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p. 1 © Miriam Peters, 2014 Seasons This worksheet aims to engage students into talking about seasons and the problems extreme weather can cause. Since there is no specific focus on grammar (except a small task on modals), it can be perfectly used as a gap filler anywhere. It includes describing pictures, understanding weather forecasts, reading and free writing. Step 1 Show your students the very first picture. Ask them to describe what they see. Take some time for this; don’t be satisfied with “there are four women”. They can describe how the women look, where they are, what they do and so on. Show them the second picture. Ask them to describe it again. They should describe that they see two people riding a bike on an avenue. Some students might already realize that, in contrast to the first picture, in this picture leaves are on the ground and that it is fall. Third picture. After having heard another description from a student, show them all three of the pictures and ask them about the difference between them. They should say that the situations take place in different seasons (depending on the level, they might not know the word “seasons” yet; however, the words “summer” and “winter” should at least be known). Talk a little more about seasons with them. What does the world look like in winter? What happens in summer? Introduce useful vocabulary to talk about the topic.
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  • p. 1 Miriam Peters, 2014

    Seasons

    This worksheet aims to engage students into talking about seasons and the problems

    extreme weather can cause. Since there is no specific focus on grammar (except a small task

    on modals), it can be perfectly used as a gap filler anywhere. It includes describing pictures,

    understanding weather forecasts, reading and free writing.

    Step 1

    Show your students the very first picture. Ask them to

    describe what they see. Take some time for this; dont be

    satisfied with there are four women. They can describe

    how the women look, where they are, what they do and

    so on.

    Show them the second picture. Ask them to describe it

    again. They should describe that they see two people

    riding a bike on an avenue. Some students might already

    realize that, in contrast to the first picture, in this picture

    leaves are on the ground and that it is fall.

    Third picture. After having heard another description

    from a student, show them all three of the pictures and

    ask them about the difference between them. They should

    say that the situations take place in different seasons

    (depending on the level, they might not know the word

    seasons yet; however, the words summer and

    winter should at least be known). Talk a little more

    about seasons with them. What does the world look like in winter? What happens in

    summer? Introduce useful vocabulary to talk about the topic.

  • p. 2 Miriam Peters, 2014

    Step 2

    Coming up is a little task. The students should read different weather forecasts and match

    them with the correct season. The vocabulary in the forecasts is on a very high level.

    However, it is not about the students understanding every word of the forecasts, but finding

    the important information to successfully complete the task. Solutions are the following:

  • p. 3 Miriam Peters, 2014

    Step 3

    The next four pictures can be shown to the students all at once. Ask them to describe what

    they see now. They should get to the fact that sometimes, weather can cause extreme

    situations, like forest fires, floods, tons of snow or dangerous storms. Talk a little more about

    extreme weather.

    Step 4

    The reading part can be designed freely. Either the students read the text on their own or

    some of them read it out loud. The task referring to it should be completed quickly.

    The task about giving advices should be done by the students on their own. Before, you

    could quickly revise modals.

    The weather story task can be used as homework.

  • p. 1 Miriam Peters, 2014

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    Task Match the weather forecasts with the correct season! (Texts taken and adapted from www.worldweatheronline.com )

  • p. 5 Miriam Peters, 2014

    What is happening in these pictures?

  • p. 6 Miriam Peters, 2014

    Task Surviving Hurricane Carla (by Carol Park)

    I was 10 years old in September of 1961 when a storm began to form out in the Gulf of Mexico. The storm grew into a Category 5 hurricane. They named it Carla. We lived in a Houston neighborhood with small homes and ditches running alongside the streets. In those days, people did not evacuate to flee storms; they stayed at home. My parents decided to throw a hurricane party for the adults and while they were inside playing cards, the kids were outside running wild. It was scary playing outdoors while the clouds grew dark and swirly. I remember it looked like night, in the middle of the afternoon. It began to rain. The wind began to howl and something in the air made us feel wild and free. We waded in the ditches trying to catch crawfish but when the lightning began to strike dangerously close to the crackle of thunder, my mother called us in. We were completely wet. Despite the edge of fear in the air, it was exciting and we all were happy. I was hypnotized by what the storm was doing outside. I remember watching out of our window. The wind caused the trees and bushes to bend over in funny ways Id never seen before. The power lines

    were swinging around. The ditches flooded, then the roads, and then the yards. After some time, everything became still and silent. Even the birds were quiet. The winds calmed, the clouds parted and the sun appeared. The eye of the hurricane was over Houston! We ran outside and I looked up to see blue sky. After about an hour, the clouds darkened and the wind and rain returned. We went back inside and watched the second half of the storm. We went to bed with the rain beating on the roof and the wind howling. The next morning we awoke to a different world. The sun was shining and the birds were chirping. Tree limbs were down everywhere and the roads and gardens had become a giant lake. Hurricane Carla had left her mark on the landscape and our lives. The best part was that everyone was safe and the kids got a bonus 3 days off from school! (found on and adapted from http://eo.ucar.edu/webweather/story_hurricane.html, August 2014)

  • p. 7 Miriam Peters, 2014

    Task Is the sentence correct or false?

    correct false

    Carol lived on a farm.

    When the storm came up, everybody had to leave their houses.

    Before the storm, the children played outside.

    The storm came in three parts.

    The storm changed the city a lot.

    The children had to go to school the next day.

    Task Write advices for very bad weather. Use the modals could, might and should.

    What to do when there is too much rain?

    1

    2

    3

    What to do if the sun is too hot?

    1

    2

    3

  • p. 8 Miriam Peters, 2014

    What to do if it is too cold outside?

    1

    2

    3

    What to do if a storm comes up?

    1

    2

    3

    Task Write your own weather story. Have you ever been in a big storm? Or did you ever experience a big heat? If not, invent a story.

  • p. 9 Miriam Peters, 2014