Teacher’s notes
“How much do you know about the U.S.?” Type of activity: groupwork
individual
work/pairwork/
Focus: vocabulary connected with the geography of the United States, speaking/reading/writing Level: pre-intermediate Time: 45 minutes Preparation: a map of the United States, a copy of the worksheet “How much do you know about the U.S.?” for each student
(5 min)
Explain to students that now they will look for the names of capital cities. Ask them to come up to the map with the worksheets again and look for these names. When they have finished they may go back to their seats. Elicit the correct answers and write them on the whiteboard. TASK 4
(5 min)
Ask students to read the postcard on the worksheet and find answers to the questions (T/F). Also ask them to look at how the postcard is organized (the greeting, the contents, the salutation and the signature at the end).
Procedure: Warm-up (5 min)
Write on the whiteboard “Holidays abroad” and “Where?” Ask students to think of some places where they would like to go or places they have already been and elicit some of the answers. Write the names of places you hear on the whiteboard and then explain that today you are going to visit the United States for a while so you need to get some basic facts about the country. TASK 1
TASK 3
(5 min)
Handout the worksheet. Ask students to work in pairs (this way it’ll be easier for the students but if the class is small it may be done as individual work, too) and choose the best answer for each question. After they have finished, elicit the answers from the class and write the correct answers on the whiteboard.
Key: 1. F 2. F 3. T 4. T 5. F TASK 5
(10–15 min)
Explain to students that they are now going to write their own postcards about holidays they had in Los Angeles. Ask them to read a short note about L.A. Make sure they understand all the words and, if necessary pre-teach new ones (eg. crowded, average annual temperature, art centres, etc.). Show them the layout of the letter and sample expressions, eg.:
New York, fot. J. R. Flower
Dear
Key: 1. c 2. c 3. a 4. b 5. b If necessary you may ask one of the students to come to the map and point to some of the places, which have been mentioned in the quiz (eg. names of states, some cities etc.) TASK 2
(10 min)
Ask students to come up to the map with the worksheets and pens/pencils. Explain that students’ task is to study the map and write down the names of states in the North/South/East/West. Make sure they understand expressions describing geographical directions: the South, the North, the East, the West – if necessary pre-teach these words. When they finish writing, ask them to read out some of the names of states and ask one of the students to show the states on the map. © Macmillan Polska 2013
Many kisses See you soon Best regards etc.
The postcard should be about 100–120 words. If you run out of time this activity may be done at home as individual homework.
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