New lesson plan: Active Speaking: Climate Change & Water Crisis

Şeyma Saraç

Active Speaking: Climate Change & Water Crisis - Unlock 4 B1 level

Active Speaking: Climate Change & Water Crisis
Unlock 4 B1 level

Description

In this active speaking lesson, students explore the global water crisis and climate change through a Test–Teach–Test (TTT) framework. The lesson begins with an inductive discovery phase using a photo/video of Greta Thunberg and a gamified quiz to test students' background knowledge and current vocabulary. This is followed by a clarification stage ('Teach') where students watch an educational video, expand their vocabulary with academic context (reservoir, distribution, transform, polar ice cap), and complete text-summarizing activities. The teacher explicitly models the communicative task before moving into the final 'Test' stage, where students engage in a peer-supported, interactive speaking discussion about water preservation. The lesson concludes with a high-impact 'Exit Ticket' activity to encourage future application of the language.

Materials

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Main Aims

By the end of the lesson, students will be better able to talk about simple causes and basic solutions to water problems using simple sentence structures.They will demonstrate this by speaking in pairs during a structured dice game.
By the end of the lesson, students will be better able to talk about simple causes and basic solutions to water problems using simple sentence structures. They will demonstrate this by speaking in pairs during a structured dice game.

Subsidiary Aims

Vocabulary: To expose, clarify, and practice 4 basic academic words (polar ice cap, distribution, transform, reservoir) using strong visual definitions and simplified contexts suitable for A2/B1 learners. Sub-skills: To develop basic predictive and text-summarizing skills using visual cues and an interactive video task. Interaction & Fluency: To lower students' speaking anxiety and maximize Student Talking Time (STT) by utilizing structured peer-coaching with TTC attenders.

Procedure (43-53 minutes)

Warmer/Lead-in (3-5 minutes) • To set lesson context and engage students

Teacher plays a brief video clip of Greta Thunberg’s speech to hook the late-afternoon class. Teacher asks the whole class simple questions: 'Do you know this girl? If yes, how and where do you know her?' Students brainstorm in pairs for 1 minute, then share ideas. Teacher displays two visual contrasts on the board: a melting glacier and a cracked desert floor. Teacher asks: 'What is the connection between these environments?' to elicit 'Climate Change and Water Crisis'.

Test #1 (7-9 minutes) • To test students' baseline knowledge and vocabulary related to the topic.

Test #1 To test students' baseline knowledge and vocabulary Teacher launches a gamified CrowdParty quiz with facts about global water availability. Students work in 2 competing teams, revealing gaps in current academic vocabulary. Teacher directs Ss to the handout: Ex 1 (Preparing to Watch) — tick the statements you agree with, compare with a partner. Ex 2 (Predicting Content Using Visuals) — look at the 4 pictures from the video, discuss: 'What parts of the world are experiencing a water shortage?' / 'What factors lead to water shortages?' CrowdParty quiz; handout Ex 1–2 T–Ss, PW, S–S 7–9 min Ex 2's 4 images (desert, hazy city, ice-cap globe, dam) are the coursebook's own 'predicting' pictures — used here, not in the Warmer.

Teach (15-17 minutes) • To clarify areas of the target language where students had difficulty in the first test stage

Students watch the video once to check Ex 3 (True / False / DNS — does not say) and correct the false statements. After the first viewing, teacher conducts peer-reporting feedback. Teacher highlights and clarifies the 4 Glossary items (polar ice cap, distribution, transform, reservoir) using a minimalist structural chart on the board. Students watch the video a second time to complete the Ex 4 summary (gap-fill), supported by the 'Hidden Water' visual (e.g. 1 coffee = 120L, 1 T-shirt = 3000L). Fluency drill: Ss close their books and summarise the water crisis facts to each other in 1 minute using the target vocabulary.

Test #2 (13-15 minutes) • Check students' use of the target language again and compare with the first test

Teacher displays the Ex 5 (Making Inferences) and Ex 6 (Discussion) prompts using a structured dice-game layout. Teacher explicitly models the activity with a peer first to clear any task confusion. Prep students get 1.5 minutes of silent thinking time, then are paired directly with TTC attenders to maximise STT and receive vocabulary scaffolding. Students roll the dice and discuss their questions; teacher monitors closely for delayed error correction.

Free practice (Exit Ticket & Wrap-up) (5-7 minutes) • To provide students with a high-impact lesson closure and final production.

Teacher displays the final Exit Ticket question: 'We must protect water because...' and shows her own exit ticket. Teacher announces that every completed ticket earns a right to leave the classroom. Each student writes their own simple, powerful sentence, delivers it aloud, and hands it to the teacher as their 'boarding pass' to leave the room.