they don't see anything inside..

Students can only feel the moving air while sitting under

a fan, see the rustling trees of a windy day, breathe air,

The Elaborate phase fosters application and extension of knowledge,

and the Evaluate phase assesses understanding through formative and

summative assessments. This model cultivates critical thinking,

inquiry-based learning, and holistic comprehension, ultimately

fostering a conductive environment to effective teaching and learning.

In a nutshell, only a written draft on paper is not enough for science

teachers, instead they have to perform the activity at least twice before

going to the real classroom. I have experienced some activities failing

in my class due to lack of trial while planning. These errors can also

lead to students’ misconceptions; therefore science teachers have to

be well planned, have authentic knowledge, should be experts in

pedagogical concepts and have a habit of trials before entering the

real classroom.

Subject

Science

Topic

Properties of Air

Class

Duration

70 minutes

Prior

Knowledge

Students already know about:

Air is the mixture of gases.

Living things need air to breathe.

Air exists all around us and a place where air is not

present, it is known as a vacuum.

Students

Learning

Outcomes

By the end of the lesson, students will be able to:

Recognise the four properties of air (air exists

everywhere, it occupies space, has mass and exerts

pressure).

Demonstrate four properties of air with the help small

experiments.

Discuss one implication of each property of air in their

daily life.

Learning

Resources

Balloons, plastic bottles, balancing rod, water,

thread, matchbox, tap, scissors, needle, notebook/pencil,

board/marker

Time

Content and teacher/ student activity

mins

Engage

The class will start with a small demonstration to gauge

students’ attention and to help them activate their prior

knowledge.

Students will be shown an empty plastic bottle and probed

about what is inside it. The students will not be able to see

any concrete object inside so they may consider that the

bottle is empty. There is a possibility that students might

identify that air is present inside the bottle, but they will be

asked to prove their stance.

After this discussion, one of the students will be asked to

cover the mouth of the bottle with a balloon. The whole class

will be asked to observe it carefully and answer some

questions in Annexure A.

(Note: Refer to Annexure A for the activity.)

The teacher will again ask a few questions to help the

students to better understand the concept such as:

Since the bottle was empty, then where did the air come?

If air is not visible to us, does it occupy space?

If yes, how do you know?

mins

Explore

The class will be divided into three stations and students will

be divided into 3 groups. The students will be asked to go to

the assigned station and perform the activity as per the given

instructions and observe the outcome. They will be asked to

note down their observations or findings in the table given in

Annexure B.

The groups will be allowed to spend 05 minutes at each

station. As soon as the siren rings, the students will be asked

to move to another station.

(Note: Refer to Annexure B for station activity and table.)

As soon as all the groups visit all the stations, they will be

asked to go back to their seats and complete if something is

still left.

Note that on each station a sheet will be present (with

procedure and questions) mentioned on it. Students will

identify the remaining items and complete the table below.

Homework

Students will be asked to see the activities in the given worksheet and try

to perform the experiments by themselves at home, and encouraged to

write down their observation and new learning from the activity.

Time

Content and teacher/ student activity

mins

Explain

The teacher will initiate a discussion on air and its properties

by giving them time to share some of their findings from the

previous activity. The teacher will then introduce the topic,

‘Properties of Air’ and explain each property of air in detail

using everyday examples

5 mins

Elaborate

The teacher will ask students some questions such as:

Why do you think air classifies as a matter?

How can you justify that air has weight?

Why didn’t the balloon blow when it was kept inside the

bottle?

How is air beneficial for us?

5 mins

Evaluate

The teacher will use 3-2-1 strategy and ask students to write 3

things they learned, 2 questions they have, and 1 aspect of the

lesson they appreciated.

Annexure A

Activity 1

Purpose of the Activity: Prove that the air is present everywhere.

Materials: Balloons, plastic bottle

Procedure: Take an empty plastic bottle and cover the mouth of the

bottle with the balloon. Press the bottle with great force and see what

happens.

Questions:

What happened when the bottle was pressed?

What do you think helped the balloon to blow?

Do you think the bottle was empty, or did it have something in it

which we cannot see? How do you get to know that?

Why did the balloon inflate when pressure was applied on the

bottle?

Findings: Air is not visible to us, but it is present everywhere. As we

see that when pressure was exerted on the bottle, the balloon started

to blow and we concluded that air was present inside the bottle which

helped blow the balloon.

Annexure B

Station 01

Purpose of the Activity: To prove that air

occupies space.

Materials: Balloons, plastic bottle

Procedure: Blow a balloon in an open environment. Now pick up the

plastic bottle and put the balloon inside the bottle by covering its

mouth and then try to blow the balloon.

Questions:

Which balloon you were able to blow and why?

What was present inside the bottle which didn’t allow the balloon

to blow?

How do you get to know that air is present inside the bottle?

Air is also present in an open environment and inside the bottle.

Why was the balloon not able to blow inside the bottle as air is

present in both cases?

What can you conclude through this experiment?

Findings: The balloon was blowing when it was out of the bottle in an

open environment and when it was in the bottle it became difficult to

blow. Inside the bottle, air was present so there was not enough

space for the balloon to be blown. It means the bottle was not empty

instead air was there, and it takes up space due to which it didn’t

allow the balloon to blow.

Annexure B

Station 02

Purpose of the Activity: To prove that air exerts pressure.

Materials: Plastic bottle, thumb pins, tub, water

Procedure: Fill a plastic bottle with water and close it. Prick the

bottle with the needle and see what happens to water? Now open

the lid of the bottle and observe what happens?

Questions:

What happened when you pricked the bottle?

What happened when you opened the lid of the bottle and why?

Why do you think water did not flow when the lid was closed?

Findings: When the lid was closed, water did not flow through the

pricked holes but when the lid was opened water started flowing. It

means when the lid was opened, air from the top applied pressure on

water and it started to flow. On the other hand, when the lid was

closed no air pressure was being applied so the water did not flow. It

shows that air exerts pressure on objects.

Station 03

Purpose of the Activity: To prove that air has weight.

Materials: Balloons, rod, tap, scissors, thread, needle

Procedure: Fill two balloons with air making them the same size. Tie

them on both sides of the rod and balance them on the wedge. Glue

one point of the balloon with tape and prick on the tapped area with

a needle.

Questions:

What did you observe when the balloons were initially balanced

on the rod?

How did the position of the balloons change after one was

pricked with a needle?

How does this activity demonstrate that air has mass or weight?

Findings: The smaller balloon will tilt upward, and the bigger balloon

will move downward making the rod imbalanced. It demonstrates

that the bigger balloon is heavier due to the greater amount of air in

it. It implies that air has mass/weight as well.

Table

Purpose of the activity:

Materials used:

Make notes by answering the questions:

Findings

Use of

Algebra Tiles to

Make Teaching

and Learning

Simple

Wahid Murad

as variables and their use in algebra challenges the students. In

addition, other misconceptions, and perceptions about symbols, signs,

coefficients, and powers make it challenging for the students to

develop their understanding about algebraic concepts. This leads to

students’ failure in solving questions, such as linear equations and

word problems in grades 7 and 8, and complex mathematical problems

at the secondary level, and onwards. Eventually, students'

performance decreases, leading to a loss of motivation among them.

Literature has identified difficulties and issues for teachers and

students in teaching and learning algebra. In teachers’ opinion, there

are some reasons for students lacking in linear equations as students

are unable to understand the mathematical statements, and thus they

memorise the procedures instead of understanding the concepts

(Samuel et al, 2016). Secondly, algebra is taught abstractly without

using concrete materials. Lastly, students failed to recognise and

understand algebraic terms such as constants, coefficients, evaluate,

expand, factorise, etc., contributing to lower rate of achievement. A

study conducted in a government girls' high school of Karachi revealed

that students have misconceptions regarding the use of letters and

signs in algebra (Samo, 2009). The researcher further argued that

such problems have a connection with students’ lack of understanding

of concepts and teachers’ content knowledge. He further added

students misunderstand the equal sign as a signal for doing something

as an operator rather than a relational symbol of equivalence. For

example, students were not ready to accept the answers as a variable

or an expression but were looking for a single numeral value after an

equal sign as it used in arithmetic. To cope with the challenges faced

by teachers and students in an algebraic classroom, especially in

solving equations, researchers shared some of the strategies,

methods, and activities. These could be used in designing lesson plans

to achieve the desired learning objectives. This, in turn, would be

helpful for the students to build a strong conceptual understanding of

the basic algebraic terms and would also help them in evaluating and

simplifying the given expression and equations.

n the context of Pakistan, algebra is introduced in grade 6. As

beginners, most of the students face difficulties in

understanding the concepts of algebra due to their abstract

nature. For instance, the introduction of the English alphabet

The teaching styles, strategies, methods in designing the activities using

concrete aids play an important role in teaching topics such as linear

equations. The principles and standards for mathematics school (2000)

states that: representation is central to the study of mathematics. The

students can develop and deepen their understanding of mathematical

concepts and relationships as they create, compare, and use various

representations. Representations such as physical objects, drawings,

charts, graphs, and symbols also help students to communicate their

thinking. As explained by Toh (2009), the use of cartoons and comics to

teach algebra in a mathematics class can work out. However, the use of

cartoons and comics was not encouraged in academic books by other

educationists. He also argued that the feedback from teachers showed

that their students became more motivated to learn the subject through

the use of cartoons and comics in algebraic lessons. The teachers were

able to engage their students in the learning process. Saraswati, Putri,

and Somakim (2016) focused on the use of algebraic tiles to support the

students’ understanding of linear equations in one variable. Based on the

results, the researchers suggested that students could be supported in

understanding linear equations with one variable.

Cooper (2012) also identified the effectiveness of algebra tiles and

stated that, “I have seen that these tools can help students increase their

conceptual understanding of the mathematics concepts beyond

memorization and rote procedures” (p.116). Algebra tiles are considered

effective teaching aids used in the lessons of algebra in mathematics

class. Teachers can also replicate the algebra tiles using available

resources.

Subject

Mathematics

Topic

Linear Equation With One Variable

Class

Duration

55 minutes

Prior

Knowledge

Students are already familiar with the ways to find the

missing numbers.

Students

Learning

Outcomes

By the end of the lesson, students will be able to:

Define linear equations in one variable with examples.

Find the solution of linear equations in one variable

using algebra tiles.

Learning

Resources

Algebra tiles, markers, books, copies, board, and duster or

relevant materials

Time

Content and teacher/ student activity

mins

Engage

The teacher will use the inquiry method to know students'

prior knowledge related to the topic. For instance, he/she

will ask the following questions from the previous lessons to

engage students and make a connection with the lesson on

the topic.

3 times 2 is equals to ………?. If students answer 6, then

ask them if 2 times 3 is also w.

The previous question aims to see the students’

misunderstanding of the concept of the equal sign. Some

students believe that after an equal sign, there is always a

specific answer, usually a number.

What do you think is meant by the term ‘is equal to’?

The rationale behind giving the second question is to explore

another misconception that numeric values are always

placed on the right side of the equal sign; answers in the

form of variables are not permissible.

Based on these two questions, the teacher will later build up

the conceptual understanding of linear equations and equal

sign.

mins

Explore

The students will actively engage with algebra tiles to

deepen their understanding of linear equations. A variety of

algebra tiles will be provided to groups that represent

positive and negative values, as well as variables. Each

group will be assigned a simple linear equation, such as 2x +

4 = 6. They will be asked to represent this equation using

algebra tiles on their tables.

Meanwhile, the teacher will supervise their work and ask

guiding questions to facilitate their exploration. For instance,

"How can you represent variable 'x' using algebra tiles?"

The teacher will also encourage multiple representations of

the same equation with algebra tiles and encourage them to

explore different approaches and discuss why they chose

the specific approach to represent this equation.

Time

Content and teacher/ student activity

mins

Explain

The teacher will now reveal the topic and share the

objectives of the lesson with the students. With the help of

the student’s responses, he/she will define linear equations

with examples.

Next, the teacher will introduce the algebra tiles, and explain

the representation of respective tiles. He/she will make

groups of three, and ask students to solve an equation (e.g.,

3x + 5= 11). Students have the freedom in using any method

including the algebra tiles to find the unknown variable.

During the task, the teacher will supervise the class,

ensuring the active participation of all students. He/she will

also facilitate students.

The task done by the students in groups will now be

reviewed by the teacher. After that, he/she will take

responses from the students about their experience using

manipulatives (if used) and will give feedback. The teacher

will further strengthen the students’ understanding of the

basics of algebra tiles such as the names, values, and

representation of positive and negative values.

Moreover, the teacher will explain the concept of ‘zero pair’,

and how to use the algebra tiles to perform basic operations

during the process. Lastly, with the help of algebra tiles, the

teacher will solve a linear equation to faciliate students’

understanding of the concept.

mins

Elaborate

Students will now work in the same group, but this time they will

solve a linear equation having variables on both sides i.e., this

question will define the students' level of understanding of the

new manipulative used. Students will also be allowed to move

into other groups to help each other when done with their work.

If students are unable to solve the equation, the teacher will

help them to find the solution.

5 mins

Evaluate

At this stage, the teacher will ask students to share at least one

learning from the activity or lesson and share their opinion

about the use of manipulatives during the session with the

class.

Homework

Students will be asked to solve the following equations by using

traditional method as well as pictorial representation of algebraic tiles.

The working will be shown in the students’ notebooks.

6x - 4 = 20 and 9x - 5 = 32

Annexure A

Algebra Tiles

Figure 01: Positive sides of algebra tiles

Figure 02: Negative sides of algebra tiles

Annexure A

Concept of Zero Order Pair

Traditional Methods Algebra Tiles

3x + 5 = 11

3x = 11 - 5

3x - 6

x = 6/3

x = 2

Take out 5 small squares from both sides

to isolate the rectangular bar (x)

x - 2

Students also viewed