Ecology: lesson ideas

Nature and our environment being one of the greatest treasures for humanity are daily destroyed by human beings. While lots of people do care for nature and try to solve ecological problems, others do not know even how to handle it. Ecological problems need urgent and minute observation. Every person has their own attitude on this issue. If you want to discuss this topic with your Intermediate students, here are some lesson ideas.

Task 1: Warm-up

— What does it mean to be eco-friendly?

— Match the activities with the pictures. Choose the activities which you think are eco-friendly.

1. Using plastic
2. Driving a car
3. Riding a bike
4. Leaving appliances plugged in
5. Planting a tree
6. Cleaning up the environment

3) Why have you chosen these activities?

4) Why do you think the rest of the activities are not eco-friendly?

Keys:

1 — c

2 — e

3 — c

4 — f

5 — b

6 — d

Task 2: Lead-in

Discuss the questions:

1. Do you care about our environment? Can you call yourself eco-friendly? Why?
2. Which countries do you think are the leaders in caring about our environment?
3. Do you donate money or actively campaign for environmental causes?
4. If the environment could speak, what would it tell us?
5. What are the biggest problems our environment is facing?

Task 3

Now let’s watch the video about plastic pollution.

Put the events in the mentioned order.

1. Bottle one ends up in a landfill. As plastics sit there amongst layers of other junk, rainwater flows through the waste and absorbs the water-soluble compounds it contains.
2. Bottles are filled with liquid, wrapped, shipped, bought, opened, consumed and discarded.
3. Bottle two, after months lost at sea, is slowly drawn into a place known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Here some animals get entangled in the mess. They mistake the coloured plastic bits for food.
4. Some of these compounds are highly toxic. Together they create leachate, which can move into groundwater, soil and streams poisoning ecosystems and harming wildlife.
5. Most plastics don’t biodegrade which means they are destined to break down into smaller pieces rotating in the sea eternally.
6. Bottle three is brought into a plant where it is squeezed flat and compressed into a block. The blocks are shredded into tiny pieces which are washed and melted so they become raw materials that can be used again.
7. Plastic makes animals feel full when they are not so they starve to death.
8. Bottle three is now ready to be reborn as something completely new.

Keys:

B, A, D, C, G, E, F, H

Task 4

Read the sentences and choose the appropriate meanings of the words in bold.

1. Bottles are filled with liquid, wrapped, shipped, bought, opened, consumed and discarded. (to collect/to throw away /to use)
2. Bottle one ends up in a landfill. As plastics sit there amongst layers of other junk, rainwater flows through the waste and absorbs the water-soluble compounds it contains. (to find yourself in a place or situation that you did not intend or expect to be in/to find a solution/to follow)
3. Bottle two, after months lost at sea, is slowly drawn into a place known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Here some animals get entangled in the mess. They mistake the coloured plastic bits for food. (get lost/get twisted / disappear)
4. Plastic makes animals feel full when they are not so they starve to death. (to get a little hungry/to be killed/to die from lack of food)
5. Most plastics don’t biodegrade which means they are destined to break down into (to drop/to separate into/to become smaller) smaller pieces rotating (fall apart/throw away/move in a circle) in the sea eternally. 
6. Bottle three is brought into a plant where it is squeezed flat and compressed into a block. The blocks are shredded into (to cut sth into small pieces/to melt/to destroy) tiny pieces which are washed and melted so they become raw materials that can be used again.

Keys:

— to throw away

— to find yourself in a place or situation that you did not intend or expect to be in

— to get twisted

— to die from lack of food

— to separate into, to move in a circle

— to cut sth into small pieces

Task 5

Watch the video again and answer the questions using new words (discard, end up, get entangled,  starve to death,  break down into, rotate, shred into).

1. How are the bottles made?
2. Where does bottle one end up?
3. What danger does leachate bring?
4. How is bottle two drawn into the Great Pacific Garbage Patch?
5. What happens to the animals in the  Great Pacific Garbage Patch?
6. What is the destiny of bottle three?

Keys:

— The plastic was formed by chemically bonding oil and gas molecules together. Then the plastic is melted in manufacturing plants and reformed in bottles. Then they are filled with liquid, wrapped, shipped, bought, opened, consumed and discarded.

— Bottle one ends up in a landfill. As plastics sit there amongst layers of other junk, rainwater flows through the waste and absorbs the water-soluble compounds it contains.

— It can move into groundwater, soil and streams poisoning ecosystems and harming wildlife.

— Bottle two, after months lost at sea, is slowly drawn into a place known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

— Here some animals get entangled in the mess. They mistake the coloured plastic bits for food. Plastic makes animals feel full when they are not so they starve to death.

— Bottle three is brought into a plant where it is squeezed flat and compressed into a block. The blocks are shredded into tiny pieces which are washed and melted so they become raw materials that can be used again. Bottle three is now ready to be reborn as something completely new.

Task 6

Tick the best solutions to the problems. Explain your choice.

1. Deforestation:

— Join a library instead of buying books.

— Print as little as possible.

— Stop using paper towels.

— Turn the sink water off when brushing your teeth.

— Take shorter showers.

1. B) Air pollution: 

— Switch off anything that uses electricity when not in use.

— Drive less, use a bike instead.

— Choose public transportation.

— Buy local food.

1. C) Plastic rubbish:

— Bring your own bags to the supermarket.

— Carry your own reusable cup or water bottle.

— Try to use as little packaging as possible.

— Wrap gifts in fabric.

Task 7:

Discuss the questions in pairs.

1. Do you think cars should be banned from city centres? Why?
2. How do you think COVID has impacted the ecology?
3. Do you agree that since the borders were mainly closed in 2020, there are fewer ecological problems and the environment has somehow recovered? Explain your answer.
4. What are the main ecological challenges your country is facing? What measures does your government take to solve the problems?
5. How do wars influence our environment? What are the most important things countries must do after wars to recover the environment?

Hopefully, the lesson ideas introduced in the article will turn out to be useful for your classes and your students will enjoy a great deal.