Ecotourism in Costa Rica (1), La Ruta Maya (2) - Thematic units for SP Intermediate 1

Two thematic units about tourism.

Here is a way to cover some Central American countries that we tend to forget.

They have so much to offer! Please preview.

Unit 1. Ecoturismo. La Ruta Maya

La Ruta Maya is a wonderful, although incomplete, initiative. It is a route that stretches from Mexico to Panama and goes through all the Central American countries. It promotes ecotourism in the entire region. This unit covers both the geography of the region as well as some of the animals that live there, specifically the quetzal. The Ruta Maya also stops at many archeological sites in Central America and some of those are covered. My students really liked the exercise on camping at Tikal.

Unit includes:

1. Subject matter: tourism, geography, history

2. Vocabulary: animals

3. Grammar: articles

4. Oral practice: tourism and ecotourism

5. Homework: letter requesting information

6. Internet: Key word list to facilitate a search

7. Answer key

**Unit 2. Turismo. De San José a Puerto Limón
**
The unit describes an actual trip from San José down to Puerto Limón. Content based learning goes beyond mere geographical information. In Central America, temperature depends on altitude. Thus, it can be cool in the mountains but if you travel down to the coast, just a few hours away, it is very hot. Now, this might sound really boring, but check out the Preview and you will see it is not.

In addition to learning about weather, there is an exercise about countries that export bananas and import industrial products. Let the students come to their own conclusions about the basic economic problems that poor countries face. Ah yes, I sell bananas and I need to buy computers.

Unit includes:

1. Subject matter: tourism, geography, history

2. Vocabulary: agricultural products (bananas)

3. Grammar: querer and poder

4. Oral practice: comparing imports and exports of target culture and own country

5. Homework: Maya and Aztec cultures

6. Internet: Key word list to facilitate a search

7. Answer key

Entirely in the target language.

All Miraflores units include answer keys.