Let’s talk about the environment in English.
Select a question to ask:
1.) What does the word environment mean to you? How can you define it in English?
2.) Do you feel like you are in a safe environment that will provide for you long term?
3.) What does a safe, sustainable environment look like for you?
4.) What would you like to change about your environment?
WARM UP
ALL LEVELS
Back to back
VOCABULARY
BEGINNER
Nature Vocabulary Flashcards
Weather and Seasons Vocabulary Flashcards
GRAMMAR
HIGH INTERMEDIATE/ADVANCED
Verb preposition combinations
Infinitive or gerund Environment Quiz
Infinitive or gerund – the grammar explained
Fast Fashion Lesson – All Perfect tenses grammar and advanced vocabulary
WRITING
Renewable Energy – Practice reading a chart and writing an essay.
SPEAKING AND CONVERSATION
CONVERSATION TOPICS:
1.) Brainstorming:
– Ideas for inventions to replace oil, gas and plastics
– New policies and laws to protect the environment
2.) Endangered animals:
Watch the short video.
– Do you think this video is effective? Why or why not?
– Which endangered animal would you like to save? Why are they endangered? What would you do to protect them?
Let’s talk about systems and our impact on the Environment
LISTENING, READING, AND WRITING
ADVANCED
Why Russia Destroyed the World’s 4th Biggest Lake
1.) Watch the video and take notes.
2.) Write a 250-300 word summary.
Cyclones in the Arctic are Becoming More Intense and Frequent (Level C2)
1.) List any new vocabulary words and look them up.
2.) Write 250-300 words about the article.
RELATED TOPICS
Let’s talk about geography.
Let’s talk about renewable energy.
Let’s talk about unintended consequences.
ECO-SHAMING LESSON
Let’s learn some new vocabulary words and use them in a conversation about eco-shaming.
SHORT READING
The inherent fallacy of focusing our efforts exclusively on changing our individual behaviors is that much of the carbon consumption of an industrialized society is inextricably locked into the system. Unless we go completely off the grid and generate our own power, grow our own food, and do not connect with the rest of society, most of our carbon consumption is the product of the broader systems in which our personal and professional lives are embedded. An engineering class at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) provided a case in point when they set out to calculate the carbon consumption of a homeless person in 2007. In their analysis, the class documented how even a destitute American who owns neither a house nor a car and lives in a homeless shelter emitted more than twice as much greenhouse gases than the global average.
-Exerpt from Taking power as individuals (and why individual climate action can’t save us)
FURTHER READING
Eco-shaming: What it is and Why it doesn’t Work – Intermediate reading
So, You’ve Been Eco-Shamed – Advanced reading
CONVERSATION
1.) What is eco-shaming? Can you give an example from your own life?
2.) Is eco-shaming effective, in your opinion?
3.) Who do people eco-shame others?
4.) What are some other ways to raise awareness and create positive change?
5.) Who benefits from average people eco-shaming one another?
What topic will you check out next?
