Welcome to Britain

Lesson date

Teacher Liubechko Oksana Vasylivna

Topic Welcome to Great Britain

Objectives:

• to revise and enrich students’ vocabulary on the topic;

• to improve students’ listening, reading, speaking skills;

• to train students’ habits in group work;

• to develop students’ interest in history, culture and traditions of Great Britain;

• to cultivate students’ aesthetic tastes, awareness and respect to the world culture;

• to enhance students’ cognitive abilities and memory.

Equipment: presentation, a film “Welcome to Great Britain”, a book

Procedure

1. Introduction

T: Good morning, dear children! I am glad to see you! I hope everyone is feeling fit. I think you will agree that the topic we are going to speak on is really worth discussing. Because we can’t imagine our life without many of things, and one of them is travelling. Welcome to Great Britain - a country of traditions, glorious past and wonderful future, a country of outstanding people and unforgettable events.

So, the topic of our lesson is “Welcome to Great Britain.” By the end of the lesson you are:

• To use words and word-combinations, revised grammar structures when speaking on the topic;

• To identify the main idea and details from the texts for reading and audition;

• Work in groups, make up the dialogues on the topic.

ІІ. Warming-up

We have already read some interesting texts and spoken on the topics concerning Great Britain. Let’s revise some words and word-combinations. Look at the blackboard and say what associations you have with these words and geographical names:

United Kingdom; to be situated; the British Isles; to be washed; the Atlantic Ocean; the English Channel; to consist of; south-west; south-east; the capital; Edinburgh; Scottish; Irish; Welsh; the surface; Ben Nevis; Lock Lomond; the Severn; The Thames; Gulf-Stream; mild; industrial; sea ports; a birthplace.

ІІІ. Speaking

And now, please, tell us about the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland:

The official name of Great Britain is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The United Kingdom consists of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. London is the capital. It’s situated on the Thames River. The national flag of the United Kingdom is so-called Union Jack. A long time ago, Britain was joined to France.

The English Channel between France and England is one of the busiest sea lanes in the world. The English Channel is about 563 kilometres long and no more than 34 kilometres wide. People often say that Englishman’s house is his castle. They mean that home is very important and personal. Most people in Britain live in houses rather than flats.

The United Kingdom consists of …..?                                      

England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The largest industrial cities of Great Britain are Liverpool, Leeds, Sheffield, Manchester, Birmingham. The biggest sea ports are Portsmouth, Plymouth. The most beautiful – royal Bristol. Stratford-upon-Avon is the birthplace of famous Shakespeare.

More than 56 million people live in Britain.

IV. Group work

Watching the film, making the gialogues to it, answering to questions

T: You know that each country has its traditions and customs; its history and culture and of course its national symbols. Great Britain is the land of traditions which are carefully observed and has a great variety of symbols. Let’s revise the material of the previous lessons:

Ps: The national flag of Great Britain is called the Union Jack. It is made of three crosses: the cross of St. George (the patron saint of England), the cross of St. Andrew (the patron saint of Scotland) and the cross of St. Patrick (the patron saint of Ireland). It is red, white and blue. Each country has its colour: England – white, Scotland – blue; Wales – red. These colours come from the national flags. The English flag is white with a red cross. The Scottish flag has a white cross on a blue background. The Welsh flag shows a red dragon. Then there are emblems of Britain. They are plants. You can see them on pound coins.

Each part of Great Britain has its traditions and customs. The national day of Great Britain (the day of St. George) falls on the twenty-third of April. On this day some patriotic Englishmen wear a rose pinned to their jackets. A red rose in the national emblem of England from the time of Wars of the roses (the 15^th century). Another plant-symbol is an oak.

St. Andrew’s Day (the thirtieth of November) is a Scotland’s national day. On this day some Scotsmen wear a thistle in their buttonhole. As a national emblem of Scotland thistle was first used in the fifteenth century as a symbol of defence. The order of the Thistle is one of the highest orders of knighthood. It was founded in 1687.

St. Patrick’s Day (the seventeenth of March) is considered as a national day in Northern Ireland and an official bank holiday there. The national emblem of Ireland is shamrock. According to legend, it was the plant chosen by St. Patrick to illustrate the idea of Christianity of the Trinity to the Irish. Another plant-symbol is flax.

St. David’s Day (the first of March) is the church festival of St. David, a 6^th-century monk and bishop, the patron saint of Wales. It is the national holiday of Wales. The national emblems are a yellow daffodil and a leek.

T: Ready? Well done! Now take these pictures and find your partners to work together. Do your best and tell us about your country and its symbols (the students are given handouts with information about each part of the United Kingdom and divided into groups.)

The task is to fill in the chart and speak on the chosen topic:

Method “Microphone”

1. The official name of the country is…

1. Britain

2. Great Britain

3. the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

1. The country is usually named the United Kingdom, or the UK for short, because …

1. this sounds better

2. this is the official name of the country

3. the official name of the country is too long

1. The United Kingdom is a country made up of…

1. three parts

2. four parts

3. five parts

1. the parts of the UK are:

1. England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

2. Britain, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland

3. England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland.

Vocabulary notes:

V. Summing up

What was this lesson about? Did you like it? What new did you learn today? What was the most difficult for you at this lesson?

Home assignment: to read the text, to learn new words to the topic

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