Jigsaw reading activity (in L2)
Students are divided into groups (up to 10 students). Every group is given copy of a section of this teaching unit: history, geography, economy, population, government, food, festivals.
Students read the text (silent reading) and discuss about it: they retrieve the essential information and together try to prepare an oral exposition of the text they have read.
Then students form other groups: it is important that every new group is formed by one member for every topic of the previous groups. In other words, new groups are formed by one student for geography, one for history, one for government etc. Now every student has to give his/her oral report to the other students about the topic he/she has read. The other students take note of what is said because they need information for the following activities. Reports must be held in English.
Activities to test the student’s knowledge about Australia
Fill in the chart
Seas |
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Coasts |
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Lakes |
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Flora |
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Fauna |
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Mountain ranges |
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What happened in Australia in….?
1901 ……………………………
1851 ……………………………
1911 ……………………………
Complete the following sentences
- Australia is colloquially called “down under” because
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
- Australia’s flora and fauna developed in a different way because
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
- The name of Australia derives from
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
- In 1770 Captain James Cook
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
- The present head of the state of Australia is
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
Answer the following questions.
- Who were the first British immigrants that lived in Australia?
- What language do Australian speak?
- What are the main economic resources?
- Can you name the states and territories of Australia?
- Who is the head of the government?
- Who is the head of the state?
- How can you see that Australia was a British colony?
- What type of political system does Australia have?
- What typical food is there in Australia?
- What is “Australia Day” and why is it celebrated?
Discuss in pairs or in small groups
Think about the most important Australian festivities (Easter, Christmas, New Year’s Day etc.). Do you have the same traditions or are there differences in your own culture? Think about celebrations, food, shows, festivals and discuss with a partner or with your friends.
Assessment
These activities have a progressive level of difficulty. I suggest evaluating 1 point every correct answer of the first two activities (geography and history), 2 points every answer of the third exercise, 3 points every answer of the fourth exercise.
