How to Teach Reported Speech to Students

How to Teach Reported Speech to Students Teaching students reported or indirect speech can be complicated by the all the changes that are required when moving from direct speech into reported speech. First off, students should understand that reported speech is quite useful in conversational English as relating what someone has said using quote and unquote is awkward at best. A further aspect of reported speech is encouraging students to use other reporting verbs beyond say and tell. Introducing the Concept to Students Start with Tenses Start with simple examples in which changes are only made in tense. For example: Write on the Board: Direct Speech Tom said, I enjoy watching action movies.becomes Indirect Speech Tom said he enjoyed watching action movies. Direct Speech Anna told me, I went to the shopping mall.becomes Indirect Speech Anna told me she had gone to the shopping mall. Move on to Pronouns and Time Expressions Once students have understood the basic concept of stepping one step back into the past when reporting in the past, they can easily begin to make the minor changes in pronoun and time expression usage. For example: Write on the Board: Direct Speech The teacher said, Were working on the present continuous today.becomes Indirect Speech The teacher said we were working on the present continuous that day. Direct Speech Anna told me, My brother Tom has been to Paris twice this year.becomes Indirect Speech Anna told me her brother Tom had been to Paris twice that year. Practice Provide students with a chart of the principal changes in reported speech (i.e. will - would, present perfect - past perfect, etc.). Ask students to practice the reported speech by beginning with a reported speech worksheet  or by asking them to change sentences from direct to reported speech. Once students have become comfortable with direct to indirect speech transformations, practice reporting through the use of interviews as in this reported speech lesson plan.As students become familiar with the reported speech, introduce a wider range of reporting verbs to help students move post say and tell. Advanced Issues Once the basics have been understood, there are a few more advanced issues to discuss. Here is a quick outline of some of the more problematic aspects of the reported speech that students might find confusing. Reporting Tense: Says instead of Said - Sometimes, in the moment of speaking a speaker may use the present tense to report what has been said. In this case, there is no change in the tense. However, changes in pronouns apply. For example:Teacher: Were going to work on the reported speech. Please turn to page 121 in your book.Student 1: I cant understand. What are we supposed to do?Student 2: The teacher says we are going to work on the reported speech on page 121.Tom: I think this is a great idea!Peter: Andy, I didnt understand.Andy: Tom tells us he thinks its a good idea.Other Reporting Verbs: Advise / Instruct / Etc. Infinitive of Purpose - A number of reporting verbs use the infinitive of purpose to express the idea, rather than using a transition of the tense. For example:Teacher: Were going to work on the reported speech. Please turn to page 121 in your book.Student 1: I cant understand. What are we supposed to do?Student 2: The teacher instructed us to work on reported speech and turn to page 121.Teacher: I think you should hurry up and finish the activity.Student 1: I didnt understand.Student 2: The teacher advised us to hurry up and finish the activity.

The Great Barrier Reef - Worlds Largest Reef System

The Great Barrier Reef - Worlds Largest Reef System Australias Great Barrier Reef is considered to be the worlds largest reef system. It is made up of over 2,900 individual reefs, 900 islands and covers an area of 133,000 square miles (344,400 sq km). It is also one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and it is the worlds biggest structure made out of living species. The Great Barrier Reef is also unique in that it is the only living organism that can be seen from space. Geography of the Great Barrier Reef The Great Barrier Reef is located in the Coral Sea. It is off the northeast coast of Australias state of Queensland. The reef itself stretches over 1,600 miles (2,600 km) and most of it is between 9 and 93 miles (15 and 150 km) from shore. In places the reef is up to 40 miles (65 km) wide. The reef also includes Murray Island. Geographically, the Great Barrier Reef stretches from Torres Strait in the north to the area between Lady Elliot and Fraser Islands in the south. Much of the Great Barrier Reef is protected by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. It covers over 1,800 miles (3,000 km) of the reef and runs along Queenslands coast near the town of Bundaberg. Geology of the Great Barrier Reef The geologic formation of the Great Barrier Reef is long and complex. Coral reefs began forming in the region about between 58 and 48 million years ago when the Coral Sea Basin formed. However, once the Australian continent moved to its present location, sea levels began to change and coral reefs started to grow quickly, but changing climate and sea levels after that caused them to grow and decline in cycles. This is because coral reefs need certain sea temperatures and levels of sunlight to grow. Today, scientists believe that complete coral reef structures where todays Great Barrier Reef is were formed 600,000 years ago. This reef died off however due to climate change and changing sea levels. Todays reef began to form about 20,000 years ago when it started growth on the remains of the older reef. This due to the fact that the Last Glacial Maximum ended around this time and during glaciation sea level was much lower than it is today. Following the end of the last glaciation about 20,000 years ago, sea level continued to rise and as it got higher, the coral reefs grew on the hills being flooded on the coastal plain. 13,000 years ago sea level was almost where it is today and the reefs began to grow around off the coast of Australia islands. As these islands became further submerged with rising sea levels, the coral reefs grew over them to form the reef system present today. The current Great Barrier Reef structure is about 6,000 to 8,000 years old. Biodiversity of the Great Barrier Reef Today the Great Barrier Reef is considered a World Heritage Site due to its unique size, structure and high levels of biodiversity. Many of the species living in the reef are endangered and some are endemic only to that reef system. The Great Barrier Reef has 30 species of whales, dolphins and porpoises. In addition, six species of endangered sea turtles breed in the reef and two green sea turtle species have genetically distinct populations in the north and south of the reef. The turtles are attracted to the area due to the 15 species of sea grass that grow in the reef. Within the Great Barrier Reef itself, there are also a number of microscopic organisms, different mollusks and fish that inhabit spaces inside the coral. 5,000 species of mollusk are on the reef as are nine species of seahorses and 1,500 species of fish, including the clownfish. The reef is composed of 400 species of coral. The areas closer to land and on the islands of the Great Barrier Reef are biodiverse as well. These places are home to 215 bird species (some of which are seabirds and some of which are shorebirds). The islands within the Great Barrier Reef are also home to over 2,000 types of plants. Although the Great Barrier Reef is home to many charismatic species like those previously mentioned, it should also be noted that a variety of very dangerous species inhabit the reef or areas near it as well. For example, saltwater crocodiles live in the mangrove swamps and salt marshes near the reef and a variety of sharks and stingrays live within the reef. In addition, 17 species of sea snake (most of which are venomous) live on the reef and jellyfish, including the deadly box jellyfish, also inhabit nearby waters. Human Uses and Environmental Threats of the Great Barrier Reef Due to its extreme biodiversity, the Great Barrier Reef is a popular tourist destination and around two million people visit it per year. Scuba diving and tours via small boats and aircraft are the most popular activities on the reef. Since it is a fragile habitat, tourism of the Great Barrier Reef is highly managed and sometimes operated as ecotourism. All ships, aircraft and others that want to access the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park need to have a permit. Despite these protective measures, however, the Great Barrier Reefs health is still threatened due to climate change, pollution, fishing, and invasive species. Climate change and rising sea temperatures are considered the greatest threats to the reef because coral is a fragile species that needs water to be about 77ËšF to 84ËšF (25ËšC to 29ËšC) to survive. Recently there have been episodes of coral bleaching due to higher temperatures. To learn more about the Great Barrier Reef, visit National Geographics Great Barrier Reef interactive website and the Australian governments webpage on the Great Barrier Reef.