This week we are going to start our project on Stephen Hawking. We shall learn about his life, the contribution he made to Science and the incredible struggle he had with Motor Neuron Disease. Everything you do this week is geared towards you gathering as much information as possible, ready to design and make your project books. (Yes! You are going to make them!)
As an introduction ,we are going to watch two film clips about arguably two of the greatest intellectual minds in history - Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawking.
Einstein: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZyYqyYAKGC0
Hawking: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Salz7uGp72c
Then you are going to read the two information sheets, before sorting the information about the scientists into a table. Copy the table into your book and then complete it with the correct information.
Today our activity is a SPAG -based task which will reinforce the grammar we revised yesterday on relative clauses and embedded clauses and phrases. You are going to read the text about Hawking's early life and identify each of the highlighted extracts as a relative clause or an embedded clause or phrase. Remember that a phrase does not contain a verb!
When you have done that, you are going to make some notes on what you have learnt and research further on Stephen Hawking's early life.
Monday 8th February
Look at the presentation and answer the questions on it.
Wednesday 10th February
Today there is another combined SPAG and writing task, plus a Kahoot quiz to learn more about the life of Stephen Hawking before he received his life-changing diagnosis. Let me advise you now that there is a lot of inference in this quiz. You will need to watch the film clips very carefully, listen closely and at times, think of the wider picture, rather than the immediately obvious. Good luck!
Link: https://kahoot.it/challenge/06684376?challenge-id=78f3f9f3-95ad-4ace-9feb-a24fc55e030c_1612890585475
Passcode: 06684376
SPAG - There is another passage of information about Hawking's diagnosis to read today, which you will need to search for further examples of embedded and relative clauses. This time, though, there is no highlighted text to help you!
Thursday 11th February
English -Today is an emotional scene in the story of Stephen Hawking. He has been very ill with pneumonia and the only thing that could save him is surgery to open his windpipe - but it comes at a cost. He will never be able to speak again. Jane, his wife, has to give her permission for the surgery to go ahead, even though she knows what it will do to him. It is his only chance of survival. We are going to watch the scene where she tries to show him how to use a spelling board. This is something that you can research for your book after you have watched the clip. There is a short Kahoot quiz for you to try at this link:
https://kahoot.it/challenge/09263203?challenge-id=78f3f9f3-95ad-4ace-9feb-a24fc55e030c_1612998148395
Pin Number: 09263203
(Only sixteen of you tried this quiz yesterday, so could you please have a go today. It's important because it really fills in some of the details in Stephen Hawking's life.)
When you have done the quiz,(or both quizzes!) I would like you to make your own spelling board, copying the letter positions, and have a go at spelling out words with someone in your house. Remember that the person holding the board is the only one who can speak. They have to watch the other person, to see which letters they want. You have to show them by blinking when they say the colour. It won't surprise you to know that before long, Stephen had memorised the entire board!
Friday 12th February
Today we are going to learn about the computer voice that became Stephen Hawking's trademark. There is a very moving story behind the voice. You will understand why when you watch the presentation. At the end of it, there is a very interesting podcast about the little known man himself, Denis Klatt. It lasts about ten minutes and is worth listening to.
If you open the pdf version, you will need to go to this link to reach the podcast. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khySM1YBQvA
Follow that by watching the short excerpt from the film where Stephen speaks with the computer-aided voice for the first time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28MSXeKCm00
When you have spent some time absorbing the information, move on to the SPAG activity for today, which is about conjunctions.
We are going to look at conjunctions, both Subordinating and Coordinating (FANBOYS - for and nor but or yet so)
Watch the presentation - remember that if a conjunction is not a FANBOY, then it is subordinating.
Then you are going to read the extract about Stephen Hawking's computer voice and look at the clauses highlighted in yellow. Decide whether they are subordinating or coordinating by looking at the first word in each clause.