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Astronomy and the Solar System

Lesson Plan
Ti Stages Rational Skill Interaction Procedure Observation
m pattern
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Listen and Interacting about T/Ss Sts look at the pictures and discuss the given questions (page 136) *
Consider satellites .Key: 1. They represent satellites
Getting .They are similar in that they turn around the earth .2
Started They are different in that the moon is a natural satellite and .3
whereas the
30 .Other is an artificial satellite
m Space satellites are used for weather forecast, scientific .4
n research, TV
.…Broadcasting, communications
.Yes, it has. Alsat .5

Let's Hear it Listening for the T/Ss .Listen to the teacher read script one page 206 and re-order sentences A-F
Task 1 p 137 gist
Jumbled sentences A B C D E F
30 Order 4 3 1 6 2 5
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Task 2 p137 Answering T/Ss .Listen and answer the questions
reference questions 1. The Hubble Telescope is 610 kms away from the earth.
2. It is roughly cylindrical in shape.
3. It is 13 m long.
4. It weighs more than 11 tons.

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Ti Stages Rational Skill Interaction Procedure
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Grammar Expressing function of T/Ss Used to+ infinitive
Explorer I objects Used for+ stem +ing expressing purpose/ function of objects.
.Students study sentences 1-3 on page 137 and answer questions A-C
.Key: A. They express purpose / function of objects
B. The verbs which follow them either are in the infinitive or have the
ing form.
.C. We can only use the preposition for

Task 2 p 138 Matching questions Ss/Ss Matching questions 1-6 with phrases/ answers A-F.
with answers 1.B -2.C- 3.D – 4.A - 5.F – 6.E.

Task 2 p 138 Describing a telescope Ss/Ss Using the information in task 1 to describe orally what a telescope is and how
it works.
A telescope is an optical instrument made of glass and metal.
T/Ss It magnifies pictures of
faint and distant objects. Its shape is cylindrical and it
consists of a case, eyepiece lens and object Lens. It is used
for observing the stars.

Grammar Asking and answering T/Ss Students look at sentences A-G and use the adjectives in the box on page 138 to ask
Explorer II questions about questions so as to get information in bold type.
measurements.
Key: A. How much does Spuntnik1 / 2 weigh ?
B. How far is the moon from the earth?
C. How long does it take our planet to make one revolution
round the sun?
D. How high is Mount Everest?
E. How tall was Yuri Gagarin?
F. How long…..How wide…….How deep…….?
G. How fast does light travel?

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Ti Stages Rational Skill Interaction Procedure
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Vocabulary Forming nouns from T/Ss Verbs Nouns Adjectives
Explorer measurements weigh, takes, height, weight, high, tall, heavy,
Task 1 p 139 adjectives travel length, depth, long, wide, deep
distance, speed, high,
kilometres,
metres, hours,
minutes,
seconds

Task 2 p 139 Matching words with Ss/Ss Key. 1.B 2.A 3.C 4.E 5.D
their associate words

Think, Pair, Writing an expository Ss/Ss  Ask sts to go through the fact file on p 141.
Share. presentation of the  Explain sts' task and set them do the activity.
moon  Expected answer:
The moon is an earth satellite orbiting our planet from a distance of 384.000 kms
on average, and its orbit is in a west-to-east direction. Its surface gravity is only
0.16 that of the Earth (one sixth), and it does not seem to have life on it, since it
has neither atmosphere nor water. Minimum and maximum temperatures on it
are wide apart, with + 110° C on the sunlit side and – 170° C in lunar lights. The
geology of this satellite is rock only, and its age is about 4.6 billion years.
Plants to reach the moon on space crafts have been on scientists' mind since the
early 20th century. But they became more concrete when the Russians launched
space crafts Sputnik 1 and Sputnik 2 in 1957, the second one carrying the dog
Laika. In 1961, Yuri Gagarin orbited the Earth, followed by the American
astronaut John Glenn in 1962. finally America won the honour of reaching the
moon before Russia, when Neil Armstrong set foot on it on July 21st 1969.
There are at present plans to build a space base on the moon; to set a giant
telescope and launch space ships from there to distant planets, and perhaps to
other solar systems.

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Learning Objective 2: Sts will be able to contrast objects and make suppositions about imaginary situations.
Ti Stages Rational Skill Interaction Procedure
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Read and Introducing the topic T/Ss * Before dealing with task one, teacher refreshes the students minds through
Consider together with the new a set of lead in questions in order to test their prior knowledge about the Solar
Getting Started p vocabulary items. system.
142
Task 1 Ss/Ss * Pluto is no longer considered a planet . According to the experts, it’s just
a member of an asteroid belt beyond Neptune, along with12 newly discovered
mini-worlds.

Task 2 Ss/Ss  It takes the Earth 365 and ¼ days ( one year ) to make a complete revolution
around the Sun.
Task 3  Astronomy is a science whereas astrology is a pseudo-science. The former
studies the sun, the moon, stars and planets, whereas the latter observes them
with the belief that their positions tell about people’s destiny.

Taking a Closer Reading for a general Ss/Ss  The students read the text on pages 143-144 and label the different bodies
Look comprehension of the represented on the picture.
Task 1 p 142 text * Key. Sun, 1.Mercury, 2.Venus, 3.Earth, (Moon in the black box),
4.Mars5.Jupiter, 6.Saturn, 7.Uranus, 8.Neptune,
Pluto is no longer considered a planet.

Task 2 p142 Reading for a detailed Ss/Ss Key: a. meteors – comets – asteroids – satellites / moons – planets – stars.
comprehension of the b. The moon orbits the earth whereas the planets orbit the sun.
text c. The heavenly bodies.
d. The heat and light energy make life possible on Earth.
e. They are likened to huge mirrors because they reflect the light
from the sun.

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Ti Stages Rational Skill Interaction Procedure
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Grammar Comparatives of T/Ss  Explain sts' task and set them to find sentences which contain comparatives
Explorer I adjectives of adjectives from the text.
 Expected answers.
1. Comparatives of superiority.
- They are far more remote from us than any other heavenly bodies.
- More distant planets have larger orbits.
2. Comparatives of equality.
- Just like our sun, stars are also distant stars.
- The sun is as bright as the distant stars.
3. Comparatives of inferiority.
- Moving around some of the planets are smaller balls.
- You might also catch a glimpse of swarms of even smaller particles.
- Their light is less intense than that of the sun.
4. Comparatives of adverbs.
- More distant planets have larger orbits and travel far more slowly
Other examples:
- More distant planets have larger orbits and travel less quickly.
- More distant planets have larger orbits and don't travel as quickly as the ones
which are closer to the sun.

Ask 2 p 145 Practising comparisons Ss/Ss  There are many possible answers.
 Eg:
- The earth is more distant from the sun than Mercury.
- Mercury is closer to the sun than earth.

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Grammar Expressing similarities T/Ss  Set sts to do the activity as suggested on their text books.
explorer II and differences.  Expected answers.
Task 1 p 146 Similarities:
- All traveling in the same direction.
- Like the other planets, Earth give off no light of its own.
- As the other planets Mercury revolves round the sun.
- Similarly to the stars, the sun is made up of highly compressed gases.

Ti Stages Rational Skill Interaction Procedure


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Differences.
- Compared with the other stars, the sun is of average size, but it is a giant in
comparison even with the largest planets.
- The planets of the solar system are different from the distant stars.
- Unlike stars, which shine with their own light, the planets give of no light of
their own.
- Jupiter, for example' takes more than eleven Earth years to make one
complete revolution around the sun while Earth makes its path around the
sun in just 365 1/4 days…

Grammar Making hypotheses/ T/Ss  set sts to do the activity as suggested in their text book.
Explorer III suppositions  Jot down sts' answers on the board.
 Expected answers.
- If you were out in space, billions of miles away from our planet, you
would see the earth as a tiny ball……( §1 )
- Suppose you were still in space and that you were looking at the space
between the orbits of planets Mars and Jupiter, what would you see ? (§2 )
- If you continued to view them, you would see that they were moving
together through space as a unit…(§3)
 Elicit answers from sts to the suggested questions.
 Expected answers:
A. The sentences express hypotheses/ suppositions.
B. Past simple + would + verb ( the author is just supposing / imagining things.
 Ask sts to provide examples of their own ( related to the topic of the unit).

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Ti Stages Rational Skill Interaction Procedure
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Vocabulary Working out Ss/Ss * Students skim through the text ( pages 143 /144 ) to find the words and phrases
explorer p 147 vocabulary items that match the definitions below and then put the words in meaningful sentences
related to astronomy a. very small (§1) : tiny.
b. Identify again…..( §1) : recognize.
c. Move continuously…..(§2 ) : streaming.
d. Have a quick imperfect view of (§2 ) : catch a glimpse.
e. Giving out light (§4) : radiating.
f. Shining with a light that gleams unsteadily (§5) : twinkling.
g. Send, emit (§6) : give off.
h. Very big (§6) : huge.
.Moving very quickly (§6) : speeding

Pronunciation Forming irregular T/Ss * Students study the tip box on page 148 to be aware of the rules for forming the
and Spelling plurals .plural nouns. Then they will have to illustrate the rules through examples
Task 1 p 148 ..1st rule: students, cats, seeds
…2nd rule: potatoes, buses, boxes, matches, bushes
…3rd rule: datum- data, stimulus- stimuli
… ,4th rule: wife- wives, knife-knives
… ,5th rule: belief- beliefs, proof- proofs

Task 2 p 148 Practising forming Ss/Ss Key:


irregular plurals - theories – categories – theses – men - women – beliefs – men – women – facts
– origins – hypotheses.

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Task 3 p 148 Revising the Ss/Ss * See attached paper.
pronunciation of the
final 's'

Ti Stages Rational Skill Interaction Procedure


me pattern
Think, Pair, Writing an essay on Ss/Ss  Go with sts through the procedure suggested in the text book.
Share the results of a  Explain unfamiliar words if necessary.
collision of a comet  Sample production.
with earth. I sometimes think with awe about the possible consequences for life on
earth if a comet collided with our planet. I can imagine it hurtling through the
atmosphere before it makes its terrible impact on some part of a continent. Scientists
do say that a similar incident took place many thousand years ago, and provoked the
extinction of many giant animal species, including dinosaurs.
An enormous crater would form, and possibly cause a volcanic eruption
which would send a heavy layer of particles and ash high up in the sky to stop the
sun rays from reaching the Earth. Our planet would then be in the dark for many
years, and consequently the temperatures would drop considerably.
A change in the climate could indeed occur, rainfalls and snowfalls
would be frequent, heavy and long lasting, and floods would result from them; the
sea level would probably rise, and cause some flat regions of the Earth to be totally
immersed.
( see the rest of the passage in the teacher’s guide on page 138 )

* Make sts exchange drafts for correction.

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Learning Objective 3: Sts will be able to react to issues related to space research
Ti Stages Rational Skill Interaction Procedure
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Reading and Interacting about the T/Ss  Students read the paragraph quickly and answer questions 1,3.
writing topic of the reading 1. It is taken from a newspaper article because of its reference.
Before Reading p passage 2. The paragraph fits at the beginning of the text because it is a lead in
156 paragraph which incites the reader to read the whole article or news story.
3. I believe that what will come next in the text is the answer to a rhetorical
question that ended the first paragraph ( i.e) a discussion of the issue raised in
the lead in.

As you Read Reading for a detailed Ss/Ss  Set sts to read the text and answer the questions.
P 157.158 comprehension.  Keys.
Task 1 a. The NASA fired a copper explosive barrel in the path of Temple1 in
order to learn about the impact that a collision with comets might
have on our planet.
b. Deep impact.
c. Paragraph 5.
d. The dinosaurs would not have disappeared if they had known how to
divert the course of comets. The space programme is vital because it
can help avoid the kind of collision that caused the disappearance of
dinosaurs.

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Task 2 Deducing meaning of Ss/Ss  Go through the coping with sts so as to make the aim of the activity clear.
words from context  Set sts to read again the text and deduce the meaning of the given words.
 Expected answers.
Crater(§1): hole mixed reaction (§2) : not completely positive.
Hurt (§3) : doing harm. demolish (§4) : destroy.
Ice crust (§5) : frozen rock. lacked (§6) : has the meaning of absence of…

Ti Stages Rational Skill Interaction Procedure


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After Reading Distinguishing T/Ss  Explain sts' task and set them to do it.
Tas1 p 159 between different  Expected answers.
types of reasoning in Statement from the text Possible inference
argumentative text. The engineered collision with the comet the decision to shoot at the comet is
is like greeting a stranger by shooting unreasonable / too quick and can have
first and asking questions later §2 bad consequences
You should be justifiably concerned if, There is no need to be worried about
in order to learn about shoreline, some the shooting at the comet because it as
scientist decided to dig up your harmless as picking up a few sand
favourite beach, but you wouldn't specimen for study
object if the scientist took a few grains
of sand to study. §3
Only next time, because we have Human life can’t be destroyed by the
knowledge about comets and space collision of our planet with a comet
engineering , life on Earth will have a because we know how to divert its
chance to fight back. §6 course.

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Task 2 p 159 Understanding and T/Ss  Go through the coping with sts and make necessary illustrations.
recognizing  Set sts to do the suggested task
argumentative texts,  Expected answers
their functions and the .a. Type of discourse : argumentative
three categories they b. Function : Persuading the reader about the importance of a space
resort to. programme.
c. Category of reasoning: based on analogy.

Ti Stages Rational Skill Interaction Procedure


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Writing Writing an Ss/Ss Statement: Some people think that the budget devoted to space programme is
Development argumentative wasted money.
newspaper article Students study the notes in the ‘skeleton’ on page 160, and flesh it out by adding *
using deductive, or .details of their own following the instructions and the steps given
concessive reasoning,
or both. Possible output:
You often hear people say, ‘The budget devoted to space programmes is
wasted money.’ Many people support this statement by saying that these huge
amounts can be invested in projects to combat diseases. Likewise, many other people
consider that space exploration is a wild dream and that the money spent on these
explorations is needed to relieve poverty in Africa. Though I understand that there is
an urgency to fight diseases and relieve poverty in our continent, I don’t think it is to
? abandon investment explorations. Why
In the first place, many of the advances made in medicine are indirectly
…,the result of space exploration. For instance

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