The main goals of this ESL lesson plan are to:
- – Explore climate change vocabulary including terms like “livestock,” “footprint,” and “enteric fermentation” while learning plant and animal species names such as “citrus” and “poultry” in this upper intermediate lesson.
- – Practice sensory verbs like “taste,” “feel,” and “see” through emoji-based activities and exploring how different senses help us experience gases, plants, and vehicles.
- – Analyze environmental data by watching videos about beef’s climate impact, interpreting greenhouse gas emission charts, and discussing how climate change affects personal lives and food choices.
In this Upper-Intermediate ESL lesson, students will learn about why beef is the worst food for the climate and new vocabulary related to climate change and plant and animal species. Students will also learn how to use sensory verbs (see, touch, taste, hear and smell). This lesson will also focus on getting students to discuss issues related to climate change and how it affects their lives.
Warm-up
The lesson starts with a discussion about climate change and the way it affects food supply.
Video: Why beef is the worst food for the climate
Before watching a video, the student gets familiar with the keywords (livestock, footprint, packaging, etc.). After watching the video, the student answers the questions based on it. Then, the student gets to use the keywords they previously learned to complete the sentences.
Vocabulary: Plant species
The student matches the plants and animals in the pictures with their names (citrus, cassava, poultry, etc.). They sort the foods into those with low and high emissions of greenhouse gas.
Vocabulary: Climate change
The student matches words and phrases related to climate change they heard in the video with their meanings (enteric fermentation, greenhouse gas, nitrous oxide, etc.).
Based on pictures, the student discusses reforestation and deforestation.
Grammar: Sensory verbs
The student learns about the types of sensory verbs and their examples (taste, feel, see, look, etc.).
Based on emojis, the student makes sentences using sensory verbs. Then, they decide which senses are used to experience gasses, plants, vehicles, etc.
Reading and analyzing charts
The student answers questions based on the charts from the video representing greenhouse gas and methane emissions.
In the wrap-up activity, they discuss how climate change affects their life.