The Caribbean Islands

Content Objectives

Students will:

• Learn about the concept of the Caribbean islands.
• Access prior knowledge and build background about island environments.
• Explore and apply the concept of why the Caribbean islands are popular to visit.

Language Objectives

Students will:

• Demonstrate an understanding of the concept of the Caribbean islands.
• Orally use words that describe island environments and tropical weather.
• Extend oral vocabulary by speaking about popular vacation destinations.
• Use key concept words [island, vacations, scenery, hurricanes, dance, costumes, pristine, undisturbed, tropical, balmy, traditions].

Other

Explain

• Use the slideshow to review the key concept words.
• Explain that students are going to learn about the Caribbean islands:
• Characteristics of islands.
• Why the Caribbean is a popular vacation destination.
• Caribbean scenery, weather, and traditions.
• The dangers of tropical weather.

Model

• After the host introduces the slideshow, point to the photo on screen. Ask students: What do you see in this picture? (a map of the Caribbean islands). Are these islands close to the United States? (Yes, they are located to the south east of Florida and the southern United States.)
• Ask students: How do you know these are islands? (They are surrounded by water.)
• Say: The Caribbean islands are a popular place for people to go on vacation. Why do you think this is so? (They are close to the United States, they are surrounded by the ocean, etc.)

Guided Practice

• Guide students through the next two slides, showing them that the Caribbean islands are also a popular place to go on vacation because they offer beautiful scenery and tropical weather. Always have the students describe the physical characteristics of the islands, their scenery, and their weather.

Apply

• Play the games that follow. Have them discuss with their partner the different topics that appear during the Talk About It feature.
• After the first game, ask students to talk about the features of the Caribbean islands. After the second game, have them discuss environmental problems that affect the Caribbean.

Close

• Ask students: What environmental problems affect the Caribbean islands? Do you still think they would be a good place to visit? Explain why you would like to visit the Caribbean and how you should plan your vacation.
• Summarize for students that The Caribbean Islands are beautiful places where people go to spend time at the beach, and enjoy nice weather. The islands are rich with fun, sun, dance, and food. Encourage them to think about where in the Caribbean they would like to visit.