LESSON PLAN FOR ENGLISH TEACHERSLOOKING AT THE SKY
Jan. 12, 2023
Level: Pre-Intermediate (A2-B1)
Type of English: English for Teenagers
Tags: The Future and Space; Science and Technology; Pronunciation Numerical Errors; Numbers; Dimensions; 13-15 Years Old; 10-12 Years Old; 16-18 Years Old; Vocabulary and Grammar; Video Talk; Exam Preparation
Publication date: 01/12/2023
In this lesson, students learn facts about space and the solar system, while the key vocabulary is being clarified in context. They practice reading, listening and language to talk about speed, distance, temperature, and size. They have to interpret numerical information presented in tables. (by I. Rybak)
- CLICK HERE to download the student’s worksheet in American English.
- CLICK HERE to download the teacher’s lesson plan in American English.
- CLICK HERE to download/listen to the audio 1 in American English.
- CLICK HERE to download/listen to the audio 2 in American English.
- CLICK HERE to download/watch the video in American English.
- CLICK HERE to download the student’s worksheet in British English.
- CLICK HERE to download the teacher’s lesson plan in British English.
- CLICK HERE to download/listen to the audio 1 in British English.
- CLICK HERE to download/listen to the audio 2 in British English.
- CLICK HERE to download/watch the video in British English.
AUDIO (VIDEO) TRANSCRIPT 1
Narrator: The universe is everything that exists: the Earth and everything on it, the moon, the sun and all the stars. The universe started about 13.8 billion years ago. Stars started to exist 300 million years and galaxies 500 million years later.
Galaxies contain many stars which move around one point. Scientists believe there are around 200 billion galaxies in the universe. The Milky Way, where we are, is a galaxy. There are billions of stars in the Milky Way and more stars in the whole universe.
Each star has at least one planet that revolves around it. Our sun is in the center of our solar system in the Milky Way. The solar system contains the sun, the planets with their moons (about 170 altogether), as well as millions of asteroids and comets. Asteroids, which are made of rock and metal, are much smaller than planets. Comets are pretty small.
They are made of rock and ice and are usually presented as bright balls with tails. These tails appear when comets come near the sun. The sun makes them hot and they start to burn. Earth and all the other planets in the solar system orbit (move around) the sun.
This happens because of a force called gravity – a force with which big objects pull smaller objects. Planets also spin or turn around. There are eight planets in our system. Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars are rocky planets. They have a hard surface that you can walk on. Jupiter and Saturn are gas giants and Uranus and Neptune are ice giants.
Meteor and meteorites are different names for the same thing – small pieces of rock. In Earth’s atmosphere, they are called meteors, on Earth’s surface, they are meteorites. Meteors heat up when they enter the atmosphere and they burn. We can see their light. They are called shooting stars. A large number of shooting stars are called a meteor shower. The best time to see meteor showers in the sky is August (the Perseids) and November (the Leonids).
AUDIO TRANSCRIPT 2 (Podcast)
James: Hello and welcome to the weekly science program ‘That’s a Very Good Question’. My name is James. This week we are talking about space. Our guest is Anna Bono, a scientist and author of textbooks. Hello, Professor.
Anna: Hello.
James: The first question is from Maria... What are Saturn’s rings made of?
Anna: They are made of small pieces of ice and rock. The pieces can be tiny or as big as a house. The rings look white. Interestingly, each ring orbits the planet at a different speed.
James: Thank you, Professor. The next question comes from Stefano. Why is Venus hotter than Mercury although it is farther away from the sun? That’s a very good question indeed.
Anna: Right. Venus is hotter than Mercury, which is much closer to the sun. This is because Venus has an atmosphere with clouds which trap the heat. It is 867°F for Venus and only 332°F for Mercury.
James: Here is a question from Malik. How many Earths can fit into the sun?
Anna: If you look at the various pictures showing the solar system, it seems like the Sun is perhaps twice or three times bigger than Earth. That’s wrong. The sun is much, much bigger than Earth. In fact, one million Earths can fit into the sun.
James: Wow! One million. Now a question from Sofia. What is Pluto?
Anna: For many years scientists believed Pluto was a planet, but now it is put in the category of a dwarf planet. Dwarf planets are very similar to planets but they are smaller and have other objects in their orbit. A proper planet has no other objects in its orbit.
James: Olena wants to know this: How many moons has Jupiter got?
Anna: Jupiter has 67 moons. Ganymede, one of its moons, the biggest in our system, is bigger than Mercury.
James: I’m afraid we have time for only one more question. It was sent by Marek. Do planets spin at the same speed?
Anna: All planets spin but they spin at different speeds. Do you realize that as we are sitting here our planet is spinning at the speed of 1509 feet per second?! It is also traveling on its orbit at almost 19 miles per second!
James: It makes me dizzy. Why don’t we all fall off?
Anna: Because we stick to Earth’s surface thanks to gravity (laughter).
Adapted from: https://www.linguahouse.com/esl-lesson-plans/english-for-teenagers/looking-at-the-sky. Accessed on August 4, 2023. © 2008–2023 LinguaHouse.com. All rights reserved.
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