Roberta Bondar, Famous Canadian

ESL Reading Activity

Biographies of Famous Canadians 

A. Introduction

1. Look at the pictures .Where do these people work? What do they do?

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2. Look at three photos of Roberta. What is her job? Explain your answer.        

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a. a teacher

b. an astronaut

c. a photographer

3. Look at the picture of our planet. Roberta took this picture. What work does she do? 

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Actually, this lady has four different jobs. Let’s read her biography to find out more about her work and life.

B.  Story                                                                   

The First Canadian Woman in Space

  Dr. Roberta Bondar is a physician (doctor), a scientist, an astronaut and a photographer. Roberta Lynn Bondar was born in Sault Ste-Marie, Ontario, in 1945. She is the youngest child in the family. When she was a child she was dreaming of space so her favorite subjects at school were science and mathematics. Her family supported her a lot. Her father built a laboratory for her science experiments in their basement. He also taught her how to take black and white pictures.

After high school, Roberta Bondar went to the University of Guelph and then continued her education at different universities. She became a doctor and her specialty was neurology, the study of the brain.

 She is also a pilot. She could pilot an airplane before she could even drive a car. She was one of the six original Canadian astronauts selected in December, 1983. She flew on the space shuttle Discovery from January 22-30, 1992. She conducted scientific and medical experiments in space and took photographs of Earth. After her flight Bondar wrote a book “Touching The Earth “in which she speaks of her space experience and her love of the planet. The view of Earth from space became a main part of her book.

She cares deeply about the environment of our planet. Bondar recently photographed all 41 of Canada’s national parks to document and celebrate the beauty of the planet. You could see 110 pictures at the Canadian Museum of Nature in Ottawa, in 2000.  Dr. Bondar said, “Through my images, I want to share my passion, admiration and deep respect for this part of the planet – our Canada”.

If you want to know more about Roberta Bondar, please visit her WEBSITE  

  

C.     Vocabulary Study

 I. Complete these sentences using one of the words below

a scientist (n.), scientific(adj.), science(n.)

 1. A person who studies physics or biology is a __________________.

2. He reads a lot about new developments in _____________ and technology.

3. National Geographic became a very __________________ magazine.

4. A person who studies politics is a political _____________________.

5. To solve this problem they have to use ____________ method.

6. She is very good at Math and ___________.

 

 

           

Vocabulary