Lesson Plan: Earth Day and Ocean Pollution
(Link to Printable PDF Version)
Level: High school students learning English as a Foreign Language with a TOEIC score of about 450.
Time: 45 minutes
Materials:
- Video: "How Plastic in the Ocean Impacts Your Health" ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQQajO5yIUE )
- Short reading: "5 Ways You Can Help Reduce Ocean Pollution" (attached)
- Cloze exercise: "5 Ways You Can Help Reduce Ocean Pollution" (attached)
Objectives:
- To develop students' listening, reading, and writing skills in English.
- To increase students' vocabulary related to environmental problems and solutions.
- To motivate students to take action in addressing environmental issues.
Procedure:
Introduction (5 minutes):
- Greet the students and introduce the topic of Earth Day and ocean pollution.
- Ask students if they have heard of Earth Day and what they know about it.
- Tell the students that today's lesson is about positive ways we can address environmental problems, specifically ocean pollution.
- Preview the video and ask the students what they think it will be about.
Video Activity (15 minutes):
- Play the video "How Plastic in the Ocean Impacts Your Health".
- Ask the students to take notes on the main points of the video.
- After the video, ask students to discuss what they learned and any questions they have.
- Review key vocabulary and concepts from the video.
Reading Activity (10 minutes):
- Give the students the short reading "5 Ways You Can Help Reduce Ocean Pollution".
- Ask them to read the article and identify any new vocabulary or phrases they are unfamiliar with.
- Have the students discuss the article in pairs or small groups, focusing on the main ideas and what they learned.
- Review any new vocabulary or phrases as a class.
Cloze Exercise (15 minutes):
- Give the students the cloze exercise "5 Ways You Can Help Reduce Ocean Pollution".
- Ask them to fill in the blanks with the appropriate words from the reading.
- After they complete the exercise, have the students compare their answers in pairs or small groups.
- Review the answers as a class.
Conclusion (5 minutes):
- Recap the main points of the lesson.
- Encourage students to take action in addressing environmental issues.
- Thank the students for their participation.
Assessment:
- Observe students during group and class discussions to evaluate their comprehension and participation.
- Check the students' answers to the cloze exercise to assess their understanding of the reading.
Attachments:
- "5 Ways You Can Help Reduce Ocean Pollution" reading
- "5 Ways You Can Help Reduce Ocean Pollution" cloze exercise
Reading:
5 Ways You Can Help Reduce Ocean Pollution
- Use a reusable water bottle instead of buying plastic water bottles. This reduces the amount of plastic waste that ends up in the ocean.
- Avoid using single-use plastics such as plastic bags, straws, and utensils. Instead, bring your own reusable bags and utensils when possible.
- Properly dispose of hazardous waste such as batteries and electronics. These items can release harmful chemicals into the ocean if not disposed of properly.
- Reduce your energy use by turning off lights and unplugging electronics when not in use. This helps reduce the amount of greenhouse gases that contribute to ocean acidification.
- Support companies and organizations that are committed to reducing ocean pollution. This includes companies that use sustainable materials and support clean energy.
Cloze Exercise: Ways You Can Help Reduce Ocean Pollution
Fill in the blanks with the appropriate words from the word bank below.
Word bank:
disposable hazardous biodegradable |
marine plastic sustainable recycle |
ecosystem clean straws
|
- Use a reusable water bottle instead of buying __________ water bottles. This reduces the amount of __________ waste that ends up in the ocean.
- Avoid using single-use plastics such as __________, utensils, and bags. Instead, bring your own reusable bags and utensils when possible.
- Properly dispose of __________ waste such as batteries and electronics. These items can release harmful chemicals into the ocean if not disposed of properly.
- __________ your waste whenever possible. This includes separating recyclable materials and disposing of them in the appropriate recycling bins.
- Support companies and organizations that are committed to reducing ocean pollution. This includes companies that use __________ materials and support __________ energy.
- Use __________ products when possible. These products break down naturally and do not harm the __________ environment.
- Reduce your energy use by turning off lights and unplugging electronics when not in use. This helps reduce the amount of greenhouse gases that contribute to ocean __________.
- Participate in beach cleanups and other __________ events. This helps keep trash and other pollutants out of the ocean.
- Choose __________ seafood options. Overfishing can harm the __________ environment and disrupt the balance of the ocean's food chain.
- Spread awareness about ocean pollution and encourage others to take __________ actions to reduce their impact on the environment.
Answer key:
- disposable, plastic
- straws,
- hazardous
- Recycle
- sustainable, clean
- biodegradable, marine
- acidification
- clean-up
- sustainable, marine
- positive