I Like Clean Air

This lesson plan is based on the excellent campaign ‘I Like Clean Air’ in which London parents and kids fight pollution. Students discuss air pollution, listen to a fantastic song created for the campaign, read and analyse a letter by a child requesting a change to improve air quality and learn how to write a letter asking for something to be done about an issue important to them.

Language level: Pre-Intermediate (A2) upwards

Learner type: Primary and Secondary Young Learners

Time: 90 minutes

Outcomes:

Language: Learners can differentiate between and use correctly complex and simple expressions for a transactional letter.
Skills: Learners write a letter requesting action to improve their cities air quality
Content: Learners explore the issue of air quality and become empowered to take action on it.

Materials:

PowerPoint Air Quality Lesson
1 copy of the song lyrics I Like Clean Air for the teacher
1 copy of I Like Clean Air worksheet per student.

Procedure:

Ask students to discuss in groups what they love about their city and what they don’t love about it. Feedback to class and put ideas on the table in the PowerPoint.
Tell learners that students in London produced a song about their city. Students Brainstorm 3 things they might love about London and 3 things they don’t love. Feedback to class and add ideas to the table on slide 2.
Listen to the song. http://www.ilikecleanair.org.uk/clean-air-song/ What is it about?
Give out the worksheet I Like Clean Air Students read it, predict what the missing words are. They listen to the song again to check.
Students read the letter on the accompanying PowerPoint slide 4 and answer the following: Who is it from? Who is it to? What is it about? What is the format?
Elicit from students what expressions the writer of the letter uses to ask someone to do something. Then go to slide 5 on the PowerPoint and students match up the simple and complex phrases according to function. Elicit the pros of more complex language (more precise meaning) and the cons (can be less clear).
Ask what air quality issues there are in the students’ town or city. Who could they contact to do something about it? Complete the table on slide 6 and add ideas.
Students write a letter to a person of their choice on an air quality issue of their choice. This can be displayed on the classroom walls for the other students to read and then hand in.

Downloadable materials:

lesson plan Air quality Lesson Plan

PowerPoint Air Quality lesson

Thank you to Shazia from I Like Clean Air for permission to use the materials on http://www.ilikecleanair.org.uk/

Volkswagen Emissions Test Scandal

Air pollution is a serious problem. And now we find that car-makers are cheating in their vehicle emissions tests. Outrageous? Yes! Here is a lesson plan dealing with this topic that practices third and mixed conditionals.

volkswagen-emissions-scandal-lesson-plan

emissions-test-cheating

Here is a link to the video

The E-Bike

The E-bike

A lesson plan based on a more eco-friendly and city-friendly alternative to the car: the electric bike. While looking at this exciting development, students focus on indirect questions, and do a fact-finding mingle.

e-bike-lesson-plan

e-bike-PowerPoint

Bike-sharing

It’s got to be one of the best infrastructure developments in cities. Turn up, pay for a bike, ride it to the next drop off point and your there! In terms of reducing pollution, getting fit, and making cities more pleasant places to live, it’s a win win win situation! So next time you do a lesson on travel, or city life, why not try this lesson. And tell me how it goes, I’d love feedback. Did you find the materials user-friendly, did the students find it interesting? Any suggestions? Here is the lesson:

bike sharing

Cycling

Cycling is fun, though so many of us forget once we reach adulthood. It is also an excellent form of urban transport. Quick, sociable, healthy. What’s more, it is much better for the environment than almost all the competition.

Here is a lesson of mine on the topic of cycling. Click the link to be redirected to its location on the British Council’s teachingenglish website:

http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/lesson-plans/cycling

Eco-tourism: travel by train

Did you know that taking the train instead of flying is much more environmentally friendly? Travelling by Eurostar creates ten times less carbon emissions that flying the same route! Not to mention it’s more fun and you get to see more – it’s the journey, not just the destination, after all!

Language teaching course-books rarely focus on this great way of travelling, but here is an internet lesson lesson that does just that.

seat 61 webquest

This lesson does require access to computers connected to the internet.