Learn to talk about the secrets of the sky
Unit 6 Nature Araund Us
6.1 Learn to talk about the secrets of the sky
Word Box | Phrase Box | Communication Box |
Rainbow Horizon Planetarium Skywatching | To find out To hide away To try experiments Signs of autumn | It’s an open secret… Very good questions! I’d love to. |
1. Look and say how the sky in the daytime differs from the sky at night.
E x a m p l e: The sky is blue in the daytime, with some white clouds.
2. Listen and learn. Say what you can see in the sky now.
A SEPTEMBER WALK
We went for a walk one September day.
There were white clouds in the blue sky.
We saw flocks of robins on our way.
There were grasshoppers and even a butterfly.
STARS
The
Are they buying tickets to the moon?
We won’t see them in the daytime.
They will hide away quite soon.
/u:/ blue, moon, soon.
/ai/ white, sky, butterfly, line, buying, daytime, hide, quite
/w/ we, went, walk, white, way, won’t, will, away.
3. Look, match and say what these things mean for sky – wat-chers.
A rainbow;
A planet;
The horizon;
A planetarium;
A telescope.
E x a m p l e: Skywatchers like to look at the sky with a telescope.
4. Think and say:
– what you like to see in the sky;
– if you have ever visited a planetarium;
– what you want to know about the sky.
E x a m p l e: I like to watch clouds in the sky. They often have funny shapes. I want to know more about the Moon…
5. Listen and role-play.
AN OPEN SECRET
Bob: Hi, Ann, what are you reading?
Ann: It’s a book of stories about nature around us. It tells
Ann: Sure. Here you are.
Bob: Oh, thanks. I absolutely love its title “The Secrets of Nature”. I wonder how we can find them out ourselves.
Ann: First of all, we must use our ears and eyes to see what we can see. Do you remember our September walk when our class looked for signs of autumn? We saw flocks of robins on our way, there were grasshoppers and even a butterfly.
Bob: Right! Besides, we found a cricket* under a board and a worm under a stone. We understood that they were hiding away in warm places.
Ann: That’s the way they get ready for winter. It’s an open secret to us now.
Bob: But what about things that we can’t see because they are too small? For example, what does the air consist of? What makes the sky? What are the stars like? What planets can I see in the night sky?
Ann: Very good questions! I think people can find out what these secrets are when they try experiments. If you are interested in the stars, you can look at them with a telescope.
Bob: That’s a good idea! How about going to the planetarium for skywatching at the weekend?
Ann: I’d love to.
* cricket – цвіркун.
Remember!
They Were hiding away in warm places.
That’s the way they get ready for winter.
6. Let’s play ‘the grammar explanation’ game. Use the box (p. 122).
E x a m p l e: A: to watch the sky
B: We were watching the sky yesterday evening.
C: That’s the way we try to understand the secrets of nature.
To watch the sky;
To look at the clouds;
To look at the stars;
To try experiments;
To look for signs of autumn;
To look at the Moon.
7. Make up 5-6 sentences on the table.
I We | Watch Ing Looking Visiting | The sky | The whole evening | Yester Day. |
My Friend | Was Were | The planetarium a telescope at the stars | The whole afternoon | Last Friday. |
My Class Mates | Using Explor | From 9 to 10 | Two Days | |
Ing | This time | Ago. |
E x a m p l e: I was watching the sky from 9 to 10 last Friday.
8. Talk with your friend about the secrets of the sky.
On your Own. Take a picture of the sky in the daytime and write 6-8 sentences about it (p. 123).
E x a m p l e: This is the sky in the daytime. There are many white clouds up there. Some of them have funny shapes: one over there looks like a sleeping dog, and that one looks like a huge tulip flower…
9. Read and describe how the fairy tale explains why the sky is so high.
WHY THE SKY IS SO HIGH
Long ago, the sky was very low.
It was so low that people could touch it when they raised their hands. On the horizon, where the sky almost touched the earth, was a village. There lived an old woman all by herself. All day long she was busy with cleaning her house and her yard.
One day she saw that her yard was very dirty, so she began to sweep the ground so fast and so hard that it raised a storm of dust. In a minute, the dust covered her house and the village and reached the sky. The poor sky started coughing. Suddenly it sneezed so loudly that the whole village shook! People cried, “The sky is falling!” But the old woman didn’t hear them and kept sweeping.
After a while, it became so bad for the sky that it started crying helplessly. Huge teardrops fell to the ground. It made the yard muddy. It was too much for the woman. She raised her broomstick and threatened the sky. The sky was so scared that it moved higher and higher and promised never to come down again.
10. Read and choose the correct answer.
1. Where did the old woman live?
A) in a city; b) in the forest; c) in a village.
2. What was the woman cleaning all day long?
A) her house; b) her yard;
C) her house and her yard.
3. Why did the sky start coughing?
A) because of the dust;
B) because of cold weather;
C) because of the heat.
4. When did the whole village shake?
A) when the sky started coughing;
B) when the sky started sneezing;
C) when the sky started crying.
5. What did the woman raise to threaten the sky?
A) her hand; b) her head; c) her broomstick.
6. What happened to the sky?
A) it fell; b) it moved higher; c) it remained low.
11. Act as the sky and say why you are so high. Use:
To touch the earth;
On the horizon;
To raise a storm of dust;
To sneeze loudly;
To be scared;
Never to come down again.
12. Tell your friends about the secrets of the sky. Use:
I’m a great… , you know. I’m interested in… . I often… in the daytime and… . I can see… . Sometimes I look at… with a telescope. My friend and I visited… last weekend. It was a lot of fun to… .
13. Write about your skywatching for your class magazine. Use:
Skywatching is my hobby. In the daytime, … . At night, … .
Do it Yourself! Draw a picture of the night sky for your class magazine and label its parts.