Lesson Plan

6th grade

Unit: “ The city and other places”.

Topic: Cities.

Introduction

This Lesson asks students to describe places, ask and answer about how to get to a place in the city, sequence

future activities, organize ideas in one paragraph, and finally respect and enjoy

the life in the city.

General Goals

To read and understand texts related to cities.To learn words related to cities, places and directions.To describe places.To ask for and give informationTo respect and appreciate cities

Greeting: always say “Hello” to the students.

Warm up: catch students attention by asking them what is their favorite

city, and why?

Getting startedShow some pictures of famous cities

around the world using a PPT or flashcards. Ask the students what are

these cities famous for? Discuss.

www.pics4learning.com (through www.educationworld.com )

Reading: hand out the text about the city.

Pre reading task:

Ask students to predict the content of the text by reading just the title of it.Ask them to skim the text to find the topic or main idea .Review vocabulary or grammatical structures.

The City of Rivers

Vocabulary

Settlement : a place where people have come to live and make their homes, especially where few or no people lived before. Asset : a thing of value, especially property, that a person or company owns. Homelands: the country or land where a person was born.Breweries: companies that make beer. fatality: a death that is caused by violence or disease.

Grammatical structures

simple past, connectors

The City of Rivers

Valdivia, Chile, the City of Rivers, was founded on the Bahía de Corral by Pedro de Valdivia on February 9, 1522 who named the new settlement Santa María la Blanca de Valdivia. Taking advantage Of the harbor, the rivers and the strategic location for ships rounding Cape Horn or navigating the Strait of Magellan on the route to Lima and the Viceroyalty of Peru, the founding fathers were pleased to find the area rich in timber and gold.

Valdivia became an important port known as the La Perla del Sur , Southern Pearl, an enviable asset of the Spanish crown. To protect Valdivia and Bahía de Corral, Spanish forces began building forts in 1645, constructing the castillos at Mancera, Corral, Niebla, Amargos and Cruces, and among others, the forts of San Carlos and El Molino. Valdivia became the most heavily fortified port in the Spanish colonies.

In addition to repelling any foreign forces and pirates intending to take the Southern Pearl for themselves, the locals had to fight the Mapuche nation who were understandably upset with this invasion of their homelands. The forts were also intended to keep the route between Santiago and other cities open. In 1553/1554 the Mapuches rebelled and according to legend, Pedro de Valdivia was captured, Impaled on a stake and his heart cut into pieces and eaten by the Mapuche leader, Lautaro.

Even after Chile separated from Peru and attained independence from Spain, this area of Chile remained loyal to the Spanish crown. It took a surprise attack from Lord Cochrane and the Chilean navy to conquer the city and formally annex it to Chile in 1821.

In the latter part of the 19th century, an influx of German emigrants moved to the area during a national immigration program. They revitalized the economy, brought in new industry, including breweries, and made their mark in local architecture with their distinctive styles. In 1960, Valdivia was near the epicenter of a 9.5 earthquake, termed the Largest Earthquake in the World. The resulting tsunamis were felt across the Pacific Ocean. Fortunately, the fatalities weren’t as high as they could have been, but much of Valdivia and nearby historic forts were destroyed. The river courses changed and where the earth sank, the resulting flooding created an aquatic area now maintained as the wetlands of the Santuario de la Naturaleza Carlos Anwandter.

• ADAPTED FROM about.com

While students are reading make sure they comprehend the text, monitor them and ask if they need some extra help with

the vocabulary.

Post reading task:

After reading the text , hand out the questionnaire, ask them to work in pairs to

answer it. Then check.

Questions

Why the founding fathers were pleased to have found this area?

Because it was an area rich in timber and gold.

What did Spanish forces do in 1645?In 1645 Spanish forces began building forts.

According to the legend, what happened to Pedro de Valdivia?

according to the legend, Pedro de Valdivia was captured, Impaled on a stake and his heart cut into pieces and eaten by the Mapuche leader, Lautaro.

What did German emigrants do ?They revitalized the economy, brought in new industry, including breweries, and

made their mark in local architecture with their distinctive styles.

What happened in Valdivia in 1960?In 1960, Valdivia was near the epicenter of a 9.5 earthquake, termed the Largest

Earthquake in the World

Writing : Hand out the “ which city “ work sheet.

Pre writing task:

ask students about which city in Chile or in the world they would like to visit, why?

Ask them to write a short paragraph about that special city they would like to visit.

ask them to follow the example answer.

“Which City”

Directions: Try to answer the question below. Question: Which city would you like to visit? Why?

Example Answer: I am very interested in visiting Athens, I’ve seen photos of the” Acropolis” and it would be amazing! It lies about

150 meters above sea level. I would also like to see the historical temples and other buildings that are very famous for its

architectural structures.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ADAPTED FROM www.englishforeveryone.org

POST WRITING TASK To finish the activity ask some students to share

their writings with the class. Give positive feedback.

Closure tell the students which topic there are going to work

with next class.“ next class we are going to learn how to ask for and

give information in the city, so be prepared to act out”

Say good bye to the students.

References

www.englishforeveryone.com www.educationworld.com/a-tech/sites/sites067.shtml gosouthamerica.about.com/od/valdivia/p/valdivia.htm