Inspired by: Meerkat Mail - Week 1

The Kalahari Desert, a vast and sprawling semi-arid sandy savannah, presents a unique and challenging environment for its inhabitants. In the context of a literary-inspired activity based on 'Meerkat Mail', students delve into the life of Sunny, a character who finds the desert's intense heat overwhelming. The students are encouraged to engage in a multifaceted exploration of the Kalahari, using tools like Google Earth to gain a virtual experience of the landscape. They are prompted to ponder the extreme temperatures Sunny endures and to research various aspects of the desert, such as its climate, flora and fauna, population, location, and size. This investigation is aimed at building a comprehensive understanding of the Kalahari, leading to the formulation of key questions that will guide further inquiry and learning.

Following the research phase, students are tasked with creating an oral presentation that showcases the Kalahari Desert to potential tourists. This activity is designed to develop their reading and speaking skills, focusing on intonation, tone, and volume to ensure clarity and engagement. Whether it's a promotional film, tourist advisory video, or weather forecast, the goal is to inform viewers about the intriguing features of the Kalahari. Additionally, students are introduced to the concept of fronted adverbials through Sunny's perspective as he seeks respite from the sun's glare. Through sentence comparison and crafting new examples, they discover how the placement of adverbials can alter sentence structure and emphasis, enhancing their writing with more sophisticated linguistic techniques.