Earth Hour (Worksheet for Intermediate level)
On the 25th of March at 8:30 pm our Earth will be in the dark. Earth hour is a movement uniting people to take action on environmental issues and protect the planet.
This worksheet is a series of materials on the topic designed for adults with Intermediate level. You can use them through a few lessons. With these tasks students will get acquainted with this movement, learn new vocabulary, revise grammar on repeated comparatives, practise their listening, reading and speaking skills.
Lesson plan:
- Warm-up
- Lead-in
- Message for you
- Vocabulary presentation
- Vocabulary practice
- Why Australia
- Vocabulary presentation
- Mission to be completed
- Grammar presentation
- Grammar rule
- Grammar practice
- Famous landmarks without lights
- Additional task
Bring your friends and colleagues along! It’s not just English, we teach physics too! Experienced tutors are always welcome at Skysmart.
1. Warm-up
Look at the pictures. What can you see? What’s the difference between them?
2. Lead-in
Look at the date and the time. What do you think is going to happen on this day at 8:30 pm?
3. Message for you
Watch the video and say what its message is.
- Have you heard about the Earth Hour Movement?
- If so, have you ever joined it by switching off the lights for an hour?
- If not, would you join this year?
Watch the video again and say which country this message is especially addressed to and why.
4. Vocabulary presentation
Look at the words and match them with their definitions.
d) estimated e) to be bulldozed f) to reverse g) draw
- the removal of trees in a large area, or the destruction of forests by people
- to lower the grade of something; reduce its worth
- an occasion when someone or something is chosen by chance
- to destroy (buildings, trees, etc.) with a bulldozer
- worrying speed
- approximate
- to change a situation or change the order of things so that it becomes the opposite
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5. Vocabulary practice
Complete the sentences with the correct word.
d) estimated e) to be bulldozed f) to reverse g) draw
- ________ and changes in land use are continuing at ________.
- The ________ worth of the plastics and petrochemical industry is about $640 billion.
- They can ________ air quality far from their sources.
- That’s just the luck of the ________.
- There is nothing there but waste land which has been ________.
- The government has failed to ________ the economic decline.
6. Why Australia
Read the article and check your guesses about Australia.
Read the extract from the article and answer the questions:
“To help you take time out for nature, WWF-Australia and Tasmania Walking Company have teamed up to give you the chance to win a luxury walking holiday for two on the Bay of Fires Lodge Walk. Sign up to switch off this Earth Hour, then enter the draw for this dream wilderness escape of a lifetime“.
- Does this offer motivate you to join the movement?
- What else can motivate or make people do it?
7. Vocabulary presentation
Match the words/phrases and definitions.
c) to revitalise d) distinctive e) to resonate
- to begin a conversation, an argument, a friendship, etc., often suddenly
- characteristic of one person or thing, and so serving to distinguish it from others
- to produce or be filled with a deep, full, reverberating sound
- to call attention to something
- to give new life or vitality to
8. Mission to be completed
Watch the video and answer the questions:
- How long has Earth Hour been going for?
- What has Earth Hour achieved since the movement began?
- Who can participate?
- What does Earth Hour ask people to do?
- What does Earth Hour aim to achieve?
- What does the Earth Hour logo mean?
- Why do you think this event takes place in March?
Read the answer to this question (it is under the number 8) on the Earth Hour website and check your ideas.
1. since 2007;
2. it has shone a spotlight on the issues of climate change and nature loss and it has reached 190 countries;
3. everyone;
4. to switch off the lights for 60 minutes and do something positive for our planet;
5. to make our planet better, to save nature, to tackle climate change;
6. to get involved with the movement beyond the hour.
7. You may need to explain the word equinox — the time or date when day and night are of approximately equal length
9. Grammar presentation
Choose the correct functions of the words in bold.
1. The city is growing fast. It’s getting bigger and bigger.
- a) showing that something changes continuously
- b) showing that one thing depends on another thing
2. The more electricity you use, the higher your bill will be.
- a) showing that one thing depends on another thing
- b) showing the difference between things
3. The fewer things in the room the better.
- a) showing a small difference
- b) showing that you would prefer it if something is big/small/few/soon (the sooner/bigger/more etc. the better)
More worksheets:
10. Grammar rule
11. Grammar practice
Fill in the gaps with correct words.
e) the cleaner f) the hotter g) the higher h) the more i) the better
- ________ countries join the Earth Hour Movement every year.
- ________ the weather, the faster ice melts.
- ________ we lie dormant, the more our environmental problems will be.
- The more the sea level rises, ________ the probability that some cities will go underwater.
- The sooner we take action, ________ we will tackle climate change.
- The more people join the movement, ________.
- ________ we reuse paper, plastic carrier bags, etc, the greener our life will become.
- The less trees are cut, ________ air we will breathe.
- _________ people use plastics, the better.
12. Famous landmarks without lights
Look at the pictures of famous landmarks without lights.
Follow the link and look at the list of the most expensive landmarks and the information about their electric usage.
Watch the video and check.
An hour itself can’t change anything, but it can unite people and remind us to make all other hours count. It can change something if people do anything positive for our planet beyond this hour.
13. Additional task: Grammar practice
Read the sentences and rewrite them using repeated comparatives and new vocabulary.
If you throw litter on the street, you will contribute to pollution.
The more litter we throw on the street, the more polluted our planet will be.
- You will create more rubbish if you do not recycle glass and bottles.
- If everyone has a shower instead of a bath, they won’t waste so much water.
- People will help the environment if they don’t use so many plastic bags.
- Tell your colleague that if she prints on both sides of a piece of paper, she will help reduce deforestation.
- Deforestation will decrease if everyone uses recycled paper.
- If people ride a bike to work, we will reduce air pollution.
- If we don’t forget to turn off the lights, we will save electricity.
- If everyone plants a tree, birds will have a normal habitat.
- This year around 190 countries have joined the Earth Hour Movement.
1. The less glass and bottles we recycle, the more rubbish we will create.
2. The more people have a shower instead of a bath, the less water will be wasted.
3. The less plastic bags people use, the better we will help the environment.
4. The smarter people use the paper, the less trees will be bulldozed.
5. The more people use recycled paper, the better.
6. The more people ride a bike to work, the clearer the air will be.
7. The more often we turn off the lights, the more electricity we will save.
8. The more trees we plant, the better habitat we’ll create for birds.
9. More and more countries have joined the Earth Hour Movement this year.
We wish you interesting and productive lessons!
Вероника Аветисян 
Вероника Аветисян 