Space exploration. The rise and fall of Mars One.

Theme/ Topic/ Subject: Space exploration. The rise and fall of Mars One.

Language: space exploration, solar system, names of planets, astronaut, space mission, colony, shuttle,departure

Learning Objective/s:

By the end of the lesson the learners/ students will be able to identify planets, point out key facts from a listening text, discuss advantages and dangers of living on Mars, choose qualities required for astronauts using topic vocabulary .

Level/ Class/ Grade: 8

Textbook: Live Vision(A2/B1)

Resources: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ya6Ko9bF5v8

Stages:

1. Visual Lead-in

Students look at the picture of the Solar System and answer the questions:

1.What can you see in the picture?

2.Which planets can you name?

3.Which planet would you most like to visit?

Video input: Students watch the short video about the planets in the Solar System to revise the names of planets and prepare for the quiz activity. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ya6Ko9bF5v8

2. 1.Working in pairs, students do the quiz.

1.Working in pairs, students do the quiz.

2.Checking answers

Answers: (1b, 2c, 3a, 4b, 5c, 6a, 7b, 8a)

3.Pre-listening (predicting)

Today we’re going to learn about a real space exploration project called Mars One.

A:Topic vocabulary activation (Guess the secret word activity)

B: Predicting

1.What do you think Mars One is?

2.Was it successful or not?

3.Why might people want to live on Mars?

4.What problems could appear with such a project?

Guess the Secret Word Read the clues and write the correct word.

space exploration • Solar System • astronaut • space mission • colony • shuttle • departure

1. “I spent six months in space completing scientific tasks.”

__________________

2. “Earth, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn are all part of me.”

__________________

3. “Humans may build me on Mars in the future.”

__________________

4. “NASA planned me carefully before sending people to the Moon.”

__________________

5. “I carry astronauts from space onto the planet.”

__________________

6. “Without me, scientists would know much less about the universe.”

__________________

7. “The crew’s __________ was delayed because one astronaut forgot his helmet.”

__________________

Answers: 1. Astronaut; 2. Solar system; 3. Colony; 4 space mission; 5. Shuttle; 6. Space exploration; 7. Departure.

4. While-listening

1. 1st listening for gist / global understanding

Students read statements 1-6 and choose the points mentioned in the interview.

2.Listening to the audio for detailed comprehension and checking answers.

3.Sharing the facts students can remember from the audio.

Answers: 1,4,6

4. Multiple Choice Activity

Choose the correct answer: A, B, or C.

1. Who started Mars One?

A) A famous astronaut

B) A Dutch businessman

C) A university professor

2. What was special about the Mars One mission?

A) People could return to Earth

B) The mission lasted only one year

C) People would stay on Mars permanently

3. What was the first step of the project?

A) Building houses on Mars

B) Choosing and training astronauts

C) Sending animals into space

4. Why did the company send robots to Mars?

A) To fight aliens

B) To explore and prepare the area

C) To collect gold

5. What happened in 2015?

A) The astronauts arrived on Mars

B) The company closed

C) Mars One announced the final 100 participants

6. Why did scientists criticize the project?

A) The mission was too expensive for tourists

B) Lansdorp lacked scientific experience

C) Mars was too close to Earth

7. What did a report from MIT suggest?

A) The project would be delayed

B) The astronauts would probably die

C) The mission would become very successful

8. How did Mars One hope to earn money?

A) By selling space technology

B) Through a TV reality show

C) From the government

9. Why did the plan finally fail?

A) The astronauts refused to go

B) Robots stopped working

C) The company had no money left

10. What is the main purpose of the listening?

A) To advertise Mars tourism

B) To explain why Mars One failed

C) To compare planets in the Solar System

Answers: 1b, 2c, 3b, 4b, 5c, 6b, 7b, 8b, 9c, 10b

4. Post-listening

Group work

Students work in groups discussing what kind of person would make a good astronaut on a mission like Mars One and present their ideas.

4. Feedback/error correction

Analysing difficult points, consolidating what was learnt, assessing