CLIL Geography lesson plan. Exploring

Topic: EXPLORING

Subject: English / CLIL

Grade: 6-7

Objectives: to activate students’ existing knowledge of the topic and identify what they would like to learn about the topic; to extend the students’ knowledge about explorers and their explorations; to help them understand the importance of exploring.

Materials: Oxford Read and Discover Level 5 Exploring Our World [1], Oxford Discover 3 Big Question 9 DVD “Why do we explore?” [2]; chart paper.

1. WARM UP

1. Introducing the topic

Ask the questions: Why do we explore? Do you know about any famous explorers? Do you know what places they explore and why? Where are these places?

Summarize the students’ answers: Explorers are people who leave their homes to discover new places, or to learn new things about people. Plants or animals. To learn more about our world, they go on exciting journeys through forests, across hot or icy deserts, up mountains, or down rivers.

2) Watch the video

Play the video [2] and have students get partners to ask and answer these questions:

What do you see in the video?

What do you think the video is about?

What part of the video do you think is the most interesting?

Have students discuss their answers with the class. Add any relevant information to the list of ideas on the board.

3) Look at the picture and talk

Ask students to look at the pictures at p. 3 [1] and provide a short discussion of them.

4) Think and answer the questions

Critical thinking

• Ask students to think about the question: what do explorers do? Write the list of their ideas on chart paper.
• Divide the class into pair to discuss the second question: How do people explore the ocean or space? Ask them to talk about the question and write their ideas.
• Have students share these ideas and add them to the list on the chart paper.

2. READING

1. Split the students in groups and ask them to read the text, p. 4-7 [1]
2. Reading Comprehension

Invite the groups to give a short summary of each paragraph – one paragraph per group. Ask follow up questions:

Why do people explore?

Where do people explore?

How do people explore?

Why is exploring important?

3. WRAP UP

Communication

1. Engage students to have a discussion. Ask them what part of the world the explorers explored and what they discovered.

Ask: Do you think explorers always discover the places they are looking for?

Collaboration

2. An exploring debate. Students work in small groups. Ask each group where they would like to explore, why, what they would do there, etc. then in turn each group present their arguments for the place that they have chosen. Give a prize for the most convincing arguments.

Home assignment (optional):

a) Writing activity, p. 36-37;

b) Exploring research: students choose explorer and do research using the internet. They can choose a famous explorer from their country, or an explorer who explored their country.