Урок по страноведению в 10-м классе "Discovr America"

Цели и задачи урока:

• Познакомить с географическим положением США.
• Совершенствовать умения и навыки практического владения английским языком в аудировании, говорении, письме.
• Практиковать в чтении текста с целью извлечения конкретной информации, практиковать в работе с тестами для закрепления полученной информации, учить заполнять ‘блоки’, делать первоначальные высказывания по теме.
• Учить сравнивать географическое положение США с географией России.
• Развивать навыки самостоятельной работы, взаимоконтроля, познакомить с американскими песнями, отражающими географические особенности США.

Оборудование и оснащение урока:

• Карты и флаги США и России
• Костюмы и предметы для сценки “Открытие Америки”
• Аудиозаписи песен ‘America the Beautiful’, ‘This land is your land’
• Контурные карты США и России для каждого ученика и ‘блоки’- 1, 2
• Печатный материал о географии США, тесты, викторины

Ход урока

I. Сообщение темы и задачей урока.
II. Введение в сюжет урока.

Teacher (T): Today we start speaking about one of the great English-speaking countries. This is the USA (См. рисунок1). It is a young country. It’s only a little more than 200 years old. It was discovered by Christopher Columbus. Let’s see how it all began. Watch the scene of a meeting of Columbus with the King and the Queen of Spain.

III. Сценка из истории открытия Америки

“COLUMBUS’S DISCOVERY OF AMERICA”

Characters: Narrator, Columbus, the King of Spain, the Queen of Spain

Narrator: Many years ago in the 15^th century, there lived one man. He was from Italy. And his name was Christopher Columbus. He was an ordinary navigator and dreamt to make a great discovery. He was sure if to sail not to the east but to the west, he would reach India much more quickly than those who sailed to the east. The main thing was to persuade the king and the queen of Spain to give him money for this voyage. He knew he would bring fame and richness to Spain.

King: What do you want, Columbus?

Columbus: Your Majesties, it was so kind of you to favor me with your attention!

Queen: We shall listen to you. Speak, Columbus.

Columbus: Your Majesties, I am an ordinary navigator. But I dream of becoming an explorer.

Queen: Why are you telling this to us?

Columbus: My Lord, we all know that the well-being of Spain depends on the voyages to the Far East. Our ships bring spices, silk and other things from the Far East.

King: So what? We don’t understand you.

Columbus: Please, listen to me. It won’t take long. All ships sail south and east, hugging the African coast to reach China. But I know the shorter way. I promise you I’ll find a new route from Spain to the Far East.

King: Go on.

Columbus: I know the world is round. Why can’t I travel to the Far East by sailing west? Just think – unknown lands of gold! All you have to do is to pay for my trip. If I succeed, Spain will be very rich.

Queen: Why do we have to believe you?

Columbus: Just do. Give me the money – and you’ll get a thousand times more! Trust me, as I trust myself – and you will not regret it. That’s all I wanted to say to you.

King: We have listened to you very attentively. We believe you, Columbus. And we are ready to pay for your trip.

Columbus: Thank you, My Lord. My gratitude to you is immense. I’m so lucky. Thank God!

Narrator: On the 3^rd of August 1492 three ships – the Nina, the Pinta and the Santa Maria started their voyage. But in 2 months there was no land promised by Columbus. The sailors were

complaining. They didn’t want India any more. They just wanted to stay alive. Columbus persuaded them to wait only 3 days and they would see the land.

In 3 days, the ships reached the shore. Columbus was sure that was India. He called people, who came up to meet the sailors, Indians, people of India. And the island, they had reached, he named San Salvador, the property of Spain. Coming back home Columbus was met as a hero. Everybody believed that he had been to India.

Nowadays, 500 years later, we know that he really discovered a New World. It’s called America. Many years later, in the 17^th century the ship “Mayflower” left Britain and brought to a new continent the first settlers. They spoke English. That’s why the English language has become the official language of this young nation. (ИЯШ 5/2004 с.88-89)

IV. Вводный тест о США.

T: I believe everybody knows this story. Nevertheless it has been interesting to refresh our memory and to watch this scene. Now let’s see how much you know about the USA.

PRE-TEST “THE USA”

1. What is the official name of the country? /The United States of America/
2. Where is it situated? /In the Northern American continent/
3. How many states are there in the USA? /50/
4. What is its capital? /Washington D.C./
5. What is the longest river in the USA? /The Mississippi/
6. How many Great Lakes are entirely in the USA? / Lake Michigan, Great Salt Lake/
7. What are the main mountain ranges there? /The Appalachians, the Rockies, the Cordillera/
8. What countries does the USA border on? /Canada, Mexico, Russia in the Bering Strait/
9. What is the official language of the USA? /English/
10. What are the main symbols of the USA? /The national flag, the Bald Eagle, the Statue of Liberty/
11. Who is Head of the state? /A president/
12. What was the name of the first president? /George Washington/
13. What’s the name of the main document in the USA? /The US Constitution /
14. What are the main political parties? /Democratic and Republican/
15. What was the number of the first English colonies in America? /13/
16. What ship brought a group of English Protestants to America in 1620? /The Mayflower/

V. Знакомство с песней “America the Beautiful”, ее связь с географией страны

T: Today we shall speak about the geographical position of the USA. To begin with we’ll listen to the song about America.

Practically the people of every country have their own song to glorify their country. The song “America the Beautiful” is one of them. This song is well-known all over the world.

The tune is easier to sing. The author of the song is Katherine Lee Bates. She was an English professor at Wellesley College, and with a group of her colleagues made a trip from the coast of the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean, ‘from sea to shining sea’ in 1893. She saw a view of the mountains that few people saw in those days and was inspired to write a poem. She chose the music of a hymn by Samuel Ward for her song. The words and music travelled around the world, and today Mexico, Canada, and Australia sing it with their own countries’ names instead of ‘America’. (звучит песня “America the Beautiful”)

T:

a) What seas is the author of the song spoken about? (The Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans)
b) What mountains do you think are called purple in the song? (The Rocky Mountains)

Now I’d like you to listen to the translation of this song made by M. Kaufman.

(См. Т. Клементьева, Джил Шэннон “Happy English 2” c.57)

T: I hope you remember the order of the lines in the song. And now let’s do this work.

(Pupils are handed out the activity sheets)

Activity: Put the lines of the song in the right order.

America! America! God shed his grace on thee,
O beautiful for spacious skies, for amber waves of grain,
From sea to shining sea.
And crown thy good with brotherhood
For purple mountain majesties above the fruited plain.

Key: 3, 1, 5, 4, 2

VI. Подготовка и чтение текста о географическом положении США: выполнение заданий перед и после текста.

T: Before reading the text read the transcription of the geographical names:

I. (Pupils are handed out the worksheets)

T: Now we are going to read the text about geographical position of the USA. While reading try to read geographical names correctly. Transcription of them before the text will help you. I think it will be interesting to compare the two countries: the USA and Russia. Reading the text, try to answer these questions:

TEXT
‘General Information and Geography of the United States of America’

The USA is the most powerful and the most advanced capitalist country. It leads the world in industrial and agricultural production. The total area of the USA is over 9 million square km. The population of the country is about 270 million people. The capital is Washington, D.C. The country’s motto is “In God we Trust”.

Type of the state: federal republic;

Administrative divisions: 50 states and 1 district;

National holiday: Independence Day, 4 July (1776)

Head of the state: President

Political Parties: 2 major national parties – Republican (its symbol is an elephant) and Democratic (its symbol is a donkey)

Flag: Stars and Stripes; Stars are for the 50 states of the United States; Stripes are for 13 colonies (the first 13 states) which declared independence from Great Britain on July 4, 1776

Largest city: New York (over 18 million people)

Smallest state: Rhode Island (3.100 sq km)

Longest river: the Mississippi (3.959 km)

Highest point: Mount McKinley, Alaska (6.198 m)

Climate: mostly temperate, but varies from tropical (Hawaii) to arctic (Alaska);

Constitution: 17 September 1787, effective 4 June 1789 in Philadelphia

Location of the USA

The USA (excluding Alaska and Hawaii) is situated in the central part of the North American continent. It stretches from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, from Canada in the north to Mexico, the Gulf of Mexico in the south, and the Gulf of California in the south-west. The USA is extremely large country. In size, the United States ranks fourth among the nations after Russia, Canada, and China.

The continental part of the USA consists of four physical geographical parts: 2 highland and 2 lowland regions. The highland regions are the Appalachian Mountains in the east, and the Cordillera and the Rocky Mountains in the west. Within the Rockies there are many national parks where trees, plants, animals and birds are protected. The Appalachian Mountains are very old. The valleys between them are rich in coal, natural gas, oil and other natural resources.

Between the Rocky and the Appalachian Mountains there are the central lowlands, called the prairie, and the eastern lowlands, called the Mississippi Valley.

Part of the boundary between the United States of America and Canada is formed by four of the five Great Lakes. The largest of them is Lake Superior. The other ones are Lake Michigan, Lake Huron, Lake Erie, and Lake Ontario. Only Lake Michigan is entirely situated on the territory of the USA. They are all joined together by short rivers and canals. From Lake Erie the Niagara River rushes over the famous Niagara Falls into Lake Ontario out of which flows the St. Lawrence River joining them with the Atlantic Ocean. In the west of the USA in the state of Utah there is another lake called the Great Salt Lake.

The main rivers of the USA are the Mississippi, flowing south to the Gulf of Mexico (it is the second largest river in the world after the Nile); the Missouri, flowing into the Mississippi; the Rio Grande, flowing along the boundary between Texas and Mexico into the Gulf of Mexico; the Yukon, flowing north-west and then south-west from Canada through Alaska to the Bering Sea; the Colorado, flowing into the Gulf of California; the Columbia, flowing into the Pacific Ocean, and the St. Lawrence River and the Hudson River, flowing into the Atlantic Ocean.

Alaska is America’s largest state, but very few people live there. The capital of Alaska is Juneau. Central Alaska lies between the Brooks Range and the Alaska Range, where Mt. McKinley rises - the highest peak in North America.

Activity: Working in pairs answer the questions:

1. Where is the USA situated?
2. What washes the USA in the east, in the west and in the south?
3. What place does the USA rank among the nations?
4. What are the highland regions of the USA?
5. Which is the highest peak in the USA?
6. How many of 5 Great Lakes are there on the US territory entirely?
7. How are all the lakes joined together?
8. Where do the rivers flow into?

(After working in pairs the pupils answer the questions which the teacher reads)

VII. Выполнение упражнений на развитие и закрепление лексического и фактического материала по теме урока

T: Let’s check how well you remember the text. Do the tests 1, 2, 3, please.

(Pupils are handed out the worksheets with Test1, Test 2, Test 3)

TEST 1
True / false statements

1. The USA is the fourth largest country in the world.
2. The USA’s population is 28.9 mln. people.
3. The USA’s area is over 9 mln. square km.
4. The largest state of the USA is Texas.
5. The longest river in the USA is the Missouri.
6. The river Yukon flows into the Bering Strait.
7. The only of the Great Lakes which lies entirely on the territory of the USA is Lake Michigan.
8. The Great Salt Lake is situated in the state of Utah.
9. Two of the states of the USA separated from the others are Alaska and Ohio.
10. The smallest state in the USA is Rhode Island.

Key: 1-T, 2-F, 3-T, 4-F, 5-F, 6-T, 7-T, 8-T, 9-F, 10-T

TEST 2

Working in pairs match the words from column ‘A’ with the definitions from column ‘B’. Check each other. (Pupils are handed out the worksheets)

Key: 1-n, 2-j, 3-h, 4-e, 5-m, 6-g, 7-b, 8-d, 9-l, 10-i, 11-c, 12-k, 13-a, 14-f;

TEST 3

What words are missed? Complete the text with these words. Some of them can be used twice.

(Pupils are handed out the worksheets)

USA; state; one; Northern; Mexico; North; regions; Cordillera; short rivers; canals; west; Salt; Pacific; Washington; fifty; Rocky Mountains; Michigan; Canada; Hudson; Appalachian Mountains; Mississippi;

The (1) __ is the most powerful and the most advanced capitalist country. The capital is (2) ___. The USA is a federal (3) ___. It consists of (4) ___ states and (5) ___ district. The USA is situated in the (6) ____ part of the (7) ____ American continent. It stretches from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the (8) ____ Ocean in the west, from (9) ____ in the north to (10) ___ in the south. The USA is the largest country in (11) ___ America. The continental part of the USA consists of two highland and two lowland (12) ___. The highland regions are the (13) ___ ___ in the east, and the (14) ___ and the (15) ___ ___ in the west. The 5 Great Lakes, between the USA and (16) ___, include Lake Superior, Lake Michigan, Lake Huron, Lake Erie, and Lake Ontario. Only Lake (17) ___ is entirely situated on the territory of the USA. They are all joined together by (18) ____ ___ and (19) ___. In the (20) ___ of the USA there is another lake called the Great (21) ___ Lake. The main rivers of the USA are the Mississippi, flowing south to the Gulf of (22)___ , the Missouri, flowing into the (23)___; the Colorado, flowing into the Gulf of California; the Columbia, flowing into the (24)____ Ocean, the St. Lawrence River and the (25) ___River, flowing into the Atlantic Ocean.

Key: 1-USA; 2-Washington; 3-state; 4-fifty; 5-one; 6-Northern; 7-North; 8-Pacific;
9-Canada; 10-Mexico; 11-North; 12-regions; 13-Appalachian Mountains; 14-Cordillera;
15-Rocky Mountains; 16-Canada; 17-Michigan; 18- short rivers; 19-canals; 20-west; 21-Salt; 22-Mexico; 23-Mississippi; 24-Pacific; 25-Hudson

(Ученики сдают тесты)

VIII. Знакомство с песней “This Land Is Your Land” и ее связь с географией США.

T: Not only the song “America the Beautiful” is very popular and loved by the Americans. Now listen to the story of another song about the USA. It is called “This Land Is Your Land”

This song was written by Woodie Guthrie. It describes the wide territory of the country from west to east, from the state of California, which is known for its redwood forests to New York. New York City stands on the islands of the River Hudson, which flows into the Atlantic Ocean. Describing the endless skyway the author of the song saw below him golden valleys, diamond deserts and fields of wheat. He admired this land. (Звучит песня “This Land Is Your Land”)

T: Can you complete the lines of the song and sing it together with your classmates?

(Pupils are handed out the activity sheets)

Activity:

This land is your land; this land is _____ land,
From California to the New _____ Island;
From the Redwood ______ to the Gulf Stream Waters.
This land was made for ______ _____ _____
As I was walking that ribbon of highway, I saw above me that endless skyway,
I saw below me that golden valley.
_____ _____ _____ _____ _____ ______ ______ ______.
This land is your land; this land is my land,
______ ______ _____ ______ ______ ______ ______,
From the Redwood forest to the Gulf Stream Waters.
This land was made for you and me.

T: Let’s listen to the song again, checking and singing it together.

T: And now we are going to have a very important exercise. Fill in block-1 with the necessary information about the USA and fill up your contour maps with geographical names. You may use the text in order to do this task correctly. You may work in pairs.

Pupils are handed Block-1 ‘The USA’ (См. Приложение-I) and contour maps.

(After this work)

T: I think a quiz is the best thing to find out how good you are at geography of the USA. Form two groups, please. Be ready to ask and answer questions about the USA.

(The groups ask their opponents the questions about the USA)

IX. Подведение итогов урока и домашнее задание

T: Today we’ve talked about the USA, its geography and you’ve known many interesting facts about the country. You have heard the popular songs about the country. You can compare the geographical position of the USA with the geographical position of our country.

Your homework is to fill in Block-II ‘Russia’ (Cм. Приложение-II). Be ready to describe the geographical position of the USA.