The Climate Connection – Power to change

Introduction:

This free education resource has been developed based on films submitted in 2021 to the British Council’s ‘Climate action – school video competition’.

In this video from the Climate Connection environment series, four schools around the world report on their concrete impacts in improving their environment or tackling climate change. Students from India, Zimbabwe and Malaysia describe their achievements in carbon reduction, plastic waste removal, and redesigning festivals to reduce pollution. The video shows how a class or school, by committing to change something in the world around them, can become an active and powerful participant in responding to urgent challenges.

The video is approximately 5.30 minutes, comes with a full set of teaching and student resources for a 60-minute ELT lesson themed on taking action on environmental issues, and is in English graded at CEFR level B1.

Learning outcomes:

• Use words related to waste and innovation
• Compare and discuss different innovations
• Write a blog post to help people plan a greener festival

Age and level:

13-17 (B1)

Time:

60 minutes + optional 120-minute CLIL Project

Materials:

The materials can be downloaded below in PDF format. 

• Teacher guide
• Student pack
• Video transcript
• Video available on this page below or at: https://www.viddler.com/v/6b47b76f

Task 1: Before Watching (5 mins)

• Write the quote “I’ve learnt you’re never too small to make a difference” on the board. Ask learners to guess who said it. 
• Elicit it was Greta Thunberg and discuss the impact she has had with movements such as Fridays for Future. 
• Give learners a couple of minutes to brainstorm ideas of things they can do, no matter how small, to “make a difference”. 
• After a few minutes, invite them to share their opinions with the class. Encourage learners to give extended answers by asking follow up questions. 
• Possible Answers: use less water, reduce plastic waste, raise awareness, unplug electronics, buy second-hand, recycle.

Task 2A: While Watching (5 mins)

• Ask learners if they know any innovations that help the environment or reduce climate change, such as solar panels. 
• Then have them look at the list in activity a) and check any words they don’t understand. 
• Play the video once and have learners tick the three innovations mentioned in the video. 
• Answer key: b, d, f

Task 2B: While Watching (10 mins)

• Tell learners they are going to watch the video again but this time they have to choose the best answer (a, b or c) for questions 1–6. Play the video twice if necessary. 
• During feedback, provide the students with the transcript to check their answers and have them underline the relevant sections.
• Answer key: 1. b, 2. c, 3. a, 4. b, 5. b, 6. a

Task 3A: After Watching (10 mins)

• Ask learners which of the innovations in the video was their favourite. 
• Then put them in pairs and tell them they are going to discuss and compare two of them - the plastic bottle lighting and the biodegradable statues. Assign each learner one of the innovations and give them time to look back at the transcript to check what problems each innovation solves. They should make notes using the prompts on the worksheet. 
• When they are ready they should compare and contrast the two innovations. Show them the example and encourage the use of comparative language. E.g. Learner A: The plastic bottle lights are difficult to make, but anyone can make a biodegradable statue. Learner B: I see what you mean, but the lights can help families who can’t afford electricity. 
• Walk around, monitor and make note of any good language use or anything which could be improved. Then, after a few minutes, ask pairs to agree on which innovation would have the biggest impact and discuss the answers as a class before providing feedback.

Task 3B: After Watching (30 mins)

• Tell learners that they are going to write a blog post for an environmental website aimed at festival organisers. The post will give five tips or pieces of advice to help people plan a greener festival. 
• First, have learners think of a festival in their town or area. Offer some suggestions or if available, allow students to research local festivals on the internet. If learners are unable to think of a festival, suggest a famous festival they might have heard of, or allow them to make one up.
• In groups, get learners to complete a mindmap with ideas to make their chosen festivals greener. e.g. use cartons instead of plastic water bottles, only serve plant-based food. 
• When they have enough ideas, have learners write their blog posts individually. Remind them to include a catchy title and if using notebooks to include features like headings and bullet points or numbered lists, as well as a short introduction and conclusion. Alternatively they can write in the boxes on the worksheet, however, they should still write full sentences. 
• You could collect and share the ideas on a school blog, or if the tips are about local festivals, send them to the organisers and see if your class tips can be implemented in the next event!

Task 4: CLIL Project (3 lessons)

• Learners are going to investigate and create a simple invention using recycled materials which can be used to help communities adapt to climate change. 
• Research: As a class, brainstorm past and potential weather events caused by climate change and write a list on the board. Then, have learners work in small groups to discuss how these events might affect the people living where they occur. 
• Preparation: Assign each group a potential climate change related issue e.g. frequent flooding, increased temperatures and drought. Get learners to investigate how people are adapting to live with these problems. e.g. houses on stilts in Bangladesh, rainwater collection and water filters. Tell learners they are going to come up with a new invention to help people adapt to the situation. Encourage them to think about what it is, how it works and the materials they’ll need. Refer back to the plastic bottle lights in the video for inspiration. 
• Production: Provide learners with the materials they need (or ask them to bring items from home) and allow them time to build their inventions. While they are creating it, one member should write a step-by-step guide of how it works, to help them with their final presentations. 
• Reflection: Once they finish, have learners present their inventions to the rest of class describing the creation process, its purpose and functionality. 
• Optional activity: Learners create a video of the creation process to share with other learners both in class and on social media.