Unit 15: SAVE THE PLANET!

By Ana Losada Pérez

GENERAL AIMS:

1) To revise basic language structures (see previous units)

2) To raise students’ awareness of environmental problems and promote recycling

3) To foster interest in pair and group-work activities

CONTENTS:

Vocabulary: natural phenomena and environmental problems

Grammar: revision of conditional sentences,should, the imperative, the passive voice and the expression of cause and consequence (because, since, as)Communication: designing leaflets (giving advice), expressing opinion and consequenceAttitudes: respect for the natural world and for other people’s opinions

WARM –UP: Hangman

What is GLOBAL WARMING?

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Warm (adj.):

at high temperature

Warming (v/n):increase of temperature,process

Global (adj.):

Total(complete) and the Globe,the Earth

Global warming: the increase of the Earth’s average temperature

ACTIVITY 1: Read and write down the following words:

VOCABULARY:ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS

1)acid rain 6) ozone hole 11) fires

2) nuclear pollution 7) deforestation 12) hunting

3)draught 8) aerosols

4) air pollution 9) tones of rubbish

5) thaw/melting 10) floods

Match the words with the pictures below:

A)____________________________________________

DRAUGHT

B)________________________________________________NUCLEAR POLLUTION

C)________________________________________________DEFORESTATION

D) ______________________________________________

ACID RAIN

E)____________________________________________________

AEROSOLS

G)______________________________________________AIR POLLUTION

H)_______________________________________________MELTING / THAW

I)_______________________________________________FLOODS

J)___________________________________________________

HUNTING

K)_________________________________________________

FIRES

L)___________________________________________________OZONE LAYER

M)_______________________________________________

TONES OF RUBBISH

ACTIVITY 2: Divide the phenomena above into causes or consequences:

CAUSES CONSEQUENCES-Nuclear pollution

- Tones of rubbish

-Fires

-Air pollution

-Aerosols

-Deforestation

-Hunting

-Acid rain

-Draught

-Ozone hole

-Floods

- Thaw/melting

GRAMMAR: REVISION OF THE EXPRESSION OF CAUSE AND CONSEQUENCE

ACTIVITY 3: Read the sentences below and decide whether they are causes or consequences:

1)Half of the Earth’s forest is already cut down

2) Ten of the hottest years are among the last fifteen

3) Every year a British throws away the equivalent of six trees in paper

4) In 1965 a person in Western Europe drove 8km a day. In 1995 the number os km a day was 27

5) Animal species that live in cold countries will disappear

6) The UK uses three times more energy than India

consequence

consequence

cause

cause

consequence

cause

ACTIVITY 4:

a)Match the causes below with their corresponding consequences:

CAUSES:

1)Industries keep burning coal and oil2)Millions of trees are cut every year3)The Earth’s temperature is rising4)Millions of aerosols are used everyday5)Acid rains are becoming more and more

frequent6)Thousands of fires are caused by men

every year

CONSEQUENCES:

A) The balance of O2 and CO2 is severely damaged

B) The ozone hole is increasing in size

C) Polar caps are progressively melting

D) The level of CO2 in the atmosphere is increasing

E) Several ecosystems have been dramatically destroyed

F) Animal life and human health are seriously damaged

b) Join the previous causes and consequences with BECAUSE, SINCE and AS to form compound sentences:

Example: 1-D: The level of CO2 in the atmosphere is increasing BECAUSE industries keep burning coal and oil2-A:The balance of O and CO2 is severely

damaged BECAUSE thousands of trees are cut every year

3-C: AS The temperature of the air is rising, polar caps are progressively melting

4- B: The ozone hole is becoming bigger

BECAUSE millions of aerosols are used every day

5-F: SINCE acid rains are becoming more and more frequent, animal life and human health are seriously damaged

6-E: SINCE thousands of fires are caused by men every summer, several ecosystems are dramatically destroyed

REMEMBER:

Consequence+ BECAUSE+Cause

SINCE+Cause+,+Consequence

AS+Cause+,+Consequence

READING COMPREHENSION:

“GLOBAL WARMING”

LISTENING: “Sustainable Development”

PART 1: WHAT SHALL WE DO?

Answer the following questions about the spot:

1) What is Juan’s opinion?Industries, energy, pollution are part of human progress2) Why?

Without energy and industries we would forget centuries of human progress and live as our ancestors3) What is Diego’s opinion?

We should only use indispensable energy. Several industries are not indispensable

4)Why?

We will run out of natural resources

5) ORAL DEBATE:

Who do you agree with?

Can you think of any alternative position?

PART 2: ALTERNATIVES

PROJECT WORK: “RECYCLING leaflet”

The 3 Rs:-Reduce your waste

- Re-use your waste

-Recycle your waste

MODEL: Recycling PAPER

GROUP A: Recycling WATER

GROUP B: Separating RUBBISH in appropiate containers

GROUP C: Saving ENERGY

GROUP D: Recycling CONSUMER GOODS

GROUP E: Using RENEWABLE ENERGY

GUIDELINES:

1)Cover: Title, picture, “the 3 Rs”

2)Advantages of using a given resource

3) Disadvantages (use 1st and 2nd conditional sentences)

4)Advice and possible sollutions (use imperative and should )

5) Use recycled paper