10

Didactic Unit
Didactic Unit
THE EUROPEAN
THE EUROPEAN
UNION.
UNION.
Geography, political systems and
Geography, political systems and
people
people

Jlio !. "#o$ Rodr%ge$
Pro&. de Geogra&%a e Historia
Programa 'iling(e
I.E.). "anel T*rraga Escri+ano
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Index
1. INTRODUCTION
2. OBJECTIVES OF THE DIDACTIC UNIT
3. TABLE OF CONTENTS
4. DIDACTIC RESOURCES AND ATERIALS
!. S"ACE AND TIE OR#ANI$ATION
%. SE&UENCE OF LEARNIN# ACTIVITIES
'. ASSESSENT
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1. INTRODUCTION
Although the Didactic Unit has been designed for FIRST CYCLE SEC!DARY
school students "1
st
and #
nd
course$% it could also be a&&lied to an' le(el% &articularl' the third
course of E)S))% de&ending on the difficult' of the acti(ities *e &ro&ose) In all this courses
Social Sciences ha(e +eogra&h' li,e a (er' i-&ortant content)
The Euro&ean Union is a -ain Unit in the &rogra- of Social Sciences% because our
students% in realit' all our li(es% turn round this su&ranational &olitical structure) So% *e
thought it could be -uch a&&ro&riated to students)
n A&ril% 1.th #00/ in the Athenian Acro&olis too, the &residents of #0 Euro&ean
countries) 1e do not ha(e to forget that at this age to&ics de(elo&ed in class should be related
to their o*n e2&eriences and li(ing en(iron-ent) 3' -eans of this to&ic *e *ill be able to
a*a,e our students4 natural curiosit' and enthusias- for the ne* ten countries% -ostl'
un,no*n b' the-% *hich before long *ill 5oin the Euro&ean Union)
The Euro&ean Union "EU$ is an econo-ic and &olitical union of #. -e-ber states
*hich are located &ri-aril' in Euro&e) The &o&ulation of 000 -illion habitants% generated an
esti-ated #67 share "US8 19)0 trillion$ of the no-inal gross *orld &roduct in #00:) As a
trading bloc the EU accounts for #07 of global i-&orts and e2&orts)
The EU traces its origins fro- the Euro&ean Coal and Steel Co--unit' "ECSC$ and
the Euro&ean Econo-ic Co--unit' "EEC$ for-ed b' si2 countries in the 1:00s) Since the
Treat' of Ro-e in 1:06 the EEC is co--itted to regional integration and has gro*n in si;e
through the accession of ne* -e-ber states) The addition of &olic' areas to its re-it and the
i-&le-entation of ne* institutions ha(e increased the &olitical so(ereignt') The Treat' of
<aastricht in 1::/ established the Euro&ean Union *ith its current na-e)
A -onetar' union% the eurozone% has been established since the ince&tion in 1::: and
is -ade of si2teen -e-ber states) The last a-end-ent to the constitutional basis of the EU
ca-e into force in #00: and *as the Lisbon Treat')
The EU o&erates through a h'brid s'ste- of su&ranational inde&endent institutions
and intergo(ern-entall' -ade decisions negotiated b' the -e-ber states) I-&ortant
institutions of the EU include the Euro&ean Co--ission% the Council of the Euro&ean Union%
the Euro&ean Council% the Court of =ustice of the Euro&ean Union% and the Euro&ean Central
3an,) The Euro&ean >arlia-ent is elected e(er' fi(e 'ears b' EU citi;ens) The EU has
10
de(elo&ed a single -ar,et through a standardi;ed s'ste- of la*s *hich a&&l' in all -e-ber
states including the abolition of &ass&ort controls *ithin the Schengen area) It ensures the free
-o(e-ent of &eo&le% goods% ser(ices% and ca&ital% enacts legislation in 5ustice and ho-e
affairs% and -aintains co--on &olicies on trade% agriculture% fisheries and regional
de(elo&-ent)
Through the Co--on Foreign and Securit' >olic' the EU has de(elo&ed a li-ited
role in e2ternal relations and defense) >er-anent di&lo-atic -issions ha(e been established
around the *orld and the EU is re&resented at the United !ations% the 1T% the +6 and the
+#0)
2. OBJECTIVES OF THE DIDACTIC UNIT
#)1) The students *ill be able to understand s&ecific oral language related to the #.
E)U) countries and their ca&ital cities% as used b' the teacher and the other class-ates)
#)#) The students *ill be able to use oral language fluentl' and co-&etentl'% using
linguistic and non?linguistic resources related to the 10 E)U) countries and their ca&ital cities%
sho*ing res&ect for and interest in understanding and being understood)
#)/) The students *ill be able to read a te2t related to the current 10 E)U) countries% the
10 ne* future Euro&ean Union countries and e2tract s&ecific infor-ation)
#)@) The students *ill be able to &roduce brief and si-&le *ritten te2ts about the
current 10 E)U) countries and the 10 ne* Euro&ean Union countries)
#)0) The students *ill be able to use autono-ous learning strategies de(elo&ed fro-
&re(ious language learning e2&eriences% related to other language stud' -ethods)
#)9) The students *ill be able to recognise and a&&reciate the co--unicati(e (alue of
foreign languages% and their o*n ca&acit' to learn and use the-% encouraging s&ontaneit'%
o(erco-ing their sense of the ridiculous and sho*ing understanding and res&ect to*ards
other languages% their s&ea,ers and their cultures)
#).) The students *ill be able to establish lin,s bet*een the -eaning% &ronunciation
and the s&elling of the current 10 E)U) countries and the 10 ne* Euro&ean Union countries%
not forgetting rh'th- and intonation)
3. TABLE OF CONTENTS
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It is clear that if *e *ant our students to learn &ro&erl'% *e as teachers *ill ha(e to use
the a&&ro&riate &rocedures% *hich *ill hel& the- acAuire conce&ts and% abo(e all% de(elo&
&ositi(e attitudes)
Contents de&end on the ob5ecti(es *e *ant to attain) The contents -ust fulfil a series
of reAuisites) The' -ust be (alid "useful to attain the ob5ecti(es$% significant "the' -ust ha(e a
logical internal structure$% suitable "ada&ted to the cogniti(e co-&etence of the students$)
The' -a' refer to three different fieldsB conce&tual% &rocedural and attitudinal) Conce&tual
contents are conce&ts% e(ents and &rinci&lesC attitudinal contents include (alues and rules)
The' foster fa(ourable attitudes to*ards learning and facilitate social relationshi&s inside and
outside the classroo-C &rocedural contents acti(ate -ental strategies and *or, techniAues to
de(elo& the learning &rocess) >rocedures are the basis of all the acti(ities)
The sa-e didactic -aterial can be *or,ed in different le(els follo*ing different
&rocedure) The acti(ities *ill (ar' according to the &rocedure *e use)
"ROCEDURES CONCE"TS ATTITUDES
ORAL AND
(RITTEN
CO"REHENSION
O)a* )ece+ti,e
+)-ced.)e/0
1) To recogni;e
&honological% non?
linguistic and se-antic
ele-ent)
#) To decode s'-bol)
/) To -atch)
@) To carr' out
instructions)
1) Related to the 10
E)U) countries together
*ith their ca&ital
cities)
#) Associated *ith the
-a& of Euro&e)
/) The E) U) countries
nu-bered fro- 1 to 10
in the -a& of Euro&e
*ith their ca&ital
cities)
@) *hich *ill hel& our
students de(elo& all
the ste&s necessar' to
co-&lete all the
acti(ities related to the
1) Sho*ing res&ect and
interest in understanding)
#) Recogni;ing the
i-&ortance of reading as
a source of infor-ation%
en5o'-ent and leisure%
and as a -eans of access
to other cultures
/) Recogni;ing the
co--unicati(e (alue of
foreign languages to
co--unicati(e *ith
&eo&le fro- different
cultures% and to
&artici&ati(e in different
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0) To understand a
Auestionnaire)
9) To associate i-ages
and sounds)
.) To anal';e s&ecific
oral infor-ation)
6) To infer -eaning)
()itten )ece+ti,e
+)-ced.)e/0
:) To associate i-ages
and *ritten infor-ation)
10) To understand a
Auestionnaire
E) U) Countries)
0) Related to S&ain)
9) related to the 10
E)U) countries together
*ith their ca&ital
cities)
.) Related to Euro&e)
6) Related to the to&ic
of Euro&e b' using
non?linguistic ele-ent)
:) Referring to S&ain)
10) Related to S&ain
international conte2ts)
@) Recogni;ing the
richness offered b'
different languages for
the understanding of our
e2&erience and
inter&ersonal
relationshi&s)
ORAL AND
(RITTEN
"RODUCTION
O)a* +)-d.cti,e
+)-ced.)e/0
1) To re&roduce sounds%
rh'th- and intonation)
#) To share infor-ation
/) To lin,)
@) To &ractice *hat the'
ha(e learnt)
0) To -a,e sentences
fro- the initials)
1) Related to the to&ic
of Euro&e
#) About S&ain and
Euro&e *ith the
teacher and the other
class-ates)
/) The 10 E) U)
countries and their
ca&ital cities)

@) Fro- a -a& of
Euro&e
0) Referring to the E)
U countries and their
1) Sho*ing res&ect and
interest in)
#) Understanding and
being understood)
/) Recogni;ing the
i-&ortance of *riting as a
source of infor-ation)
@) Recogni;ing the
co--unicati(e (alue of
foreign languages to
co--unicati(e *ith
&eo&le fro- the different
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9) To s&ea, through
s'-bols and dra*ing)
.) To transfer *hat the'
ha(e assi-ilated and
&racticed to ne*
co--unicati(e situations
()itten +)-d.cti,e
+)-ced.)e/
6) To re&roduce
e(er'thing the' ha(e
learnt)
:) To &ractice)
10) To transfer *hat the'
ha(e assi-ilated and
&racticed to ne*
co--unicati(e
situations)
ca&ital cities)
9) Referring to the E)
U) countries and their
ca&ital cities)
.) >resented in the
section e2tension
acti(ities)
6) Referring to the E)
U) Countries)
:) Referring to the E)
U) countries and their
ca&ital)
10) >resented in the
section e2tension
acti(ities)
cultures% and to
&artici&ate in different
international conte2ts)
0) Recogni;ing the
richness offered b'
different languages for
the understanding of our
e2&erience and
inter&ersonal relationshi&)
SOCIOCULTURAL
AS"ECT
1) To anal';e) 1) The countries *hich
for- the E) U)
Co--unit' and the
ne* ten -e-bers
*hich *ill 5oin the
Euro&ean Union in
#00@)
1) Sho*ing curiosit' and
res&ect for the other
-e-bers of the
Co--unit'% and
recogni;ing the
co--unicati(e *ith
&eo&le fro- different
cultures% and to
&artici&ate in different
international conte2ts
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4. DIDACTIC RESOURCES AND ATERIALS
@)1) A -a& of Euro&e)
@)#) A -a& of the <urcian autono-ous Co--unit')
@)/) T*o &hotoco&ies of the -a& of Euro&e for each student)
@)@) A &hotoco&' of the chart *ith all the Auestions related to the <urcian autono-ous
Co--unit')
@)0) If *e *ant to record the final tas,% a TD set% a (ideo recorder and a (ideo ta&e *ill
be reAuired)
@)9) A co-&uter)
@).) A (ideo &ro5ector)
@)6) The &rogra--esB 1ord% Eot >otatoes &rogra-% and >o*er>oint)
!. S"ACE AND TIE OR#ANI$ATION
Three 00 -inute lessons *ill be de(oted to co-&leting this Didactic Unit) The s&ace
could be the sa-e class of the grou&)
%. SE&UENCE OF LEARNIN# ACTIVITIES
9)1 FIRST TEACEI!+ >ERIDB Eo* to get and hold our students4 attentionF 1e
*ill start b' introducing the to&ic *e are going to tal, about to our students% but before *e
*ill as, the- to tell us e(er'thing the' ,no* about S&ainB 1here is S&ain *ith res&ect to
>ortugal% France% GF 1hat4s its ca&ital cit'F 1hat is S&ain -ade u& ofF 1here are <urcia%
Asturias% +alicia% and AragHnF 1hat are the three -ain ri(ers in S&ainF 1hich is the longest
ri(er in S&ainF 1hat4s the na-e of the Iing of S&ainF 1hat4s the title gi(en to the son of the
Iing and Jueen of S&ainF 1hat4s the na-e of the &olitical &art' *hich *on the last
electionsF 1hat4s the na-e of the >resident of the S&anish +o(ern-entF 1hat4s the
&o&ulation of S&ainF 1hat4s the na-e of the leader of the Socialist >art'F
nce *e ha(e *ritten all the ans*ers on the blac,board% the students are gi(en a
&hotoco&' on *hich the' *ill ha(e to *rite all the ans*ers) In order to do this &ro&erl'% the'
*ill ha(e to associate the Auestions gi(en in the first colu-n of the chart and the ans*ers
*ritten on the blac,board "*hole class *or, acti(it'% indi(idual *or, acti(it'$)
If there *ere 19 students% the class could be di(ided u& into grou&s of @% and the'
*ould chec, their ans*ers in grou&s) nce the' had finished filling in the ans*ers% the class
10
*ould be reorgani;ed again% and each student of each grou& *ould be the re&resentati(e of
their grou& in the other grou&s) The' *ould chec, their ans*ers again and% if there *ere an'
changes% these *ould be e2&lained to the others) Finall'% at rando-% one fro- each grou& *ill
be the s&ea,er and as a *hole class acti(it' the Auestions *ill be corrected)
The teacher *ill connect the &re(ious acti(it' to the ne2t one b' sa'ingB KSo there are
17 autonomous communities in Spain, and you know that Spain has been a member of the
European Union since 1985 And *e *ill go on to tal, about the E)U) countriesB K!hat do
you know about the European Union" !hat is the European Union made up of"L)
nce the' ,no* that the E)U) is -ade u& of 10 countries% *e as, the-% *ith the hel&
of the -a& of Euro&e% to tell us their na-es) 1e &oint at all the countries the' na-e)
The' are su&&osed to na-e so-e of the- in S&anish% and if the' are right *e *ill sa'
their na-es in English% and then the' *ill re&eat the- aloud) 1e *ill *rite the initials of each
countr' on the blac,board) 1hile the' continue to na-e the-% *e &oint at the ones na-ed on
the -a& and the' re&eat their na-es) 1e4ll &a' attention to location and &ronunciation)
10
10
9)# SEC!D TEACEI!+ >ERIDB nce *e thin, the' ,no* ho* to locate the
fifteen E)U) countries and &ronounce the- correctl'% the' are as,ed to na-e their ca&ital cities
of all the -e-bers of the E)U) If the' are *rong% *e *ill &oint out this to the-) 1e4ll
continue to *rite do*n the initials of all the ca&ital cities ne2t to the countries the' are
connected *ith)
10
KSo #adrid is the capita$ city of %L) 1e as, the students as -an' ti-es as necessar'
until *e -a,e sure the' all ha(e learnt the fifteen E)U) countries% their ca&ital cities and their
&ronunciation) !o*% *e gi(e the- a &hotoco&' *ith the -a& of Euro&e *ith the 10 E)U)
countries and their ca&ital cities in the to& right hand side corner)
First% indi(iduall'% the students *ill fill in the -a& *ith the nu-bers gi(en for each
countr') Then% in grou&s of four% the' *ill chec, their ans*ers) For each grou& the teacher
*ill correct a Auarter of the infor-ation about the countries and then the class *ill be
reorgani;ed again and each student of each grou& *ill be the re&resentati(e of their grou&s in
the other grou&s) The teacher corrects all the e2ercises and then the nu-bers the' *rote do*n
on their -a&s are erased and each countr' is coloured according to the line it is in)
1e re(ise the countries% their ca&ital cities and% abo(e all% their &ronunciation) First% all
the students are as,ed indi(iduall' the location of the countriesB K!here&s 'enmark"L K(t&s
o)er hereL) >resu-abl'% all the students are going to ,no* the location of all the E)U)
10
countries) If there is so-eone *ho doesn4t ,no* the ans*ers% so-eone else *ill hel& the- to
find the-)
Secondl'% the teacher &oints at each countr' se&aratel' and each student sa's the
na-esB K!hat&s this"L% K(t&s *in$andL) >resu-abl'% all the students are going to ,no* the
location of all the E)U) countries) If there is so-eone *ho doesn4t ,no* the ans*ers% so-eone
else *ill hel& the- ans*er)
Thirdl'% each student na-es the fifteen E)U) countries associating the- *ith their
ca&ital citiesB K+his is Sweden whose capita$ city is Stockho$mL% or KStockho$m is the capita$
city of SwedenL)
1e *ill &a' s&ecial attention to &ronunciation) The final tas, *ill be recorded)
9)/ TEIRD TEACEI!+ >ERIDB guess *here)
All the students are told to *rite do*n on a &iece of &a&er *here the' *ould li,e to go
on holida') The' are told that nobod' is allo*ed to see the countr' the' ha(e chosen% because
it is going to be a secret)
RE"UBLIC OF IRELAND
10
ne of the students *ho did not achie(e the ob5ecti(es -entioned is as,ed to stand b'
the blac,board% and heMshe is as,ed b' hisMher class-ates the &lace heMshe choseB K,re you
-oin- to +he United .in-dom"L K/o, (&m not (&m not -oin- to the United .in-domL) The'
continue to as, hi-Mher until so-eone guesses correctl') The one *ho guesses is gi(en 1
&oint% and he ta,es the &lace of hisMher class-ate) ne of the rules the' ha(e to follo* is that a
countr' cannot be re&eated t*ice)
'. ASSESSENT
A&art fro- e(aluating the Didactic Unit as a *hole% and abo(e all the final tas,% it is
i-&ortant to e(aluate e(er' single co-&onent the didactic unit is based onC including
suitabilit' of the ob5ecti(es% ti-ing% linguistic and non linguistic resources% &resentation of the
acti(ities% interaction of the teacher *ith the students and a-ong the students% in(ol(e-ent of
the students% interest in the to&ic on the &art of the students% etc) 1e do not ha(e to *ait for
the end of the didactic unit to e(aluate it)
E(aluation is going to hel& us to i-&ro(e our lessons% and% abo(e all% to hel& our
students learn indi(iduall') E(aluation is a funda-ental ele-ent in getting infor-ation about
the *a' the teaching?learning &rocess is de(elo&ing) It -ust &ro(ide constant feedbac, during
the *hole &rocess of teaching and learning) For effecti(e e(aluation -ust include initial
e(aluation% to get infor-ation about the situation of the students *ith res&ect to the to&ic% a
constructi(e e(aluation throughout the &rocess in order to sho* us ho* the grou& *or,s and
the rele(ant difficulties% and finall' su--ati(e e(aluation% to ,no* if the didactic ob5ecti(es
ha(e been achie(ed) Acti(ities in this conte2t allo* the teacher to obser(e and collect
infor-ation% enabling hi- or her to reflect on the learning and teaching &rocess) Therefore%
instead of designing acti(ities solel' to e(aluate% *e &ro&ose to select acti(ities *hich% as *ell
as being a &art of our didactic units% allo* us to obser(e and collect different infor-ation
aboutB
1) Using rh'th-ic &atterns)
#) Jualit' of &ronunciation
/) A&&l'ing the a&&ro&riate socio?co--unicati(e rules in s&ecific situations)
@) Le(el of oral co-&rehension)
0) Le(el of oral &roduction)
10
9) Attitudes "collaboration *ith the other &artici&ants of the grou&% assess-ent of
student4s o*n learning and attitude to the English language% etc)$)
.) T'&es of acti(ities and their a&&ro&riateness for the grou&)
The infor-ation collected b' -eans of these acti(ities *ill allo* us to reflect on our
students4 learning &rocesses and results% and to -a,e decisions aboutB the &oint at *hich to
inter(ene didacticall' and ho*C students *ho reAuire -ore direct and s'ste-atic &edagogic
assistanceC or different learning strategies to assure the desired understanding b' the *hole
grou&) The &lanning of ne* ideas or &ro&osals *hich include linguistic or for-ati(e ele-ents
reAuiring greater attention)
E(aluation is not onl' a Auestion of results) The entire teaching?learning &rocess needs
to be continuall' assessed) The de(elo&-ent of classes as a *hole% the achie(e-ent of
ob5ecti(es% and indi(idual learning &rogress and attitudes are e(aluated) S&ecial e-&hasis
should be &laced on acAuiring strategies and attitudes to de(elo& self?e(aluation as *ell as
-utual e(aluation &rocesses on the &art of the teacher as *ell as the &u&ils) In order to
de(elo& our students4 self?e(aluation I *ill &ro&ose so-e -aterials elaborated *ith the hel& of
the &rogra--e Eot >otatoes) I reco--end cross*ords *hich include the (ocabular'
&resented in class and -atching e2ercises)
<atch the ite-s on the right *ith the ite-s on the left)