Following on from my previous post about the gaming term ‘sandbox’ (and seeing as this website is called ‘ELT Sandbox'’), it only seems right that the first lesson plan I share here be based on a sandbox style game – Universe Sandbox. In brief, this is a simulation of our universe which allows you to play around by changing, adding and editing the cosmos! It offers a great way to get your students discussing, speculating and describing what they see.
Game: Universe Sandbox (Giant Army)
Available on: PC ($9.99 on Steam – has been as low as $1.99 on sale; available for free for educators via Steam for Schools)
Official website: http://universesandbox.com/
Suitable for: young learners and adults (pre-intermediate and up)
Necessary materials: working version of the game*, PC and projector (for large classes)
Available on: PC ($9.99 on Steam – has been as low as $1.99 on sale; available for free for educators via Steam for Schools)
Official website: http://universesandbox.com/
Suitable for: young learners and adults (pre-intermediate and up)
Necessary materials: working version of the game*, PC and projector (for large classes)
Lesson Outline
Draw a circle on the board to represent the Sun and ask the students to name the planets, going over the English spelling and pronunciation as you do so.
Next, start up the game and run a simulation of our solar system. Check that the students are familiar with the following words: planet, star, moon, asteroid, galaxy, orbit, gravity – using the simulation to provide examples.
Next, start up the game and run a simulation of our solar system. Check that the students are familiar with the following words: planet, star, moon, asteroid, galaxy, orbit, gravity – using the simulation to provide examples.
Explain to the students that the game allows you to make changes to the stars, planets, moons and pretty much everything in the universe and that is what you are going to do. However, first you want them to speculate about the effects the changes will have.
Put the students into small groups (2, 3 or 4 should be fine), assign a scribe and dictate the following questions**:
Put the students into small groups (2, 3 or 4 should be fine), assign a scribe and dictate the following questions**:
What would happen if ….
…the Sun doubled in size?
…the Earth had rings like Saturn?
…the Moon exploded?
…Jupiter crashed into the Sun?
…the Sun disappeared?
…the Sun doubled in size?
…the Earth had rings like Saturn?
…the Moon exploded?
…Jupiter crashed into the Sun?
…the Sun disappeared?
Ask the students to speculate in their groups, suggesting some ideas for the first question such as “how would this affect the rest of the solar system?”, “would the planets start to orbit the Sun faster?” or “maybe Mercury would be completely destroyed” (useful examples to avoid “everything will be destroyed!” being the only answer.
As a class, discuss each group’s ideas before running the simulation in Universe Sandbox.* Instruct students to make notes about what they see and then compare what happened in the simulation to their own predictions.
Here is a screencast example of what happens when the Sun doubles in size:
As a class, discuss each group’s ideas before running the simulation in Universe Sandbox.* Instruct students to make notes about what they see and then compare what happened in the simulation to their own predictions.
Here is a screencast example of what happens when the Sun doubles in size:
And here is another showing the Moon being destroyed:
You can find links to more videos from the game on the Universe Sandbox website.
To wrap up, each group reports back to the class about how accurate their predictions were. Make a note of any common language errors and go over them on the board afterwards.
To wrap up, each group reports back to the class about how accurate their predictions were. Make a note of any common language errors and go over them on the board afterwards.
Lesson Notes
*If you don't have access to the game in class (or just as a back-up), you can make use of screencasted simulations from the game (available on the official website or via a quick YouTube search) instead.
**These quesitons can, of course, be simplified for lower levels unfamiliar with the second conditional. Each quesiton, for example, could be posed as a scenario ("The Sun suddenly grows to twice its normal size! What will happen to the solar system?" and so on).
And finally, it always pays to become familiar with the software and run through each simulation a few times before you use this in class!
**These quesitons can, of course, be simplified for lower levels unfamiliar with the second conditional. Each quesiton, for example, could be posed as a scenario ("The Sun suddenly grows to twice its normal size! What will happen to the solar system?" and so on).
And finally, it always pays to become familiar with the software and run through each simulation a few times before you use this in class!