DIDACTIC UNIT:

THE ENVIRONMENT AND

SUSTAINABILITY

I- INTRODUCTION

• LEVEL: 1ST BAT

• SUBJECT: PRACTICAL ENGLISH

• SESSIONS: 6

• MATERIALS: Word search puzzles, songs, oral & written texts, dictionaries, photocopies, computers, CD-players, films…

II- CONTENTS

• Vocabulary related to the environment.

• Causes and consequences of the climate change and global warming.

• Individual work, pair work, small group work and class work.

• Productive skills: written and speaking texts regarding with the environment.

• Receptive skills: reading and listening texts regarding with the environment.

III- OBJECTIVES• Be aware of the vocabulary related to the

environment.

• Be conscious of the causes and consequences of the climate change and global warming.

• Be able to understand oral and written texts about the environment.

• Be able to produce oral and written texts about the environment.

• Be conscious and responsible of the importance of preserving the environment for future generations.

IV- ACTIVITIES• 1ST SESSION:

– Warm up activity– Vocabulary activities

• 2ND SESSION:– Refreshment vocabulary: Ball game!– Running dictation.– “Earth Song” Michael Jackson– “Hey You” Madonna

• 3RD SESSION:– Computer’s room Energy Quiz!

• 4TH & 5TH SESSION: – Watching a film!– While watching & After watching activities6TH SESSION:- Project work; “we open a green window to the world”

1ST SESSION:

• 1- WARM UP ACTIVITY

– Students will be shown a group of pictures

– They will have to elicit vocabulary & main topic & main ideas:• What can you see in these pictures?

• How do you feel about these situations?

• Can you describe the causes and consequences?

• Can you think of any other words related to this topic?

If you save the environment you will have a healthy nature

This is our real world today. If we carry on like this, we won’t be able to do anything in favour of a sustainable planet.

2- Vocabulary Activities

• A- Word search puzzle Find the following words in this word

search puzzle and check the meaning in Spanish.

9- acid rain10- deforestation11- decompose12- reusing13- greenhouse effect14- rainforest15- oil spill

1- rubbish2- global warming3- recycling4- in/organic waste5- pollution6- ozone layer7- environment8-floods

A H J Y R S W V O L Ñ Q X B M

M J U A Y T R E W S C D F V G

H J M N B V W S L Ñ P H G C S

Q A S T Y U O P L K I U O M N

G T Y I O P R F V B N J U I O

A S F R H J M N B V W Y U P O

D F R A A U I O L M N H T Y I

R U I O Y I O P R F V B N J G

I H J M N B V W S L Ñ P H A F

A Y I O P R F V B N J A E R T

H J M N B V W S L Ñ P H G C S

W Y D G H Y U J K L Ñ A S D F

T F H J A Y I O P R F V B N J

H D E R T Y I G F S D R T Y U

Y F D F G T R E B N M I O P Ñ

B- Complete the sentences with a suitable word from the previous

exercise• 1- __________ do not decompose and remain in the

environment for hundreds or thousands of years.

• 2- __________ is one of the most worrying dangers threatening our environment today.

• 3- Our society produces tons of _________ every year.

• 4- Man is continually destroying the forests for wood and farm land. This __________ is affecting the world’s climate.

• 5- Smoke and chemicals from cars and factories pollute rain. ___________ damages our natural resources, such as lakes, fish and plants life.

• 6- Everybody is familiar today with the three R’s: reducing, __________, and __________.

• 7- __________ includes food, eggshells, cotton, paper and cardboard.

• 8- Polar ice-caps and glaciers are melting and this will cause serious __________ in coastal areas in the years to come.

• 9- Tropical __________ produce 40% of the world oxygen.

• 10-If we want to protect the __________ we should stop pouring chemicals into the sea and rivers.

• 11- The __________ is twenty to fifty km above the earth’s surface.

C- Match the words with the definitions

1- recycle A- making things dirty and/or dangerous

2- drought B- the trapping of heat in the atmosphere

3- pollutionC- material which has been used and is not longer wanted

4- waste d- a period with no rain

5- green house effectE- thick forest of tall trees found in tropical areas

6- global warming F- change chemically, beginning to rot

7- rainforestG- large amount of water covers an area usually dry

8- environment H- the heating up of the planet

9- decomposei- the world around us, with people, animals and plants

10- floodJ- making things people have thrown away into something else

D- Put these letters in order and find words related to the ENVIRONMENT

gnoyxe

sapc-eic

pllislio

letm

trlanau sucerosre

vesperre

mcasheils

sesmoisin

mudp

hseuogeren tceff

tswea

cylirnecg

2ND SESSION:• 1- REFRESHMENT VOCABULARY:

– Ball game!• First part: The students will throw the

ball and each person will have to say in alphabetical order one word related to the environment and sustainability.

• Second part: They will be given a piece of paper in which they can find and add many of the words learnt with the different activities.

3- Running dictation• In this activity student’s will practice the four

skills: reading, writing, speaking & listening.• The class will be divided in four groups.• There will be a running dictation activity: each

group will have to complete a dictation. One member of the group will be the writer and the other will be the messengers.

• Only after having completed one sentence, the next messenger will dictate the following sentence. The first group which finish the dictation check the mistakes.

• The group with less mistakes and less time to complete it is the winner.

• FOUR POSSIBLE TEXTS TO USE

TEXT I- TROPICAL RAINFORESTS

• The largest tropical rainforests are situated near the equator in South America, Africa and Asia. Hundreds of years ago, rainforests covered 14% of the Earth’s surface, but today they cover only 6%.

• The tropical rainforests are in regions with few changes in climate: it is warm all year round. Plants and trees grow very quickly in these conditions and they produce 40% of the world’s oxygen.

• Man in continually destroying the forests for wood and farmland. This deforestation is affecting the world’s climate: about 30% of the carbon dioxide released into the air comes from burning down rainforests and is one of the main causes of global warming. If we continue to destroy the world’s rainforests at the present rate, they will disappear within the next 40 years.

TEXT II- ENVIRONMENTAL WARNING

• Among the many dangers threatening our environment, two of the most worrying are:

• Global Warming: Sunlight reaches Earth through the atmosphere. Greenhouse gases in the atmosphere stop some of the sun’s heat from escaping. This keeps the Earth warm. Pollution in the atmosphere also traps heat, and the consequence is global warming. The rising temperature of the Earth is having a dramatic on the world’s climate and natural resources. Polar ice-caps and glaciers are melting and this will cause serious flooding in coastal areas in the years to come.

• Acid Rain: smoke and chemicals from cars and factories pollute rain, causing acid rain. Acid rain damages our natural resources, such as lakes, fish and plant life. The planet needs these things to survive.

TEXT III- RECYCLING

• Most families produce about one ton of waste or rubbish every year. The amount of rubbish is increasing every day.

• We divide rubbish into two groups: organic and inorganic waste. Organic waste includes food, eggshells, cotton, paper and cardboard. This waste comes from living things and decomposes and disappears quickly.

• Inorganic waste includes glass, metal, artificial textiles, plastic and batteries. These materials do not decompose and remain in the environment for hundred or even thousands of years. We can recycle some of these materials.

• Today, governments around the world are promoting recycling to help reduce the amount of rubbish we produce.

TEXT IV- THE USA GOES GREEN

• What are the consequences of Global Warming? According to Al Gore, the ice-caps in the North and South Poles will continue to melt. This will make the levels of the sea rise and low-lying cities will flood. Millions of people will need to move to safer areas.

• However, The United States government isn’t doing much to help the situation. In 2001, 37 countries around the world signed the Kyoto Treaty. These countries promised to reduce carbon emissions- gases that cause global warming. The USA did not signed the treaty although the USA produces about 25% of the world’s pollutants. Many Americans are trying to make the public more aware of environmental issues. Environmental groups are putting pressure on their government to change its policies. But time is running out. Americans have got ten years to make changes- after that it will be too late.

• 2- LISTENING

• The song is divided in several sentences.

• Each student receives at random a sentence written in a card.

• They listen to the song and they have to put themselves in order according to the lyrics.

• Once ordered they listen the song again and check if they are in the correct order.

Earth Song(Michael Jackson)

"Earth Song" Lyrics Michael Jackson

What about sunrise?What about rain?What about all the thingsThat you said we were to gain?What about killing fields?Is there a time?What about all the thingsThat you said was yours and mine?Did you ever stop to noticeAll the blood we've shed before?Did you ever stop to noticeThis crying Earth, its weeping shores?

3- LISTENING AND WRITING

• Students are given the lyrics of the song with some gaps.

• They have to listen to the song and at the same time they must fill in the gaps with the correct words.

Hey You (Madonna)

HEY YOUDON’T YOU GIVE UPIT’S NOT SO _________THERE’S STILL A _________ FOR US

HEY YOUJUST BE ___________DON’T BE SO _______THERE’S REASONS __________ IT’S HARD

KEEP IT _________YOU’LL MAKE IT ALL RIGHTOUR CELEBRATION IS GOING ON ___________POETS AND PROPHETS…WHAT ENDING WOULD WE DO?THIS _____________ BE GOOD…HEY YOU

1-ENERGY QUIZ : what do you know about it?Pair work in computers room:

We give to the students a list of 17 multiple choice questions.

They have 50 minutes to answer these questions looking for the information they need on the web.

3rd SESSION:

Example : ENERGY QUIZ: What do you know about it?

1.-In 1978, less than a quarter of the USA houses had central air conditioning. By 2005, what percentage of air conditioning systems were cooling the USA homes?

a) 25%

b) 50%

c) 60%

d) 80%

2.-In 1914 the first home air conditioning system was installed in:

a) New York

b) Chicago

c) Minneapolis

d) Los Angeles

4rd SESSION:

• 1- watching a movie about environment (98 minutes)

“Cenizas del Cielo” (Ashes of Heaven) is about the environment and the constant struggle between respect to nature and the need of progress.

In Ashes of Heaven Federico, the main character in the film, has fighted for forty years to stop the power station which pollutes and spoils everything in the Negron Valley in Asturias.

5th SESSION:• After watching the film the students must do the

following activities:

• a) comprehension of the film: Answer a list of 23 questions about the film.

• b) a TRUE/FALSE activity

• c) Name at least ten words related to the environment that are mentioned in this film.

• d) oral story-telling: sitting in a circle the teacher starts the story and throws the ball to one of the students who must go on with the story, then he/she throws the ball to a class-mate to go on with it until everybody has participated and the story has been completed.

• e)Write a short summary about the plot of this film (10-15 lines)