The Weather and Natural Phenomena
Título de la Unidad: THE WEATHER AND NATURAL PHENOMENA
Profesora: Amalia García Merino. Profesora de Inglés de Enseñanza Secundaria.
Curso: 2ºESO bilingüe
Asignatura: Inglés (apoyo a Ciencias Naturales y/o Sociales)Lengua: Inglés
Descripción:
Esta unidad va dirigida a alumnos de 2ºESO bilingüe. Sus contenidos serán impartidos en las horas del área de inglés, aunque está relacionada con los contenidos estudiados en Ciencias Naturales y en Geografía e Historia, por lo que ha sido diseñada como refuerzo a estas asignaturas.
El tema de la unidad es el tiempo atmosférico y otros fenómenos naturales. En las diversas actividades que he planteado se introduce una gran variedad de vocabulario que los alumnos adquirirán por medio de ejercicios en forma de las cuatro destrezas comunicativas (Listening, Reading, Speaking and Writing).
La tarea principal y final trata de que los propios estudiantes sean capaces de hacer un Weather Forecast, como si fueran el hombre/la mujer del tiempo en un programa de televisión.
OBJECTIVES:
–To be able to understand texts about natural phenomena and
disasters
- To use properly the vocabulary related to the contents.
-To be able to do and understand weather forecast both in written
and oral form.
- To learn how to use applications online and participate in class
discussions online (class blog).
CONTENTS
Subject Contents:
- Vocabulary related to Weather and Natural Phenomena.
- Scanning and Skimming written text.
-Listening/watching for general and specific information.
- Speaking and writing weather forecasts in English.
Language contents:
Vocabulary:
The weather phenomena: Thunder, lightning, storm, rain, drizzle, etc,
Words used to describe the weather:
-Related to precipitation: snow, rain, hail, showers, drizzle, frost,
fog, mist, smog, thunderstorm, blizzard
-Related to temperature: hot, warm, cool, cold, freezing, humid,
heat index, mild, very hot/cold,
- Related to cloud cover: cloudy, clear, overcast, sunny, mostly
sunny, partly cloudy.
-Related to wind: windy, gust, squall, wind direction, shifting wind,
calm, moderate winds, light winds, strong winds, fresh winds.
Others: dew, wet, dry, fine,
intermittent/occasional/frequent/continuous/light/moderate/thick/he
avy precipitation; periods or rain, isolated showers.
Natural disasters: floods, hurricane, whirlpool, tsunami, drought,
volcano, earthquake
Instruments to predict and measure the weather : thermomether,
barometer
Time expressions: in the morning, in the afternoon, in the evening,
next week, next weekend, the following week, tomorrow, next
month, in two months, next summer, in summer, in winter, in
autumn, in July (in+ months), during the evening, during early
moring, at night, early in the morning.
Structures:
-Future Simple(will+infitivite+be+adjective/there+will+be+noun)
e.g. It will be sunny/hot/cold/freezing/warm/clear/cloudy/rainy/
There will be storms/lightning and thunders/floods
- Prepositions of time: at (night, the weekend, two o'clock) ; in (the
morning, the afternoon, the evening, May, June, summer, winter,
etc); on (Monday, Sunday morning, Tuesday afternoon, the 2nd of
December, etc); after, before.
- Present Simple for definitions.
- Present Continuous (e.g. It is raining in Paris)
-Future Simple(will+infitivite+be+adjective/there+will+be+noun)
e.g. It will be sunny/hot/cold/freezing/warm/clear/cloudy/rainy/
There will be storms/lightning and thunders/floods
- Prepositions of time: at (night, the weekend, two o'clock) ; in (the
morning, the afternoon, the evening, May, June, summer, winter,
etc); on (Monday, Sunday morning, Tuesday afternoon, the 2nd of
December, etc); after, before.
- Present Simple for definitions.
- Present Continuous (e.g. It is raining in Paris)
-Comparative adjectives: In Paris it is warmer than in London.
Language Skills:
Writing, Listening, Speaking, Reading
METHODOLOGY:
Organization and class 6 sessions in class + 2 hours homework
distribution / timing
Materials: smart board, students' laptops.
Resources: the resources consist of videos form bbc kids and youtube.com; my own materials in google drive; my blog "puertadelaserenaenglihsblogpot.com (the links are included above with their corresponding activities)
Key Competences Learn how to learn; digital; communicative and learning and interaction with the natural world competences.
EVALUATION
INSTRUMENTS:
Evaluation will be carried out by different means:
- Teacher evaluation by revision of notebook, comments posted on the class blog, writing the weather forecast and contribution to the class.
- Peer evaluation in group work (for vocabulary activity)
- Peer evaluation (whole class) after presentation "The Weather Forecast" (SPEAKING ACTIVITY)
EVALUATION CRITERIA:
- I can understand texts about natural phenomena and disasters orally and in written form.
- I can speak about the weather in my country and my region.
- I can write a simple weather report.
- I can use resources online and post entries in the class blog.
ACTIVITIES
The activities of my didactic unit are varied. They consist in a series of vocabulary activities sometimes used as Warming-up and sometimes so that the students in 2nd ESO can learn the new vocabulary. Many of these activities are animations, they have to be done online or using web applications such as bubbl.us.
Other activities are designed to work with the 4 communicative skills: Reading, Listening, Writing and Speaking. Most of them include Pre-activities (warming up) and Post- activities (Follow-up). The aim of the last ones are to introduce what is coming next and to reinforce what has been seen.
Besides, some of the activities have been designed to revise previous contents.
Most of the activities in this units are to be done using the New Technologies of Information and Communication.
Next, there is a plan with the activites which will be done in different class sessions and the resources and links to these activities.
PART 1. WHAT'S THE WEATHER LIKE?
SESSION 1
VOCABULARY
Warming-up
This is the first activity of the unit. It will introduce the topic and the new vocabulary so that the students start to be familiar with the new words or revise words that they already knew.
It is an animation. The students will move through different "stages" to look at new words related to images.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/whatisweather/aboutweather/flash_
menu.shtml
VIDEO WATCHING
These activities focus on listening comprehension while watching.
1. Warming-up: Vocabulary. The students will see a word map created with Bubbl.us by the teacher. They will check if they understand the new words, will ask questions to each other or look them up in the wordreference online dictionary.
The aim of the activity is preparing the pupils for the video.
https://bubbl.us/?h=2093c1/421daa/21ZczlnTS3bFo&r=62054175
5
2. Watching a video: The students will watch a video in which they will listen to expressions related to the weather and people speaking about it.
SESSION 2
3. Follow-up: Vocabulary. Work in groups. Follow the link for instructions.
After watching the video, we want the students to continue working with the new vocabulary so that they can learn it as soon as possible. Thus, they will be exposed to that new vocabulary very often. In this case, the class will be divided into groups of 4 or 5 students. Each group will be assigned a group of words: CLOUD COVER, TEMPERATURE, PRECIPITATION AND NATURAL PHENOMENA. They will have to design a poster using the weather icons or symbols. This is an example of transformation scaffolding.
You will work in groups of 4 or 5 to find the vocabulary related to the following subjects:
1. Group 1: you will be in charge of finding the weather words related to PRECIPITATION. (e.g. rain)
2. Group 2: you will have to look for the words related to CLOUD COVER. (e.g. cloudy)
3. Group 3: you must find the words related to TEMPERATURE. (e.g. cold)
4. Goup 4: using the links below you are going to look for NATURAL PHENOMENA/DISASTERS in which the wind intervenes.
1. Group 1: you will be in charge of finding the weather words related to PRECIPITATION. (e.g. rain)
2. Group 2: you will have to look for the words related to CLOUD COVER. (e.g. cloudy)
3. Group 3: you must find the words related to TEMPERATURE. (e.g. cold)
4. Goup 4: using the links below you are going to look for NATURAL PHENOMENA/DISASTERS in which the wind intervenes.
Esta obra está bajo una licencia de Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported
4. Goup 4: using the links below you are going to look for NATURAL PHENOMENA/DISASTERS in which the wind intervenes.
Here you have some useful links:
http://www.bom.gov.au/info/wwords/
http://worldweather.wmo.int/wx_icon.htm
http://www.termbases.eu/de/terminologie/?oid=92931475=eng&dlang92931475=spa
You must elaborate a list of the words you found and will give it to your teacher. After that, you must design a poster with the weather icons and the words you found.
Here you have some useful links:
http://www.bom.gov.au/info/wwords/
http://worldweather.wmo.int/wx_icon.htm
http://www.termbases.eu/de/terminologie/?oid=92931475=eng&dlang92931475=spa
You must elaborate a list of the words you found and will give it to your teacher. After that, you must design a poster with the weather icons and the words you found.
HOMEWORK
4. Follow-up. Check what you have learnt: The students will follow the link below to another video, this time a weather report.
Do you understand the video? You can read the transcript/subtitles after watching to help you.
http://puertadelaserenaenglish.blogspot.com.es/2014/05/weatherreport.
Html
SESSION 3
PART 2. Natural Disasters
VIDEO WATCHING/LISTENING/READING
The students will watch a presentation embedded in the class blog twice.
Then, they will analyze the vocabulary. For checking comprehension, they will fill in the blanks of the transcript of the presentation (without watching it again). Finally, they will do a reading comprehension.
- Watch the presentation "Natural Disasters" in SlideShare (link to my blog)
http://puertadelaserenaenglish.blogspot.com.es/2014/05/naturaldisasters.
Html
- Follow-up: Vocabulary. Make a Popplet with the new words and
post the link as a comment on the entry of the slideshare presentation in the class blog.
- Fill in the blanks of the transcript
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BwlUSfotoiSzcTV1MktiR3JNRE
0/edit?usp=sharing.
earthquake (x2) fires damage spin around floods Earth plates drought water
|
1. The World is always changing. Natural disasters are changes which are so great they may cause _________to the shape of the land or to the lives of people and other living things. Great changes happen deep inside the ______and on its surface. The changes on the outer part of the Earth happen because of different kinds of weather. Natural Disasters
2. An _________is a violent shaking of the ground. Sometimes it is so strong that the ground splits apart. When parts of the earth, called________, move against each other giant shock waves move upwards towards the surface causing the____________.
3. A________________ is the lack of rain for a long time. In 1968 a drought began in Africa. Children born during this year were five years old before rain fell again.
4. A Cyclone is a fierce storm with storm winds that ___________ it in a giant circle. During a cyclone trees can be uprooted, buildings can be destroyed and cars can be overturned
5. A flood is caused by an overflow of _________which covers the land that is usually dry. Floods are caused by heavy rain or by snow melting and the rivers burst their banks and overflow. Costal _______ are caused by high tides, a rise in sea level, storm waves or tsunami (earthquakes under the sea).
6. Fires can burn out of control in areas of forest or bush land. __________are caused by lightning, sparks of electricity or careless people. Wind may blow a bushfire to areas where people live.
SESSION 4
5. Reading Comprehension
The students will read a text about Earthquakes and will answer questions about the text. The aim of this activity is going on practicing and being exposed to the new language "Natural Disasters".
https://www.teachervision.com/tv/printables/TCR/TCR_DWReading_G
R4_62_key.pdf
SESSION 5
WRITING AND SPEAKING
The aim of this session is that the students learn how to create a weather forecast and put in practice what they have learnt. First of all, they will read a text used as a model. Next, they will write their own forecast. Finally, they will prepare a presentation as if they were they weather forecaster on TV.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BwlUSfotoiSzZnd6VHdjeVRPZVU
/edit?usp=sharing
ACTIVITY 1.- WRITING WEATHER FORECAST
Are you a forecaster?
Read the following Weather Forecast. It will be a guide for the one you will write later.
Forecast: Snow flurries today, sunny tomorrow, wet for the weekend
Environment Canada says Ottawa can expect those isolated flurries to end this Thursday morning. The afternoon is supposed to be cloudy, then the sky should clear. Temperatures are expected to climb only as high as 6ºC, but then drop to -2ºC overnight.
Good Friday is expected to be a bright and sunny day with a daytime high of 12ºC. But the rest of the long weekend will feature rain and cloud, according to the Environment Canada forecast.
Saturday's daytime high is expected to reach 17ºC, Sunday's 11ºC.A normal daytime temperature for this time of year is 13ºC in Ottawa.
It appears Monday will feature a mix of sun and cloud with a high of 16ºC.
Tuesday and Wednesday could bring more showers, but some forecasts indicate Wednesday could be as warm as 24ºC.
Now, following the model above, write your own weather forecast with the data given:
Madrid, Spain Weather Forecast
Weather Forecast Issued: 18 pm Fri 22 Apr local time
Madrid 1 – 3 Day Weather Forecast Summary: Moderate rain (total 16mm), heaviest on Sat afternoon, Very mild (max 17°C on Sun afternoon, min 9°C on Sunday night), Wind will be generally light
Madrid 4 – 6 Day Weather Forecast Summary: Light rain (total 3mm)on Mon, and on Tue afternoon, Warm (max 20°C on Wed afternoon, min 10°C on Mon night), Wind will be generally light
Madrid 7 – 9 Day Weather Forecast Summary: Heavy rain (total 26mm) on Thursday, heaviest during Fri afternoon, Warm (max 20°C on Thu afternoon, min 9°C on Sat night), Wind will be generally light
Help yourself with the following model:
Environment Spain says Madrid can expect ___________________ this Friday. Saturday afternoon is supposed to be ____________________________. Temperatures are expected to______________________________ Sunday. ___________________________________
_______ Monday is expected to be a _____ and _______ day with a daytime high of 12C. But the ______________will feature _________ and ___________, according to the Environment Spain forecast. Tuesday and Wednesday could bring more showers, but some forecasts indicate Wednesday could be as warm as ____ºC.
____________________________________________________________________
Thursday's daytime high is expected to reach ____ºC, ºC. A normal daytime temperature for this time of year is 13C in Madrid. It appears Friday will feature_________________ . Saturday night _______________________ºC.
_____________________________________________________________________
SESSION 6+ HOMEWORK
ACTIVITY 2.- WEATHER FORECAST IN EXTREMADURA
This activity is an example of reception scaffolding.
Collect data about daily weather forecast from the local press. Write it down in the chart, for a week.
1.- Every day in class tell the weather forecast for next day
2.-Compare the maximun and minimun values in each topic after a week
daily forecast
Location:
Day: sun mon tue wed thu fri sat
Date: Season:
Weather
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Max. Day ºC
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Min. Night ºC
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wind
| |||||||
Preipitation
| |||||||
pressure
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humidity
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visibility
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Sun rises
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Sun set
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Sunshine
Radiation
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warnings
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Online listening practice at: http://www.esl-lab.com/vocab/v-weather.htm
SESSION 7
ACTIVITY 3.- SPEAKING: WEATHER FORECAST
This activity is an example of Transformation Scaffolding.
In pairs or groups, prepare an oral weather forecast by first choosing the place and time for your predictions.- Make your own maps and design the weather symbols "clouds", "sun", "thunder and lightning", etc.
- You must play the role of the weatherman/woman on TV.
- Act it out in front of the class and record it by using the school's digital voice recorder and/or the video camera.
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By Zeimuzu
AUTHOR: AMALIA GARCÍA MERINO
APPENDIX
Useful Weather Terms
Clockwise: girando a la derecha
cyclonic storms: tormentas ciclónicas
downpours: aguaceros
drenching system: sistema torrencial
droughts and desertification: las sequías y la desertificación
gales: vendavales
global warming: calentamiento global
greenhouse effect: efecto invernadero
hailstorms: granizadas, tormentas de granizo
heat waves: olas de calor
incoming winds: vientos entrantes
landslides and mudflows: avalanchas de lodo, aludes de lodo
periodic flooding: inundaciones periódicas
washed out: llevado por el agua
wetlands: humedales
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"It's -- "
breezy
clear
cloudy
(partly cloudy)
damp
dry
foggy
humid
rainy
showery
snowy
stormy
sunny
windy
|
Temperatures: "It's -- "
freezing
cold
chilly
warm
hot
scorching
|
Verbs
It's raining.
It's snowing.
It's pouring. (very hard rain)
|
Duration of precipitation
brief
intermittent
occasional
frequent
continuous
periods of rain
|
Temperatures
very hot more than 40ºC
hot 35-39ºC
warm 30-34ºC
mild 25-29ºC
cool 20-24ºC
cold less than 19ºC
very cold less than 10ºC
chilly
|
Distribution of showers or thunderstorms over time for a location
shower or two: not many, less than a few. Used to describe showers occuring infrequently
few: not many
Distribution of showers or thunderstorms over an area
Isolated: well separated in space
local: restricted to relatively small areas
Patchy (pachy rain, e.g.): covering 10 to 25% of the area
Scattered: irregularly distributed in an area, covering 25 to 55% of the area
Widespread: (rain, showers): occurring extensively throughout an area, covering 25 to 55% of the area
cloud cover
clear
sunny: cloud expected to cover aproximately 0 to 15% of the sky for the majority of the day
mostly sunny: 15 to 30%
partly cloudy: 30 to 65%
cloudy: 65 to 100%
overcast: sky completely covered with cloud (100%)
sunny breaks
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Wind
wind direction: where the wind is blowing
gust: any sudden increase of wind of short duration, usually a few seconds
squall: longer
windy: a prolonged period
tending: a gradual change
shifting: a relatively abrupt change
Wind speed descriptions
calm 0km/h
light winds less than 19km/h
moderate winds 20-29
fresh winds 30-39
strong winds 40-62
gale 63-87
storm 88-117
hurricane 118 or more
Wind direction descriptions
N North
NE Northeast
E East
SE Southeast
|
Other Weather Terms
chance of rain
cold front
fog
hail
hurricane
lightening
precipitation
raindrops
snow flurries
sunrise
sunset
sunshine
thunder
thunder showers
tornado
typhoon
warm front
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