The Earth consists of habitats and colours each serving as the present and future life of people, animals and plant species . Viewed from space, it is a beautiful sphere filled with shades of blue, in fact, it is called Blue Planet.
. If we look at it more closely, we can see such a great range of different environments that using the word “nature” seems somewhat reductive as we are unable to convey its richness and diversification.
However, we can be aided by poets, writers and even philosophers who before natural landscapes, animals or corners of the planet reached after long explorations were able to translate emotions into words. Nature is mysterious and many writers have attempted to give animals a voice to allow them to narrate their world, their relationship to other animals and to humans… as seen from their point of view, as is the case in Animal Tales, thanks to authors such as Rudyard Kipling, Mark Twain and Saki. What every tale has in common, besides putting us in touch with this extraordinary abundance, is making us understand that we are guests on this planet, just like all other living beings, and in so far as we may have greater needs and desires, we also have a duty to understand and respect habitats and biodiversity and to contribute, to ensure the survival of species and the balance of nature. The beauty of it all is that there is no need for heroes, all that is needed is a little respect and patience, like the kids in Mystery in New Orleans who volunteer in a Louisiana reserve for animals and trees; or like the patient gardener in The Secret garden who lets the beauty of a garden tended with care and affection in turn be a place of joy and affection for two children. The American philosopher Henry David Thoreau said: “We need the tonic of wildness…At the same time that we are earnest to explore and learn all things, we require that all things be mysterious and unexplorable, that land and sea be indefinitely wild, unsurveyed and unfathomed by us because unfathomable. We can never have enough of nature.». After all, we do not require much to be happy, a bit of nature and its colours.
“Alarm at Marine World” (A2)
“Animal Tales” (B1.1)
“Rain, Rain, Go Away!” (B1.2)
“The Enormous Turnip” (Level 1)
“The Lighthouse Ghost”- Lesson Plan (A1)
“The Lighthouse Ghost” – Lesson Plan – Worksheet (A1)
“Natural Environments” – Lesson Plan (B1.1)
“Natural Environments” – Lesson Plan – Worksheet (B1.1)
“The Call of the Wild” – Listening – Audio File (A2/B1)
“The Call of the Wild” – Listening – Activity (A2/B1)
“The Call of the Wild” – Listening – Activity – Answer Keys (A2/B1)