Fun at the Museum – Teacher's Guide

Overview

The students will prepare a brochure for a museum from somewhere around the world, highlighting the special features of that museum.

Students can access all the Internet sites for the Interactive Activities by clicking on Students' Area in the ECB On-line homepage, then click on:

·  Interactive Activity links - The links to the Internet sites are listed under the names of the activities.
- or -

·  Elementary, Junior High, High School. Choose their coursebook.

Level

Foundation and Intermediate (Grades 6-9)

Time

Two or more 45-minute lesson

Group Size

Pairs or small groups

Students' Prior Knowledge

The students can ...

... follow links on the Internet.

... scan for specific information.

Objectives

The students will be able to ...

... understand general meaning of text with visual support.

... guess the meaning of unfamiliar words from context.

... understand the significant details of a text.

... present information on limited content supported by visual aids.

... produce a short piece of coherent writing.

... extract information from visual data.

... locate relevant information for a specific purpose.

Procedure

Ask the students if they have every visited a museum.

What type of museum (art, science, technology, history, etc.)?

List the names of the museums they mention on the board.

What special features and exhibitions did each museum have?

Who took them to the museum (family, school)?

What do they like or dislike about museums?

Tell the students that they are going to visit a virtual museum somewhere in the world. They will collect information about that museum and prepare a brochure about the museum and its special features.

Give the students Activity One: Information This worksheet will help them collect the information they need to complete their brochure.

Here is a list of museums that the students can visit on the Internet:

·  Hand's On Children's Museum - Olympia, Washington USA

·  Institute and Museum of History of Science - Florence, Italy

·  Madame Tussaud's - London, England

·  National Aquarium of Baltimore - Baltimore, USA

·  Ontario Science Centre - Toronto, Canada

·  The Children's Museum - Boston, USA

·  The Natural History Museum - London, England

If you are familiar with other museums on the Internet, you may add them to the list for your class.

Presentation

Have the students prepare a brochure to advertise the museum they saw on the Internet. The brochure should include:

·  Name of the museum

·  Location

·  Days and hours open

·  Entrance fee for each age group

·  General exhibitions

·  Special exhibitions

·  Special features: a short description of at least one special feature or exhibition

·  Explanation of why this is a special museum

·  Optional: pictures and additional information

Variations on a theme

Ask the students to prepare a brochure about their ideal museum.

Student's Worksheet

To find the Internet site you need to complete this activity

·  Go to: ECB Online: www.ecb.co.il

·  Click on Student's Area

·  Click on Interactive Activity Links or look for your course book.

·  Find the activity: Fun Museum

·  Use these Internet sites to help you.

A. Collect information about one museum.

Name of museum
Address
Phone number
Fax
Internet address
Email
Opening days and hours
Entrance Fee
Special Dates the museum is not open
General exhibitions
Special Exhibitions

B. Choose one exhibition:

·  Write a short description of what you can see there.

·  What makes this museum special?