Being the New Kid in School

I. Before watching
1. Warm-up - At School​: ​Match the pictures with the descriptions.

Parent-teacher
Lunchtime
conference

Playground Recess

Examination Library

Hallway Classroom

2. Activity - New Kid in School

Imagine you are going to a new school. Let your new friends learn more
about you by filling in the worksheet below.

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3. Lead-in - Pair work

A. In pairs, ask and answer the following questions:

1. Have you ever changed schools? If yes, when?
2. How did you feel being a new kid in school?
3. Was it difficult for you to make friends? If so, how did you overcome
that?
4. Who are your best friends now?
5. How did you become friends with them?
6. What do you and your friend(s) have in common?

B. You are going to watch a video about a boy named Arnold. Look at the
pictures and guess what happens in his story. Share your guesses with your
partner.

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II. While watching
Watch the video and answer the questions.

1. Arnold had to move to America when he was 7 because ……………

a) his father had to work there
b) his parents wanted him to have a better life
c) his mother had a new job
2. How did Arnold feel about the change?
a) sad
b) glad
c) mad
3. What is one of the reasons why he felt that way?
a) he didn’t speak English
b) he didn’t want to learn English
c) he didn’t like the US
4. Were there any other Asian children in his new school? Yes / No
5. When Arnold said, “​I was a ​nervous wreck​ for my first day of school”, he
meant ​……………
a) he was very tired
b) he was very uneasy
c) he was very angry
6. Did other kids’ lunch boxes look like Arnold’s? Yes/No
7. Arnold’s classmates thought that he was a …………… kid.
8. Arnold’s parents asked his school to let him …………….
a) have lunch alone during lunch time
b) play alone during recess
c) stay in class during recess
9. Why did he want to improve his English?
a) to learn better in class
b) to adapt to his new life
c) to make a lot of friends
10. What was the ​main reason​ why his English improved so much?
a) he watched his favorite TV show often
b) he had an English tutor

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 c) his new friends taught him
11. Why did his classmates start talking with him more?
a) they wanted to know more about his culture
b) they’d found a common interest
c) they thought his lunch looked delicious

III. After watching

A. Critical Thinking: Discuss in groups & answer the following questions.

1. What problems did Arnold have?

………………………………………………………………………………………
2. How did he solve those problems?
………………………………………………………………………………………
3. At the end of his story, Arnold said: ​“​With this experience, I learned that life
is full of curveballs (1) that we can’t control, anything can change in a
heartbeat (2), you can be stressed about it, or, you can learn to adapt and
make the best out of the situation.”
Do you agree with him? Why/ Why not?
………………………………………………………………………………………
4. Do you like Arnold’s story? Why/ Why not?
………………………………………………………………………………………
5. What would you do to adapt to a new school?
………………………………………………………………………………………
6. What would you do to help a new friend adapt to your school?
………………………………………………………………………………………
(1) curveball: a difficult problem
(2) in a heartbeat: very quickly

B. Conversation. Practice the conversation with a partner.

Lucy:​ Hello, are you new here? I’ve not seen you before.
Minh: ​Hi, yes I’m a new student.
Lucy:​ I’m Lucy, it’s nice to meet you.
Minh: ​My name is Minh. I come from Vietnam. I hope you can understand my
English; I’m still learning.

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 Lucy: ​Don’t worry, your English is all right. Do you want to have lunch
together later? My friends in other classes would love to meet you.
Minh: ​That’d be great, thank you.
Lucy: ​Don’t mention it. It’s very cold today. How’s winter like in Vietnam?
Minh: I lived in Ho Chi Minh City. It’s always very warm there. Here it feels
freezing.
Lucy:​ I see. You should bring an extra jacket with you tomorrow.
Minh:​ I’ll remember that. Is that our teacher?
Lucy:​ Yes, that’s Mr. Jones. I gotta return to my seat. See you at lunch!
Minh:​ See you!
------
Lucy:​ Hi. This is Minh, he’s a new student in my class!
Bob: ​Hi nice to meet you. My name is Bob.
Jane: ​Hi, I’m Jane. Have a seat and tell us all about yourself.
Minh: ​Hi. It’s great to meet you. I’m from Vietnam.
Jane: ​Are you homesick?
Minh:​ A little. I miss my grandparents.
Bob:​ Do you come from a big family?
Minh:​ Fairly big. I have two brothers and a sister.
Lucy: ​Did they come here with you?
Minh: ​My eldest brother was here first. He’s a university student. But my
sister and my other brother are in Vietnam.
Jane:​ Do you like it here?
Minh: ​Yes. I am very excited to be here. Where do you come from?
Jane: ​I’m from Ohio.
Bob: It was nice to meet you, Minh. I have to go to my class now. I will see
you later, bye.
Minh: ​Goodbye.

C. Game - group practice

1. Make a dice using the template below.

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 2. Imagine you’re a new kid in school. Take turns to roll the dice and
give a short talk on the topic given.

Topic Topic

Tell your new friends about a Tell your new friends about an
traditional food you had at activity you often did on the
home. weekends.

Tell your new friends about Tell your new friends about
your old school. your family.

Tell your new friends about a Tell your new friends about
festival in your hometown. your favourite TV programme.

D. Write a short paragraph retelling the story in the video from the
perspective​(1)​ of Arnold’s classmates.

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(1) Perspective: point of view

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