martes, 16 de abril de 2013

CHAPTER 4 TITAN




Chapter 4 BEFORE READING ACTIVITY      

The following  words have been taken from chapter 4. What do you think it's going to happen in this part of the story?
APPROACHING
BELTS
ATMOSPHERE
FRICTION
BANG
 
  I think __________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________





 
 

CHAPTER 4
TITAN

TITAN

 Titan was not very large. Its diameter was about 5,830 km. A rotation on its surface lasted 18 hours and it revolved round Saturn in 16 days. Its gravity was 1 point under the Earth's gravity. The centre of Titan had very high temperatures and it might be extremely thick.
"Be ready for the last part of the Turning Operation." Said Eddy. "We are very near Titan's ground. We are approaching at a speed three times that of sound. Weather conditions on Titan's surface are bad. Winds at a speed of 120 kph, thick fog and very low temperature. Ignition of landing thrust in 60 seconds."
"Roger, Eddy." Told Dame. "We're going to the control cabin"


Temperature on Titan's surface was 178 degrees below zero, but this was the only satellite that had atmosphere. This atmosphere was essential to allow human beings to breath and it protected any living creature against ultraviolet rays. No living organism could live without it. Titan's atmosphere, however, was composed of methane, nitrogen, ethane, hydrogen cyanide, carbon dioxide, oxygen and water vapour.
"Thirty seconds to go." Eddy told. "Fasten safety belts."
"Let's sit down. How are you, Tow?"
"Fine thanks, Dame. Are you ready?"
"Yes I am."
"Fifteen seconds... fourteen... thirteen... twelve... eleven... ten... nine... eight... seven... six... five... four... three... two... one... ignition. Spaceship turning round to horizontal position... Operation completed. Twenty minutes for landing. Speed decreasing. Thermic shield working."
 The ship was now entering Titan's atmosphere. The friction with the atmosphere caused an overheating all over Scud's outside. Vibrations were getting stronger and stronger.
"It's hot in here." Said Tow.
"Yes it is. Eddy!" Called Dame. "Show all indicators on screen."
"O.K. Dame."
 Eddy's screen was now full of meters, gauges and figures.
"Look at that! A thousand centigrade degrees outside."
"Don't worry." Told Eddy. "The Scud will resist."
"Fifteen minutes for landing."
 Suddenly, a bang was heard and the spaceship begun to fall without any control.
 
 


          

CHAPTER 3 THE TURNING OPERATION



SATURN AND ITS SATELLITES

"Ten minutes to go before stopping the main thrust."
"Thank you Eddy." Said Dame.
"Be ready for the Turning Operation. Fasten safety belts." Warned Eddy.
"Let's go to the control cabin. We can sit there and watch the procedure." Dame said.
 Travelling as they were, at such a terrific speed, the Scud would crash on Titan and that would be the end of the mission. The Turning Operation prevented that situation. It consisted in turning the Scud completely round, nose to tail. It had these steps:
1st- Cut out the main motor.
2nd- Start up an engine giving directional thrust.
3rd- When the Scud was completely turned round, start up the main propeller to brake the descent.
4th- At a very slow speed and very near Titan's surface, start up landing propellers to place the spaceship horizontally and land gently on Titan.
"One minute to go." Said Eddy.
"Get ready, Dame."
"I am."
"Check systems, Eddy." Said Tow.
"I check all systems twenty times per second." Said Eddy.
"Sorry, I didn't remember."
"All systems O.K. Thirty seconds to go."
"Dame!" Called Tow. "Something strange is happening to me."
"What?"
"A very weird sensation I can't understand it."
"Yes. Tow's systems are going faster than normal." Eddy said. "That's what human call getting nervous. Fifteen seconds to go."
"Maybe it's a malfunction." Dame said. "We'll give you a check up shortly afterwards."
"Ten seconds to go... nine... eight... seven... six... five... four... three... two... one... ZERO. Main motor stopped." Announced Eddy.
"Any problems?" Asked Dame.
"None at all." Answered Eddy. "Twenty seconds to start up the directional thrust."
"How do you feel, Tow?" Asked Dame.
"Much better. It's amazing."
"Ten seconds to go...nine... eight... seven... six... five... four... three... two... one... ZERO." Said Eddy.
 The Scud begun to turn round.
"Be ready." Said Eddy. "Cut off the directional thrust in ten seconds... nine... eight... seven... six... five... four... three... two... one... ZERO... Operation completed."
 The bottom of the ship was now pointing at Titan.
"Ten seconds to start up the main motor." Said Eddy. "Nine... eight... seven... six... five... four... three... two... one... ZERO... Operation entirely successful."
"Eddy, how long will this brake operation last?" Asked Tow.
"Two hours."
"Enough time to recharge my systems." Said Tow. "Don`t you need to do it, Dame?"
"No, but we should check whether your systems work properly or not."
"O.K." Said Tow. "Eddy, verify all my operations."
"I'm doing it, wait a second... that's it. You are in 100% working order."
"Thank you, Eddy." Said Tow. "So, what was the problem?" He asked.
"I guess you have been working for too long and you need what humans call rest." Answered Dame. "You'd better go and recharge and forget all about it."
"Maybe but I'm an N.R.G. and I was made to resist almost everything. I can't understand this. See you later."
 Tow went to the electricity storage cells room.
"What do you think, Eddy? What's happening to him?"
"I really don't know." Eddy answered. "Let me think about it for a while."
"All right Eddy."
 
 


  Chapter 3 ACTIVITY
 
Write, at least, five words that describe the "Turning Operation".


 
 

               

CHAPTER 2 APPROACHING SATURN


"What's the matter, Eddy?"
"Nothing too important really. She's been sleeping too deeply for too long."
 In long voyages across the universe, people and robots had to travel whilst sleeping to save energy. This sleep was very heavy. People were laid down inside a glass case in a low temperature environment to reduce their living signs to a minimum. Dame had been sleeping for ten months.
"What can I do, Eddy?"
"Go with Dame and talk to her." Answered Eddy.
"O.K. I'll be there in a minute."
 Dame was another NRG robot. There were six more robots sleeping in the spaceship. Their names were: Rag, Moll, Jazzy, Stiff, Posh and Silt.
"May I come in?" Asked Tow.
"Yes, Tow. Come in." She whispered.
 Dame's room was a square. It had a bed inside a glass case in the centre. Its walls and furniture were white. The only different coloured thing in the room was Eddy's screen. Dame was sat on the bed.
"How are you, Dame?'
"Not as well as I would like." She moaned. "I'm feeling a little sick."
 Dame was also three years old but she looked like a woman of 22. She was tall. She had blond hair and blue eyes. She was also wearing brightly coloured tight clothes.
"You've been sleeping for too long and your body needs exercise. That's all. Let's walk for a while." Tow said smiling.
"Please, help me to stand up."
"Hold my hand!"
"Thank you! Where are we going?"
"To the control dome."
"O.K. I'm going with you. By the way, what's the date? Where are we?"
"It's 14:50 G.M.T. on December 2nd, 2020 and we are approaching Saturn. We've got 24 hours to start the landing sequence on Titan."
"So our journey is about to finish?"
"I don't think so. There's a lot of work to be done and if we are successful in our mission, we'll have lots of boring days in Titan."
"That's right. But we are the last hope for humanity and if we fail, there will be no hope for all living creatures on planet Earth."

"The Earth was almost dead..."

 The Earth was almost dead. Women and men had wasted all the natural resources. The atmosphere was polluted and so were rivers and seas. There were no more forests because trees had been cut down or burned. The use of products that destroyed the ozone layer, had reduced this important shield to a minimum and acid rain was poisoning plants and animals. There wasn't enough food to heal the world.
 The solution was in the hands of powerful people who didn't care for anything but themselves and they didn't want to do anything to change this situation.
 There were, however, a group of countries that wanted to save the human race: The N.E.A.
 The N.E.A. had entrusted a project called STARTING POINT to the N.E.S.A and this enterprise had made the Scud able to achieve this job.
 The STARTING POINT project was simple: Find or create a place for humans to live. It was divided into four steps:
 Firstly, the construction and launch of a spaceship.
 The second was the search of a planet similar to the Earth in gravity and atmosphere. Scientists knew that Titan, one of Saturn's satellites, had atmosphere and they had also discovered that its gravity was similar to that of the Earth's.
 The third step was to prepare Titan to receive people from the Earth by transforming its atmosphere, ground and weather. This step might be finished in six months.
 And, finally, the fourth was to send people, animals and plants to live on Titan.
 Tow and Dame went into the control dome.It was near the nose of the Scud and It was a round room with six armchairs and six big screens. The floor was made of glass and through it you could see the stars.
"Eddy, how are things?" Asked Dame.
"Quite well." Answered Eddy. "We are near Saturn's orbit and we must be prepared for landing procedure. It will start in twenty-three hours time."
"Eddy, may we help you?"
"No, thanks. I can manage myself quite well."
"Excellent." Replied Dame.
"You'd better take a look through the telescope." Eddy said. "The scene is fabulous."
"Look at that! Saturn! Oh, it's fantastic!"
"Great, isn't it?" Tow said.
 Saturn was the seventh planet of the Earth's solar system. It was a very large yellow and green planet encircled by rings. It was 95 times bigger than the Earth. Surprisingly its gravity was near the same that the Earth's. Saturn needed 29 years to go round the sun once and a day on its surface lasted only 10 hours.
"Come on!" Said Tow. "Let's start working."

SATURN





Chapter 2 ACTIVITIES
 Answer these questions.
 
-How old is Dame?
 
-What is she wearing?
 
-Do you think she is :
1-Happy  2-Angry  3-Sad  4-Tired


   

CHAPTER 1 ON BOARD THE SCUD



A VIEW FROM THE SPACESHIP
 "Scud, This is N.E.S.A. speaking from planet Earth. You are now 750,000 km. from Saturn's orbit. The second part of your mission is about to start. Set all timers for a 24 hours final countdown. Wake Dame, make sure that all systems work properly and be ready yourselves for landing on Titan's ground. Operations will start tomorrow at 14:00 h. Greenwich Meridian Time. Answer Scud! Over."
 An image of a man wearing an uniform had appeared on Eddy's screen and Tow could hear that voice loud and clear. Although he was more than one and a half billion kilometres (1,500,000,000 km.) far from the Earth, messages didn't take long to arrive there, only slightly more than half an hour. Using a newly developed technology, they travelled as lightwaves but at a speed twice that of light.
 "N.E.S.A. This is Scud answering." Said Tow. "All systems and timers are working and ready. Eddy's going to wake Dame and we'll be ready for landing. Over."
 Tow was on board the Scud, a Spaceship of the Council for Universe Development, a spaceship launched by the N.E.S.A. the New European Space Agency. It looked like a vacuum cleaner and it was as long as ten football pitches. It used solar energy as fuel. It had lots of rooms and services.
 The Scud, travelling at a speed of 50 kilometres per second, was on its way to Titan, one of the ten satellites that moved around saturn.
 Tow was one of the ultimate versions of the N.R.G. series of robots. These robots had been built up in a country called Spain by a group of different enterprises from different countries: Norway, Finland, Luxembourg, Portugal, Eire and, of course, Spain. These countries were the six members of the strongest Economic Community in the world: The N.E.A. New European Alliance.
 N.R.G. robots looked like men and women. They didn't breathe, eat or drink but they seemed to do it in order to live with human beings.
 They had no feelings, emotions, dreams or childhood memories. They hadn't got blood, sweat or tears neither. They could stand the lowest and highest temperatures. They were four times stronger and more agile than humans. They were able to jump higher and longer than any man and run three times faster than the fastest man. They never got tired. Their artificial brain was 20 times more intelligent than that of a human's.
 They only needed sunlight or electricity to carry on living. They were created just to help humanity.
 Tow was three years old. He looked like a man in his early twenties. He was very tall. He had short brown hair and big brown eyes. He was wearing brightly coloured tight clothes.
 "Eddy! Wake up Dame."
 "All right, Tow."
 Eddy was Scud's main computer. It had been Tow's only fellow traveller for the last 294 days when the Scud took off from the Moon.
 Eddy was the last generation of the MATE Series III Computers and was very similar in its spirit to those old Amiga computers of the late eighties. It hadn't got a keyboard nor a mouse. Neither Ram nor Rom. It didn't need floppy or hard drives and it didn't use C.P.U. or CD ROM. All you could see on this almost ultimate computer was a screen. There was one in nearly every compartment of the ship, on walls, on tables or on desks. Its screens looked like posters and they could be as wide as you wanted.  From these screens, Eddy controlled everything on board. You could also do a lot of things with Eddy: You could listen to music or watch 3-D movies with superb quality of sound and vision, read every newspaper or book published in the Earth, chat, play games and so on.
 "Dame's awake. She's waiting for you," said Eddy.
 "Where is she?" Tow asked.
 "She's at the infirmary. She doesn't feel very well."
 



  Chapter 1 ACTIVITIES  

What do you know about Tow?
 
What year is it in the story
 
Where is Tow?
 
Who or what is Eddy?

 


BEFORE READING ACTIVITIES



1-Read the title of this novel.
 a) What does leap mean?
 b) Read the blurb and the chapter headings below. What do you think this story is going to be about?
 
2-These are the chapter headings :
 
THE TURNING OPERATION
JAZZY´S ROOM´S EMPTY
JAZZY IS NUTS
EARTHQUAKE
LIFE
 MOLE´S LAUNCHING
SABOTAGE!
JAZZY APPEARS
WHERE´S JAZZY?
SOMETHING WEIRD
TITAN
 FAILURE!
ON BOARD THE SCUD
APPROACHING SATURN
 CRASH
HIT
MOLE
  IMPACT
   Of course, they are in wrong order.
a) Which chapter do you think is going to be the most exciting?
b) Which one the most important?
c) Which chapter heading do you think is the first and which is the last?
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
3- Read the blurb, look at the remaining chapter headings and decide your own order.
 1.-
 2.-
 3.-
 4.-
 5.-
 6.-
 7.-
 8.-
 9.-
 10.-
 11.-
 12.-
 13.-
 14.-
 15.-
 16.-
 17.-
 18.-
4- According to the blurb you´ve read,
  a) What´s going to happen in the story.
 
 
 
 
 
   b) Try to invent your own final.
 

PLANET LEAP: BLURB AND INTRODUCTION




 BLURB

 The Earth is almost dead. Women and men have wasted all the natural resources. The atmosphere is polluted and so are rivers and seas. There are no forests because trees have been cut down or burned. The use of products that destroy the ozone layer, have reduced this important shield to a minimum and acid rain is poisoning plants and animals. There isn't enough food to heal the world.

 Tow and Dame are on board the Scud, a Spaceship searching for a new world for humans to live. Will they be able to save the earth?




INTRODUCTION

 Aren't we human?
 Have we not eyes?
 Have we not hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions, fed with the same food, hurt with the same weapons, subject to the same diseases, healed by the same means, warmed and cooled by the same winter and summer?
 If you prick us, do we not bleed?
 If you tickle us, do we not laugh?
 If you poison us, do we not die? **

**Adapted from The Merchant of Venice, By William Shakespeare.


 



 

PROYECTO DE USO DE SOPORTES WEB Y ELEMENTOS MULTIMEDIA


Este proyecto está dirigido a alumnos y alumnas del primer ciclo de la Educación Secundaria Obligatoria, 1º y 2º de ESO.

Descripción de la metodología

Tras analizar diferentes tipos, podemos definir blog como un sitio Web en donde uno o varios autores desarrollan sus contenidos.
Los blogs también se pueden denominar como weblog o cuaderno de bitácora. La información se actualiza periódicamente y, de la misma forma, los textos aparecen en forma cronológica; habitualmente, primero aparece el más recientemente escrito.
En cada artículo de un blog, los lectores tienen la capacidad de dejar sus comentarios. A su vez, estos pueden ser contestados por el autor de manera que se puede ir creando un diálogo.
Otra característica de los Blogs es que suelen tener una temática específica. El autor escribe con total libertad y la temática es particular, los hay de tipo personal, periodístico, empresarial o corporativo, tecnológico, educativo, políticos, etc.
            Existen varios sitios en Internet que permiten la creación de blogs y Blogger, que será la herramienta utilizada en este proyecto, es un servicio de Google que permite crear y publicar una bitácora en línea. Es muy sencillo de usar dado que, para publicar contenidos, el usuario no tiene que escribir ningún código o instalar programas. El bloguero, en este caso el profesor, simplemente, ha de aprender a subir sus contenidos y facilitar el acceso de sus alumnos y alumnas al blog. Los blogs alojados en Blogger están alojados en los servidores de Google dentro del dominio blogspot.com que es internacional y gratuito.

Este proyecto será publicado bajo una licencia Ceative Commons de “Reconocimiento No Comercial Sin Obra Derivada” o CC BY-NC-ND, licencia por la que permito a otros descargar la obra y compartirla con terceros siempre y cuando me den crédito, pero no permito cambiarla de forma alguna ni usarla comercialmente.


 



Aplicación educativa


Este proyecto servirá como material de apoyo y refuerzo para alumnos y alumnas.
Pudiera ser planteado como trabajo voluntario u obligatorio o, simplemente, como trabajo extra para alumnos y alumnas que realicen las actividades más rápido.
Además pudiéramos encontrar alumnos y alumnas que pidiesen al profesor una ampliación de su currículo y, con esta actividad, tendríamos un elemento educativo más.

 Basándonos en la aplicación Blogger que arriba se ha descrito, el proyecto de uso docente de soportes web y elementos multimedia en lenguas extranjeras consiste en la lectura, por parte de cada alumno y alumna de una clase, de una historia corta de Ciencia Ficción y la posterior realización de varias actividades que demuestren que se ha comprendido la lectura y, de esta manera, afiancen el aprendizaje de la Lengua Inglesa. 
El alumno o alumna encontrará actividades a realizar antes de empezar a leer, otras tras haber leído cada capítulo y otras tras haber leído la historia.
Con las actividades previas se pretende estimular la imaginación del alumno o alumna y, a la vez, hacer crecer su curiosidad que le servirá de acicate a la hora de iniciar la lectura.
Con las actividades propuestas para ser realizadas tras la lectura, se comprobará, en primer lugar, si el alumno o alumna ha realizado la lectura y el grado de comprensión que tal alumno o alumna muestra.
Las actividades finales se proponen para conseguir dos objetivos. En primer lugar un feedback personal del alumno o alumna y, en segundo lugar, la invención de las líneas maestras de una nueva historia.
Tales actividades serán corregidas y devueltas al alumno o a la alumna con las correcciones y comentarios pertinentes

Objetivos a conseguir


1-Leer y comprender un texto adecuado a las capacidades e intereses del alumnado y extraer información general y específica
2-Utilizar la lectura como fuente de placer y de enriquecimiento personal.
3-Realizar actividades escritas que requieran la comprensión del texto.
4-Escribir textos sencillos.
5-Desarrollar la autonomía en el aprendizaje
6-Utilizar tecnologías de la información y la comunicación, para obtener, seleccionar y presentar información por escrito.

Contenidos que se incluyen


-Comprensión de información general y específica de textos, en soporte digital.
-Lectura autónoma de textos. Uso de fuentes en soporte digital o multimedia, para obtener información.
-Uso de diferentes estrategias de lectura, con ayuda de elementos textuales y no textuales, usos del contexto, de diccionarios o aplicación de reglas de formación de palabras para inferir significados.
-Producción de textos sencillos y estructurados.
-Uso adecuado de la ortografía y de los diferentes signos de puntuación.
-Interés por la presentación cuidada de los textos escritos o en soporte digital.

Actividades a realizar por el alumnado

1-Leer, por capítulos, una novela corta de Ciencia Ficción.

2-Realizar y entregar al profesor las actividades de comprensión y de escritura que, al principio o al final de cada capítulo, se sugieren.

Recursos TIC


Se utilizará un formato Blogger en el que se incluirá un capítulo en cada entrada, con sus correspondientes actividades, en formato PDF y/o digital, para ser entregadas y/o enviadas al profesor mediante correo electrónico.

Asimismo, apoyándonos en el formato elegido para el proyecto, el alumno o alumna tendrá la capacidad de publicar sus comentarios, en forma de preguntas o peticiones y, a su vez, tales comentarios podrán ser contestados por el profesor o por otros alumnos y alumnas de tal manera que se va creando un diálogo que incidirá en la mejora de la actividad y servirá asimismo de ‘feedback’

Temporalización


Dependiendo del calendario, se publicará un capítulo por semana dándose de plazo hasta la publicación del siguiente capítulo para que el alumno haga la entrega o envío de las actividades una vez las haya completado.

 Reflexión final


No reviste especial dificultad diseñar y poner en marcha la actividad
salvo que se sea absolutamente neófito en diseño web. La metodología en sí
misma es sencilla y pudiera ser motivadora para el alumnado. Un problema
sería que, por falta de medios, el alumnado no tuviera la oportunidad de
acceder a un ordenador y/o a Internet en su casa.