Unit 4 A visit to the Space Museum
unit 4 a visit to the space museum
1
language focus:
using nouns/noun phrase to identify people, animals, events, objects and activites.
e.g. planet, earth.
using definite articles to refer to a cosmic object.
e.g. the sun.
using the present continuous tense to describe an action taking place at the time of speaking.
e.g. miss guo and her students are watching a slide show in the space museum.
language skills:
listening
recognize differences in the use of intonation in questions, statements, commands, and respond appropriately.
understand the speaker’s intention, attitude and feelings through his/her choice and use of language, gestures and facial expression
speaking
use appropriate intonation and stress, and vary volume, tone of voice, and speed to convey intended meanings and feelings.
use appropriate registers when speaking to familiar interlocutors such as teachers and peers.
open an interaction by eliciting a response by asking questions or providing information on a topic. maintain an interaction by acknowledging, agreeing or disagreeing, replying, asking questions, adding or giving examples, explaining and using formulaic expressions where appropriate. maintain an interaction by asking and responding to others’ opinions.
reading
scan a text to locate specific information by using strategies such as looking at headings and repeated words.
materials:
student’s book 7b page 82
workbook 7b page 45
pre-task preparation
language learning activity
(this section aims at providing students with opportunities to practise the language/vocabulary needed or become familiar with the background for the task that follows.
1. ask students if they have been to the space museum. ask them what they saw at the space museum. invite students to tell the class about their experiences at the space museum; what they saw, what they did and where they went, etc.
2. ask students what they know about the solar system. ask them questions like: how many planets are there in our solar system? what are their names?
3. introduce the names of the nine planets to students. make sure students can pronounce and spell the names correctly.
4. students work in pairs to write the names of the planets in the correct order; starting from the planet closest to the sun to the planet farthest from the sun. get students to discuss in pairs.
5. when students have completed the task, have a few pairs give their answers to the class and the whole class checks the answers together.
6. students work in groups. invite each group to choose a planet in the solar system they would like to know more about. encourage students to go to library to find out some information on their chosen planet. ask students to share their findings in class.