GRADE 11A: Space exploration Presenting a point of view

About this unit

This unit is designed to guide your planning and teaching of English lessons. It provides a link between the standards for English and your lesson plans. The teaching and learning activities in this unit should help you to plan the content, pace and level of difficulty of lessons. You should adapt the ideas in the unit to meet the needs of your class. You can also supplement the ideas with appropriate activities from your schools textbooks and other resources. In this unit, students look briefly at the history of space exploration, consider the arguments for and against poorer countries spending money on a space programme, and imagine what life would be like living in a space colony.

UNIT 11A.5 8 hours

Resources
The main resources needed for this unit are: short text about the history of space travel; audio text of an interview with an astronaut; 500800-word article on the space programme of a developing country; extract from a science fiction novel or short story about living in a space colony.

Expectations
By the end of the unit, most students will: apply understanding of word parts, relationships, and context clues to determine the meaning of unfamiliar words, to extend, and generate new vocabulary; understand and respond to a range of information given in face-to-face or audio-only situations in monologues and dialogues of up to 12 exchanges containing 34 main ideas, seven or more factual details, on unseen but more abstract subjects; actively participate in informal and more formal discussions; use interactive and language repair strategies to maintain and develop conversations; describe possible scenarios in the future; report what people say or believe; read independently and intensively, texts of at least 1200 words, and extensively from graded readers in the 2500+ key word range; note how authors create settings and portray characters; understand the purposes, organisation and typical language features of discussion texts; plan and compose formal discussion essays of up to 350 words weighing arguments for and against an idea or issue; use common word-processing software to independently plan, compose, edit and present and save their own writing. Students who progress further will: describe possible choices, courses of action, in the past, present or future; and weigh up options and consequences accurately and fluently. Students who make slower progress will: describe possible choices, courses of action, in the past, present or future; and weigh up options and consequences with some hesitation and/or with some error.

Key structures and functions

Indirect questions: I want to know what made him want to be an astronaut. I wonder if he ever got lonely or frightened. Future tenses: A trip to a space hotel will start with a launch into orbit The whole structure will rotate to create artificial gravity. Expressing reason and consequence: thats why because of due to

Vocabulary
Space exploration: satellite, astronaut, send an image, beam, planet, space craft, manned/unmanned, to orbit, gravity, solar system, etc. Conjunctions: nevertheless, whereas, besides, since, etc.

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Standards for the unit

8 hours
3 hours Space travel 2 hours Benefits of space programmes 3 hours Living in a space colony 10A.1.1

Unit 11A.5
CORE STANDARDS Grade 11A standards
11A.2.1 Consolidate understanding of affixes and word roots from Grades 7 10, and extend ability to recognise, investigate, and spell root words with a wider range of affixes; generate new words and guess the meaning of unknown words from affixes, to extend vocabulary and support spelling. prefixes; suffixes; roots.

SUPPORTING STANDARDS including Grade 10A standards

Recognise, understand and use of approximately 3500 or more words for listening, speaking, reading and writing, extending and consolidating the active vocabulary words from Grades K9. Students regularly use these words throughout the year across the four skills, using topics and lexical sets to group them in meaningful, memorable contexts.

EXTENSION STANDARDS including Grade 12A standards

11A.3.1

Understand and respond to narratives, anecdotes, stories, plays and films: understand gist; follow dialogue; discern speakers moods, relationships and intentions; express detailed opinions with justification; connect to personal experiences.

11A.4.1

Recognise and use features of word or sentence stress such as pitch (high or low), length (long or short), loudness (loud or soft) and quality (weak or strong). Expand knowledge of functional stress when the part of speech changes. Use a variety of interactive and language repair strategies to initiate, maintain and conclude a conversation of at least 15 minutes involving a variety of linguistic and paralinguistic communication strategies: stop and restart utterances that are not clear, pause to rephrase; paraphrase use of an L2 phrase to describe the property, function, characteristics, duty, its purpose or an example of it. 12A.4.3 Use a variety of interactive and language repair strategies to initiate, maintain and conclude a conversation of at least 20 minutes involving a variety of linguistic and paralinguistic communication strategies:

11A.4.3

Interact in group, paired and more formal discussion: actively participate, contributing relevant opinions, examples and suggestions to the discussion; challenge ideas and get the interlocutor to justify their point of view where appropriate; show independence by initiating new ideas and taking responsibility for keeping the discussion going; ability to deal with unexpected questions or comments.

11A.4.4

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8 hours

SUPPORTING STANDARDS including Grade 10A standards

11A.5.2

CORE STANDARDS Grade 11A standards

Consolidate and extend ability to describe possible choices, courses of action, in the past, present or future; and weigh up options and consequences. Use hypothetical language with conditionals and appropriate modals and connectives. Report what people say or believe: summarise monologues, conversations and group discussions; use a wide range of verbs other than say, tell and ask extend to using verbs of speech which take the gerund and the infinitive use whether as well as if in reported yes/no questions; use the correct sequence of tenses, and appropriate changes in time phrases and demonstrative adjectives. 11A.6.4 Recognise features of discourse cohesion: linking conjunctions which express identity to indicate sameness, opposition to indicate a contrast, addition to indicate continuation, cause and effect, indefinites to indicate a logical connection of an unspecified type. 11A.6.4

EXTENSION STANDARDS including Grade 12A standards

11A.5.4

Recognise features of discourse cohesion: reference; ellipsis; substitution; enumeration.

10A.7.1

Read a variety of narratives and investigate how authors create settings and portray characters through the use of: adjectives and adjectival phrases which pre- or post-modify and collocate correctly with the noun; vocabulary to capture degrees or shades of meaning; more precise, powerful or expressive verbs.

11A.7.1

From Grade 10 Foundation, extend investigations of how authors create settings and portray characters and events through use of: adjectives and adjectival phrases which pre- or post-modify; vocabulary to capture degrees or shades of meaning; more precise, powerful or expressive verbs; uses of figurative language and personification. Compare and evaluate some of these devices in relation to the authors intentions and the impact on the reader.

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8 hours

SUPPORTING STANDARDS including Grade 10A standards

11A.8.6

CORE STANDARDS Grade 11A standards

Consolidate use of common word-processing software such as Microsoft Word to plan, compose, edit and present own writing: create, open, save and close documents; find files; type, edit, find and replace; cut, copy and paste; format paragraphs, pages and full documents; check grammar and spelling; print. 11A.9.5 Compose essays, drawing on work in another curriculum subject or an issue of topical interest, using: organisational features typical of a discussion text to balance and weigh arguments an introduction which states issues, the arguments in favour and against plus supporting evidence or examples, alternatively, a point-by-point argument and counter-argument, a conclusion which summarises and weighs the arguments, draws a conclusion or makes a recommendation; formal written English typical of the styles used in discussions and debates the present simple, predominantly for generalisation and nonspecificity, the use of general terms and zero articles, discourse markers for explicit logical organisation, complete sentences rather than elliptical forms, frequent use of modal verbs to express possibility, condition; politeness, use of passive voice for impersonal and general effects and to emphasise the topic for attention, reported rather than direct speech, exemplification and extension, text which moves from the general to the specific. 12A.9.5

EXTENSION STANDARDS including Grade 12A standards

Extend ability to write essays drawing on work in another curriculum subject or an issue of topical interest, in the form of a discussion text, with balanced arguments and a conclusion based on evidence and reasons, and using features of formal written language: organisational features typical of a discussion text to balance and weigh arguments, and draw a conclusion; formal written English typical of the styles used in discussions and debates. Present essays in final form as edited and word-processed with suitable text organisation using sub-sections, paragraphs, headings, diagrams, and illustrations as appropriate to the topic and structure of the argument.

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Activities
Objectives
2 hours Space travel Students are able to: identify main ideas and details in a listening text; use key vocabulary to talk about space travel; work out meaning from the roots of words and affixes; report what people say or believe; identify main ideas and details in a listening text.

Unit 11A.5
Possible teaching activities
Distribute a jumbled list of events in the history of space travel. Students work in pairs to order them chronologically and attempt to add dates. Students read a brief history of space travel and check the order of events and dates. Students work out the meaning of new vocabulary in the text by looking at: the roots of words (e.g. lunar, astronaut, to orbit); the use of prefixes and suffixes (e.g. piloted/unpiloted, weightless, predict). Students use a dictionary to investigate other parts of speech: verbs (e.g. to pilot); noun (e.g. orbit, in orbit, prediction); adjectives (e.g. predictable); other related words (e.g. astrology, overweight). Explain to students that they are going to listen to an interview with an astronaut. Before they listen, ask them to think of information theyd like to know about living in space. Students work in groups and complete sentence stubs, for example: Id like to know I want to know I wonder Examples: Id like to know how he/she takes/took a shower. I want to know what made him/her want to be an astronaut. I wonder if he/she ever gets/got lonely. Students practise orally, ensuring that students use correct word order, stress and intonation. Students listen to an interview with an astronaut and complete a series of comprehension tasks. Display on the board a range of reporting verbs from the listening text, for example: believe admit explain point out. Students work in groups to summarise the responses to the questions using each of the reporting verbs listed. An interview with astronaut Michael Foale can be heard at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/talking_point/3720214.stm The tense will depend on whether or not the person interviewed is currently in space (present tense) or has returned from space (past tense). Students tend to want to use question forms for embedded questions (e.g. Id like to know how does she take a shower.) Stress that these forms are not questions and that normal word order is used).

Notes
Important milestones in the history of space exploration can be found at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/themes/ science_and_technology/space/default.stm

School resources
This column is blank for schools to note their own resources (e.g. textbooks, worksheets).

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Objectives
3 hours Benefits of space programmes Students are able to: use interactive and language repair strategies in conversation; recognise features of word or sentence stress such as pitch (high or low), length (long or short), loudness (loud or soft) and quality (weak or strong); use connectives to present supporting and opposing arguments; use common wordprocessing software to plan, compose, edit and present own writing; compose a discussion text to balance and weigh arguments.

Possible teaching activities

To play Ask the right question, put students in groups of 34. Give each group a set of cards. One person in the group takes a card and tries to elicit the word on the card from the rest of the group by paraphrasing, without saying the word itself; for example: What do you call ? Whats another word for ? When the group has guessed the word, another person picks a card and repeats the process. The group that guesses most words within a given time is the winner. In small groups, students brainstorm the benefits and disadvantages of space exploration for civilian populations. Groups take turns to report their ideas and develop a class list on the board. Use this activity to introduce key vocabulary for the reading text that follows (e.g. benefit, send an image). Students read an article about the benefits of the Indian space programme for the poor. They complete comprehension questions to demonstrate understanding and work out the meaning of new words using knowledge of roots, affixes and context. Students refer to the list of benefits and disadvantages that they developed in the previous activity and note how many were mentioned in the article. They use information from the article to add to the list. Play students a recorded discussion or interview with someone presenting arguments for and against continued space exploration. Students to identify the speakers opinion and supporting arguments. Play parts of the tape again where the speaker expresses strong opinion or uncertainty. Students identify corresponding features of word or sentence stress such as pitch (high or low), length (long or short), loudness (loud or soft) and quality (weak or strong). Using examples from the listening text, explore the use of connectives to indicate: sameness (e.g. that is, that is to say, in other words); a contrast (e.g. but, yet, however, nevertheless, still, though, although, whereas, in contrast); continuation (e.g. and, too, also, furthermore, moreover, in addition, besides, in the same way, again, another, similarly); cause and effect (e.g. therefore, so, consequently, as a consequence, thus, as a result, hence, it follows that, because, since, for); a logical connection of an unspecified type (e.g. in fact, indeed, now). Students practise by joining sentences together to make complex sentences.

Notes
Prepare a series of word cards using nouns and verbs associated with space travel (e.g. rocket, take off, fuel, astronaut, satellite, launch).

School resources

An article about the benefits of the Indian space programme for the poor can be found at: www.guardian.co.uk/life/feature/story/ 0,13026,1342386,00.html

Part of the interview with astronaut Michael Foale would be suitable for this activity.

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Objectives

Possible teaching activities

Students work individually to plan an essay on the arguments for and against space exploration. Elicit a framework for the essay, e.g. an introduction which states the issue(s), the arguments in favour and against plus supporting evidence or examples, a conclusion which summarises and weighs the arguments. Discuss style, drawing attention to the use of formal written English, discourse markers for explicit logical organisation and conjunctions. Students use a common word-processing software such as Microsoft Word to plan, compose, edit and present their writing.

Notes

School resources

3 hours Living in a space colony Students are able to: hypothesise about the future; investigate how an author creates a setting and portrays characters.

Introduce the topic of space tourism. In groups, students brainstorm what they think life in a space hotel might be like. Review use of future tenses and modals as necessary. Students read a description of a space hotel. They note similarities and differences with their own predictions and complete other comprehension activities. Students read an excerpt from a science fiction novel and investigate the creation of settings and portrayal of characters. Highlight the use of: adjectives and adjectival phrases which pre- or post-modify and collocate correctly with the noun; vocabulary to capture degrees or shades of meaning; more precise, powerful or expressive verbs; some uses of figurative language; ordering of phrases and clauses in sentences to emphasise particular elements. Students compare the description of life in space presented in the novel with their own ideas and those from the reading text in the previous activity.

There are several websites that introduce the idea of space tourism as a real possibility. A description of a space hotel can be found at: www.spacefuture.com for

Authors such as Brian W. Aldiss, Isaac Asimov, Michael Crichton, Arthur C. Clarke, Philip K. Dick, Anne Perry, and Connie Willis have all written texts on living in space.

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Assessment
Examples of assessment tasks and questions
Listening Students listen to a discussion of space tourism and demonstrate understanding by answering true/false or multiple-choice questions. Students role-play an interview with an astronaut, asking about their experience in space and their opinion on the future of space exploration.

Unit 11A.5
Notes
Listening carries approximately 20% of the assessment weighting for this grade. Speaking carries approximately 30% of the assessment weighting for this grade. Award marks for accuracy and fluency.

School resources

Speaking

Reading

Students read a news article on any aspect of space exploration and answer multiple-choice questions. Students write a short essay presenting the advantages and disadvantages of sending robots into space rather than manned flights.

Reading carries approximately 20% of the assessment weighting for this grade. Writing carries approximately 30% of the assessment weighting for this grade. Award marks for completion of task and use of language.

Writing

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