THE SUPERHEROES of JIM CORBETT NATIONAL PARK
Unit developed by Rachna Nath and Neena Sarin (YHS Fulbright-Hays 2022)
May be preceded by lesson on Valmiki
Proficiency Level: Intermediate Mid/High
Time: 3×75 minutes
Objectives: Students will be able to:
- explain termites’ role and importance in nature.
- ask and answer questions about the way termites work in nature and urban settings.
- analyze, compare and contrast the importance of termites in forest and urban areas.
Language and Function: Students will be able to use:
- relative-correlative clauses: जो… वह…, जितना… उतना…, जैसा… वैसा…, जब…तब…, जहाँ… वहाँ…
- conjunctions (connectors) like: और, , जैसे कि, क्योंकि , ताकि मानो, परंतु, ,किंतु
- adverbial expression: पहले , अभी , उसके बाद, अंत में
- obligatory constructions: X को + infinitive + चाहिए / होना/ पड़ना (e.g. क्या करना है / होगा / पड़ेगा?)
- polite commands: मेहेरबानी करके / कृपा करके… दिखाएँ, समझाएँ; अच्छा होगा अगर आप … दिखाएँ, समझाएँ; ज़रा मुझे… के बारे में बताएँ
- Compound verbs as in हो गया, गिर पड़े, हो गए, etc.
- Passive construction
- ज़रूर (adverb), ज़रूरी (adjective), x -को x -की ज़रूरत (noun)+ होना ,
अवश्य (adverb), आवश्यक (adjective), x -को x -की आवश्यकता (noun)+ होना
Key Vocabulary:
- Ecosystem: पारिस्थितिकी तंत्र
- Food chain/Food web: खाद्य श्रृंखला
- Infestation: संक्रमण
- Cellulose: कोशिकारस
- Humus: खाद-मिट्टी
- Forest Ecosystem: वन पारिस्थितिकी तंत्र
- Urban Ecosystem: शहरी पारिस्थितिक तंत्र
- Micronutrient: सूक्ष्म पोषक तत्व
- Colony: बस्ती
- Dampwood: नम लकड़ी
- Drywood: सूखी लकड़ी
- Subterranean: भूमिगत
- Swarmer: झुंड बनाकर घूमना
- Worker: कार्यकर्ता
Performance Assessment Task: Imagine you are an entomologist (insect scientist), and you want to make people aware of the significance of termites to the local population in the community. Your role is to make them aware that termites are not just destructive but also are an important part of our ecosystem. Come up with a constructive plan to explain the following to the local community (either as a poster presentation or as a PowerPoint)
- A detailed description of two problems caused by termite infestations in local communities.
- Address the idea of termites as an important decomposer in our food chain and food web.
- Identify creative ways to safeguard the termite communities in rural settings. Use words/sentences/polite requests like
LESSON 1. Introduction (1X75)
Warm-up:
1. The teacher shows students pictures of termite infestation in forest and urban settings. The students identify and brainstorm in small groups what they see and how the pictures are related to each other. The teacher supports the discussions with a list of vocabulary on the board. S/he asks the students if they have seen such structures in their local communities and if yes to describe them.
2. The teacher shows a picture of a termite insect and discusses how the pictures shown are the homes of termites in urban and natural settings.
Entry Knowledge:
3. The teacher introduces the food chain and food web in connection to producers, consumers, and decomposers in an ecosystem.
The teacher talks about Jim Corbett National park in Dehradun, Uttrakhand, India. (using paragraph connectors: किंतु , परन्तु, इसलिए )
The teacher gives a brief introduction to Jim Corbett and the tiger sanctuary.
The teacher shows the students a video of the present-day Jim Corbett National Park and provides students with a list of key vocabulary for them to check when they hear the word.
LESSON 2. Termites in Forest Ecosystem – Jim Corbett National Park (2X75)
The teacher shows the students segments from a video of Jim Corbett National Park. Video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4D4R_TSw9c ( 6.01min). The teacher points to the termite infestation mounts and talks about how termites make this structure during their life cycle.
The students work in small groups to brainstorm the main reasons for the importance of these termite mounds in a forest ecosystem (The students know that the termites are decomposers, and the teacher connects them to the food chain and food web) (Students use environment related words from the vocabulary list provided).
Students will then share their ideas in the whole group setting and add to the list on the board.
Jigsaw: Students change groups and compare what their initial group chose as most important and come to a consensus about the two main environmentally friendly impacts of termites.
The teacher notes down all the student’s responses on the board.
Project: The students create a poster on termites and write three sentences about how termites are beneficial in a forest ecosystem. (Use तुलना करें और इसके विपरीत: सापेक्ष उपवाक्य, योजक जैसे ताकी, परंतु )
Extended Activity: The students ask and answer questions about how termites are real superheroes of a forest ecosystem.
LESSON 3. Termites in a Urban Ecosystem and Why They are Considered Pests (2X75)
The teacher revisits the first warmup pictures of the termites in urban settings.
In groups, students brainstorm about a termite mound in an urban setting. They report their ideas to the class. The teacher maps out the output from the students on the board. (use expressions, such as दीमक हमारे किसी काम नहीं आते हैं).
The teacher describes the impact of the loss of food sources in a natural environment due to deforestation and the construction of urban buildings to meet population growth and industrialization. In the whole group setting, the teacher and the students discuss the termite infestation and its repercussions.
The students revisit the concept of a pest (organisms that cause damage to property and humankind) and now reflect and write 5+ sentences on why termites in an urban setting are considered pests.
In groups, students in the role of pest control company, research and report a way to manage termite infestations in an urban setting in an organic way without using chemical insecticides.
- 2 paragraphs, 3+ sentences each
- 10+ new expressions and/or words, and
- 3 uses of the language structures they learned.
LESSON 4: Compare and Contrast Forest Termites and Urban Termites (1X75)
The teacher begins the classroom with a discussion on what the students learned about termites in the previous two lessons.
The teacher reiterates the students’ responses on what they recall about termites and their behavior in two different settings.(to emphasize = जोर देने के लिए, दीमक हमारे पर्यावरण के लिए बहुत महत्वपूर्ण हैं।
The students take turns and come to the board to write the main ideas of their discussion. Students use of ज़रूर (adverb), ज़रूरी (adjective), x -को x -की ज़रूरत (noun)+ होना ,अवश्य (adverb), आवश्यक (adjective), x -को x -की आवश्यकता (noun)+ होना
The teacher invites an entomologist to a meeting (zoom or in person) and the students interact with the insect scientist by asking questions.
Project: The students analyze if termites are true superheroes in a forest ecosystem and why they are problematic in an Urban setting. They choose the format of the final report: (resource: https://www.westernexterminator.com/termite-control/termite-prevention/)
- A Podcast
- A song
- Publication for a local newspaper
- Social media post for the local community
- A fiction story for the school newspaper/journal
Resources about termites:
https://www.himantar.com/termites-soil-and-my-mountains/ (comparison story)
https://hindi.indiawaterportal.org/content/atankavaadai-daimaka/content-type-page/1319333218 (story)