Objectives:
to practise extensive and intensive reading skills to practise giving
personal reaction and opinion
to to develop speaking skills of students through the methods of
interactive activitity
to develop culture of communication
Warm up
What do you think of the Geographical position of Great Britain?
1. What is the official name of the United Kingdom?
2. Who is the head of the state?
3. Who is the head of the government?
4. What is the population of Great Britain?
5. What are the major ethnic groups of Great Britain?
6. What is Union Jack?
Introducing the Topic
Reading
A) Pre-reading task
Try to predict if the following statements are true or false.
1. "British" and "English" are not synonyms.
2. Scotland has the smallest population of four countries of the UK?
3. Great Britain is separated from the continent by the English Channel,
the North Sea and the North Channel.
4. The water around Great Britain are dangerous in the Lake District.
7. The Highlands separate Scotland from England.
8. The Thames is the longest and the deepest river in the UK.
9. The most famous wood in Scotland is Sherwood Forest where Robin Hood
once lived.
10. There are coal deposits in the south of England.
GEOGRAPHICAL POSITION OF GREAT BRITAIN
The United Kingdom is very small comparing with the biggest countries of
the world such as Russia, China or the USA. It occupies only 0.2 per cent of
the world's surface and its total area is about 244,000 square kilometers. However,
there are only 15 countries with more people (there are about 57 million people
in the UK now) and London is the world's seventh biggest city.
Many foreigners say "English" and "England" when
they mean "British" and "Britain". This is very annoying
for the 5 million Scotsmen, 2.8 million Welsh and 1.5 million Irishmen who are
not certainly English but British. The country whose official name is the
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is made up of England,
Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland and is situated on the British Isles.
This group of islands lies between the North Sea and the Atlantic Ocean and
consists of two large islands, Great Britain and Ireland, and 550 smaller
islands around them. It is separated from the continent of Europe by the
English Channel, the narrowest part which is called the Straight of Dover or
Pas de Calais. In the west the UK is separated from Ireland by the Irish Sea
and the North Channel. The seas around Britain are often rough and difficult to
navigating during storms but they are full of fish and extremely important for
trade. Britain's main ports are London, Hull, Liverpool, Glasgow and some
others.
You will not find mountains or large plains in Britain. Everything
occupies very little place. The highest mountain, Ben Nevis, is in Scotland. In
the centre of England is a range of hills called the Pennine Chain which is
also known as the "backbone of England". The Cambrian Mountains in
Wales and the Cumbrian mountains in the Lake District in the north of England
are not high but amazingly beautiful. The Cheviot Hills mark the boundary
between England and Scotland, and physically Scotland is divided into three
regions: the Highlands, the Central Lowlands and the Southern Uplands.
There are very many rivers in Great Britain but they are not very long.
The longest river is the Severn in England, but the most famous is the Thames
because it gave rise to the capital of the country — London.
Many people say that Great Britain looks like a large well-kept park.
There are beautiful gardens, fields, meadows, lakes and woods there. The
best-known is Sherwood Forest where Robin Hood once lived, the legendary outlaw
who robbed the rich and gave their money to the poor. The most-famous lake is
Loch Ness in Scotland which is said to have a water monster.
Great Britain is not very rich in mineral resources though there is oil,
in the North Sea, coal in Wales and in the north of England, tin and other
non-ferrous metals in the south.
The biggest cities of Britain are London, Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds,
Liverpool, Glasgow and some others.
B) While-reading task
1. Decide whether the following statements are true or false.
2. Fill in the following chart.
Density of Quantity of Border Mountain Number
Country Size Population
population resources length
height ofnvers
UK
Fill in the missing words.
1) Great Britain is the largest island of the_Isles.
2) England is a country in the south of Great Britain. Wales is in the
and Scotland is in the_.
3) The English Channel separates Great Britain from_.
4) The capital of England is London, the capital of Scotland is_and
the capital of_is Cardiff.
5) Ulster is in the north—eastern part of_.
6) The Thames flows_London.
7) Ben Nevis, which is 4,406 ft high, is in_.
4. Complete with prepositions and
adverbs.
1) England is made_46 counties.
2) Great Britain is separated_France_the English Channel.
3) The name British Isles refers_a great number of islands.
4) Ben Nevis is low compared_Mont Blanc.
5) In the past, England, Scotland and Vfoles were countries_different
languages.
Relaxation
Do you know?
1. On what rivers do the
following towns and cities he?
a) Newcastle (the Tyne)
b) Glasgow (The Clyde)
c) Stratford (the Avon)
d) Oxford (the Thames)
e) Hull (the Humber)
f) Bristol (on the estuary of the Severn, or Bristol Channel)
2. Which is the highest mountain?
a) in the British Isles (Ben Nevis)
b) in Wales (Snowdon)
c) in England (Scafell Pike)
Work in groups
The students are divided into four groups. The students of the first
group read the text about England, the second — about Scotland, the third —
about Wales and the students of the fourth group read the text about Northern
Ireland.
While reading the texts the students use the following interactive
reading strategies:
• The most important information / Your comments.
• I know /1 want to know / I've known
Group 1
ENGLAND
England occupies the largest part of the island Great Britain. England
has an area of more than 50 thousand square miles and a population of more than
46 million people.
England is bounded on the north by Scotland, on the east by the North
Sea, on the south by the Straight of Dover and the English Channel, and on the
west by the Atlantic Ocean, Wales and the Irish Sea.
The climate is temperate; temperatures range from —5 C in winter to +25
C in summer.
England is densely populated part of the UK. The population of England
is, and has been for centuries, greater than that of all other parts of the
United Kingdom combined.
About 30 million people live within the area which runs approximately
from the mouth of the river Thames in the east to the mouth of the river Mersey
in the west and contains five of the biggest cities, a number of other sizable
towns and much rich agricultural land.
England is the heart of Britain. It is the richest, the most fertile and
the most populated in the country. The north and the west of England are mountainous,
but all the rest of the territory is a vast plain.
A county is a chief regional administrative unit in England. This part
of the UK is divided into 39 non-metropolitan and 7 metropolitan (that is,
including a big city) counties.
A) Answer the questions.
1. What is an area of England?
2. What is England bounded by?
3. What is the relief of England?
4. What are the most important rivers in the UK?
5. What kind of climate does England have?
6. What is the population of England?
7. What is the chief administrative unit in England?
8. How many counties is England divided into? What are they?
B) Prove:
• that England occupies the largest part of the island of Great Britain.
• that England is a densely populated part of the UK.
C) Finish the sentences.
1. England has an area of more than....
2. England has a population of more than...
3. The climate of England is...
4. Temperatures range from... to...
5. England is divided into...
Group 2
SCOTLAND
Scotland forms the northern part of Great Britain, including the islands
of the Hebrides, Orkney and Shetland.
Scotland is a very mountainous country; three-fourth of the area of Scotland
is occupied by mountains.
Scotland is famous for its beautiful large lakes with mountains round
them. There are many rivers in Scotland, but they are not long. The longest and
the most important Scottish river is the Clyde. In its climate, its vegetation
Scotland resembles other regions of north-west Europe that lookout towards the
Atlantic.
Roughly the country is divided into three main regions: that of the
Border (i.e. the frontier with England), a pastoral area with low hills, that
of the central Lowlands, the least picturesque region, and the Highlands with
their beautiful landscape. A total Scottish population is over 5 million.
The Highlands of Scotland are among the oldest mountains in the world.
They reach their highest point in Ben Nevis. The area of the Lowlands contains
three quarters of the whole population and all the towns of considerable size
are situated here. The largest of them are Glasgow and Edinburgh. The Lowlands
are the cradle of the Scottish nation. They are the centre of heavy industry.
A) Answer the questions.
1. What regions of Europe does
Scotland resemble?
2. What main regions does Scotland fall into?
3. What is the highest point in Scotland?
4. What is the centre of heavy industry?
B) Finish the sentences.
1. The total population of Scotland is...
2. Scotland fall into three main regions...
3. Scotland is famous for...
4. The highest point of the highland is...
C) Speak about the Lowlands.
The Lowlands / have / a character of their own. contain three quarters
of the whole population are the region of the biggest cities in Scotland, the
cradle of the Scottish nation, the centre of heavy industry.
Group 3
WALES
Wales is a small country, bounded on the north and the west by the Irish
Sea, and on the south by the Bristol Channel. It has an area of more than 120
miles long and 60 miles wide. It has an area of more than 9 thousand square
miles (20 thousand square kilometers) and a population about 3 million people.
Approximately 70 per cent of the population resides in the three
industrial countries of the South — Glamorgan, Monmouth and Carmarthen.
The surface of Wales is largely mountainous, reaching 3,560 feet in
Snow-don. 6 per cent of ales is covered by forest, and much of the country is
pasture-land for sheep and cattle.
Wales is noted for mineral wealth, producing iron, coal, copper, lead,
zinc, slate and limestone.
The population of Wales is about 3 million people. About one half of the
total population lives in the South Wales coastal area, where the three biggest
towns are located — Swansea, Cardiff and Newport.
The ancient capital of Wales is Caernarvon, where the British monarch's
eldest son is traditionally crowned Prince of Wales.
Wales is traditionally is divided into North Wales and South Wales (sometimes
into North Wales, Mid Wales and South Wales) A county is a chief regional
administrative unit and according to this official division Wales consists of 8
counties.
There is no other part of the British Isles where national spirit is
stronger, national pride more intense or national traditions more cherished
than in Wales. The Welsh still proudly wear national dress on festive
occasions; the Welsh language is still very much a living force and is taught
side by side with
English at schools; the Welshmen, who have a highly developed artistic
sense, have a distinguished record in the realm of poetry, song and drama.
The Welsh call their country Cymru, and themselves they call Cymru, a
word which had the same root as "camrador" (friend or comrade).
A) Answer the questions.
1. What is the area of Wales?
2. What is its population?
3. What is Wales noted for?
4. What languages are spoken in Wales and why?
5. How is Wales traditionally divided? What is a chief administrative
unit?
B) Finish the sentences.
1. Wales has an area...
2. The population of Wales is...
3. Wales is noted...
4. Wales is bounded on...
Group 4
NORTHERN IRELAND
Ireland is the second largest of the British Islands lying in the
Atlantic off west coast of Great Britain.
The island of Ireland is politically divided into two parts: Northern
Ireland (Ulster), which forms the part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Northern Ireland, capital Belfast, and the Republic of Ireland — a
separated state named Eire in Irish, its capital is Dublin.
Northern Ireland has a population of about 1.5 million. It occupies 1/5
of the island of Ireland.
The majority of people are descendants of Scotts and English settlers
who crossed to the north-east of Ireland, mainly in the 17th century.
The outstanding feature of the Irish weather is its changeability.
Extremely high or low temperatures are unknown. Ireland is considered as a
whole, drier than either Scotland or Wales. There is an old Irish saying that
Ireland must be the cleanest place in the world, because God washes it every
year. An Irishman does not really expect it to rain every day, just every other
day; two days out of three on the west coast. It rarely rains hard, but the
water does not seem to keep dripping down most of the time. It is hard to grow
crops or even to make hay, when the June sun can't break through the clouds for
more than six hours a day. But it is a good climate for ducks, umbrella-makers,
and the rich pastures.
A) Answer the questions.
1. How many parts is Ireland politically divided into? Why?
2. Why is Northern Ireland a unique region within the UK?
3. What is the outstanding feature of the Irish weather?
B) Speak about Northern Ireland.
Northern Ireland / is / divided into 6 counties, has a population of
about 1.5 million, occupies 1 / 5 of the island of Ireland as a whole is
considered drier than Wales or Scotland
Having read the texts about different parts of the United Kingdom of
Great Britain and Northern Ireland the students of different groups change
their representatives who tell the students of the other groups about the
information they've learnt reading their texts. After that the students retell
all the texts in chain.
Reading
Read the poem about England and translate it in your language.
THIS ENGLAND
This lovely land that Shakespeare praised so well; That Wordworth
worshipped for her magic spell; This land of specious cities, and of fanes;
Pointing to Heaven, amid green-pastured plains;
This land of quiet rivers moving to the sea; Of wooded grandeur, nigh to
majesty; Of nighways rambling over hills and dales;
Of rose-crowned hedgerows in sequestered vales; This land of gentle
seasons that bestow Surpassing beauty as they come and go; Unfettered still it
shall remain, and free, This land that shows what loveliness can be.
Allan Junior
Fane / archaic / — church Nigh / archaic / — near Ramble — go for a long
walk Dale — a valley Hedgerow — a row of shrubs Sequestered — in rural
isolation Vale — valley Bestow — devote Unfettered — free
Homework
1. Write your commentary about the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Northern Ireland.
2. Translate the poem into Ukrainian.
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