Year 12
Lesson 30
The effects of
climate change
Keywords
Learning some vocabulary related to
weather and climate change
New
Reading about climate change and
global warming
Recognising topic sentences and
identifying the topic of each paragraph
Revision of speculating about the future
Contents
Learning goals:
Revision of some vocabulary related to
the environment
Aims
Skills: Reading
hail, tornado, hurricane, drought, flood,
heat wave, global warming,
atmosphere (n), atmospheric (adj),
pressure (n), particles (n), humidity (n),
ocean currents (n), solar radiation (n),
absorb (v), emission (n), concentration
(n)
Revision
climate change, fossil fuel, greenhouse
gases, population growth, renewable
energy, solar energy, wind energy,
tidal energy, geothermal energy
Language Analysis
Topic sentences
A topic sentence (sometimes referred to as a focus sentence) is the most important sentence in each
paragraph. It summarizes the information that the reader will come across in the rest of the paragraph.
Generally speaking, the topic sentence is usually the opening sentence, but this is not always the case.
Because of this, topic sentences must express the main content of the paragraph in a clear and concise
manner. The sentences that follow will give us more information about the topic sentence. For example,
if the topic sentence is about a movie that the writer has seen, the rest of the paragraph will expand on
this. In a piece of formal writing, e.g. an essay, report, etc. we need to include a topic sentence in each
major paragraph to guide the reader and keep him/her focused, and also to give the writing a good flow.
Will and won’t to speculate about the future
We use will and won’t to make speculations about the future to say what we think is going to happen.
I think there will be more extreme weather conditions in the future.
There won’t be any fossil fuels left in 50 years time.
We can also add be with will and won’t when making speculations.
There will be a shortage of food in overpopulated parts of the world.
There won’t be enough food in overpopulated parts of the world.
© Young Digital Planet 2015 – Core Curriculum for English – Teacher’s Guide
Procedure
Lead-in
Key:
Ask students to label the pictures. Then get them
to answer the questions.
Extension: Hold a full class discussion to answer
the questions. Encourage students to share their
experiences of any extreme weather conditions in
their own countries/regions.
© Young Digital Planet 2015 – Core Curriculum for English – Teacher’s Guide
Main input
Key:
1 pressure
2 absorb
3 solar radiation
4 atmosphere
5 atmospheric
6 concentration
7 emission
8 ocean current
9 humidity
10 particles
Tell students to read the article and match the
words with the definitions.
© Young Digital Planet 2015 – Core Curriculum for English – Teacher’s Guide
Practice 1
Key:
1F2F3T4F5F6T7T8T
Ask students to read and choose True or False.
Extension: Exploit the screen by asking students
© Young Digital Planet 2015 – Core Curriculum for English – Teacher’s Guide
to correct the false statements.
1F
They are similar but climate refers to conditions
over a long period of time whereas weather refers
to elements at the present time.
2F
They have been present throughout human
history.
4F
Carbon dioxide is one of the main greenhouse
gases.
5F
The high concentrations of carbon dioxide are
due to human activities.
© Young Digital Planet 2015 – Core Curriculum for English – Teacher’s Guide
Practice 2
Key:
1a2c3a4a5b6c7a8b
© Young Digital Planet 2015 – Core Curriculum for English – Teacher’s Guide
Tell students to read and choose the correct
answers.
© Young Digital Planet 2015 – Core Curriculum for English – Teacher’s Guide
Practice 3
Key:
1 humidity
2 atmospheric
3 hail
4 emissions
5 solar radiation
6 concentration
7 rainfall
8 droughts
Tell students to read and complete the sentences.
© Young Digital Planet 2015 – Core Curriculum for English – Teacher’s Guide
Practice 4
Key:
Paragraph 1 – Asking what climate change is
Paragraph 2 – Defining ‘climate’
Paragraph 3 – Explaining climate change
Paragraph 4 – The role of greenhouse gases
Paragraph 5 – The increase in carbon dioxide
Paragraph 6 – The effects of increased
greenhouse gases
Paragraph 7 – More effects of increased
greenhouse gases
Paragraph 8 – Possible solutions to climate
change
Ask students to read and match each paragraph
to its description.
© Young Digital Planet 2015 – Core Curriculum for English – Teacher’s Guide
Practice 5
Key:
Defining 'climate' – The first distinction to make
is between ‘climate’ and ‘weather’.
The role of greenhouse gases – Greenhouse
gases are the gases in the earth’s atmosphere
that absorb and reflect solar radiation, warming
the surface of the earth.
The increase in carbon dioxide – Since the
beginning of the Industrial Revolution, in around
1750, however, the concentration of carbon
dioxide in the earth’s atmosphere has increased
by nearly 40% …
The effects of increased greenhouse gases –
So, what are the effects of the increase in
greenhouse gases?
More effects of increased greenhouse gases –
Scientists have also identified changes to rainfall
patterns and the overall amount of rain.
Possible solutions to climate change – Where
do we go from here and what can be done to
improve the situation?
Tell students to match the sentences with the
topics.
© Young Digital Planet 2015 – Core Curriculum for English – Teacher’s Guide
English to take away
Key:
Students’ own answers.
This is a ‘free practice’ stage. The aim is
personalisation. Give students the following
instructions:
Now it's your turn. Work in pairs. Look and make
predictions about life in the future.
Extension: Give out a copy of the Handout. Tell
students to ask three of their classmates to make
a prediction for each of the topics.
Monitor and check that students are using the
correct grammar for speculating about future
events.
Then ask students to share their information with
the class. Hold a class vote. Ask students:
Which are the most popular predictions for each
category?
© Young Digital Planet 2015 – Core Curriculum for English – Teacher’s Guide
Handout
What is your
prediction for ... ?
Student 1
Student 2
Student 3
Name: ____________
Name: ____________
Name: ____________
weather conditions
the environment
schools
transport/vehicles
houses
technology
© Young Digital Planet 2015 – Core Curriculum for English – Teacher’s Guide