|
|
A short history of
the internet
The ability of the computer to send and
receive information across powerful networks is becoming very useful
particularly in education. But, no matter how large the Internet has
become, it still offers us only a few of the services that
will be possible in the future with broadband networks. The Internet
is the largest store of information on this planet. The Internet is
commonly named as 'the Net'.There are almost three million servers
on the Net, accounting for a number of users estimated to reach at
least 125 million in two years.
The Internet owes its existence to a very unlikely source: the
United States' Department of Defense at the Pentagon. The internet
was born for military reasons thinking about a future nuclear war.
We can find the real origin of present internet in five super-computers
which began working in the 1980 for the American National Science.
|
Internet is similar to an infinite library. You can find any kind of
information related to languages, science, music, technology, medicine,
travels, entertainments. Students can take advantage of the internet for
their studies. But internet is so big that we need to know how to find
what we are looking for. It is very easy to look for information in the
internet, especiall using the search engines. Email is another great way
of communicating with people anywhere in the world and we can't forget
online conferencing, chats, etc. which facilitate communication among
many people.
Pre-writing:
 |
What do you know
about internet?
 |
Have you ever used
internet? What for?
|
|
Do you have internet at
home?
|
|
Do you think it is
useful?
|
|
What can you do on the
internet?
|
|
Discuss your answers
with your partner.
|
|
|
Let's learn
some vocabulary related to computers and the internet:
|
Remember to use the
online dictionary if you don't know the meaning of a word
|
search engine |
browser |
|
home page |
to
save |
|
download/upload a document |
to chat |
|
update |
links |
|
to load a page |
screen |
|
mouse |
monitor |
|
keyboard |
floppy disk |
|
network |
server |
|
web page |
web site |
|
inbox |
compose an email |
|
to surf the net |
to log in |
|
to log out |
keypal |
| broadband |
modem |
|
Vocabulary
practice: "Computers and Internet"
|
|
The future and
Internet: Put the words in the
correct order to form a sentence.
|
Writing:
WRITING
AN EMAIL
|
Email: Let's
write an email to a keypal!
|
Step 1: Enter this page and look for a key
pal
|
|
Step 2: Learn about how to write an email
|
|
Step 3: Write your email
|
|
Revise your text using revision tips
|
|
Step 4: Send it!
|
|
E-mailing allows people to
communicate
around the world very quickly. You can make friends, practise writing and get
to know other countries and cultures.
You can exchange letters emails,
participate in projects or an online quest...one day you may even arrange to
meet the people you've been writing to or visit the country you've been
learning about...
Step 1: If you have an
email account already continue to step 2.
If you don´t have an email account get one on the
internet. There are many sites which provide email services. Some of the most
famous are hotmail.com, yahoo.com, etc. Let's try with Yahoo as an example:
Step 2: How to write an email
Step ·3: Your first message. Your first message should
be an introduction to yourself. Follow the guidelines to write it.
| Self Introduction |
You can use expressions like "Let
me introduce myself", "Here is some information
about me."
I am glad to
write a little bit about myself.
|
Name |
You can introduce your name
writing "My name is ........," "I
am .........,"
My first name
is Hanako, which means "flower child."
|
Place of birth, of present residence |
It is always
interesting to tell the other person where you were born and where you live: "I
am from .......," "I was born in ..........," " I am from ....... but
now I live in .........," "My hometown is ........".
|
What you do/study |
"I
am a student at .......... High School in .........," " I am studying
at ..........." "I am in the ......... grade or ..(first, second, third,
fourth) year of ESO (Compulsory Secondary Education)
|
Your hobbies,
favorite classes, music artists,etc |
"My
favorite class is ................, because
.......," "I like ......, " "I
love .........."
"My hobby is/are
.........
|
How you spend your free time |
"I
often watch TV/play ..........in
the evenings/ in the afternoons," "My favorite
pastime is ......."
|
Your family |
"My family
has ...members," "There are four members in my
family," "My brother's name is........ he is......years old..."
" My fathers is a ......(job),"
"My mother works in ........"
|
Ask for information about the
other person: |
"Please tell
me what you do ........." "Could you tell me about
your ........?," What do
you do in your free time? "
|
Describe your ideal penpal: |
"I am looking
for anyone interested in ............," "I
am interested in ...... and I am looking for a
keypal who are interested in corresponding with a Japanese"
|
Expressions to use at the end
of your messge |
"Best
regards (Saludos)," "Thank you for reading my
message," "I hope to hear from you soon"
(Espero tener noticias tuyas pronto," "I look forward to
your email" (Estoy deseoso de recibir tu mensaje", "Please
send me an email"
"Write to me
soon!," "Let me know how you are doing these days"
"Take care" (Cuidate), "Cheers"
Example
Hello!
My name is Arturo.
I am in my last year of secondary education (ESO).
My favourite class is Geography because I
love to know about different places in the world. I
study English hard to travel abroad in the future.
I live in Huelva with my family. My family
consists of my father, my mother, my two brothers and myself. My
father is an accountant, and his primary job is keeping the books at
a local library. My mother teaches
French at ---- Senior High School. My brothers go
to junior high school. My hobbies are reading, writing, and traveling.
I have traveled a lot in Spain, and I have
visited the United States. I often watch travel programs on TV. I am
interested in foreign cultures. I am looking for a keypal who would
like to exchange information about our cultures and chat about what we
do and think in our daily life. I am looking forward to hearing from
someone who has the similar interests.
Best regards,
Arturo ______
Find a Keypal here
Writing - rewriting:
Now you are ready to write your first email message:
|
Write your email below |
|
Proofread your message
taking into account the suggestions above |
|
Copy your message, open
your email account, paste your message and send it. If you need help go here
 |
|
Surfing the web
to improve our writing
|
In this activity we are
going to visit a web pages especially created to help us improve our
writing. You will see that writing can be exciting!
"Paragraph Punch":
Follow the instructions to write a composition step by step. You will be
surprised how easy writing is! Keep your
online dictionary open to look up words that you don't know.
|
Writing skills:
Using conjunctions
|
|
A final exciting
activity: "Chain Story!!!"
|
In this activity you work
in groups of 4. Each student writes a sentence to continue the story. It
will be funny!
Rewriting:
|
Remember to
revise and rewrite your text
|
|
Doing research on
the internet:
|
Many people are worried about the
world, peace and our natural environment. Each of us can contribute to a
better world. An simple example for that is recycling our waste.
|
Enter this
interesting webquest:
Save the earth!
|
|
Parque Nacional de Doñana (Huelva)
Paraje Natural Marismas del Odiel (Huelva)
The future of our world
is in our hands. Thousands of trees were cut down in tropical
forests last yearBut, are your ecologically aware?
|
Discuss with
your partner the things we can do to save the earth. Think about pollution,
saving energy, using recycled materials, saving water, etc.
|
|
Read the following text how our environment
can be saved.
|
|
SAVE OUR
ENVIRONMENT
It is
important to save water. Most of the earth's water is salt water, In
fact, only three per cent pf the earth's water is fresh. Many things
can be done to save water. For example, you can have shower instead
of baths. Did you know that every time a tap is left running
whle you brush your teeth, about 6o litres of water is wasted?
Noise pollution is another important way of
polluting our environment. Life in our cities is becoming more noisy
because of the increasing number of cars. Noise makes people become
very nervous. When people in Spain were asked which type of
pollution was most serious for them, more than 80 per cent mentioned
noise pollution in first place. Car's exhaust fumes also collaborate
in increasing the greenhouse effect which is making the ozone layer
bigger and bigger every year.
Besides, thousands of trees are cut down
every year in the Amazon rain forests and endangered species are
displaced of their living places. In many places of our planet
many trees and forests are being destroyed by fires causing a
terrible damage to animals.
|
|
Did you know all these words?
Check your memory and look up for the words you don't know.
|
|
aerosol
carbon monoxide
climate endangered species
nuclear energy
solar energy exhaust fumes
fertilizers
forest fires
global warming greenhouse effect
ozone layer pesticide
pollution rain forest
waste wildlife
cut down destroy
protect
pollute
recycle
save
throw away |
|
Practice
the use of these words:
|
|
Grammar revision:
Passive voice:
|
|
Think about the things we
should
or mustn't
do to save our environment. Write a list of ten sentences. Then join the
sentences to create a composition. Think about these topics. Worksheet "earth"
 |
| Water |
| Recycling |
| Plastic or paper bags? |
| Fire |
| aerosol cans |
| car |
Remember to complete the brainstorming
before writing:
|
|
Final activity: Webquest on Recycling
|
|
|
