Цели урока:
- Развитие способности продуктивных речевых действий;
- Развитие способности к формированию выводов из услышанного и планированию своих собственных высказываний;
- Подготовка к составлению своего проекта по теме “Inventions”.
Оснащение урока:
- Таблички с надписями “pro” и “con”;
- Фломастеры, маркеры;
- Ватман (2 экземпляра);
- Мультимедийное сопровождение.
The leader:
Welcome to our meeting. Today we are going to speak about inventions and their influence on our life. According to the Bible any invention is a Sin. During ancient times gadgets were considered to be intrigues of Devil. Little by little more and more inventions became an integral part of human existence. Thus, let’s begin our discussion with the first question:
Inventions! Are they great Harm or Great Good?
(Все вопросы для обсуждения сопровождаются слайдами)
I offer you to answer this question by voting and changing the places. Who is “pro” inventions take your seats on the first row and who is “con” stay at the same places. The results of voting are written on the blackboard.
(Ученики занимают тот или иной ряд в зависимости от голосования.)
Well, we have two teams and now I’d like to give you 5 minutes to prove your opinions. So, why do you think that inventions are great harm or great good?
(Представитель от каждой команды защищает свое мнение на поставленный вопрос)
The leader: Well, thank you for your answers. You know that there were, are and will be people who can’t do without creating something. People create not only inventions but other things. Let’s watch one presentation.
P: People can invent not only gadgets but theories. I was amazed by having learned about one of them and I want you to get acquaintance with it. We are going to speak about variety of languages. It’s known that Africa is one of the most linguistically diverse places in the world.
One linguistic anthropologist at Oxford Daniel Nettle put forward a new unusual theory “Ecology of language”. According to this theory linguistic diversity depends on rainfall. Firstly he divided Africa into squares and then correlated the climate on these squares with amount of the languages which are spoken there. He found out that the better conditions were on a territory with the less number of languages. In the south, where the rainy season lasts 11 month, he counted the majority of languages. Apart from these lands dry savanna has few languages.
Nettle is sure that he knows how these languages developed. He explains this in such way: If a group of people has abundant rainfall year-around, they can produce all the food they need. Contact with the outside world is not essential to survival. So, they can have their own language.
But lack of rainfalls makes people to form a social network which can bring food. So, common language becomes important for this group.
Scientists are very interested in such exceptional theory and they carry out different tests to confirm or refuse it.
(Рассказ сопровождается презентацией)
The leader: Thank you for your interesting story. And we go on our discussion concerning “inventions”. Thus, the next question:
What makes people invent?
(Идет обсуждение вопроса)
P1, p2, p3, p4…
The leader: I absolutely agree with all of you. But now I offer you to listen to one more student.
(Следующий ученик показывает презентацию об истории развития телефонов, как доказательство, что человек постоянно что-то изобретает и усовершенствует.)
The leader: Thank you for your story.
Mankind has created a lot of things for its well-being and I think that there’s no need to invent something else, isn’t it? And that’s why I think that
The majority of inventions do people more Harm than Good, doesn’t it?
(The discussion is going on)
P1, P2, P3…
P.1: I think that people invented all necessary things for his living and other gadgets are useless and more over they turn a human into a foolish silly creature. I want to prove it with help of my presentation. Let’s watch it.
(Далее участникам предлагается посмотреть антирекламу изобретениям.)
A lot of gadgets cause different kinds of people’s diseases. We get a lot of radiation. They destroy cells of our brains. Electromagnetic fields influence badly on our bodies and promote headache and even cancer.
P.2: But apart from you I think quite differently. And let me advertise one thing in gadgets’ favour.
(Ученик рекламирует техническую новинку под названием PRC – portable remembering card. Реклама сопровождается презентацией.)
“When you are at home or at work this lovely thing PRC by name will help you to remember important dates in your life. Hurry up! Only this month you have an opportunity to buy it in a discount. Good luck.”
What a lovely thing it is, isn't it?
The leader: I quite agree with you. I won't be mistaken if I say that a majority of people can’t do without inventions and different kinds of gadgets. Do you agree with me?
Can we do without gadgets?
(discussion is going on).
P1, p2, p3
The leader: I see that most of you can’t imagine their life without gadgets. More than that, we love them greatly. They help us in everyday life But…
Does it mean that we have become absolutely dependent on them?
P.1: I suppose people have become more separate with their appearance. Television, mass media replaces a live communication. But a human is unable to give up them and in this case I am absolutely sure that inventions make great Harm.
(Далее идет демонстрация слайдов с картинками, изображающие современную жизнь. Ученики описывают свои впечатления.)
(The discussion is going on).
The leader: After such meaningful discussion the next question is obvious.
Has Mankind become happier with the appearance of inventions?
(The discussion is going on.)
P1, p2, p3…
P.4: I guess that we are happier now. I suppose that there are few people who agree to live in a deep forest or in a desert island. Mankind used to live in good conditions and it will intend to improve his living. Now let’s dream. I offer you to get an excursion into the future house.
(Ученик предлагает посмотреть презентацию дома, в котором могут в будущем жить люди.)
The leader: It’s a lovely house, isn’t it? But scientists have proved that our civilization is not the first. They said that the previous ones were highly-developed. But nevertheless all of them disappeared. And I want you to discuss the next question:
Will inventions cause destruction of our civilization?
(The discussion is going on.)
P1, p2, p3…
The leader: Nobody knows his or her future. But I offer you to predict the future of our planet and our civilization. You may take papers and felt-tip-pens on your tables and try to perform it in pictures and words. And I expect you’ll be able to answer in 5 minutes.
(Каждая команда делает свой проект влияния изобретений на будущее человечества и через 5 минут защищает свой проект.)
The leader: Our discussion is going to its end. May be some of you changed his or her attitude towards inventions and that’s why I offer you to come back to the first question and vote it again.
(Ученики снова голосуют “за” и “против” изобретений. Результаты голосования сравниваются с предыдущим голосованием)
The leader: Thank you to all of you. Today, we have touched serious questions during the lesson. I hope you won’t have any difficulties to make a project dealing with our theme “Inventions!” Good luck.
Questions for the project.
- Inventions – are they great Harm or great Good?
- What makes people invent?
- The majority of inventions do people more Harm than Good doesn’t it?
- Can we do without gadgets?
- Does it mean that we have become absolutely dependent on them?
- People have become more separate, don’t they?
- Has Mankind become happier with the appearance of inventions?