Seasons combined (writing acivities)

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.


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:


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.





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


What is happening in these pictures?


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 I’d 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)

http://eo.ucar.edu/webweather/story_hurricane.html


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


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.


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Seasons combined (writing acivities)