Is there
anyone out there?
Is there
anyone out there?
Primary Grammar:
- wh- questions, past simple, modifying adjectives with adverbs
Primary Vocabulary:
- signal, encounter, extra-terrestrial, allegedly, sighting, mysterious, eyewitness, formation, universe, habitable, UFO, speculation
Secondary Vocabulary:
- sceptic, believer, enthusiast, theories, convinced, confused, mysterious, strange, unusual, curious, ordinary
Speaking & Discussion Outcomes:
-
Individual Speaking:
- Students will form questions and express their own opinions
-
Group Discussion:
-
Discuss what they think about various mysterious phenomena such as crop circles
-
Debate the existence of extra-terrestrial life
-
Role play in different investigative roles
-
Let's get to know each other!
Introduce yourself, then tell the group something–a truth or a lie–so they can guess!
Use your video
to vote
Your turn
Let's get to know each other!
Team
Lie
Team
Truth
Choose fact
or fiction!
Let's see what
you know
Circle the word you think fits the defintion
Circle the word you think fits the defintion
speculation
signal
eyewitness
encounter
UFO
habitable
extra-terrestrial
allegedly
universe
formation
sighting
mysterious
suitable for life
the arrangement or structure of something
guessing based on incomplete information
difficult to understand or explain
from outside Earth or its atmosphere
an instance of seeing something, especially something unusual
a person who sees something happen and can describe it
an unexpected or unusual meeting
a sign or message sent to communicate information
said to be true but not yet proven
all of space and everything in it
Unidentified Flying Object; something seen in the sky that is not identifiable as a known object or aircraft
length: 1 min
Well, IS there life out there?
Well, IS there life out there?
Listen up! Let's hear why there's all this speculation.
CLICK here IF YOU WANT TO READ ALONG WITH TEXT
Is there other life in the universe? Many believe it's possible. Allegedly, thousands of extra-terrestrial sightings have taken place worldwide, with eyewitnesses describing mysterious encounters. One reported sighting in 1994 involved a hovering UFO, seen by multiple people, all of whom reported similar details.
Speculation about extra-terrestrial life isn't new. Some scientists search for habitable planets beyond our solar system, looking for signals that might indicate intelligent life. Mars has been shown to have methane spikes, sparking interest among some in the scientific community as methane could indicate the presence of life. Additionally, Jupiter's moon Europa is believed to have an ocean that could potentially make it habitable.
The universe is vast, with countless stars and planets possibly supporting life. There have been recent discoveries of exoplanets, that is, planets outside our solar system. These planets, such as Kepler-452b found in 2015, are in habitable zones and could have water, essential for life.
Whether these sightings and signals point to actual extra-terrestrial beings or not, the mystery continues to captivate us. Each new piece of evidence keeps the speculation alive, urging us to keep looking up and wondering about what might be out there.
YOU ASK
Your turn to ask the questions! Choose a question word and a hint, and make a question of your own!
EXAMPLE:
Who reported the extraterrestrial sightings?
What?
Jupiter's moon/
exoplanet
When?
UFO incident
Where?
reported
sightings
How?
signs of
extraterrestrial
life
Why?
methane
spikes
Who?
searching
Is there other life in the universe? Many believe it's possible. Allegedly, thousands of extraterrestrial sightings have been reported worldwide, with eye-witnesses describing mysterious encounters. One sighting involved a hovering UFO, seen by multiple people, all reporting similar details.
Speculation about extraterrestrial life isn't new. Scientists search for habitable planets beyond our solar system, looking for signals that might indicate intelligent life. Mars has shown methane spikes, sparking interest as methane could indicate microbial life. Additionally, Jupiter's moon Europa is believed to have a subsurface ocean that could potentially make it habitable.
The universe is vast, with countless stars and planets possibly supporting life. Recent discoveries are of exoplanets, that is, planet's outside our solar system. These planets, such as Kepler-452b, are in habitable zones and could have conditions for liquid water, essential for life.
Whether these sightings and signals point to actual extraterrestrial beings or not, the mystery continues to captivate us. Each new piece of evidence keeps the speculation alive, urging us to keep looking up and wondering about what might be out there.
Take a look at some mysterious claims
Take a look at some mysterious claims
Over 60 students claimed to have seen a spacecraft land and to have encountered beings from the vessel. The students provided consistent and detailed accounts of their experience. The case was investigated by Harvard psychiatrist Dr. John Mack, who found them to be credible eyewitnesses.
The Zimbabwe School Sighting (Zimbabwe, 1994)
Intricate patterns are said to appear in fields overnight in places all around the world. People debate their origins and whether they're messages from extra-terrestrials, also pointing to stories and eyewitness accounts of strange lights or UFOs seen near crop circles as evidence.
Crop Circles
A powerful radio signal picked up by the Big Ear radio telescope lasted 72 seconds but was never heard again. Was it a message from another civilisation?
The Wow! Signal (1977)
A massive, V-shaped formation of lights over Phoenix, Arizona was witnessed by thousands of people as it glided silently across the sky. Some thought it was a spacecraft from another world.
The Phoenix Lights (1997)
A mysterious long, thin object was observed zooming through our solar system in 2017. Scientists were puzzled by its unusual shape and movement. Some people have speculated that it's an alien probe!
Oumuamua (2017)
NASA explains that the so-called "Black Knight satellite" is actually a piece of space debris. However UFO enthusiasts claim that the Black Knight satellite is an ancient alien spacecraft that has been orbiting Earth for over 13,000 years, monitoring human activities.
The Black Knight Satellite
The Westall UFO (1966)
Above is a photograph of the supposed Westall UFO encounter, where more than 200 students and teachers at two schools in Australia allegedly witnessed an unidientified flying object descending onto a nearby field.
extremely
mysterious
quite
strange
somewhat
unusual
slightly
curious
very
ordinary
I think it's ___ because...
Debate -
Aliens and other life exists
Debate -
Aliens and other life exists
(bring video here)
Team YES
(bring video here)
Team YES
crop circles
Neighbour: Inquisitive about the crop circle that appeared in his neighbour's field last night.
Ask questions to better understand what happened.
Farmer: Woke up to find crop circles in his field and believes they were made by aliens.
Argue that the crop circles are evidence of alien activity.
Choose a character and role play a conversation
Choose a character and role play a conversation
I am Jordan, neighbour of Sam.
I am Sam, a crop farmer.
(Drag video here)
QUESTIONER
(Drag video here)
ANSWERER
Question the witness on the credibility of the sighting.
Zimbabwe school
sighting
Journalist: Questions the validity of the Zimbabwe school sighting.
Student Witness: Real witness from 1994, believes the Zimbabwe school sighting was of real aliens.y
Choose a character and role play a conversation
Choose a character and role play a conversation
I am John,
a journalist.
I am Alex. I was one of the 1994 witnesses.
(Drag video here)
QUESTIONER
(Drag video here)
ANSWERER
Argue that you saw real aliens, using your personal experience and other students' testimonies as proof.
Question the enthusiast as you believe Oumuamua is likely an interstellar asteroid or comet.
Sceptic: Thinks Oumuamua is a natural object.
Alien enthusiast: Thinks Oumuamua is an alien spacecraft.
Choose a character and role play a conversation
Choose a character and role play a conversation
I am Jordan, a sceptic.
I am Casey,
an alien enthusiast.
(Drag video here)
QUESTIONER
(Drag video here)
ANSWERER
Argue that the strange object Oumuamua is an alien probe due to its unusual shape and speed.
Oumuamua
Pool of thoughts
Pool of thoughts
drop your video in
Okay - that was a lot of info! Let's all share our final thoughts.
Are you a believer in aliens or a sceptic? Did this lesson change your mind?
What are you convinced of?
What are you confused about?
Extensions
Extensions
- Start a short, mysterious story (e.g., "I woke up to find strange footprints leading out of my room...")
- Each student adds one sentence to continue the story
- Discuss briefly how each addition changed the story
Make a mystery
Make a mystery
Where?
How?
Why?
Who?
When?
What?
The Fermi Paradox is the apparent contradiction between the high likelihood of extra-terrestrial life and the lack of evidence of or contact anyone has had with any. Named after physicist Enrico Fermi, the paradox came from the large number of stars and potentially habitable planets in the universe which seem to suggest that intelligent life should be common. Yet, despite this apparent likelihood, we have not seen any signs of extra-terrestrial civilisations, leading to questions about why this is the case.
A paradox is a statement or situation that seems to contradict itself but might actually be true. It's something that doesn't make sense at first because it seems that the two ideas don't match.
What is a paradox?
What is a paradox?
How do movies and books about aliens influence our views on the Fermi Paradox?
Which of these theories do you agree with or think makes sense?
Do you think humans should actively try to contact extra-terrestrial life? Why, or why not?
Aliens have never come here because of challenges relating to astronomy, biology or engineering.
Aliens simply choose never to visit us.
Advanced civilisations beyond Earth arose too recently for aliens to reach us.
Aliens have visited Earth in the past, but we have not observed them.
Goodbye!
Did you like the lesson?
Yes!
No.