LSC S1:Experience of secondary school

Introduction
Experience of secondary school Moving to a new school is exciting but can also be intimidating. You might have come from a primary
school in a different district and you didn’t know anybody at your new school. In this chapter, you will talk about personal experiences of primary education and your first year of secondary school as a new learner.

Mixed abilities and involvement Whenever you enter a new learning environment you are going to have to find ways to adapt and get involved.

School rules
Primary and secondary schools are usually very different. At secondary school there may be more rules. These are possibly different rules to what you are used to. You may have to do more work on your own, as well as more research to find information on various topics. You might have access to a library, and perhaps to a computer. Are you enjoying your first year at secondary school? What have you enjoyed
most about this year? What have you disliked? You will need:
A list of school rules.

Activity 9.1 Listen to school rules and answer questions

1. Listen to the information about rules at a new school. As you listen, take notes of the most important points.
2. Analyze the rules that you have heard. Explain them to a partner and, together, summarise them in a table like this:

3. Now use the table to help you answer these questions.
a) During what times are learners expected to follow the school rules?
b) Name two important things that learners must do.
c) What does it mean to be courteous?
d) What does a tidy school uniform look like?
e) Is there a rule about wearing any jewellery? Explain your answer.

f) Identify and describe the rule about dangerous objects.
g) What is the school rule about mobile phones?

4. Work in pairs. Compare the school rules you heard in point 1 of Activity 9.1 with your own school rules. Choose any rules that you think your own school should adopt. Identify any rules your school should drop. Explain your answers to each other.

Activity 9.2 Use reflexive and possessive pronouns

1. Read the information below about reflexive and possessive pronouns.
2. Explain possessive and reflexive pronouns to a partner in your own words. Provide your own examples to illustrate their functions.
3. Use objects in the classroom to practise sentences in which you use possessive and reflexive pronouns. For example:
   This shoe is mine. Did you write that yourself?
4. Use the correct form of the reflexive or possessive pronoun in brackets.
   a) The books on the shelf are (our).
   b) The porter is not here, so you will have to carry the bags (your).
   c) This classroom is (me).
   d) I wrote this poem (me).
   e) My teacher often talks to (her) while she is working.
   f) If you boys want some more milk, please help (you).
   g) I ask (me) if this is worth all the time and trouble.
   h) The blue uniforms we are wearing are (we).
   i) The winning picture was not my work. It was (you).
5. Share your answers in class.

Reflexive and possessive pronouns
Pronouns are words that replace common or proper nouns. In Chapter 1, you learnt about personal pronouns like l, you, she, he, us and them. Reflexive pronouns are a type of personal pronoun. They end in self or selves and refer back to the subject of the sentence. For example:
I asked him myself.
You should do that work yourself.
They made the rules themselves.
Possessive pronouns show ownership. For example:
This bag is mine.
That bag is yours.
Those bags are ours.

Activity 9.3 Use the simple past tense
In Chapter 7 you learnt about verbs and how their spelling changes depending on the tense of the sentence. The tense can be past, present or future tense. Then the tense of a sentence changes, the verb may need the help of an auxiliary verb to form the new tense. When a verb changes its form altogether, we call that an irregular verb.

1. Explain to a partner how to change a sentence with an irregu ar ver
   from the simple present tense to the simple past tense. Use this example:
   I go to primary school.
2. Change these sentences into the simple past tense. Use the correct form of
   the verb in brackets.

Swap books with your partner and mark each other’s work.

Activity 9.4 Write about a personal experience

1. Write about your experience at primary school. Use the simple past tense, and possessive and reflexive pronouns. Your essay should be one to one and a half pages in length. Remember that it is a personal account, so use
   the personal pronoun l.
   Include:
   what your school was like
   your teachers
   whether or not you enjoyed it
   what activities or sport you were involved in
   any funny or interesting events that happened to you.

If possible, type the essay on a computer. Remember, when you write any essay
you need to:
plan it
write a draft
revise your ideas to improve your essay
edit it for mistakes
proofread your essay
write it neatly before you present it for marking.
2. Edit your essay. Discuss what you have written with a partner once you have corrected any spelling, punctuation or grammatical mistakes. Write a fair copy.

Guiding a visitor
Do you ever have visitors coming to your school? Sometimes parents and their children arrange to visit a school to get an idea of what it is like. The purpose of visiting is usually to see if the school is suitable for
the learner and to help a parent decide where to enrol the learner. Visitors can find out a lot of information and get an impression of a school by being among its learners, viewing the facilities and seeing what happens at the school. Often, visitors may prefer to be guided by a learner, to see it through
their eyes.
What would you show a visitor to your school? What would you tell them about? What are you proud of at your school?
You will need:
A map or diagram of a school
A copy of school rules.

Activity 9.5 Role-play a dialogue

1. Read the dialogue about Nasiche guiding a visitor around her school. Then role-play the dialogue with a partner.

2. Discuss the role play with your partner.
   a) Did Nasiche give relevant information?
   b) What did she do well?
   c) What could she have done better?
3. Work in pairs. Pretend that one of you is a learner at the school and the other a parent who is thinking of sending their child to the school. Use the layout of your own school and take the visitor on a meaningful tour. Give them relevant information about your school. Mention the facilities, rules,
   timetables, classrooms, subjects and activities.

Compare and contrast schools
Schools differ from each other. If you compare your secondary school with the primary school that you attended before, you will probably have noticed differences. The differences may be in the layout of the schools, the number of stand learners, the subjects, and the distance from where you live. There are also
differences between secondary schools. Some schools have hostels where learners can sta while the are stud in . Some are better

can stay while they are using. some better equipped than others.
What is your experience of different schools?
You will need:
A map or diagram of a school
Sets of rules for different schools.

Remember that to compare means to look at the similarities (those things that are almost the same)
whereas to contrast means to take note of the differences.

Activity 9.6 Compare and contrast schools

1. Form groups of four to six learners. Take turns to talk about and listen to opinions about the differences between primary and secondary school. For example:

2. In your groups, hold an informal discussion about the differences between the secondary schools you know of. Do you have friends who attend other secondary schools? Talk about what they have told you, and how your school differs from theirs. They may be boys’ schools, girls’ schools or schools

for both boys and girls. Some may be technical schools or agricultural schools. Some may also be double-shift schools where there are too many children for one school, so they attend in two shifts.
Discuss what you know about:

• the learners who attend the school
  the facilities
  the subjects taught
  discipline at the school
• anything unusual or special about the school.
  the uniform

Comparative and superlative forms of adjectives
You have already learnt that an adjective is a word that describes or modifies
(changes) a noun.

• Comparative adjectives compare or contrast two things. For example: A rule compared with another rule could be a stricter rule, a more important rule or a better rule.
• Superlative adjectives compare or contrast more than two things. For example:
  A rule compared with more than two other rules could be the strictest rule
  (the strictest of all rules), the most important rule (more important than any
  other) or the best rule.
  Here are some examples of comparative and superlative adjectives:

Activity 9.7 Use comparative and superlative forms of adjectives

1. Explain to a partner the difference between comparative and superlative forms of adjectives. Use your own examples.
2. Identify the comparatives and superlatives in the sentences and write them down.
   a) I prefer history to geography, because history is more interesting.
   b) There are more learners in my class than in the other class.
   c) The school I attend is better than the one in the next village.
   d) Some school rules are worse than others.
   e) The worst rule is that we may not bring phones to school.

f) Being in secondary school is more interesting than being in primary school.
g) Fewer learners take part in athletics than in soccer.
h) Our school has the highest pass rate in our area.

3. Complete the sentences, inserting the correct form of the adjectives.
   a) The (strict) rule at school is the one about not bringing drugs or alcohol onto the school grounds.
   b) The rule about wearing school uniform is (strict) but the one about carrying weapons is even strict).
   c) A mixed school is the (good) type of school.
   d) A double-shift school is (good) than overcrowded classrooms.
   e) The afternoon shift is (bad) than the morning shift because the teachers are tired.
   f) Some teachers say learners are (productive) in the afternoon than in the morning.
4. Work in pairs and take turns to read out your answers. Discuss any differences of opinion.

Activity 9.8 Discover more adjectives and give your opinion

1. In a group, study this table of other comparative and superlative adjectives:

2. Analyze the patterns that you notice in the spelling of the comparative and superlative adjectives. A scribe can make notes of the following:
a) Which adjectives simply have -er and -est added?
b) Which use more and most (or less and least)?
c) Which adjectives change altogether?
d) Are there any other patterns you recognise?
3. Swap your notes with another group to see what they have discovered. Add to your notes if necessary.

4. Now use comparative and superlative adjectives to write sentences that express convincing opinions about the following:
   a) Double-shift schools
   b) School rules about discipline
   c) Certain subjects at your school
   d) Different sports and games
   e) Types of books in the library
   f) Length of the school day
5. Check your partner’s answers. Notice how their opinion differs to yours.

Experiences of other learners in a new school
How many new learners are there at your school? Do they seem to be comfortable and at home? Have they made friends? Have you been welcoming to them? Some learners find it easier to adapt to a new school than others. Some may experience a language problem. The teacher may have an accent that they don’t understand. Perhaps they feel lonely because none of their friends from primary school are in the same secondary school. They may find the subjects difficult or strange. Perhaps they are away from home in a boarding school for the first time.

Activity 9.9 Interview and exchange school experiences
I. Work in pairs. Interview someone who is new at your school. Find out from them:

• how they felt about coming to a new school
• whether actually starting school was better or worse than anticipated
  if they have made friends and if so, how difficult this was
• whether they feel welcome and at home
• who and what has helped them
• what is different about their old and new schools.

1. Take turns to talk about when you started a new school. Ask each other similar questions to those in Question 1, as well as your own questions.
2. Do you have similar or different feelings about the new school? Write down the differences in your experiences.
3. In a group, have an informal discussion about your experiences at a new school.
   Listen carefully to what others say.
   Identify and note important information.
   Respond encouragingly to other learners as they talk.
   Request further information and details by asking well-timed questions.
4. Take turns to retell what you have heard to another group. Try to recapture the tone and feeling of the original stories as you retell them.