Pushing back the frontiers

Ewa | Jun 21, 2023Mar 27, 2024

LESSON OVERVIEW

In this ESL lesson about space, students watch a video about the International Space Station and have a long discussion about space. The topics include space exploration, collaboration in space and space technology. 

INTRO & VIDEO

As a warm-up to this ESL lesson about space, students look at three inventions and a brief description of each (e.g. enriched baby formula). They need to say what they might have in common. They are all technologies that have been developed thanks to missions in aeronautics and space. Then, students do a quick vocabulary task. They need to come up with collocations related to space (e.g. space debris, lunar surface, satellite imagery). Before watching the video, students read some information about the International Space Station. They also look at four pictures and explain what they think the astronauts on the station do. Finally, students watch the video and compare their answers. 

DISCUSSION

In this part of the ESL lesson about space, students read five statements. They need to decide whether they agree or disagree. The statements are opinions about the ISS and its future, collaboration in space and space agencies. In the next task, students imagine a space agency has invited them to offer opinions on how the agency’s funds should be allocated. The tasks they can choose from include expanding scientific knowledge, paving the way for future asteroid mining, mitigating threats from asteroids, etc. Students decide what portion of the budget each of them should take. After that, students read a short description of the Artemis programme and discuss some questions about it. In the final part of this ESL lesson about space, students consider some questions humanity might need to answer in the future and share your opinions. The questions involve the issue of resources, space settlements and regulations. 

WORKSHEETS

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