Lesson script
3rd educational stage (III.1), English
Content area:
Content and language integrated learning.Detailed requirements:
Student (20.2) explains the role of the main institutions of the European Union (European Council, Council of the European Union, European Parliament, European Commission).Topic
: Institutions of the European Union.Duration
: 45 minutes.Detailed goals regarding the range of information
Student:
Knows the main Institutions of the European Union;
Knows their composition and key powers;
Knows the difference between legislative and executive bodies;
Knows Poland’s representatives in the European institutions.
Detailed goals regarding the range of skills
Student:
Can match simple descriptions to the terms provided;
Can answer true/false questions using information from a film;
Develops communication skills;
Can solve crossword puzzles using the clues.
Detailed goals regarding attitudes
Student:
Realises that the European Union has governing bodies similar to those in individual countries;
Becomes aware that Poland is represented in all European institutions;
Develops European identity in addition to national one.
Methods
Elicitation; presentation; multiple matching; true/false; crossword; whole class, group-work, pair-work, individual work.
Forms and venue
Forms: individual, pair-work, group-work, whole class.
Classes are to be held in the classroom.
Materials and teaching aids
Educational video; worksheets for all students (for stage 2.1.); worksheets for pairs of students (for stage 2.2.); crossword; computer and multimedia projector; board.
Multimedia resources
Film: Institutions of the European Union,
Quiz: Crossword,
Online dictionary .
Lesson plan/procedure
1 Warm-up
Interaction forms: pair-work, whole class.
Duration: 5 minutes.
Teacher introduces students to the topic of the lesson by asking: How many countries are there in the European Union? (28) What is the EU flag? (blue with twelve yellow/gold stars in a circle) When did Poland join the EU? (1 May 2004).
The film is played once through. Then teacher distributes the matching task (below) to all students. It contains the names of the main European Union institutions and descriptions of their composition. Students need to match them correctly. They work individually, then the film is played a second time for students to check their answers.
Match the European Union institutions (1–4) with the descriptions of their composition (a–d), by putting the correct letter in the box provided.
1
Council of the European Union a It is composed of 736 representatives from the member countries.2
European Commission b It is composed of presidents or prime ministers of the member countries.3
European Council c It is composed of foreign ministers of the member countries.4
European Parliament d It is composed of a president and commissioners, one from each member country.Answers: 1c, 2d, 3b, 4a
2.2. Target language practice – film (true/false) Interaction forms: pair-work, whole class.
Duration: 10 minutes.
Teacher distributes the true/false task (below) to all students. He/She asks students to read the sentences given. The film is played a third time and students work in pairs to complete the task. Then the answers are checked with the whole class.
Decide if the following sentences are true or false, and tick the appropriate column.
True False 1. The European Council is a legislative body.
2. The Council of the European Union is involved in passing new laws.
3. The European Parliament is one of two legislative bodies in the EU.
4. Members of the European Parliament are elected for a four-year term.
5. The population of the European Union is about 500 million.
6. The European Commission is the ‘government’ of the EU.
7. The European Commission has the power to pass new laws.
Answers: 1 false (Council of the EU is), 2 true (together with the European Parliament), 3 true, 4 false (five-year), 5 true (“half a billion”), 6 true, 7 false (only to propose)
2.3. Consolidation of the target language – communication Interaction forms: small groups, whole class.
Duration: 10 minutes.
Teacher puts students into small groups. Students’ task is to think who represents (or used to represent) Poland in the main European institutions. They should indicate the position and, if possible, come up with the actual name(s). They should look back at the descriptions of the composition of the four institutions. E.g. the Council of the European Union is composed of foreign ministers of member countries; therefore, the Polish foreign minister represents Poland in the Council of the European Union; and who is currently (or used to be) the Minister of Foreign Affairs in Poland?
Teacher tells students that now they need to solve a crossword puzzle using clues. To do that, they might need to look back at the previous notes and materials.
The words used in the crossword are: president, minister, parliament, election, country, commissioner, council, education.
3 Closing stage
Interaction forms: whole class.
Duration: 2 minutes.
As an extension, teacher can ask students to check at home what other institutions of the European Union are (e.g. Court of Justice, European Central Bank) and what they are responsible for.
Additional information
Teacher advises students that the www.scholaris.pl website offers a computer application in the form of a multimedia dictionary presenting correct pronunciation together with
translations of words and phrases learned during the lesson.
