My republic – my pride

Цель и задачи урока. Активизировать речевую и мыслительную деятельность учащихся; учить бережно относиться к окружающей среде; развивать умение анализировать, выражать своё мнение; воспитывать чувство любви к своему родному краю, бережно относиться к природе.

Оборудование: карта Башкортостана, экран, колонки, компьютер, 2 ватмана, фломастеры, маркеры, карандаши, магниты, видео: 1) «Keeping with nature: Shulgan-Tash» (Russia Today); 2) «Nature is speaking. Mother Nature».

Creeting pupils, asking who is on duty, the date and the day.

Teacher. Today let`s watch one video «Keeping with nature» (Russia Today) (2 minutes).

Ok, good. Did you like this video? What is the theme of it?

Yes, right you are. Our beautiful republic of Bashkortostan.

Do you know what is our homeland famous for?

Pupils. Nature, landskapes, mountains, honey, ancient traditions.

Yes, you are right. But Bashkortostan is also famous for beekeeping, kumis, ancient tradition. It is great that we keep traditions and take care of them. So today we will talk about our homeland.

So let`s look at blackboard. You see new words, let`s translate them: Beekeeping, kumis, honey hunting/honey harvesting, thrive, safe, danger, endangered species, deforestation, depend on smth, regard, disregard. (Перевод и запись слов.)

Some call me 1)_______, others call me «Mother Nature». I `ve been here for over 2)______ billion years, 3)________ times longer than you. I don`t really people, but people need me. Yes, your future 4)_______ me. When I 5)______, you 5)______. When I falter, you falter. Or worse…

Your actions will 6)_______ your fate. Not 7)______. I am nature. I will go on. I`m prepared to evolve. Are you?

1. Kumis is a dairy product similar to kefir, but is produced from a liquid starter culture, in contrast to the solid kefir “grains”. Because mare’s milk contains more sugars than cow’s or goat’s milk, when fermented, kumis has a higher, though still mild, alcohol content compared to kefir.

Even in the areas of the world where kumis is popular today, mare’s milk remains a very limited commodity. Industrial-scale production, therefore, generally uses cow’s milk, which is richer in fat and protein, but lower in lactose than the milk from a horse. Before fermentation, the cow’s milk is fortified in one of several ways. Sucrose may be added to allow a comparable fermentation. Another technique adds modified whey to better approximate the composition of mare’s milk. Archaeological investigations of the Botai culture of ancient Kazakhstan have revealed traces of milk in bowls from the site of Botai, suggesting the domestication of the animal. No specific evidence for its fermentation has yet been found, but considering the location of the Botai culture and the nutritional properties of mare’s milk, the possibility is high. Kumis is an ancient beverage. Herodotus, in his 5th-century BC Histories, describes the Scythians processing of mare’s milk.

2. Honey hunting or honey harvesting is the gathering of honey from wild bee colonies and is one of the most ancient human activities and is still practiced by aboriginal societies in parts of Africa, Asia, Australia and South America. Some of the earliest evidence of gathering honey from wild colonies is from rock painting, dating to around 8,000 BC. In the Middle Ages in Europe, the gathering of honey from wild or semi-wild bee colonies was carried out on a commercial scale. Gathering honey from wild bee colonies is usually done by subduing the bees with smoke and breaking open the tree or rocks where the colony is located, often resulting in the physical destruction of the colony. As early as the Stone Age, people collected the honey of wild bees, but this was not done commercially. Unlike modern beekeepers, they did not keep the bees in man-made wooden beehives. Instead, they cut holes as hives in old trees at a height of about six meters and fitted a board over the entrance. Whether a colony of bees nested there or not depended entirely on the natural environment and that could change every year. The tree tops were also cut off in order to prevent wind damage.

Now you have to present to us information about kumis or honey harvesting. You divide into 2 groups. You have whatman and pencils. Other group has to ask some questions. So be attentive.

Some call me nature, others call me «Mother Nature». I `ve been here for over 4.5 billion years, 22500 times longer than you. I don`t really people, but people need me. Yes, your future depends on me. When I thrive, you thrive. When I falter, you falter. Or worse. But I`ve been here for eons. I have fed species greater than you. And I have starved species greater than you. My oceans. My soil. My flowing streams. My forests. They all can take you. Or leave you. How you choose to live each day, whether you regard or disregard me, doesn`t really matter to me. One way. Or the other. Your actions will determine your fate. Not mine. I am nature. I will go on. I`m prepared to evolve. Are you?

VII. Подведение итогов, выставление оценок, домашнее задание.