Lesson 5

Lexical exercises

Match the words and their suitable definitions given below:

Invention, to explode, dynamite, powerful, closet, iron, bulb, fortune, phonograph, discovery, genius, to carry out, research.

the lighting or heating device of a various kind and the device;

something that someone has made, designed or created, that did not exist before;

subsidiary room in an apartment house;

outstanding abilities, talent, talent in the certain field of activity;

the first device for mechanical record and reproduction of a sound;

to do a particular piece of work;

LISTENING

Listen to the text “Inventors and their inventions” and fill in the chart.

Inventor	Invention	Year of invention	Country
Samuel Colt
Rudolf Diesel
Samuel Morse
Charles Macintosh
Charles Rolls, Henry Royce
Gottlieb Daimler, Charles Benz

DISCUSSION

Work in pairs.

Discuss with your partner:

• What scientific achievement, discovery or invention plays an important part in our/your life.

• Why?

• How often do you use it in your everyday life?

WRITING

Write a report concerning the previous activity.

Lesson 6 Problem-based task (webquest) w omen in Science

Introduction

We have been discussing the contributions of famous scientists who have revolutionized science. Many of these scientists have been men. However, there have been many women and other minorities who have contributed to the progress science has made.

The university newsletter is publishing a special edition showcasing the contributions of women scientists. You have been assigned the task of producing an article on a female scientist and you have carte blanche on who she might be. Your team (the photographer and the reporter) is responsible for getting the article of no more than a page to the newsletter editor. Your class has been assigned the role of editorial team and is responsible for putting out the entire newsletter.

The Task

• At the end of the project you should have a newsletter article of the specific female scientist you chose.

• Use any word-processing program and find a newsletter layout template to do your article.

• It should contain pictures of the person and/or pictures of co-workers and/or pictures of her contributions to science. Remember you have limited space.

• Also provide information on her early life and personal information.

• The editorial team is responsible for collating the articles and getting out the newsletter in its final form. Lorna Holtman

You might want to consult some of the following web sites:

• 4000 years of Women in Science

• Women of the Marine Biology Laboratory in MA

• Women Physicists

• Women Biologists

• Women Mathematicians

• Women in Science, Math and Elsewhere

• Quick Newspaper-style columns

You may find the information about these famous women scientists – Marie Curie and Sofia Kovalevskaya from:

Resources recommended:

http://www.woodrow.org/teachers/ci/1992/MarieCurie.html

http://www.ampolinstitute.org/

http://www2.lucidcafe.com/lucidcafe/lucidcafe/library/95nov/curie.html

http://www2.lucidcafe.com/lucidcafe/lucidcafe/library/95nov/curie.html

http://www.france.diplomatie.fr/label_france/ENGLISH/SCIENCES/CURIE/marie.html

http://www.staff.amu.edu.pl/~zbzw/ph/sci/msc.htm

http://departments.kings.edu/womens_history/mariecurie.html

http://www.matharticles.com/

http://www.scottlan.edu/lriddle/women/women.htm

Process

• First you have to choose a partner and choose / define your roles.

• Next, you will choose a woman scientist and to avoid replication, make her name known to the class by posting it on the bulletin board.

• Using the web sites listed above (or do a search of your own)to search for information on your scientist. Be sure to save some images to a folder on your disk to include in your report.

• Include the following information in your report:

• Date and place of birth, Early life, Education, Work Experience, Scientific Discovery, The significance of her discovery, How her discovery affects our daily life, Her later or current life.

• Make sure your final report is typed in the newspaper layout format and that you include relevant images.

Evaluation