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TEACHER: Okay. Remember, we have listed up there—we haven’t given presentations in a while, but what makes a good, focused presentation? Make sure you’re making eye contact, standing up straight, facing the audience. Keep going, if you make a mistake; it’s not a big deal, right? Speak loudly and clearly. Whisper a cue if the person— if the group member misses something that they were supposed to say on your poster. And make sure you’re confident, respected and relaxed. And respectful, of course, as well. Gillian, I think I said you guys could go first. We’ll see if we can get through a couple today, and then we’ll get through a couple more tomorrow. Could you guys go to the front of the board? Okay, what’s your word?

STUDENT 1: Okay, our word is suspicious.

TEACHER: Okay. What’s the definition?

STUDENT 1: The definition is believed to be potentially dangerous.

TEACHER: Believed to be potentially dangerous. And what are some synonyms?

STUDENT 1: We got distrustful and shady.

TEACHER: Distrustful and shady. Shady’s a little bit of a slang word, but that’s ah, you can say shady. Yeah. How about the different forms of suspicious?

STUDENT 1: Uh, we got suspicion, suspicions, suspiciousness, suspiciously and suspicioned.

TEACHER: Suspicioned? Was that in the dictionary?

STUDENT 1: Yeah.

TEACHER: It was? Really? Suspicioned. That’s interesting.

STUDENT 2: And then our sentences are, The police were suspicious about the conversation they overheard; and, The mother was suspicious about the child coming home late.

TEACHER: Excellent. And what’s your picture?

STUDENT 2: It’s a mother sitting on a couch saying, “Where are my children?” And then outside the window, you can see a kid thinking, It’s past curfew.

TEACHER: It’s past curfew. He’s out doing something suspicious. How would you use suspicious in relationship to this week’s topic, wiretapping? And everybody should be listening up, since you’re going to have to use this word on Friday.

STUDENT 2: The police or the government can hear— overhear suspicious conversations.

TEACHER: By doing what?

STUDENT 2: Wiretapping.

TEACHER: By wiretapping, okay? Excellent. Let’s hear from surveillance, since this is one of our bonus words. Okay, so what’s your word?

STUDENT 1: Our word is surveillance. And the definition for surveillance is keep watch on suspect or suspect— suspicious activities.

TEACHER: Good. Any, no synonyms? That’s a tough one. That’s a tough one to find a synonym for. How about the different forms?

STUDENT 3: You do it.

STUDENT 2: Fine. The different forms were surveillant…

TEACHER: Okay.

STUDENT 2: …survey and surveying.

TEACHER: Okay, good. And how about a couple sentences using surveillance?

STUDENT 1: The first one is, The president is kept under surveillance at all times.

TEACHER: Okay.

STUDENT 2: And the second one is, Mr. B’s classroom is kept under surveillance of the SERP organization.

TEACHER: Very nice. Very nice use of the word. In context.

STUDENT: Of the what?

TEACHER: SERP, our friends from SERP here. What about your picture?

STUDENT 2: It’s a picture about a camera— it’s a store, a guy robbing a store, with a camera surveying the guy.

TEACHER: Oh, he’s surveying the guy, the secret camera is surveying the person who’s trying to take the money from the clerk. How would you use…

STUDENT: Can’t believe the guy doesn’t notice it.

TEACHER: Alex, how would you use surveillance as related to wiretapping, or this week’s topic?

STUDENT 2: The government can keep surveillance of a potential terrorist by wiretapping.

TEACHER: By using wiretapping. Excellent. We have time for one more. Well, let’s do wiretapping, actually, since it’s our word of the week. And you guys have a very good picture. Or our subject for the week, sorry. So what’s your word?

STUDENT 1: Wiretapping.

TEACHER: What’s the definition?

STUDENT 1: To listen in on a telephone or a telegraph, to get information.

TEACHER: To get information, good. Was there a synonym?

STUDENT 1: Well, we used snooping.

TEACHER: Snooping. Kind of a slang word for keeping tabs on somebody, could be wiretapping. Yeah, absolutely.

STUDENT 1: Um—

STUDENT 2: Different forms.

STUDENT 3: And, I wiretapped, wiretapper, wiretap.

TEACHER: Wiretaps. So somebody could use a wiretap, right? A wiretapper uses a wiretap. And you could’ve been wiretapped. Your phone conversation could’ve been wiretapped. Right? How about a pair of sentences using the word?

STUDENT 3:  The Gestapo wire— wiretapped all of our calls.

TEACHER: The Gestapo wiretapped all of our calls. They were the secret police. And what about the second one?

STUDENT 1: And the wiretapper heard, “Don’t you feel like someone’s listening to us?”

TEACHER: And the wiretapper heard, “Don’t you feel like someone’s listening to us?” So the wiretapper’s being wiretapped in that sentence. How about your picture? I love this picture. Seth, can you explain it to us?

STUDENT 2: There is a blue house, which is calling the orange house.

TEACHER: They’re talking to each other?

STUDENT 2: And— Yeah, and the purple house, who is the wiretapper is— was listening in to their conversation.

TEACHER: He’s listening in on the conversation between the blue house and the orange house. He’s got all that electronic equipment and he’s got the headphones on. Very nicely, artistically drawn.

STUDENT: I know, that’s so good.

TEACHER: Okay? Tomorrow in Mr. McClean’s class, you will have a debate. Do you think, wiretapping should be legal or not? Okay? Can you guys do me a favor? You can have a quick snack break, but before you do, can you put your posters up? You can put  them over the old posters over there.

 

- Teacher reviews poster on the classroom wall about how to make a good presentation.

- "Suspicious" group presents poster to the class.

- Teacher asks presenters to use "suspicious" in a way related to the weekly topic.

- "Surveillance" group presents.

- Teacher asks presenters to use "surveillance" in a way related to the weekly topic.

- "Wiretapping" group presents.

- Teacher reminds students that they will debate the topic in social studies class the next day.

- introductory passage - comprehension questions - word chart

 

Word Posters created by students:
- wiretapping (2) - surveillance - source (3) - suspicious - notwithstanding - covert - warrantless