Ecotourism in Spain: stork migration (1), Ordesa Park (2) - thematic units - SP Intermediate 1

Two units about ecology, a large bird, the stork, and a beautiful park in northeast Spain, el parque de Ordesa y Monte Perdido. Introduce new and varied subject matter. Please preview.

Unit 1. La cigüeña blanca

Did you know there are no storks in the Americas? Why are there myths about storks, such as the carrier of newborn babies? Did you know the storks are very big, their wingspan up to one meter? In the past these huge birds spent the summer in Spain and other European countries and wintered in Africa, yet with today’s changing climate, many storks have stopped migrating. Why? This fun science unit also deals with storks in the Autonomous Regions, the Spanish equivalent of states or provinces.

Unit includes:

1. Subject matter: ecology, Pyrenees

2. Vocabulary: body parts

3. Grammar: comparative and superlative

4. Oral practice: game on Extremadura

5. Homework: animals in danger of extinction

6. Internet: key words for web searches and research.

7. Answer key

Unit 2. El Parque Nacional de Ordesa y Monte Perdido

A group of friends goes hiking in a Spanish national park near the French border. The text is written like diary entries. One of the hikers describes what they see, do and think about. Of course ecology is important! Students then compare national parks in northern Spain with another in southern Spain and learn about the varied geography of the country. What a way to study the comparative and the superlative, contextualized.

Unit includes:

1. Subject matter: ecology, Pyrenees

2. Vocabulary: parks

3. Grammar: comparative and superlative

4. Oral practice: regional and national parks

5. Homework: letter

6. Internet: key words for web searches and research.

7. Answer key

I remember clearly when I first saw a stork nest. On my first trip to Spain, a fellow traveler pointed up and I gaped. I had never seen a nest that was several feet wide and was perched on the roof of a church. I kept looking until I saw my first stork. Again I gaped. It was so much bigger than any bird I had ever seen. Amazing. I knew I had to write about this.

Also available in an ECOLOGY BUNDLE.