English Weekly Plan - Diversity

In this Weekly Plan we are going to learn a little bit more about diversity.

There are 3 activities to do (you have 2 weeks to complete them): 

1st. A reading comprehension where you are going to learn about languages around the world.

2nd. You are going to write a postcard looking for information about a new country for you.

3rd. You are going to research about animals in different continents.

1. Read the language facts and answer the questions in your notebook. (Copy the questions and then answer).

AMAZING LANGUAGE FACTS

- There are more than 2,700 languages in the world. In addition, there are more than 7,000 dialects. A dialect is a regional variety of a language that has a different pronunciation, vocabulary, or meaning.

- The most widely spoken languages are Chinese, Spanish, English and Hindi, in that order.

- One of the most difficult language to learn is Basque, which is spoken in northwestern Spain and southwestern France. It is not related to any other language in the world. It has an extremely complicated word structure and vocabulary.

- Somalia is the only African country in which the entire population speaks the same language, Somali.

- More than 1,000 different languages are spoken on the continent of Africa.

- The Berbers of North Africa have no written form of their language.

- Many languages in Africa include a click sound that is pronounced at the same time as other sounds. You must learn these languages in childhood to do it properly.

- There are 13 ways to spell the 'o' sound in French.

- The Bible is available in 2454 different languages. Pinnochio is a close second. 

- South Africa has 11 official languages - the most for a single country. 

- The language with the most words is English, boasting over 250,000 words.

- Learning a second language can make you smarter. 

a) How many languages are there in the world? And dialects?

b) What is a dialect?

c) Which are the second and the third most spoken languages?

d) Why is Basque one of the most difficult languages to learn?

e) In which country does the entire population speak the same language? What language is it?

f) When do you need to learn African languages with click sounds to do them properly?

g) Why is it important to learn a second language?

h) How many languages are you learning at your school?

2. Write a postcard.

WHAT YOU NEED:

- A piece of cardboard, approximately the size of a postcard.

- Pencil.

- Markers, crayons, Manley wax crayons...

- A source of information (Internet, a book, a magazine...).

WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO:

- You will get a continent by raffle in class.

- Choose a country from that continent. (It has to be a country that you don't already know).

- Imagine that you have started a trip to that country and you are experiencing all the local culture it has to offer. Using your imagination (and looking for some information), write a postcard to your friend/teacher/parents... describing your experience.

- Look for this information about the country:

* Location

* Climate

* Language

* Religion

* Traditional dishes

* A famous place, monument, museum, etc.

* Something that you can do/visit there as a tourist.

- On the front side of the postcard, draw a picture that depicts something traditional in that country (find examples in Google Images).

- On the back side, write a message to your friend/teacher/parents... using the information you have.

Here you have an example:

Dear Trizza, 

I am in Namibia. It is a country in southern Africa.

Its overall climate description is arid. There are more than 300 days of sunshine per year.

The official languages are English, German and Afrikaans, but they speak other languages (Khoekhoe language or Herero language).

Most of them are Christians but Namibia is home to a small Jewish community of about 100 members. One of the traditional dishes is Mopane worms. They fry them!!!

The world's oldest desert called Namib is located here. It is 80 million years old! The world's highest sand dunes are here, too, and at sunrise, we went to Sossusvlei to see them. They were so smooth and in the morning light, they appeared to be red! It was amazing.

Your friend, 

Nieves. 

3. Complete the drawing. Draw at least 2 animals per continent.

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