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| 3/15/2010 |  | |||||
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Around the World
This unit should take 2-4 hours, depending on time, interest, and extension activities. It is designed for beginner to intermediate level students of all ages. Objectives Students will: Materials to Print Activities Activity I: Vocabulary (10 minutes) Write the word geography on the board and brainstorm about it in class. What words do you think of when you hear geography? If students need help, give some examples: country, city, sea, lake, mountain, and so on. Then hand out copies of Printout I, and introduce the new words with examples. For instance, if students don't know the word river, say Mississippi, Amazon, Nile, and so on, until they understand. You can also use a map as reference. Finally, review the words briefly and ask students to give examples: "ocean, Pacific Ocean; mountain, Everest" and so on. Activity II: Grammar (20 minutes) Display a world map to the class. Review the comparatives: One-syllable adjectives form their comparative by adding -er to the positive form: small - smaller. Sometimes there are spelling changes: big - bigger. Adjectives of two or more syllables form their comparative by putting the word more before the adjective: more interesting, more populated. You may want to explain that there are some irregular cases, such as bad-worse and good-better, but that you are not going to practice these now. To compare two elements, use than: "Brazil is bigger than Ecuador, China is more populated than Canada." Display a world map and give several examples of comparative sentences using countries as examples. Indicate "big" and "small" with your arms as you say the words. For instance: "Spain is bigger than Portugal. Cuba is smaller than Texas." Then, do a "question chain" at class. Ask a question comparing two countries, such as "Which is bigger, Africa or Europe?" Use the map as reference. A student should answer your question. Then he/she should make a similar question to another student and so on. Finally, hand out copies of Printout II and have students do the activity. Activity III: (Optional): Comparatives (10 minutes) If you have time and feel that your students need more practice with comparatives, hand out copies of Printout III. Activity IV: Do you know? (20 minutes) Explain how superlatives are formed: One-syllable adjectives form their superlative by adding -est to the base word: small - smallest. Make sure that students understand that sometimes there are spelling changes: big - biggest. Explain that some cases are irregular: good-best, bad-worst. Adjectives of three or more syllables form their superlative by putting most before the adjective: most populated. Give some examples, such as "The smallest continent is Australia." Divide the class in small groups. Hand out copies of Printout IV to each group. Ask students to write the names or guess them. Then, give them the answers and talk about them. How many did they guess? What was the most surprising of all? (Answers: 1. Russia, 6,592,800 m² Canada, 3,851,809 m²; China, 3,691,521 m²; United States, 3,536,341 m² 2. Vatican City 0,17 m² Monaco m² 3. China, 1,246,871,951; India, 1,000,848,550; United States, 272,639,608; Indonesia, 216,108,345; Brazil 171,853,126; 4. Seoul, South Korea (10,231,217); Sao Paolo, Brazil (10,017,821); Bombay (Mumbai), India (9,925,891); Jakarta, Indonesia (9,112,652), Moscow, Russia (8,368,449). 5. Everest, Himalayas, Nepal/Tibet 29,035 feet, 8,850 miles; 6. Sahara, Africa, 3.5 millons of m² 7. Salto del Ángel, Venezuela, 3,281 feet, 1,000 metros; 8. Asia, 17,212,041 m² 9. Andes in South America, 5,000 miles; 10. Pacific Ocean, 64,000,000 m².) Activity V: Which place in the world? (15 minutes) Take a break from geography and explore the world using superlatives in a different way. Remind students of the meaning of the irregular superlatives best and worst. Write one or all of the categories below on the board, (take into account your students level). Ask students to suggest places for each category, according to their experiences. Ask them to explain their choice. The most romantic city The best/worst city to live in The best place to relax The city with the most incredible monuments The country with the worst public transportation The cheapest/most expensive city The best/worst airline The best place to go hiking Activity VI: (Optional) Writing (20 minutes - 2 days) Ask students to choose a category from Activity IV and write a short essay about it. They can also come up with a new category. Encourage them to use comparatives and superlatives to explain their choice. Finally, read the essays in class. |