The Theme: The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Its general information and the geographical position.

Objectives: - to acquaint pupils' with new words on the topic;

-to introduce some information about the U. K;

-to develop pupils' reading, listening and speaking skills;

-to enlarge pupils' knowledge about the country, its people and its culture.

Equipment: material from the topical texts for 8^th form, a map of the British Isles, pictures, cards with exercises.

PROCEDURE

I. Introduction

Greeting: Morning, my dear children. I am glad to see you again. I hope you are fine, aren't you?

Aim: Today we are going to study a new topic "The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland".

Il. The main part of the lesson:

Vocabulary practice: - Let's practice pronunciation of the following geographical names and the new words on the topic and try to understand my information:

l. The British Isles ['b r 1 t i ' a i I z] is the name given to Great Britain, the whole of Ireland, and the neighbouring 500 smaller islands.

Britain and Northern Ireland Oueen reigns over. (The U. K. is its [j u: 'n a 1 tid 'K 1 O dem e v shortened form). Her Majesty the Queen g re I t 'b r ltn o n d 'n on Elizabeth Il has reigned for 49 years, she

              'a 1 0 l e n d]                                      has a strong sense of duty and dispatches

Her queenly business with great

She is considered the richest woman in the world. She does the best for her country and for people.

4. Albion ['                                         l bj e nJ       is a poetic name of the U. K. it comes from the ancient times.

-                    Look at these words, I shall pronounce them and you are to repeat after me:

(the words are on the black board / cards) the British Isles: Great Britain / Ireland; the United Kingdom: England / Scotland / Wales / Northern Ireland / London / Edinburgh / Cardiff / Belfast;

Her Majesty the Queen Elizabeth Il; the English channel; the Thames; the Highlands / the Lowlands;

Manchester, Birmingham, Glasgow,

-                    Listen to the tape and repeat these names again.

-                    Look at the map of the U. K. try to find the geographical names and pronounce them correctly.

-                    Let's check up how you have understood my information..

Choose and underline the correct answers in your cards:

1.                     The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the name of a state / an island.

2.                     The British Isles consist of two / four large islands and 200 / 5000 smaller ones.

3.                     England and Scotland were united in 1603 / 1704.

4.                     Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth Il is the Head of the U. K. / the Prime Minister / nowadays.

5.                     She is the richest / one of the richest woman in the world.

6.                     She has reigned 48 / 42_years.

7.                     Albion is the official / poetic name of the U. K.

Thank you. You are clever and attentive pupils. Let's go on. You have just got the charts (the so-called country's cards). We shall fill in the information according to

Reading ofthe text: Great Britain: the geographical position and population.

Pre-reading: Attention! New words: a valley ['v 1 1] — AOJIHHa•, a plain [p I e 1 n] — piBHHHa•, to be separated [t u b 1 s e p r 1 t 1 d] — 6YTH BiÅAiJ1eHvnr, deep [d i : pl — rJIH60KuÜ.

Say the words after me. Read them yourselves.

While-reading Listen to the text on the tape and read silently.

Try to understand the main topical information.

Read the text once again and complete our charts with the information from the text.

The United Kingdom is situated on the British Isles. They consist of two large islands, Great Britain and Ireland, and about five thousands small islands, Their total area is over 244,000 square kilometres. The UK is made up of four countries: England, Wales, Scotland (on the island of Great Britain) and Northern Ireland (on the island of Ireland). Their capitals are London, Cardiff, Edinburgh and Belfast respectively. The capital of the UK is London. The British Isles are separated from the European continent by the North Sea and the English Channel. The western coast of Great Britain is washed by the Atlantic Ocean and the Irish Sea. There are a lot of rivers in Great Britain but they are not very long. The Severn is the longest river while the Thames is the deepest one. The north of Scotland is mountainous and it is called the Highlands, while the south with beautiful valleys and plains is called the Lowlands. Mountains are not very high. Ben Nevis in Scotland is the highest mountain (1,343 m). The UK is one of the world's smallest countries. Its population is over 57 million. About 80% people live in cities and towns.

          Work in pairs.       Compare your notes to justify the informational points.

          After-reading:       Say what these numbers refer to:

2

244,000

57

I ,343

Complete the sentences using the information from the charts:

1.     the British Isles consist of

2.     the U, K. is made up of

3.     the eastern coast of Gr. Br.

4.     Wales is called

5.     the West is famous for its

6.     It is called

7.     Most of the population live in

Speaking: Role-play "Help your classmate"

a)    you have learned some new information about the U. K. at your last English lesson. Explain this material to your classmate who was absent.

b)   You were absent at your last English lesson. Ask your Classmate some questions on the topic to get ready for the next.

Ill. Summing-up: We have done much. Hope our lesson was interesting and useful for you, wasn't it? Thank you for cooperation.

Homework: learn the words, be ready to tell about the geographical position and general information about the U. K. using the map and notes from the charts.