Movie Segments for Warm-ups and Follow-ups

This blog contains a series of movie segments to be used to brainstorm, warm up, follow up, and activate schemata, preparing the students for the topic that will be discussed in class. Here you will find the segments, the lesson plans, and varied topics to foster conversation. You may use the activities for a full two-hour class or they can be used separately to brainstorm or wrap up the topic, focusing on conversation, vocabulary and listening comprehension.

Monday, April 22, 2013

The 5th Element: Space Tourism

Space tourism is space travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. A number of companies have sprung up in recent years, hoping to create a space tourism industry. Orbital space tourism opportunities have been limited and expensive, with only the Russian Space Agency providing transport to date.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_tourism

Read the text below and discuss the questions It was taken form the awesome site Howstuffworks. Check it out. It is worth visiting. :

The space tourism industry is officially open for business, and tickets are going for a mere $20 million for a one-week stay in space. Despite reluctance from NASA, Russia made American businessman Dennis Tito the world's first space tourist. Tito flew into space aboard a Russian Soyuz rocket that arrived at the International Space Station on April 30, 2001. The second space tourist, South African businessman Mark Shuttleworth, took off aboard the Russian Soyuz on April 25, 2002, also bound for the ISS. Greg Olsen, an American businessman, became tourist number three to the ISS on October 1, 2005.

On September 18, 2006, Anousheh Ansari, a telecommunications entrepreneur, became the first female space tourist and the fourth space tourist overall. She was also the first person of Iranian descent to make it into space. Charles Simonyi, a software architect, became the fifth space tourist on April 7, 2007.

These trips are the beginning of what could be a lucrative 21st century industry. There are already several space tourism companies planning to build suborbital vehicles and orbital cities within the next two decades. These companies have invested millions, believing that the space tourism industry is on the verge of taking off.

http://www.howstuffworks.com/space-tourism.htm

1. What's your opinion about space tourism?

2. How do you think space tourism will be in the future?

3. Would you like to take a space trip? Why (not)?

4. Watch the movie segment below and decide if you think this kind of trip will be possible? If so, when will it take place?

5. How similar/different is it from our conventional tourism?

6. What's your opinion about this kind of trip?

MOVIE SEGMENTS DOWNLOAD - THE 5TH ELEMENT