Exploring biology in English lessons

Lesson Plan (45 mins)

Note: This teaching material is designed for English language teachers.

Topic/theme

Why do we sneeze?

Content aims

Students explain why we sneeze

Key language

Biology terms (germ, muscle, nerves, brain), present tense simple

Practiced skills

speaking, listening, reading

Level

A2

Target age group

12 and above

Time

45 mins

Preparation/materials

Pictures of people sneezing (biology_short_material_1)
Reading text  (biology_short_material_2)
PC, speakers, data projector

What to do/procedure

Start the lesson by having students guess the word “sneeze” through the game Hangman.

Show/project the 4 pictures of people sneezing.  Tell students to work in pairs and tell each other about their experiences with sneezing. Here are some guiding questions:

  • Do you like to sneeze?
  • When do you sneeze?
  • What do you do when you sneeze?
  • How do you feel when people around you sneeze?

They can also refer to the picture and share why they think the people are sneezing.

Play this short video on five facts about sneezing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XwoX0FB8_Kw

Ask students to tell you which fact has surprised them the most.

Hand out the text about sneezing. Tell students to read it and choose a sentence they would like to draw. Students draw a picture that captures the meaning of the sentence on a loose sheet of paper. Each sheet gets a number. Then students look at each other’s drawings and try to identify the sentence from the original text that the picture represents.  They will need the original text to refer to throughout the whole activity.

Tell students to check their answers in pairs. Have the authors clarify any picture that hasn’t been matched successfully.

Tell students to try to retell the text to each other to answer the question why we sneeze. They can refer back to the text if needed. 

Notes

If you have time left or access to computers/tablets you can encourage students to look for more information about the surprising facts from the video.

Or you can show this short video: http://bcove.me/69e2jvim

And have students come up with what the best way to sneeze is. To provide the right answer, share this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vw0hIs2LEg