Topic: Earth - a common home of humanity. Chances and dangers

Target group

8th‑grade students of elementary school

Core curriculum

8th‑grade students of elementary school

X. Mass media. Pupil:

1) presents the functions and types of mass media; explains the importance of the mass media for freedom of speech.

XII. International affairs. Pupil:

5) formulates judgments regarding selected social problems of the contemporary world; considers proposals for actions to improve the living conditions of other people in the world.

General aim of education

Students learn about the effects of rapid civilizational progress and the most important opportunities and threats of the modern world.

Key competences

• communication in foreign languages;

• digital competence;

• learning to learn.

Criteria for success
The student will learn:

• what does the statement „global village” mean;

• to resognise the most important opportunities and threats of the modern world.

Methods/techniques

• expository

  • talk.

• activating

  • discussion.

• programmed

  • with computer;

  • with e‑textbook.

• practical

  • exercices concerned.

Forms of work

• individual activity;

• activity in pairs;

• activity in groups;

• collective activity.

Teaching aids

• e‑textbook;

• notebook and crayons/felt‑tip pens;

• interactive whiteboard, tablets/computers.

Lesson plan overview

Before classes

1. The teacher asks students to prepare information on the most important, ground‑breaking inventions of the 20th and 21st centuries.

Introduction

1. The teacher states the subject of the lesson, explains the aim of the lesson and together with students determines the success criteria to be achieved.

2. Referring to the homework task, the teacher asks the students what inventions of the 20th and 21st centuries brought the changes that our ancestors did not even dream about. Then he asks what the purpose of these inventions was and what they actually give to humanity. Asking the questions, the teacher remembers that they are to be formulated as the key questions. Students should mention, among others, the airplane, the computer, the Internet, etc., and the goal of inventions is to improve the human life.

Realization

1. Referring to the students' answers from the introduction, the teacher, starting the discussion, asks what it means that in the last century „the world has shrunken” and became a global village. Students compare the two maps in ** Task 1 ** and answer questions related to the task.

2. The teacher, if necessary, helps the students explain the abovementioned concepts, guiding them with auxiliary questions about travel times, information flow and the presence of the same products and fashions around the world.

3. Students carry out ** Task 2 **, referring to the concept of the global village. Then, if there are no such answers, the teacher explains the importance of free media and their universality to ensure freedom of speech and democracy.

4. The teacher, beginning the discussion, asks the students about the rapid development of technology and if there are any threats and problems that it brought. Then he asks the students to look for examples of such problems in the modern world. Students should mention, among others ecological disasters, pollution and environmental destruction. Referring to the answers and examples provided by the students, the teacher explains that today much attention is devoted to preventing such accidents and taking care of the environment. Students familiarize themselves with renewable energy sources described in an interactive illustration from ** Task 3.

Summary

1. Summing up the lesson, the teacher introduces and explains the concept of globalization, explaining that what students were talking about today is mostly included in its definition. Students carry out ** Exercise 1 **, matching given slogans with either opportunities or threats of globalization.

2. The teacher assesses the students' work during the lesson, taking into account their input and commitment. For this purpose, he may prepare a self‑assessment questionnaire.

Homework

1. The teacher tasks willing students with homework: One of the manifestations of the „shrinking” of the world and globalization is the so‑called macdonaldisation – a term created from the name of a popular fast food restaurant. Find out what it means, and find its examples in the surrounding world.

The following terms and recordings will be used during this lesson

Terms

Texts and recordings

Earth - a common home of humanity. Chances and dangers

From the 19th century, rapid technical development is under way. Distances are reduced. In one day, you can travel to the most distant place on Earth. It takes a few seconds to send information. Thanks to the development of technology, the world has „dwindled”, it has become a „global village”. At the same time, thanks to the mass media (Internet, television, radio), people use the same products regardless of their place of life and can follow the same events live. However, progress has its price. It is the degradation of the natural environment.