Mars 1 Journey Begins http://kibishipaul.com/blog1/ THIS LESSON IS AIMED AT STUDENTS WITH AN INTERMEDIATE LEVEL OF ENGLISH. INDEX 1. VIDEO AND LISTENING 2. WORDS AND EXPRESSIONS 3. READING 4. WRITING 5. TRANSCRIPT 6. TEACHER NOTES AND ANSWERS 1
Watch the video one time and answer the questions. 1. How long is the mission to take? a. Six months. b. One year. c. Two years. d. Three phases. 2. What is important about the Mars landing site? a. There are supplies. b. The ground is level. c. There is a lot of water ice. d. Both b and c. 3. How many different types of module were sent to Mars in Phase 2? a. One b. Two c. Three d. Four 4. Where are the mission specialists? a. On board the space vehicle. b. In the habitation module. c. In the landing module. d. In the Mars Rover. 5. What must Mars 1 dock with before it starts it s journey? a. The space vehicle. b. The landing module. c. The Mars Rover. d. The habitation module. 2
Watch the video and match the pictures with the sentences. [ ] Phase one saw the exploration of suitable sites. [ ] All five mission specialists are on board the rocket. [ ] A large amount of water is discovered on Mars. [ ] Phase two sent habitation, supply and power modules to Mars. [ ] The space ship docked with the landing module. 3
Read the sentences below and for the words in bold write in the meaning from the list a ~ k. The first has been done for you. [ c ] Sorry, I can t help you with this. You need a specialist to fix it. [ ] Well we ve started the countdown to our new product launch. It will be in the shops in three days. [ ] Everybody on board? Okay, let s set off for a great weekend. [ ] This mission is very important. We can t fail, so every one needs to train hard to get it right. [ ] The ship is docking now. Everybody will be disembarking in 10 minutes. [ ] Man has only just started his exploration of the solar system. Who knows where we ll be able to go in a hundred years. [ ] And with these few words of introduction I d just like to say, Let the festivities commence. [ ] This looks like a suitable place for a picnic. Nice and shady. Put the ground sheet down here. [ ] The ground is level here. It d be a good place to put a tent. [ ] Here are the materials for making your toy yacht. Have fun. [ ] A cave, a tent, a house. These are all different kinds of habitation. a. To count numbers backwards. 5 4 3 2 1 etc. b. A task or job. c. Somebody who is good at one job. d. Good. e. To look around a new place. f. A place to live. g. Stuff used for making things with. h. To be on a ship, airplane or spacecraft. i. To begin. j. Flat. k. To arrive at a place or the joining together of two parts. 4
Read the section below and answer the questions. 1. Which people created the week? 2. Which of the moving bodies are not planets? 3. Why is Mars associated with aggression and war? 4. In which country does Mars Day not begin with an M? 5. In Roman times when did the new year begin? 5
The spacecraft Mars 1 has a crew of five. You will need to know a little about each member before you try the writing exercise on the next page so here is a brief outline of each. Name: Nationality: Job: Other: Boris Bruckner German Mission Commander and pilot Married. Two children. 41 years old. Name: Nationality: Job: Other: Felipe da Silva Brazilian Engineer and pilot Single. 35 years old Name: Nationality: Job: Other: Leila Khadra Morrocan Doctor and counselor Single. 31 years old. Name: Ian Mcbain Nationality: American Job: Geologist and communications Other: Single. 29 years old. Name: Nationality: Job: Other: Maya Sato Japanese Biologist and life support. Single. 29 years old. 6
The situation is this; Mars 1 has been traveling through space for more than two months. You are the commander writing the log. How has the journey been so far? What problems have there been with ship and crew. Make a comic style version using the template below. Work with a friend if you can. You could also make this into a slide show if you have an OHP. 7
For this transcript I have highlighted the words and expressions I think are difficult for this level. Students can look them up in a dictionary or review the lesson. September 2014 After a large amount of frozen water is discovered on the red planet, man is at last going to Mars. The countdown has begun for an international crew of 5 to make the 4 month journey to Mars. The mission is two years and is to take part in three phases. Phase one saw the exploration of suitable sites where the ground was level and where water ice could be found. Phase two sent habitation, supply and power modules to the planet including a Mars Rover Vehicle and enough food and materials for a one year mission. Phase three All five mission specialists are on board the space vehicle Mars 1, ready to leave on the four month space journey This is mission control. Final countdown will commence. Thank you, mission control. We are ready for lift off. 7 6-5 4 3 2 1 Mission control. We have reached orbit and are preparing to dock with landing module. Standing by Mars 1. Mission control docking maneuver complete Final checks complete 8
Engines firing We re on our way. You can find the answers to the exercises on this page with a few guidelines for teachers. VIDEO AND LISTENING Play the video through once with sound off. Ask the students (in groups) to write down what they think the video is about and make a note of any words or expressions they think may appear in the script. Also, what do they think the narrator is saying? These can be discussed in class and will give the students a background from which to start the listening section. One exercise would be to get students to make their own narration for the video. If necessary, give students practice with the vocabulary and word sections before showing it. Play video again with sound on. Students are asked to answer the first set of questions 1~5. Answers; c d c a b Watch again and match the pictures with the sentences. Answers; C B A E D WORDS AND EXPRESSIONS As well as the exercise here I might practice the words introduced in this section by use of short quizzes or vocabulary games. There are many. Answers; c a h b k e i d j g f READING The reading text expands the lesson to include cross culture experiences. For my own classes, depending on the level, I ask the students to read the 9
text first without a dictionary. They then answer the questions and then we will come back to the text and go through it again with the aid of a dictionary to cover any new words or expressions. Answers; 1. The ancient Babylonians. 2. The sun and moon. 3. It is red. 4. England. 5. March. A note from our sponsor http://kibishipaul.com/blog1/sponsors/ 10