CAN I MAKE A DIFFERENCE?

Introduction.

The purpose of these two lessons is to make our students realize that they can make a difference when talking about the environment and how to avoid its destruction (what would end in our destruction as the human race)

The two lessons review, as well as introduce, a number of basic communicative functions and grammar contents.

The main objectives of the two lessons are the following ones:

-to encourage our students to be aware of the problems that our planet is suffering due to pollution-to be able to agree and disagree about a topic-to listen, understand and use specific vocabulary related to the topic-to revise first conditional sentences

Grade level.

4th year (Secondary School). Students are generally 15-16 years old (some of them could be 17 or even 18, when they had

to repeat the same level because they did not achieve the minimum standard in more than 2 subjects)

Materials.

-A sheet of paper with statements.-Spot: when you feel it, it's already too late.-Worksheet about environmental issues.-Global warming video by National Geographic-Reading: What can you do? (Climate change, by Barnaby Newbolt)

Resources.-Sustaining our state, a project of the Texas Alliance for Geographic Education-www.quadernsdigitals.net-Youtube.com-esl.galaxy.com-www.myenglishpages.com-isabelperez.es-Climate change, by Barnaby Newbolt

Classroom procedures and activities.

• 1st LESSON.

1.-(10') Warm up .

a) Ask students to express their opinions about the following statements:

I prefer to ride a bicycleI prefer to go everywhere by car I like to eat McDonalds and other fast foodI prefer to eat home made food rather than fast foodI always recycle cans and paperI think a clean environment is a healthy environmentI am willing to change my way of life for a cleaner and healthier environmentI try to conserve resources like energy by turning off lights

strongly agree agree disagree strongly disagree

b) Ask students to guess the topic of the lesson.

2.- (10') Revise and learn vocabulary. Watch the TV spot: When you feel it it's already too late.

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UsmHlCOIEY&p=B214896E77B3915F&playnext=1&index=22)

Look at the worksheet about environmental issues.(http://www.esl-galaxy.com) Ask students what issue is the spot about.

3.-(15') Revise and learn more vocabulary. What can cause global warming? Brainstorming activity.

Important environment vocabulary:

acid rain (rain which contains large amounts of harmful chemicals as a result of burning substances such as coal and oil);

biodiversity (the number and variety of plant and animal species that exist in a particular environmental area or in the world generally);

carbon monoxide (the poisonous gas formed by the burning of carbon, especially in the form of car fuel);

carbon dioxide (the gas formed when carbon is burned, or when people or animals breathe out); deforestation (the cutting down of trees in a large area; the destruction of forests by people); drought (a long period when there is little or no rain);

endangered species (endangered birds/plants/species animals or plants which may soon not exist because there are very few now alive)

fumes (strong, unpleasant and sometimes dangerous gas or smoke)

natural resources (things such as minerals, forests, coal, etc. which exist in a place and can be used by people)

global warming (a gradual increase in world temperatures caused by polluting gases such as carbon dioxide which are collecting in the air around the Earth and preventing heat escaping into space)

greenhouse effect (an increase in the amount of carbon dioxide and other gases in the atmosphere which is believed to be the cause of a gradual warming of the surface of the Earth)

pollution (damage caused to water, air.... by harmful substances or waste)

recycle waste (to collect and treat rubbish to produce useful materials which can be used again)

Waste (unwanted matter or material of any type, often that which is left after useful substances or parts have been removed)

4_(15')-Revision of a grammar point: first conditional sentences. Give students an example related to the topic.: if I switch the tap off when cleaning my teeth I'll save a lot of water. Ask students to write their own sentences and to separate the if-clause and its result clause into two different pieces. Collect sentences written by students, mix them up and distribute them again in a different order. Each student will have to read his or her sentence out.

• LESSON 2

1.-(15') Warm up. Watching and listening.Students watch the video about global warming. They write down the environment vocabulary used in the video.

2.-(20'')Reading ( Climate change , by Barnaby Newbolt) What can you do?

We need to reduce billions of tones of carbon, but one person makes just over one tonne a year. So what can a single person do?First, you can find out more. Scientist are learning new things about the climate all the time. When you know more, you can ask yourself two questions: Is climate change an important problem? Do I want to do something about it? If you can answer “YES” to these two questions, then you have already started to do something about it. You have started to change yourself. And that is the first thing to do.Next, you can start to change other people. This is not as hard as you think. If you talk about climate change to your friends, then you will help them to change themselves. And if everyone talks about climate change, then our governments will want to do something about it. You can also help with the work of groups like Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth. Perhaps there are groups near you that are fighting against climate change. But you can do more than talk. You can change your way of living. Ask yourself: how much carbon do I put into the atmosphere? (This is call your “carbon footprint”). You have to measure many things: your travel, your food, your clothes, your telephone, and everything in your home. And you must not forget the very big things. If your government builds a road, or your supermarket brings food from a long way away, this increases your carbon footprint. The carbon footprint of one person in one year is about 19 tonnes of CO2 in the USA, 11 tonnes in the UK, 8 tonnes in Spain, 4 tonnes in China and 1 tonne in India. Nearly 30 per cent of this comes from travel, 20 per cent from the home, 5 per cent from food and the rest comes from things like making clothes and building roads. It is interesting to measure your carbon footprint, but it is more important to reduce it. The easiest way to reduce your carbon footprint is to use less energy. We use most energy either in the home or for travel. Think of all the things in your home, like televisions and computers, that use energy. Do you always turn them off when you are not using them? Do you use them more than you need to? Think about when you travel. Do you use a car more than you need to? Think about buying food. Does the food come from somewhere near to you, or from a long way away?People always say that climate change is a global problem. But it is also a local problem because we can all do something about it- and we can start in our homes. It is hard to change our way of living and working. But change is like travelling on a long journey: you start in one place, and you finish in a different place.

• Answer the following questions:

-What is a “carbon footprint”?-How big is one person's carbon footprint in India?-What is the biggest part of a person's carbon footprint?-What is the easiest way to reduce your carbon footprint?

• Use a website like www.footprint.wwf.org.uk to calculate your carbon footprint. Compare it to the carbon footprint of a classmate. Which footprint is bigger? Why?

3.- (15')Show students different posters about the environment. Study the language used in them. Ask students to create their own posters (individually or in pairs). Students should realize that a good slogan has to be memorable, so they have to take into account that:

1. A good slogan includes key words and/or pictures 2. A good slogan makes people instantly recognize the topic. 3. A good slogan gives the reader feelings about the topic.

EVALUATION.

The main assessment tool would be direct observation of the student's class work, their notebooks, their attitude and participation in the teaching-learning process.

In order to evaluate the poster the following rubric will be taken into account.

Teacher Name: Ms. González Méijome

Student Name: ________________________________________

CATEGORY 4 3 2 1 Use of Class Time

Used time well during each class period. Focused on getting the project done. Never distracted others.

Used time well during each class period. Usually focused on getting the project done and never distracted others.

Used some of the time well during each class period. There was some focus on getting the project done but occasionally distracted others.

Did not use class time to focus on the project OR often distracted others.

Attractiveness The poster is exceptionally attractive in terms of design, layout, and neatness.

The poster is attractive in terms of design, layout and neatness.

The poster is acceptably attractive though it may be a bit messy.

The poster is distractingly messy or very poorly designed. It is not attractive.

Grammar There are no grammatical mistakes on the poster.

There is 1 grammatical mistake on the poster.

There are 2 grammatical mistakes on the poster.

There are more than 2 grammatical mistakes on the poster.

Mechanics Capitalization and punctuation are correct throughout the poster.

There is 1 error in capitalization or punctuation.

There are 2 errors in capitalization or punctuation.

There are more than 2 errors in capitalization or punctuation.