Explorations in English

- Book Two -
LESSON 2A. WEATHER REPORTS

GOAL:To understand weather forecasts and explain the weather.

A. REVIEW OF THE PREVIOUS LESSON
Respond to the questions or statements below-

  1. Does your family celebrate o-bon?
  2. Is the admission to the prefectural art museum high?
  3. Are there any amusement parks near here?
  4. How hectic have you been lately?
  5. Are there any ski resorts near here?
  6. What's your nick name?
  7. It's been a long time!
B. VOCABULARY REVIEW
Match the words on the left with the definitions on the right -

a. temperature
b. humidity
c. barometer
d. forecast
e. lately
f. lousy
g. flood
h. drought
 recently (opposite: long ago)
a unusually long time with no rain
an overflow of water after a heavy rain
a report of the future, a prediction
the amount of water vapor in the air
a machine to measure air pressure
(causual) air pressure itself
bad, terrible (opposite: great)

C. PRONUNCIATION FOCUS:
Circle the words in brackets you hear, then practise both words -

    1. Was the rain [heard / hard]?         2. Did you find the right [word / ward]?
    3. Was it wet(,) that [fur / far]?      4. Do you see that [cloud / crowd]?
    5. Move towards the [rain / lane].      6. It's [windy / wintry]!
D. PRE-LISTENING QUESTIONS
Discuss these questions in small groups -
  1. Does your hometown have a rainy season?
  2. How cold does it get in your hometown in winter?
  3. How hot does it become in your hometown in mid-summer?
  4. How do the climates of Tokyo and Okinawa differ? Where would you rather live?
E. LISTENING/SPEAKING FOCUS
Hitomi and her friend Bess chat about their weekend plans.

Part A - Read this dialog and try to guess the missing words,
then listen to the dialog -

Hitomi:
Bess:
Hitomi:
Bess:
Hitomi:
Bess:
*
Hitomi:
Bess:
Hitomi:
Bess:
Hitomi:
Bess:
 What are your plans this weekend?
It depends on the 1. If it is sunny, I'll play 2.
If it is rainy, I'll watch a 3 at home. How about you?
I have no special plans. Have you heard the long-term weather
forecast?
No. What's the 4 of rain?
I don't remember 5, but it's high.
Darn! The weather has been lousy lately.
Would you like to 6 instead?
That's a good idea. continue. . .

Part B - Now practice the dialog with a partner.
Look at your partner as you speak.
Part C - This time change the dialog to fit your experience.
Feel free to depart from the text and improvise.
F. CONTENT QUESTIONS:
Write the answers to these questions-
  1. What will Bess do if it rains?
  2. Is it likely to rain this weekend?
  3. How has the weather been recently?
  4. Doesn't Hitomi have any weekend plans?
    G. WEATHER REPORTS -
    Listen to these reports, then report the weather for your hometown - 
    
     "Good morning. This is the weather report for . The skies over 
     are  and the expected low is .  Currently, the wind is from the  at
      kph. The chance of rain tonight is %. The humidity is %."

    "Here is the current  weather report for . The skies around 
     are  and the temperature now is _________. The expected high today is  
     .  Tonight's expected low is .  At this time the wind is from the 
     at  kph. Tonight's  chance of rain is % and the humidity is %.
    H. GRAMMAR FOCUS
    
      Pattern: Q: How likely is ?
               A: It is ________.  ++ very likely. [COMMENT]. [QUESTION].
                                    + likely.
                                    - not so likely.
                                   -- very unlikely.
          Example 1:  Q: How likely is a snowstorm this week?                          
                   A: It is very unlikely. Winter is far away. Why do you ask?            

      Example 2:  Q: How likely is the Prime Minister to visit America next year?  
                   A: It is likely. He travels to many countries. What do you think?      

    
       1. rain tomorrow?                       2. snow this week?                         
       3. a typhoon this month?                4. an earthquake this year?                
       5. World War III this decade?           6. space travel this century?              
       7. electric cars within 10 years?       8. no class next week?                     
                     - make more questions -
    I. COMMON MISTAKES
    Correct these mistakes individually, then check together-
    1. *Today it is humidity.
    2. *Today's expect high is 25ｰ cm.
    3. *It will be rain tomorrow.
    J. DISCUSSION

    1. What's the climate like here?
    2. How often does it snow in this area?
    3. How humid is it here?
    4. How's the weather now?
    		 5. How will the weather be tomorrow?
    6. How windy is it now?
    7. How often do typhoons come here?
    8. Ask more questions.
    Ask more questions. Use patterns such as "How long?", "How fun?", etc.

    K. FEEDBACK

    Write your comments about today's lesson in the space below.
    Either Japanese or English is OK.


    What was most useful about this lesson?
    What was least useful about this lesson?
    Any ideas, suggestions, or comments?




    L. HOMEWORK
    Option A -

    Write about your summer vacation.

    Option B -

    1. Make sentences using the words listed in the left part of Exercise B.

    2. Write the answers to the questions in Exercises #C, #G and #J.

    ________________________________
    copyright (c) 1997 by Tim Newfields

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