Around The World

Around the world in 20 days

Objectives: Reading a short text about the first circumnavigation of the world in a hot air balloon. CLIL links to science and geography.
Skill or Grammar: Reading,speaking, giving reasons. vocabulary prepositions, linkers
Time:15 minutes
Age/Level: Late primary / Junior secondary

1) Allow students to feel the hot air rising from a burning candle. Ask themif hot air goes up or down.
2) On board write:
a) Who made the first hot air balloons?
b) When did a sheep fly?
c) When did the first humans fly in a hot air balloon.
3)Hand out texts. Ask Ss to find answers from first three paragraphs.
4) Read paragraphs 4 + 5 aloud as Ss follow text. (So Ss hear pronunciation of geographical names.)
5) Read paragraphs 4 +5 aloud again as one student traces the route on a world map.
6) Ss complete gapped text with given words.
7) Ss imagine journey and suggest the problems they might have had.
8) Other Sssuggest solutions.
9) Ss discuss feelings about travelling in a hot air balloon.

Since the discovery of fire, we have known that hot air rises. Two thousand years ago, Chinese people weremaking bags from thin paper. They put the bag over a burning stick to fill the bag with hot air. Then they laughed when the bag flew up into the sky.

In October 1783, Joseph and Jacques Montgolfier,two French paper makers made a very big paper balloon. They made a fire and filled the paper balloon with hot air. A sheep, a chicken and a duck were the first passengers to fly in a hot air balloon.The next month, on October 15th 1783, Pilatre de Rozier and Marquis d’Arlandes were the first human passengers to travel in a hot air balloon.

In March 1999 Bertrand Piccard and Brian Jonestravelled around the world in a hot air balloon without stopping. Their journey around the world lasted for 20 days.

They started from Switzerland and flew south to Mauretania in Africa. They wanted...