Go Green!

Think globally, act locally

You are going to create a newspaper report and a poster of an

environmental problem that worries you.

PART I: Environmental Issues

1. What is the Kyoto Protocol? When did it come into force? Have all the countries

in the world ratified the treaty? Browse the webs and find out.

http://www.kyotoprotocol.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyoto_Protocol

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2. Now click on the image and watch the animation Neglected Sky. Read about the

four environmental issues on the next page and put them in the order the video

mentions them:

1) ............. 2) ............. 3) ............. 4) .............

Neglected Sky: Award Winning Animation on Global Warming

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a) When we drive we generate Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, which pollute

the air.

b) Antarctica is melting, which endangers some animal species.

c) Factories generate too much CO2, which contributes to global warming.

d) Some aerosol sprays can pollute the environment, which can cause global

warming.

3. The British Broadcast Corporation (BBC) helps British schools become Eco-

Friendly with the programme Eco-Schools – Going for Green!. Read its webpage

introduction:

Air pollution in Beijing, China

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4. Read the text again and find the English word/s for the Catalan translation.

a) Resoldre:

b) Trobar una solució:

c) Afrontar:

d) Canvi climàtic:

e) Selva tropical:

f) Escombraries:

g) En perill d’extinció:

h) Brutícia de gos:

i) Escassetat d’aigua:

j) Capa d’ozó:

k) Glaceres que es desfan:

l) Sequera:

m) Expert mediambiental:

n) Tasca d’enormes proporcions:

5. Match the following titles with the appropriate group:

Containers and places where we can dispose rubbish, Environmentally friendly

behaviour, The Three R’s, Renewable Energy, Actions, Other words

1...........................

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Reuse

Reduce

Recycle

2...........................

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Bottle bank

Litter bin

Waste-paper basket

Refuse sack

Rubbish bins

Landfill site

Recycling centre

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3...........................

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Use energy efficient light bulbs

Ask for online bills

Use less water

Use cold water to wash clothes

Use less electricity

Use public transport

Ride bikes

Use cloth or reusable bags

Use reusable sandwich wraps

4...........................

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Wind farm

Solar panel

5...........................

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Waste

Pollute

Destroy

Throw away

Bury

Save

Poison

Raise awareness

6...........................

............................

Ozone layer

Environment

Global warming

Endangered animals

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6. 8 Everyday Things you can do to Help the

Environment. Watch and listen to the

video. How many actions from group 3 are

mentioned? Write them down.

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7. In your opinion, what’s the most important thing we should do to help the

environment? Work in pairs. Finish the sentences:

In order to help the environment we should ..........................................

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In order to help the environment we mustn’t

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Online Dictionary

Essential British English

from Cambridge University

Press.

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PART II: Let’s Make a Difference

A Newspaper Report. General Points

People read newspapers because they want to read information about something that

has happened. The reports must:

be easy to read.

have a nice presentation.

8. Browse these two BBC websites and answer the questions about report writing:

BBC Bitesize site

BBC School Report: writing news

a) Find the 3 C’s of Journalism. Their definitions will help you.

..................: use simple and direct language.

..................: short and specific.

..................: use facts, be objective.

b) Which are the six questions a news report should always answer?

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c) Is the information in a news report divided into paragraphs?

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d) Which paragraph gives the main point of the story and answers the question

who?

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e) What does headline mean? Can you translate the word? What makes a good

headline?

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f) Does newspaper presentation use columns?

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A School Newspaper Report: Go Green! – Weekly School Report

9. Look at the pictures. Identity the environmental problem. What can you see?

Which environmentally friendly decision should we take? Go back to exercise 5

for a clue.

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10. Read the model newspaper report and do exercises 11, 12 and 13.

Go Green! – Weekly School Report

Let’s Make a Difference

Wrap it Again!

This week we focus on one of the most

worrying environmental issues in my

school. Every day many students

wrap their breakfast sandwiches using

aluminium foil, which is not

environmentally friendly.

Last year we carried out a research for

a Science Project about Recycling at

School. The amount of aluminium foil

which we found in the waste-paper

baskets was unbelievable so we

decided to write this article.

Many people have used tin foil for

years because it’s a quick and easy

method for preserving food. However,

tin foil is made from finite energy-

intensive resources and it’s really

difficult to recycle because it’s very

hard to clean. We think that a lot of

students who use aluminium foil don’t

know that it is not environmentally

friendly. Moreover, some people are

not responsible enough. We must

definitely do something about this

situation. We should raise awareness of

this environmental issue. We can

create posters and give talks about it.

We can also tell students about other

options they have to wrap their

sandwiches. For example, they can use

washable containers made of plastic or

reusable cloth sandwich wraps.

We think we can all make a difference

to help our environment. We should try

to make small changes that will benefit

our planet, where we all live.

Think globally, act locally!

Reusable sandwich wrap

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11. CHECKING UNDERSTANDING

a) Find the words in the report for the following definitions from the

Essential British English Dictionary by Cambridge University Press:

1) ................................ : a detailed study of a subject, especially in

order to discover (new) information.

2) .................................. : a very thin sheet of metal, especially used

to wrap food in to keep it fresh.

3) ................................ : to cover or surround something with paper,

cloth or other material.

4) ................................ : a subject or problem which people are

thinking and talking about.

5) .................................. : a useful or valuable possession or quality of

a country, organization or person.

6) ................................ : having a limit or end.

7) ................................ : making you feel worried.

8) ................................ : knowledge that something exists, or

understanding of a situation or subject at the present time based on

information.

9) ................................ : able to be washed in a washing machine

without being damaged.

10) ................................ : able to use something again.

11) ................................ : the air, water and land in or on which people,

animals and plants live.

b) What’s the main point of the report?

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c) Do the writers give any solution to the problem?

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12. LANGUAGE

Read the news report and do the exercises:

a) Find the following connecting words in the report:

1) We use this conjunction to link to ideas which are related: ...............

2) We use this conjunction to give a result: .......................

3) We use this conjunction to give a reason: ......................

Connecting words

So or because?

And, but, so or because?

And, or, but or so?

b) Find three relative pronouns and complete the sentences.

1) We use ................ when we talk about people.

2) We use ................ when we talk about places.

3) We use ................ when we talk about things.

Relative Pronouns

Who or which 1?

Who or Which 2?

What, which or who?

Who, which, where or when?

Relative clauses

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13. NEWS REPORT

Analyze the text and answer the questions:

a) How many columns and pictures are there?

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b) What’s the headline? Is it catchy?

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c) In which paragraph do the writers...

give the main point of the story and answer the question who? .......

answer the question what? .......

answer the question when? .......

answer the question where? .......

answer the question why? .......

answer the question how? .......

d) Is the report...:

Clear? ................................................................................

Concise? ................................................................................

Correct? .................................................................................

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A Poster: Go Green! – No more aluminium foil

14. One of the ways to raise awareness of environmental issues is creating posters

and displaying them on the school walls. Glogster is an online tool that will

help you make nice catchy posters.

After writing the news report Wrap it Again! students created the following

poster to raise awareness of the use of aluminium foil. You can also see it online

Do you like this poster? Why? Why not? Discuss with your partner.

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PART III: Your News Report and your Poster

15. Now you have to create your own News Report and your Poster.

Identify an environmental issue and choose images related to it. You can take

the pictures yourself or choose from the following royalty free photo webs:

FlickrCC. Creative Commons Licensed Pictures.

iStock Photo. Royalty free stock photos.

Banco de imágenes y sonidos del Ministerio de Educación

Remember your poster should raise awareness of the environmental issue

you’ve chosen. You can take the poster on page 12 as an example. Use the

online tool Glogster

A. Think and Plan. Brainstorm and organize your ideas:

General information Environmental issue Main point of the story. Why is it news?

Headline Introduction

Content. What information will you include? 6 Question Words

What?

Who? Where? When? Why? How?

Structure. How will you organize the information? Beginning of the story (main point and who)

Middle of the report End of the story Final thought

Steps to write a good News Report

A. Think and Plan

B. Write

C. Check

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B. Write. Now you can write the first draft of your report:

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C. Check. Check your work before writing the final version. The following

checklist will help you decide what you can improve:

News Report and Poster Checklist

Yes No

1 General

I’ve planned before writing

I’ve written a rough version first

I’ve answered the question in the task

My report and my poster are Clear, Concise and Correct

I’ve answered the 6 Question Words in my report

The Poster conveys the main idea of my report

2 Grammar

Word order is correct (S+V+O)

I’ve used verb tenses correctly

I’ve used relative pronouns

3 Vocabulary

I’ve checked the spelling when necessary

I’ve used capital letters when necessary

I’ve used words related to the environment

I’ve used adjectives and adverbs

4 Text Building

I’ve used connecting words (and, but, so, because) to join up my ideas

I’ve checked punctuation carefully

I’ve organized the ideas into different paragraphs

I’ve structured the report into two columns

I’ve written a headline in the report

5 Maturity and Reflection

I’ve been creative and original

My message is clear, concise and correct

I try to find new strategies to improve

I accept feedback and try to be autonomous

I’ve checked my notes (grammar, vocabulary) when necessary

6 ICT Use

I’ve used Glogster responsibly to create my poster

I’ve inserted images in my report and in the poster

I’ve inserted a video in the poster

Before creating your final version, check all the items where you answered NO.

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Images taken from:

http://flickrcc.bluemountains.net/flickrCC/index.php

http://www.istockphoto.com