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Grammar as an Emergent Process

(2019)

Lesson 1

Grammaring Tasks

A. Write a caption below each picture to illustrate them.

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B. Write headlines for these texts. How short can you make them, without losing the

sense of it?

a- Scientists have harnessed liquid metals to turn carbon dioxide back into solid

coal, in research that offers an alternative pathway for safely and permanently

removing the greenhouse gas from our atmosphere. The new technique can convert

carbon dioxide back into carbon at room temperature.

b- A recently-launched satellite mission has captured precision data on the elevation

of the Antarctic ice sheet proving a valuable addition to monitoring efforts in the

region. The study shows the potential of Sentinel-3 -one of the EU Copernicus

satellite missions- to contribute towards long-term ice sheet monitoring

programmes.

c- Urban emissions of black carbon from fossil fuel combustion are not always the

main contributor to severe air pollution in south Asian megacities like New Delhi,

shows a new study

d- Fish provide a vital source of protein for over half the world's population, with

over 56 million people employed by or subsisting on fisheries. But, climate change

is beginning to disrupt the complex, interconnected systems that underpin this major

source of food.

e- The weather these days is wild and will be wilder still within a century -- in

part, because the water from melting ice sheets off Greenland and in the

Antarctic will cause extreme weather and unpredictable temperatures around the

globe. A new study is the first to simulate the effects, under current climate

policies, that the two melting ice sheets will have on ocean temperatures and

circulation patterns as well as on air temperatures by the year 2100.

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C. Here are some newspaper headlines. Expand them so as to summarize the story.

Write between the headlines

Thousands of tiny quakes shake Antarctic ice at night

Monday 4 March 2019

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Shifting away from coal is key to cutting greenhouse gas emissions

Thursday 7 March 2019

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Air Pollution Leads to Millions of ER Visits for Asthma Attacks Worldwide Thursday 25 October 2018

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New approach for fast estimation of solar energy potential in urban environments

Monday 4 February 2019

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D. Compare your expanded headlines or summaries with other students. Are they the

same? If not, do the differences make a difference in meaning?

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Lesson 2

Consciousness-raising Tasks

A. Read below. Then, decide if the statements below are True or False.

Economic development equals greater carbon footprint, greenhouse gas emissions

April 12, 2016

Must greater prosperity necessarily lead to a greater carbon footprint and increased

greenhouse gas emissions? "In theory, no, but in practice this seems to be the case," says

researcher Max Koch from Lund University in Sweden. His study of 138 countries is the

first ever to take a global approach to the connections between growth, prosperity and

ecological sustainability. The study was recently published in the journal article Global

Environmental Change. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/04/160412090304.htm

1. Max Koch is a scientist. ...........................

2. He studied the connection between

growth, prosperity and ecological

sustainability.

............................

3. He studied 138 countries in Europe ...............................

4. The study of global development

shows a clear connection between

economic development and increased

greenhouse gas emissions

.................................

5. The study was published in the journal

article Global Warming

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B. Now, correct the false statements so they are true.

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C. Read the passage again and find the information required. Match the words with

their definition/meaning. There is one extra word. Provide the definition for that

word

1. Carbon footprint a. Any of various gaseous compounds (such as

carbon dioxide) that absorb infrared radiation,

trap heat in the atmosphere, and contribute to the

greenhouse effect.

2. Ecological sustainability b. It usually refers to the adoption of new

technologies, transition from agriculture-based to

industry-based economy, and general

improvement in living standards.

3. Journal c. the sum of all emissions of CO2, which is

induced by human activities in a given time

frame

4. Greenhouse gas d.

5. Economic Development e. A capacity of ecosystems to maintain their

essential functions and processes, and retain

their biodiversity in full measure over the long-

term.

D. Try this puzzle about global warming. How much do you know about it?

1 C

2 A

3 R

4 B

5 O

6 N

7 D

8 I

9 O

10 X

11 I

12 D

13 E

Adapted from: http://tiki.oneworld.net/global_warming/crossword/puzzle.html

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Across

1. Don’t use this if you can possibly

walk.

2. You can use less in winter if you wear

more clothes.

3. The Earth is undergoing this.

4. We need them to reduce fossil fuel

use.

5. Heavier rainstorms will cause more of

these.

6. Without this star, there would be no

life on Earth.

7. If we take care of the Earth, we will

protect this.

8. This is melting faster than before.

9. Less harmful to the environment than

a common alternative

10. Money paid on the use of fossil fuels.

11. Sea level is doing this.

12. A place to dispose of garbage.

13. If you remove trees indiscriminately

you get this.

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E. Read this information: Three great ways YOU can eliminate waste and protect your

environment! Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.

Throwing things away is a waste of the resources and energy which have been used to

make the product. If we reduce, reuse and recycle instead of throwing away, fewer new

materials need to be quarried or mined and fewer plantations need to be grown to make

new things. Many parts of the world have already been damaged by mining and

quarrying, which destroy the natural environment and wildlife habitats and may cause

environmental and health problems for local people. In addition, the vast majority of

resources that we use in manufacturing products and providing services cannot be

replaced, and so they will eventually run out.

http://www.recyclezone.org.uk/

F. Arrange the words below into the correct category: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

according to what can be done with the different items. Some words can belong to

more than one category. Can you add some other ones?

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Lesson 3

Grammar Interpretation Tasks

Responding personally

A. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. How true are they for YOU? Answer these statements

with:

True

Partly true

Not true

1. I buy only what I need and use all of what I

buy.

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2. I avoid disposable goods, such as paper plates,

cups, napkins, razors, and lighters

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3. I buy economy-sized products rather than

smaller ones

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4. I turn off electric appliances when not using

them.

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5. I save water. ----------------------------------

6. I use low consumption bulbs ---------------------------------

7. I utilize a coffee mug instead of paper cups. ----------------------------------

8. I buy products made from recycled material -----------------------------------

9. I throw litter in the bin -----------------------------------

10. I make compost from organic materials -----------------------------------

http://www.dnr.mo.gov/env/swmp/pubs-reports/threers.htm

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B. How eco-friendly are you? Give 1 score to True statements; 1/2 a score to Partly-

true statements; and 0 score to Not-true statements. Add the scores up and become

aware of how eco-friendly you are.

Final Score

10 to 8: Very eco-friendly

7 to 5: Quite eco-friendly

4-0: Hardly eco-friendly

C. Can you make any improvements to become more eco-friendly?

D. Noticing: Choose appropriate endings from the second column to complete the

phrases in the column on the left, so as to write meaningful sentences. There is one

extra ending.

Facts about Climate Change

1. The Earth a. is being pursued

2. Glaciers b. is getting thinner

3. Too many trees c. are becoming more environmentally aware

4. CO2 emissions d. is being cleared for agriculture & urbanization.

5. Land e. is running out.

6. Sea Level f. is rising.

7. Fresh water g. are increasing faster

8. The ozone layer h. are being cut down.

9. Sustainable development i. is getting hotter.

10. People j. are melting.

k. are happening more often

E. Can you think of a beginning for the extra ending?

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F. Global Warming. Read these facts.

Most of the leading scientific organizations in the world acknowledge the existence of

global warming as fact, according to a NASA report. Furthermore, 97 percent of

climate scientists agree that the rate of global warming trends the planet is now

experiencing is not a natural occurrence, but is primarily the result of human activity.

That consensus was made clear in a major climate report released Sept. 27, 2013, by the

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). In that report, climate scientists

indicated they are more certain than ever of the link between human activities and

global warming.

http://www.livescience.com/37003-global-warming.html

G. For each of the underlined words in the text, decide its verb tense. Put each verb in

the correct column.

Present Simple Present Continuous Past Simple

H. What could we do to slow down global warming? Write three tips.

1. …………………………………….

2. ……………………………………

3- ………………………………………

https://www.dreamstime.com/royalty-free-stock-images-warning-co2-emissions-sign-

image4129689

I. What does the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) do? Look up the

information on the web. Write it down.

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Lesson 4

Grammar Emergence Tasks

A. Read the following text and decide:

a. What kind of text it is – e.g. news, article, definition, advertisement…

b. What its purpose is.

What does sustainable development mean?

“…living in a way that meets the needs of today’s population without harming the

ability of future generations to meet their own needs”

From a video: Sustainable Development by A. Kurlovich on Youtube

B. Word Pattern. In the text find examples of

a. Repetition (i.e. words that are repeated)

b. Synonyms (i.e. words with similar meaning)

c. Antonyms (i.e. words with opposite meaning)

C. Phrase and sentence patterns. In the text find examples of

a. Phrases that are repeated

b. Grammatical structures that are repeated

D. Read the following text and decide

a. What kind of text it is – e.g. news, article, definition, advertisement…

b. What its purpose is

When people make decisions about how to use the Earth’s resources such as forests,

water, minerals, land, wildlife, etc., they must take into account not only how much of

these resources they are using, what processes they used to get these resources, and who

has access to these resources; but also, are enough resources going to be left for their

grandchildren to use, and will the environment be left as they know it today?

http://www.sustainabledevelopmentinfo.com/what-is-sustainable-development/

E. Word Pattern. In the text find examples of

a. Repetition (i.e. words that are repeated)

b. Synonyms (i.e. words with similar meaning)

c. Antonyms (i.e. words with opposite meaning)

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d. Word families (i.e. words that are related by meaning)

F. Phrase and sentence patterns. In the text find examples of

a. Phrases that are repeated ….

b. Grammatical structures that are repeated

c. Any other evidence that you think might be a pattern

G. You are going to reconstruct the last text from memory. But before you do, you can

write down a maximum of ten words to help you. When you have selected your ten

words, cover the text to reconstruct it.

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H.

Listen to the song. "The 3 R's"

Three it's a magic number

Yes it is, it's a magic number

Because two times three is six

And three times six is eighteen

And the eighteenth letter in the alphabet is R

We've got three R's we're going to talk about

today

We've got to learn to

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

If you're going to the market to buy some

juice

You've got to bring your own bags and you

learn to reduce your waste

And if your brother or your sister's got some

cool clothes

You could try them on before you buy

some more of those

Reuse, we've got to learn to reuse

And if the first two R's don't work out

And if you've got to make some trash

Don't throw it out

Recycle, we've got to learn to recycle,

We've got to learn to

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

Because three it's a magic number

Yes it is, it's a magic number

3, 3, 3

3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21, 24, 27, 30, 33, 36

33, 30, 27, 24, 21, 18, 15, 12, 9, 6, and

3, it's a magic number

By Jack Johnson

http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/jackjohnson/the3rs.html

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I. What does the 3 R’s stand for?

…………………………………………………………………………………….

J. Find examples in the song of these patterns:

a. Phrases that are repeated

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b. Grammatical structures that are repeated

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c. Any other evidence that you think might be a pattern

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Combining Tasks

A. Word Search. Paper is an important resource. Each year people throw away enough

recyclable paper to fill thousands of soccer fields three feet deep. See if you can find

these recycling words hidden in the letters below! Words can take the following

directions: across – down – up towards the right – down towards the right

Box Landfill

Prevention

Reuse

Cardboard Litter

Recycled Trash

Environment Newspaper

Recovery

Tree

Fiber Paper

Reduce

Waste

Forest Pollution

Resources

Wood

A K R E C O V E R Y M F

N E W S P A P E R R L I

L T A S A B O X E E P B

A I S L P A L N E C R E

N Q T N E X L C O Y E R

D W E T R E U S E C V Q

F A O K E D T M B L E F

I G U O E R I W H E N O

L C A R D B O A R D T R

L T R A S H N T X A I E

R E S O U R C E S H O S

W E N V I R O N M E N T

Activity Book 2010: WWW.RECYCLEGUYS.COM

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B. Choose five words found in the word soup and share some eco-friendly thoughts.

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C. Sustainable Development Classify the eight points either as ‘Sustainable

Activities’ or as ‘Unsustainable Activities’ and distribute them in the chart below.

1. Cause cumulative degradation of the environment (creating waste which nature

cannot handle, or which cannot be absorbed as fast as we create it).

2. Come mainly from the qualities of being human (i.e. creativity, communication,

coordination, appreciation, and spiritual and intellectual development).

3. Lead to the extinction of other life forms (the loss of species means we also lose

genetic possibilities for fighting disease, in people and in food crops, as well as

potential new sources of food).

4. Require continual inputs of non-renewable resources (resources available only in

limited quantity. Metals, coal and oil are notable examples).

5. Require resources in quantities that undermine other people's well-being (people

taking unfair advantage of others).

6. Use continuously reliable sources of energy (heat from the Earth's core, tides, the

sun (nuclear fusion at a safe distance), and the wind and water which the sun sets in

motion).

7. Use materials in continuous cycles (reusing materials either through natural

processes or recycling programs).

8. Use renewable resources faster than their rate of renewal (renewable resources:

grow and increase through natural processes; e.g. forests, fish stocks, ground water

and soil fertility. The rate at which they are used ≥ the rate at which they grow or

accumulate).

From: thinking globally in the local classroom – Sustainable development by Tanya

Barnett Claude Brun del Re & Harold Moore.

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Eight Point Outline of Sustainable Development

Sustainable Activities Unsustainable Activities

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D. Have a look at this joke for a few minutes. Then cover it and write down as many

words or phrases as you can remember.

http://greenanswers.com/q/224082/media-entertainment/internet/websites/are-there-any-

websites-have-good-green-jokes

E. Can you find synonyms for the word “hoax”?

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F. Can you explain the word “Summit”?

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G. Can you put ‘the joke’ in plain words?

…………………………………………………………………………………………….

H. Do you know, or can you make a joke about an environmental issue?

…………………………………………………………………………………………….

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I. Match these words with their meanings below.

Solid Waste

Reuse

Recycling

Composting

Reduction

Natural Resources

Renewable

Non-Renewable

Image source: http://www.istockphoto.com/stock-illustration-148676-recycling-symbol-

vector.php

1. Raw materials found in nature.

……………………………..

2. Cannot be replaced when used up. ……………………………..

3. Everything we throw away. ……………………………..

4. A means of converting kitchen garbage and

garden vegetation into humus.

……………………………..

5. Can be replaced by nature. ………………………………

6. Limiting the purchase of items with

unnecessary packaging.

…………………………………

7. To reprocess materials to make new products

using the natural resource again.

…………………………………

8. To reuse a product for the original or some

other purpose.

…………………………………

From: Activity Book 2010:

WWW.RECYCLEGUYS.COM

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J. Select a natural resource from the list below, and then answer these questions.

Clean Water

Fertile Soil

Clean Air

1. How is this resource used?

2. What activities threaten its sustainability?

3. What measures can be taken to preserve this resource?

From: thinking globally in the local classroom – Sustainable development by Tanya

Barnett Claude Brun del Re & Harold Moore.

1…………………………………………………………………………………………

2. ……………………………………………………………………………………….

3. …………………………………………………………………………………………

K. Have a look at both pictures. What differences can you see?

http://www.p2sustainabilitylibrary.mil/issues/emergeapr2006/index.html

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……………………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………………

L. What do you think the image illustrates? Provide a title for the image.

……………………………………………………………………………………………

This is the end of Unit One: Grammar as an Emergent Process. In the next Unit,

we’ll continue with Learning Strategies for Reading Comprehension.

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Sources

Lesson 1

Images

http://www.utne.com/environment/best-worst-us-cities-climate-change-zm0z13ndzlin

http://www.keepbanderabeautiful.org/climatechange.html

http://tiki.oneworld.org/global_warming/climate_home.html

http://climate-change-solutions.net/

Headlines

https://www.sciencedaily.com retrieved on March 11

Lesson 2

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/04/160412090304.htm

http://tiki.oneworld.net/global_warming/climate_home.html#

http://www.recyclezone.org.uk/

http://kids.niehs.nih.gov/index.htm

Lesson 3

http://www.dnr.mo.gov/env/swmp/pubs-reports/threers.htm

http://www.livescience.com/37003-global-warming.html

https://www.dreamstime.com/royalty-free-stock-images-warning-co2-emissions-sign-

image4129689

Lesson 4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hR4wYm5bdCg

http://www.sustainabledevelopmentinfo.com/what-is-sustainable-development/

http://www.instamp3.co/dl/USo_vH1Jz7E.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6IbRSRe8MQ

Combining Tasks

WWW.RECYCLEGUYS.COM

www.woodroffehs.ocdsb.ca/.../sustainabled.pdf

http://greenanswers.com/q/224082/media-entertainment/internet/websites/are-there-any-

websites-have-good-green-jokes

http://www.istockphoto.com/stock-illustration-148676-recycling-symbol-vector.php

http://sedecgdl.blogspot.com.ar/2011/08/la-gota-de-agua-cuento.html

http://espaciohogar.com/abono-casero/

http://www.cleanairchicago.net/

http://www.p2sustainabilitylibrary.mil/issues/emergeapr2006/index.html

http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-99524510/stock-photo-cute-little-cartoon-boy-watering-

sprout-high-quality-d-illustration.html