Lesson script
3rd educational stage (III.1), English
Grade: 3
Content area:
Using the project method in foreign language teachingDetailed requirements:
Student (10 and 1.12) is involved in teamwork, e.g. in projects in and outside the classroom, and uses a very basic pool of languagemeasures (vocabulary, grammar, writing and speaking), enabling the achievement of other general requirements concerning the following topic: science and technology (discoveries, inventions, operation and use of basic technical equipment, information and communication technologies).
Topic
: InventionsDuration
: Approx. 6-8 hours in the classroom plus 4-6 hours outside the classroomDeadline:
4–6 weeksDetailed goals regarding the range of information
Student:
Knows the names of popular technical devices;
Knows the history of some inventions;
Knows the basic science and technology vocabulary;
Knows the Past Simple and Past Continuous structures.
Detailed goals regarding the range of skills
Student:
Can briefly describe pieces of technical equipment;
Can deliver a short presentation;
Develops communication skills;
Can take notes from audio-visual materials;
Can listen out for specific information.
Detailed goals regarding attitudes
Student:
Learns about the lifestyle changes in the recent decades;
Becomes aware of the positive and negative aspects of the progress in technology;
Learns to cooperate with other students in team work;
Develops autonomy in working with the project method;
Learns to divide work into stages.
Methods
Project work; presentation; elicitation; categorisation; quiz; listening for specific information; note taking; whole class, group work, pairwork, individual work.
Forms and venue
Forms: whole class, group work, pairwork, individual work.
Classes are to be held in the classroom, but the project is to be prepared outside the classroom.
Materials and teaching aids
Chart; multimedia presentation; quiz; film; audio recording; computer and multimedia projector; board.
Multimedia resources
Charts: Technical inventions of the 20th century
Multimedia presentation: The history of the phone
Film: The greatest inventions of the 20th century
Audio recording: Life in grandpa’s times
Interactive quiz: crossword
Project task
In the project, students are supposed to develop a presentation about one of the inventions made in the last 100–150 years (e.g. computer, microwave oven, laser, etc.). Each presentation should include:
brief description of the invention;
information about the inventors/designers and the history of the invention;
discussion of how the invention changed the world.
The key problem for students to solve is to determine both the positive and negative aspects of the invention of their choice.
Project deliverables
The project deliverables should be in the form of a chart, poster or computer slide show, which should be accompanied by an in-class presentation. Teams may be given a free hand in choosing the form of the graphical part of the project, or this may be predetermined by the teacher.
Project stages
The project can be divided into three stages:
● Stage 1 – Selection of the invention;
● Stage 2 – Development of the graphical material;
● Stage 3 – Actual in-class presentation with the use of the graphical aid.
Teams should submit the graphical deliverables at the end of stage 2, so that the teacher can effectively monitor the progress of the project work.
Project teams
The teams may vary from 2 to 4 students.
Assessment criteria
● Graphical material – 60%
▪ Content – 30%
▪ Language correctness – 15%
▪ Artistic value – 15%
● In-class presentation – 40%
▪ Content – 20%
▪ Interesting delivery – 10%
▪ Language correctness – 10%
In-class work
The multimedia resources for the project can be used in a number of ways. Below are some practical tips and suggestions how to introduce the materials in the classroom to help students develop their project deliverables.
The chart is intended to help the students choose the subject matter of their project (stage 1). Then, it can be used in stage 2 to stimulate discussion of the positive and negative aspects related to different inventions. The multimedia presentation and recording help students specifically with stage 2. The film provides a pattern for an in- class presentation in stage 3. The crossword uses the information from all the other resources.
Whenever pair- or group-work is used as a form of interaction, students should work with their team-mates, if possible.
1 Chart
1.1. Brainstorming
The teacher asks the students to brainstorm for recent technical inventions they know. What are they and when, approximately, were they invented?
The students work in pairs or small groups, then share ideas in open class. Next, the chart could be presented for the students to see if any of their inventions are on the chart and, if so, if they were right about when they were invented.
1.2. Sequencing
Before showing the chart to the students, the teacher can write on the board some (or all) of the inventions presented on the chart and ask the students to order them chronologically. The students should be told that all of these items were invented in the twentieth century.
Students work in pairs. Then, their predictions/answers are elicited in open class.
Finally, they are given the charts to check how well they were able to order the inventions.
1.3. Memory game
The students work in pairs. They test each other about the information from the chart.
One student looks at the chart and chooses the questions to ask, e.g. When was (the TV) invented? (in 1927) Who invented the TV? (Philo Taylor Farnsworth) What was invented in 1945? (the atomic bomb), etc. The other student tries to answer. The students take it in turns to look at the chart and ask questions, so with each round the task will be getting easier (as they have a chance to look at the chart for a longer time and, thus, remember more information).
2 Multimedia presentation 2.1. Presentation and elicitation
The teacher tells students that they will see a multimedia presentation about the history of the phone. The presentation can be played once through, to give the students a general idea of the development of the telephone. Then the teacher plays the presentation again, this time pausing at each slide to make sure that students understand all the words. They should note down the milestones in the telephone history with the relevant dates.
The teacher could also elicit from the students where and when (if at all) they have seen the old models of the phone.
2.2. Personalisation
The students work in small groups and discuss their experience with phones and making calls. Do they still have, or know someone who still has, a traditional (fixed- line) phone rather than a mobile one? When did the students get their first mobile phone? How does the one they have now differ from their first phone?
3 Film
3.1. Listening for specific information / Note taking
The teacher plays the film once through and elicits what inventions the students can remember (trains, planes, television, computers, the Internet).
While listening for the second time, the students should note down more detailed information about each of the four 20th century inventions mentioned, i.e. the time when the invention appeared, its applications, positive and negative aspects, etc.
4 Audio recording:
4.1. Listening for specific information / Note taking
While listening for the first time, the students are asked to note down the technical items mentioned, indicating which ones were available in grandpa’s times (radio, phone) and which were not (television, computer, mobile). As they listen again, they should focus on advantages and disadvantages of using (or not using) these devices.
4.2. Personalisation
In small groups, the students are asked to talk about how they spend their free time.
Do they prefer to be alone or with others? Do they do any of the things their grandparents used to do (e.g. playing outside, reading books)?
5 Interactive quiz – crossword
5.1. Vocabulary revision and practice
The crossword can be administered towards the end of the lesson, to give the students a chance to practise vocabulary in an engaging way. It can also be set for homework.
Alternatively, it can be used as a warm-up task at the beginning of the next lesson to revise the previously learned vocabulary.
