What is the weather like?

1. INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………………………………..2

2. DIDACTIC OBJECTIVES AND COMPETENCES…………………………………….2

3. CONTENTS………………………………………………………………………………………4

4. ACTIVITIES ………………………..……………………………………………………………6

5. MATERIAL & RESOURCES…………………..……………………………………………15

6. METHODOLOGY……………………………………………………………………………..16

7. ATTENTION TO DIVERSITY…………………………………………………………..19

8. EVALUATION………………………………………………………………………………19

9. BIBLIOGRAPHY…………………………………………………………………………..20

1. INTRODUCTION

2. DIDACTIC OBJECTIVES AND COMPETENCES

The principle aim of this didactic unit is to achieve some specific concepts that students have to relate with other concepts acquired before. We can divide the specific objectives in four:

• Basic Competences of Secondary

In the Real Decree 1631/2006, 29^th December, we can find the eight basic competences of Secondary schools for all the subjects. In this case, we are going to introduce just some of them:

1. Competency of linguistic communication: Communication is very important nowadays, some time ago, accuracy was the most important part, but the core of all languages is communication, so we are going to focus in communicative aspects.

2. The competency of knowledge and interaction with the society: We want to promote the performance of real context in order to improve the communication and the interaction between students.

3. Information and digital competency: Of course, ITCs are very important nowadays, for that reason we are going to include some activities with computers.

4. Social and civic competency: With activities in groups we want to promote the respect and the empathy, they will work together in order to achieve an objective.

5. Artistic and cultural competency: They will read a text about a weather report, and then, they will draw a map, and they will perform a weather report in pairs.

6. Competency of learning to learn: They will have a Portfolio where they will add all their redactions and works with a feedback, in order to know what their weakness and strengths are.

7. Personal initiative and autonomy: They will learn for themselves with ICTs activities, and then they will explain their own conclusion to the rest of the class.

We have not included the “Mathematical competence” because we do not have to include all the competences in a unit.

3. CONTENTS

The contents of this didactic unit are from the four contents proposed by the Real Decree 1631/2006 where we can find the minimum competences of secondary education.

4. ACTIVITIES

• Development of Websearch sessions

ICTs are a very important part of the learning nowadays, for that reason, we are going to explain this activity in a more exhaustive way. The Websearch is called “Natural disasters” and it is an activity that will be development in two sessions where learners will use their knowledge of English in order to understand and explain how natural disasters occur, while they learn and acquire new vocabulary related to the topic.

In the fifth session of the didactic unit, students will be divided in groups of 4-5 and the activity will take place in the computers room. There they will have to look for the information to answer the different questions of the part that will be assigned to them and make a powerpoint presentation which they will use to explain their part to the rest of the students.

The Websearch is related to the topic, it has questions with different links where students have to do a search. It has different parts, each of them dealing with a different phenomenon, and they have to look for the different questions proposed. The websearch has 6 different parts, one for group, which are:

• Tsunami
• Avalanches
• Twisters/ Tornadoes
• Solar Flares
• Earthquakes
• Volcan eruptions

In the sixth session of this didactic unit, students will explain what they have found in the web search about the natural disaster assigned to them, by means of a powerpoint presentation. They should take into account the most important concepts about the natural disaster, and they will be expected to have prepared it at home, which means that they should know not just what they are talking about, but they should also check the meaning and pronunciation of difficult or new words.

The principal aims of this activity are:

• To promote attitudes, like motivation, autonomy or participation. This activity is aimed at presenting the topic in a way that motivates students, by means of a computer project, which will allow them to work autonomously at the same time that they work in groups.

• To increase the companionship among students with this activity in groups in which they will have to show respect for other people´s opinion and work.

• To promote activities related with ICTs in order to reduce the Digital Divide.

Also, students will develop the four skills:

• Reading comprehension: Students will have to read information from different websites in order to answer the different questions proposed in the different parts of the Websearch.

• Writing production: Apart from reading information and understanding it, they will have to answer the questions using the right content as well as appropriate grammatical structures. Thus, they will not copy directly from the websites, but they will answer the questions with their own words.

• Oral production: In the second session, pupils will do an oral presentation in which they will have to talk in English about the natural disaster that was assigned to them.

• Listening comprehension: While one group is doing their presentation, the rest of the students will be listening to them and paying attention to what they explain, in order to know more about the different natural disasters.

• What pupils should do in this activity?

The group has got 25 pupils, and they will be divided in 6 groups of 4-5 persons. The different members of a group will have to stay in contiguous computers, in order to do the activity together. Each group will search things about a particular natural disaster. The main page of the Websearch looks like this:

This is the INDEX where they can choose the natural disaster that has been assigned to them. The 6 parts that we have already mentioned are tsunami, avalanches, twisters/tornadoes, solar flares, earthquakes and volcanic eruption. They have the instructions too, so they can press the natural disaster and start working. The different groups will work with different concepts:

They will search information about tsunamis; they will have to look for that in two websites and then, they will write the answers with their own words by using different grammatical structures, such as modals. Then, they will have to write five lines about the phenomenon, in order to increase their writing production. In the presentation, the will have to include, at least:

• A definition of tsunami
• When did the last tsunami occur? Where?
• What should people do if they see a tsunami?

This group will look for information about avalanches. They will check three different websites and they will write five lines about the phenomenon too. They will explain in their powerpoint the next concepts:

• A definition of avalanche
• Type of disaster
• When and where avalanches happen

This group will have to find information about twisters. For this, they will check three different websites that they have to read in order to answer the questions proposed. And in the presentation they will include the following points:

• A definition and synonym for twisters
• Where they should do if they saw a twister
• Talk about a film about twisters

This group has to investigate the Solar Flares. They have to check three websites where they will find all the information required. In the presentation they should talk about:

• A definition of solar flares
• When do Solar Flares occur?
• Classification of Solar Flares

The group 5 has to look for characteristics of earthquakes. They have to read three different sites to look for the answers. The presentation has to include:

• A definition of earthquake
• Effects.
• Locations where earthquakes have taken place.

This group has to investigate volcanic eruptions. They have three websites with a lot of information that they have to read, and they have to look for the most important parts. In the powerpoint they have to include:

• A definition of volcanic eruption and volcano.
• Active volcanoes in the world

The questions are very easy, and they will introduce concepts from this unit, and other units that we have seen before. So they have to link different concepts, structures, etc. in order to create a good presentation.

5. MATERIAL & RESOURCES

6. METHODOLOGY

a)Principles, strategies and teaching styles

In order to apply all the objectives proposed, we are going to use an eclectic method based on communicative approaches. The language includes communicative functions as well as grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation, so we want to supply all of that with the development of the different skills of the language: listening and reading comprehension, and oral and writing production. The different skills will be presented in the different activities all the time, because they are the core of the language. And, as we have already said, they will have an interdisciplinary component with connections between some of the subjects that they are studying in this course.

Thus, we are going to apply in the vast majority the communicative method, because the core of all languages is the communication. This method is a good way of teaching a second language, because it encourages students to use it since the first time they begin to learn the language, although they do not have a big knowledge of it. The Communicative Approach is very important in the class, it is something really useful, and hence the teacher should promote the interaction between pupils and teacher, and the participation in the activities and exercises in class. In this way, students will increase their fluency in the language and they will achieve a good communication. So, the principle aim is fluency, not accuracy, in this way, pupils can commit some errors, but they will be able to communicate with a fluent language, the teacher will motivate them and help them in all the problems that they can have.

Apart from the communicative approach, we are going to introduce other methods, in order to apply some other techniques which can be appropriated to be used in this unit. We are going to use the Direct Method, the Audiolingual one… We think that the eclectic approach is the best way to use the different methods, because the different features can be useful for some specific things but not for others. We should pick up the most important and the most useful ideas from each method and apply them into our specific and new method. In this specific unit we are going to use the following principles:

· Autonomous learning: The learning of English shouldn’t take place just in class; the learners should study or practise outside. It is very important to improve the knowledge of English with practice or study outside class, so the teacher has to provide homework to their students or suggest them to watch TV shows or movies, in order to improve their understanding of the language. This is an autonomous way of learning that The Silent Way Method promotes and it is very important because the learner will progress according to their own will. They will do some activities in class, like preparing the presentation about the websearch.

· Motivation and the active role of the student are essential elements for the learning process. Students are constantly working and are aware of the development of their skills. The Total Physical Response Method proposes the teaching with humour and amusement. One example of that could be the game “wordwheel”, where pupils have to answer question in order to complete the alphabet. With this game, we can promote listening and speaking skills, and we create a good atmosphere in class. This is very interesting because, in this way, the pupils feel confident to use the language.

We are going to use all kind of games or funny activities in order to create a good atmosphere in class and increase motivation in the pupils. They will become active pupils of the subject and they will be participants of the communicative language. Of course, we will use the appropriated language, related with their knowledge of English, with a language in use, in real contexts.

· Working in pairs or groups when the activity allows for them rather than individual work. It is a very important part too where we want to promote the works in groups, improving the cooperative learning.

· The use of the language in class is very important in order to improve pronunciation and interaction. They will have to read aloud, to make presentations…all in the target language.

• To relate the contents with other contents learned before. The previous knowledge and the abilities of the students will be taken into account in order to plan activities. Every time we have to do some listening or some Reading, we are going to remember the vocabulary and the different structures we have already studied with the pupils, in order to review that.

· Interdisciplinary focus. Some contents from other subjects are included in order to allow students to develop the capacity for “learning to learn”, that is, for transferring and integrating knowledge by promoting cross-curricular coherence.

· Meaningful learning is promoted and is a priority in the classroom, and aims at stimulating key competences or capacities.

· We will add activities with ICTs (Information and communications technology or information and communication technology), in order to reduce the Digital Divide, which is the difference between the people who knows how to use the ITCs and the ones who don´t know. Thus, we are going to work with a Websearch that we have designed for them, in order to promote the participation and the motivation. Also, they will use the ICTs in English, and they will review vocabulary and grammar that we will study in this lesson.

b) Activities and techniques in the teaching/learning process

Apart of the aims above, we are going to use different methods and approaches, in order to supply some necessities of the group with several activities:

Thus, an eclectic approach is the best way to use the different methods, because the different features can be useful for some specific things but not for others. We should pick up the most important and the most useful ideas from each method and apply them into our specific and new method.

7. ATTENTION TO DIVERSITY

Actually, there is not any person with A.C.N.E.E, but in all courses there are people who do not achieve the objectives because they have a lower level and maybe they feel lost in class. For that reason, in this didactic unit, we are going to follow some aspects in order to help that people who can feel lost in this subject:

• Works in group: the groups will be heterogeneous, with people who have different levels, in this way; they will help their peers if they do no understand something.
• ICT activity: In this activity, we will create groups with different levels. In this way, people who know a lot about computers will help the other ones.
• Grammar review: Sometimes, some students can not follow the class, so we are going to create complementary sheets, with a lot of examples, that they will do al home, and we will correct it with a feedback. We will try to motivate these students; we can include some games in English in these sheets.

8. EVALUATION

9. BIBLIOGRAPHY

http://www.boe.es/aeboe/consultas/bases_datos/doc.php?id=BOE-A-2007-238

http://www.guerrero.gob.mx/pics/art/articles/10151/file.gA2-11.pdf

http://www.englishclub.com/speaking/weather-report.htm

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-12806874

http://www.defensordelmenor.org/upload/legislacion/leyEspanola/Decreto_2007-23.pdf