Урок ток-шоу "Our Threatened Planet. Can It Be Saved?"

Lesson Talk – Show

“Our Threatened Planet. Can It Be Saved?”

The motto of the lesson:

“Look after this planet, it`s the only one we have” (the appeal of Prince Philip of Britain, President of the World Wide Fund for Nature).

Цели урока:

- автоматизация речевых навыков на уровне связного высказывания;

- убедить учащихся в необходимости беречь Землю;

- развивать мышление учащихся, навыки самостоятельной и творческой работы.

Оборудование урока: компьютер, экран.

Nature is the Symbol of Spirit.

Ralph Waldo Emerson.

T.: The protection of nature has become one of the most burning problems. It provides peoples with mineral resources, rivers, forests, fields. The development of industry has had a bad influence on the nature of the whole world. People often do things which pollute land, air, water greatly. It is very dangerous because it damages health of people.

The accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power station in April 1986 caused radioactive contamination of a vast area.

Environmental protection is a great concern nowadays.

Problems to discuss:

1. Air Pollution.

2. Water Pollution.

3. Land Pollution.

4. Acid Rains.

5. Disappearing Animals.

6. The Greenhouse Effect.

7. The Ozone Hole.

8. E – numbers.

Scientists – ecologists:

№ 1: Air Pollution

About 150 years ago the air was pure and clean. Then people started building factories and many of the things they make, like cars, put a lot of harmful gases into the air. Today the air is so polluted in some places that it`s not always safe to breathe.

Many cities around the world have air filled with a pollution called “smog”. This is so strong in some places that the air, which should be a beautiful blue, looks brown.

Polluted air is not only bad for people and animals, but for trees and plants as well. And in some places it`s even damaging farmers` crops – the food we eat. So it`s very important for us “ to clean up our act”, and clean up the air we all breathe.

№ 2: Water Pollution

The planet Earth is mostly water. Oceans cover the biggest part of it – and there are lakes, rivers, streams and even underground water. All life on Earth – from the least bug to the biggest whale – depends on this water. It`s precious. But we aren`t doing a very good job of keeping water clean. In many places, the water has become polluted.

Rivers and lakes are polluted by garbage or by poisonous chemicals which are dumped right into them. Underground water can be polluted by gasoline or the harmful liquids that seep into the ground. Some fertilizers and pesticides used on farms or lawns leak down through the dirt, too.

The ocean, which is a home to so much life, has been used as a place to dump garbage and poisonous chemicals for a long time. It`s getting polluted, too.

We need to save our water, to keep it clean and healthy so people, plants and animals will always have some to drink. And so fish and other creatures will have a place to live.

№3: Land Pollution

Then you throw something away, it goes in a garbage can. Once a week the garbage truck comes and the can is emptied, and that`s the last you see it. But what do you think happens to the garbage then? Does it just disappear? No way!

Almost all garbage is taken to a garbage dump, or landfill, where the garbage truck empties it onto the ground. After the truck leaves, a big tractor comes along and pushes dirt on top of the garbage. So, most of our garbage is just buried.

Now we are making so much garbage that in many places, there is not enough room to bury it all.

We have to act fast and cut down the amount of garbage we make. Can we do it? You bet!

We can recycle (which means re-using materials instead of throwing them away) and recycle (which means not buying things that can`t be re-used, like plastic wrapping and other packaging). If we recycle and recycle we will produce a lot less garbage, and help keep our planet green!

№4: Acid Rains

When we look up, we see the clouds and the blue sky. But there are other things in the sky we don`t see. Some of these are harmful to the Earth. When power plants burn coil to make electricity and when cars burn gasoline, invisible gases are released into the air. Some of these gases can mix with water and make it acidic, like lemon juice or vinegar. Sometimes the gases get into rain clouds, where they get mixed in with rain or snow. Then the acid falls back. This is called acid rain.

Acid rain is extremely harmful to plants, rivers and lakes, and the creatures that live in them. In some places it is killing forests. And it pollutes the water that animals and people need to drink.

It`s very important for us to stop making acid rain. One good way to do that is to drive our cars less. Another good way is to save energy. The less energy we use, the less coal those plants will have to burn.

№ 5:Disappearing Animals

Every day there are more and more people living on the earth. All these people need room to live. So they move into places that are already homes for plants and animals. Forests are cut down, and wild areas are filled with houses and stores.

When people move into new land, the plants and animals that live there can become endangered – which means that because there`s no place for them to live, they begin to disappear. Some even become extinct – which means that they all die out, and are gone from the Earth forever. We enjoy pictures and stories about the dinosaurs who lived on the Earth many millions of years ago. They`re all extinct now. That could happen to elephants, zebras, butterflies, robins or goldfish or animals if we are not careful.

№ 6: The Greenhouse Effect

A greenhouse is a building made of glass, where you can grow flowers and other plants that need a lot of warmth. The sun shines in through the glass and warms the greenhouse and the roof and walls keep the heat from getting out.

The Earth is surrounded by a blanket of invisible gases (with names like carbon dioxide) that act just like a greenhouse. The sun shines in and the blanket of gases traps the heat like a roof, keeping it close to the planet. That`s good – we can`t live without warmth.

Factories, electric power plants and cars are making a lot of new gases. These new gases are trapping more and more of the sun`s heat. This is called the greenhouse effect, or global warming. If the earth`s temperature gets hotter by just a few degrees, it could change the weather all over the planet in big ways. Places that are warm would become too hot to live in, and places that grow most of our food could get too hot to grow crops any more.

№7: The Ozone Hole

Up in the sky, above the air we breathe, there`s a layer of gas called ozone. It helps us by blocking out rays from the sun that can harm our skin, and by letting the rays that are good for us come through. We are lucky to have the ozone to protect us.

Now the ozone layer is being damaged by gases that people have made. The gases are called CFCs, and halogens. They are used in refrigerators, air conditioners, plastic foam, and some other things. The CFCs float up to the top of the atmosphere, where the layer of ozone is, and “eat up” the ozone.

Scientists are very concerned about the ozone layer, because a lot of it has gone away in just a few years. So it`s very important that we learn to do something about it.

№8: E – numbers

E – numbers is a general name for a group of chemicals which are added to food sometimes. Usually these kinds of foods are made abroad. They are much cheaper because people abroad prefer to buy more expensive but at the same time more healthy food.

The chemicals of E – number group give the food better colour, long time of preservation and better look. They may be dangerous for our health because diseases start if there is a certain quantity of E – numbers in your body. How can you learn if there are E – numbers in the nice western product which you want to buy? Look at the bar code. If you see numbers with E before figures, it means that dangerous chemicals were used to produce the food. Do you need E – numbers in your body? Then buy the foreign products with them.

T.: We`ve delt with such global problems as Air Pollution, Water Pollution, Acid Rain, Disappearing Animals, the Greenhouse Effect, the Ozone Layer, Products containing E – numbers.

While telling us about these problems our “ecologists” have used many ecological notions. And now let`s have an eco-babble of these notions. Here they are.

Eco - Babble

Acid rain – when harmful gases from cars and power plants are released into the air

and fall back to the Earth with rain or snow.

Biodegradable – a thing that eventually decomposes and becomes part of the Earth

again like paper or apple cores (plastic stays the same forever).

Carbon dioxide – a gas produced when animal breathe out or any material containing

carbon is burned. Green plants bleed it to make food but too much adds to

greenhouse effect.

CFCs - short for chloro – fluoro – carbons (gases used in refrigerators).

Conservation – the wise use of the environment. Species that no longer exist on the

Earth is extinct (when animals and plants die out and are gone from the

Earth for ever (like dinosaurs).

Geothermal – using the energy from natural steam to produce electricity.

Global warming – an increase in the Earth`s temperature, caused by a build-up of

“greenhouse” gases in the atmosphere.

Landfill - a place where garbage is buried underground.

Organic - made up of plant and animal materials.

Poachers - people who catch fish or kill animals illegally.

Recycle - to use over and over again. Renewable resource.

Solar energy – energy that comes from the sun.

Smog - brown air pollution that comes from cars and factories; it makes the air

unsafe for people, animals and plants to breathe.

Vog – what Hawaiians call the smog that spews out of a volcano.

Toxic - another word for “poison”.

Black market – buying and selling things that have been obtained illegally (like skins,

tusks, horns or other parts of protected animals).

Greenhouse effect – when gases from factories, electric power plants and cars trap

the sun`s heat and warm up the Earth.

Rainforests - tropical evergreen woodlands that receive at least 100 inches of rain a

year; home to more than half the world`s plants and animals.

Fertilizer - anything from compost to cow manure that helps plants grow.

Ozone layer - a layer of gas high in the sky which protects us from the harmful

ultraviolet rays of the sun that cause skin cancer and crop damage.

Threatened species – plants and animals that still exist in some places, but have died

out elsewhere.

Atmosphere – the layer of gases surrounding the Earth; another word for “air”.

Compost - garbage that was once alive (like meat, leaves, flowers) that can be

turned into fertilizer for our garden.

Ecology - the study of organisms and their environment.

Ecosystem - a community of plants and animals living together.

Pollutants - man-made wastes that lower the quality of water and air.

Poachers - people who catch fish or kill animals illegally.

Sewage - solid and liquid wastes from bathtubs, toilets and sinks.

Solid waste - unwanted, discarded material that doesn`t contain enough liquid to

flow freely.

Wastewater – water carrying dissolved or floating solids from homes, farms,

businesses or industries.

T.: There is a special day around the world, Earth Day. What do you know about this Day?

P.1: April 22 is a special day around the world. On that day inhabitants of the earth celebrate Earth Day. Earth Day is a time when many people show that they care for our fragile planet. They show concern about the threats the planet faces destruction of the rainforest, holes in the ozone layer, the greenhouse effect, too much garbage and all forms of air and water pollution. It is a day for people to learn what they can do to preserve the planet Earth.

T.: When and where was the first Earth Day held?

P.2: The first Earth Day was held in the USA 45 years ago in April, 1970. At that time, Americans were just beginning to learn about the problems facing the planet.

T.: What must we do to improve the situation? Of course, there are some solutions of the problem. How can we save our planet?

P.1: People can reserve rainforests making them national parks.

P.2: To save seas clean it`s necessary to stop pollute them.

P.3: We can stop greenhouse effect by conserving rainforests, using natural energy, stopping to use CFCs that are in aerosols, refrigerators and plastic boxes for hamburgers, pizzas, etc.

P.4: To stop acid rains we need to make factories and power stations cleaner.

P.5: To stop pollution from rubbish we need to buy products with as little packing as possible, to use and throw away fewer carrier bags, waste less paper, turn rubbish into energy, use rubbish again after recycling.

P.6: To avoid chemicals in food we need to use fewer chemicals in food production.

P.7: To stop pollution from power plants we need to design, build and use solar, wave, wind, geo – thermal power plants.

T.: So, now we know how to solve some ecological problems. But what can we do to live healthy in the healthy world?

Ps: We must

• Buy fresh food that doesn`t need much packing.

• Buy fruit and vegetables from farmers who don`t use chemicals.

• Save as much water as possible.

• Save paper and wood.

• Use public transport as often as you can. First it concerns trams, trolley buses and metro, because they don`t pollute the environment.

• Try to eat a healthier diet. Eat more fresh fruits and vegetables and less fat or sugar.

• Use batteries as little as possible. It takes 50 times more energy to make them than they produce.

• Don`t leave on electric lights, TV, etc. if you are not using them.

• Take physical training exercises at least 3 times a week.