Урок по английскому языку "Ecology"

Тема. Ecology

Цели урока:

Учебные – развитие навыков устной монологической и диалогической речи, активизация лексико-грамматических конструкций по теме, развитие навыков аудирования, развитие навыков поискового чтения с извлечением конкретной информации.

Развивающие – развитие критического мышления через чтение информационного текста, развитие умения вырабатывать аргументы, развитие умения выражать свое отношение к теме, развитие образного мышления через использование проблемных ситуаций и творческих заданий, развитие навыков аудирования.

Воспитательная – развитие умения работать в малых группах, формирование уважительного и ответственного отношения к окружающему миру, воспитание бережливости и осознании роли человека во взаимодействии с природой, формирование способности осознавать экологические проблемы и желания помочь природе.

Тип урока: урок закрепления и совершенствования полученных знаний.

I. The introduction.

T. The topic for discussion today is Ecology and Natural Protection. Ecological problems have become global nowadays. So, it’s important to increase our knowledge of environmental needs. If we can be active participants in the protection and rebuilding of our environment we can help our planet to survive and keep it healthy for future generations. Everybody on the Earth must think of saving our planet before it’s too late.

II. Warming-up activities.

          Some say the world will end in fire,

          Some say in ice.

          From what I’ve tasted of desire

          I hold with those who favor fire,

          But if I had to perish twice,

          I think I know enough of hate,

          To say that for destruction ice,

          It’s also great and would suffice.

T. When you read  “Fire and Ice” you can see the world would die in ice, or in fire. But if you read it several times, you’ll see that it tells us about ecology and our environment.

   Ecology is the science of how living things are related to their environment. Many scientists corncerned about ecology today. Literally the word  “ecology” means  “a study of home”.

   And what is environment? Think it over and make a list of things you suppose relate to environment.

                               land                                            animals

                  plants                                                                       water

                                                  environment

                                ?                                                   ?                                

                                                          ?

T. So, everything about us is environment.

The environment is the natural world, including the land, water, air, plants, and animals, especially considered as something that is affected by human activity.

III.Listening.

                                                Ecology.

   Suppose you get out of your house on an early sunny April day and see…  “Oh, what is it?” It is a yellow dandelion. It looks at you from the ground and says  “Protect me, please.”

   Our land is full of beautiful flowers, plants, trees, which grow and blossom in the meadows, on the banks of the rivers and lakes, in the forests and in our gardens.

   Many flowers have become rare and vanish. Our useful insects: bees, bumble-bees, butterflies, dragonflies, grasshoppers can’t live in the atmosphere of chemicals and pesticides.

   But industry is developing sometimes without any care of the environment.

   The protection of nature has become one of the most burning problems of the XXI century. The Earth provides people with mineral resources, rivers, forests and fields – everything that makes the foundation of industrial and agricultural production. The development of industry has had a bad influence on the nature of the whole world. People often do things which pollute land and water greatly. It is very dangerous because it damages health of the people.

   These problems have become very pressing, the subject of many scientific meetings. Let everybody remember: we live only once and not a very long life. We have one earth for all those who love it and who do not.

                           Finish the following sentences.

1. Our land is full of…

2. Industry is developing sometimes…

3. The protection of nature has become…

4. The Earth provides people…

5. People often do things…

6. Let everybody remember:

IV. Speaking.

T. People all over the world think about our planet. They think about water, air, plants and animals on the Earth. They say our planet is in danger. Many people do not know how to protect animal and plant worlds, how to keep the water clean and the air fresh. But they are ready to do it. They try to help nature. I’m sure you want to help our nature  too. And what names of environmental problems of today do you know?                                                                                                                 .

P. It is littering. Waste pollutes our planet greatly. People always polluted their surroundings. But until now pollution was not such a serious problem. People lived in rural areas and did not produce such amount of polluting agents that would cause a dangerous situation in global scale. With the development of overcrowded industrial highly developed cities, which put huge amounts of pollutants into surrounds, the problem has become more and more dangerous. I think our planet is in serious danger.

P. It’s hard to imagine a world with no drinking water, and no water to wash or to cook. We all need water – not just for our homes and factories, but to survive. Water is necessary for us. and now it is a big world’s problem – water pollution.  Water pollution kills large quantity of fish , birds, and other animals, in some cases killing everything in an affected area. Already if you catch a fish in a river it can be blind or without scales; a victim of pollution. As we can see many rivers are actually dyeing from pollution. And something must be done.                                                                  

P. The needs for new roads causes great environmental difficulties. They often spoil the countryside and bring noise and air pollution to thousands of homes. Traffic and aircraft can cause serious noise pollution too. Aircraft are very noisy when they take off and the noise spread over a wide area. Cars cause other problems too: thousands of people die in car accidents; car parks use valuable space in towns and cities; cars use a lot of our limited amount of oil. Unfortunately, it’s difficult to do anything about all this because cars play an important part in the lives of many families, and the car industry employs large number of people.

   Friends of the Earth suggest that the bicycle is the best way to travel because it’s cheap, quiet and riding it keeps your health.

P. The next - is air pollution. I think it is one of the most important environmental problems of today. In order to understand how air pollution affects our body, we must understand exactly what this pollution is. The pollutants that harm our respiratory system are known as particulates. Particulates are the small solid particles that you can see through rays of sunlight. They are products of incomplete combustion in engines. Billions of tons of coal and oil are consumed around the world every year. When these fuels are burnt, they produce smoke and other by-products, which is emitted into the atmosphere. Although wind and rain occasionally wash away the smoke, given off by power plants and automobiles, but it is not enough. These chemical compounds a series of chemical reactions in the presence of sunlight; as a result we have smog, mixture of fog and smoke.

V. Reading.

T. Now let’s read three texts about environmental problems in different countries: the USA, Great Britain and our country.

1.                       Environmental Protection in the USA

   Environmental pollution is paid much attention to in the USA. Different scientists and environmental societies, like  Wilderness Society, try to improve the situation.

   The level of damage to the forests in the USA is really high. The construction of new roads and the need of wood influenced the cutting of large areas of forests. as a result some rare species of animals, and plants can disappear.

   American scientists are also disturbed by the problem of global warming. They pay much attention to the research in this sphere. Global warming is the result of air pollution by different gases. Together with the gases, destroying the ozone layer, it influences the patterns of weather. Many USA universities investigate these problems.

   The pollution of lake Erie, one of the Great Lakes, and the problem of the acid rains that threatened many forests, made the media start a campaign against industrial pollution.

   By 1986 smoking in public had been restricted. Their also exist public societies, whose aim is to attract public’s attention to the most important environmental problems. Some of them, for example, “Pals of the Planet”, publish the materials of how to save the seas from pollution. The  “Green Peace” organization, which appeared in 1971, is one of the leading organizations in the USA and in the world.

2.                   Environmental Protection in Britain.

   For more than a century Britain has been developing policies to conserve the nature and protect the environment against pollution from industry and other sources. The environment White Paper  “This Common Inheritance” published in 1990 was the first comprehensive statement by the Government on environmental policy.

   Britain supports international co-operation on the environment. Britain also launched an initiative to help developing countries share the benefits of technology through partnership with British companies.

   The government of Great Britain aims:

-to preserve and enhance Britain’s natural and cultural inheritance;

-to encourage the more prudent and efficient use of energy and other resources;

-to maintain Britain’s contribution to environmental research.

   The people in Britain try to make their country healthier. In London there is a special green organization that helps and protects with animals and birds in the city. It is called the London Wildlife Trust. In1983 this organization bought a big Camley `Street Park that is situated just one kilometer from a busy railway station. At that time Park was a dirty and empty hectare of land. Nothing lived there. Now thousands of wild animals and birds live in this park. There is even a pond and a meadow there. Londoners have an opportunity to live side by side with nature.

3.                    Environmental Problems in our country.

   Many years ago man lived in harmony with nature. Today the situation in is quite different. Many parts of our country are overcrowded, people of many cities suffer from smog because much of waste, especially waste from factories, electric power stations. The chemical industry and heavy industry are very dangerous. We pollute air with smoke and gases, water- with industrial waste, soil- with chemicals. a lot of people suffer from many dangerous diseases.

   Fish dies in the lakes, rivers and seas. The example is the Asov. Forests are disappearing and this upsets the oxygen balance. The pollution of air, rivers, seas and lakes and the destruction of the ozone layers could lead our planet to a global catastrophe.

    The accident at the Ukrainian Chernobyl nuclear power station in April 1986 influenced greatly on the environment in Donetsk  and other countries.

   Environmental protection is a great concern of the Government. Its task is to control the state of environment and sources of pollution, to protect the water resources of the Sea of Asov, rivers and lakes; to extend the network of nature reserves and to maintain cooperation with international ecology organizations.

                                        Questions for discussion.

1. What are American scientists concerned about?

2. What is the level of damage to the forests in the USA?

3. Has the problems of pollution become a part of American life? What can you                     say about it?

4. What was the environment White Paper “This Common Inheritance”?

5. Do the British love animals and birds?

6. What do we pollute with smoke and gases ( with industrial waste, with chemicals) ?

VI. Home task.

T . As you see most of the nations have the same basic environmental problems, but they take different forms in each country.Your home will be  to make reports about environmental protection in such countries as the USA, Great Britain and our country.

VII. Summary.

1. What is the main problem facing humanity nowadays?

2. When did the problem of pollution become dangerous?

3. What names of environmental problems do you know?

4. Is it dangerous to breathe polluted air? Why?

5. Can man exist without water? Why?