Around the world, climate change concerns everyone.  Most of your students probably have a good understanding of what it is.  If not, this lesson can help give them a solid foundation in the topic. 

This activity might also be great place to start a service learning project for your class (look to next month’s lesson plan for how to create service learning projects).

Introduction (Motivation): 25 minutes 

1. Making 10 groups

• Have students line up by birth date.  This is a great way for them to start speaking in English and basic enough for most students to be able to participate.

• Count off.  If you have a class of 30, start at January and the first 3 are together, next 3 are together, etc.

• Assign group roles: 

a. Official: the students who keeps the group on task

b. Scribe: the student who writes

c. Reporter: the student to report the group’s work aloud

d. Organizer: the student who assigns roles and manages tasks

2. While students are lining up by birth date, write “THINK CLIMATE CHANGE” on the board.
3. Let students know they will be playing a game to see which group can come up with the most words related to climate change.
4. Once groups have settled, give each group some scrap paper and 90 seconds to write down all the words they can related to climate change. 
5. Play “motivational-starter-video,” Animation: Climate change, energy & action, to activate prior knowledge and generate more words.
6. Give students 30 more seconds to add to their list.

• Starting with one group, have a student slowly read his or her group’s list to the class.  
• If another group has the same word, the word is to be crossed off all the lists.  
• Once one group finishes reading its list, go to another group.  They should only read the remaining words on their list.  The same rules apply… if another group has one of their words, all groups cross it off.
• Continue until each group has a unique list.
• Have groups count the number of words they have left. 
• The group with the most original words WINS!

• Give each group an envelope (don’t forget the group roles)
• Have students take out the 8 picture cards inside, but not the “Rules”
• Let students know they will be watching a video but first they must try to organize the cards in the order they will appear in the video.  (Remind them… this is English class.  Everyone should be speaking English.)
• Watch the video, Award Winning Animation on Global Warming
• Did students get the cards in the correct order?  

• Have students pull out the “Rules” from the envelope.  Go over them together, as a class:
• Must use complete sentences
• Must _______________ [choose a tense/grammar point you are working on, conditionals, passive, voice, etc. Decide first and change the “Rule” card.]
• Must use vocabulary from the list (these are the lists they made in the intro)
• Must flow together as a story
• [choose one] Each person must write his or her own captions -OR- Must work as a group…remember your roles!
• Must finish in 10 minutes

• Use the rules
• Make a complete sentence as a class
• Use the correct grammar point

• How many groups had good stories?  
• Have many didn't make sense?

Get a handout here

Sarah Sahr works at TESOL International and has her Masters in ESL administration. She has managed a school in Vietnam, trained teachers in South Korea, implemented school reform in Qatar, run a circus train classroom for Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey, and taught 8th grade writing in Maryland. Prior to all that, Sarah was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ethiopia. She is also a certified ashtanga yoga instructor and has managed an eco-lodge in Chugchilan, Ecuador.