Astronomy 1
Astronomy 1
Astronomy 1
Learners Outcomes:
۩ developing awareness of the importance of satellites for present-day societies
۩. Raising awareness about man’s place in the universe through the exploration of the theme of
astronomy
Intercultural outcomes:
۩ developing interest in outer-space exploration
۩ discussing change of mentalities brought about by the advances in astronomy
۩ raising awareness about the contributions that various peoples have made to astronomy
Language Outcomes:
Language outcomes:
Functions Grammar Vocabulary Pronunciation
Describing the used to / used for Forming nouns from Stress in two-
functions of objects verbs and adjectives Eg: syllable verbs
Asking & how heavy….? hot(adj) ; heat(N) Stress shift V / N
answering questions ………..a weight of …….
about measurement Reading figures Forming singular and
Reported questions plural nouns from verbs
Procedure:
I- Introduce the theme of the unit through questions and answers around the pictures on the
data show screen.
II- Let students skim through the language outcomes preview in order to be aware of the
objectives of this section.
Getting started (p.136)
AIM: To activate students’ background knowledge about the topic (astronomy and the
solar system )
Possible answers
1. They represent satellites 2. They are similar in the sense that they orbit the Earth. 3. They
are different. One of them is a natural satellite and the other is an artificial satellite. 4. Elicit
as much information as you can. 5.Yes, Alsat .
A. How
B. It is roughly cylindrical in shape. (before a preposition phrase)
It is 13 m long. (after a noun/ measurement)
Other possibilities: It has a cylindrical shape. Its shape is cylindrical.
N.B. Some of the words in the box can function both as adjectives and adverbs.
Keys:
A- in SS 1-2 the reporter is speaking. In SS 3-4 someone else is speaking.
B-In SS 1-2 the present simple is used. In SS 3-4 the past simple is used.
C-In SS 1-2 the subject is placed before the aux and the Verb. In SS 3-4 the subject is placed
after the verb.
D-QQ1 is a wh- QQ whereas QQ2 is an auxiliary QQ (yes/no QQ).
E- SS 1-2 are direct speeches SS 3-4 are indirect speeches.
Keys:
1.B- He asked how the solar system worked.
2.B- The astronomer answered that the planets orbited around the sun.
3.B- She wandered if the sun was a planet.
4.B- He explained that the sun was a star.
Vocabulary explorer
Key to Task 1 (p.139)
Verbs Nouns Adjectives
Weigh, takes, travel Height, weight, length, High, tall, heavy,
depth. long, wide, deep
Distance, speed.
Kilometres, metres.
Hours, minutes,
seconds
Key to Task 2 (p.139)
1.B 2. A 3.C 4. E 5. D
Key to Task 3 (p.140)
1. believed 2. Belief 3. Proved 4. Proof
Pronunciation and spelling (pp.140-141)
Stress shift: The stress pattern of the verbs and nouns are different. In verbs, it falls on the second syllable where
in nouns it falls on the first syllable. In addition, the letter n is pronounced differently.
Paragraph sample:
The Moon is an earth satellite orbiting our planet from a distance of 384,000kms 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 nights. The geology of this satellite is rock only, and its age is about
4,6 billion years.
Plans to reach the Moon on space crafts have been on scientists’ minds since 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 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.