Методические рекомендации по организации и педагогическому сопровождению проекта на английском языке в 10 классе “ Climate

Project Climate change

Global warming and climate change are very hot topics today on TV. Lots of scientists, media people and even businessmen express their concern about possible consequences of climate change. Is it just a buzzword or could it really affect our life? Let's look into the issue.

1 Brainstorming

Brainstorm for factors that can cause global warming and for its possible consequences.



2 Write down what you understand by global warming and compare your vision with your partner's.

Global warming reveals itself in

3 Read the statements and put them in the appropriate column below.

Ice-covered territories of the Earth are shrinking in size.

The level of the ocean is rising constantly.

The number of environmental projects on TV is increasing.

The amount of carbon dioxide in the air is increasing.

The temperatures are rising all over the world.

Scientists of different countries are working on clean energy projects.

The ozone layer is getting thinner and ultraviolet radiation gets through it more easily than it used to.

The word "desertification" has been used a lot in media recently.

People are getting more environment-conscious than they used to be.

A new reason for migration has been registered in immigration laws of some countries. Now they recognize "climate migrants".

Evidence of global warming in the natural world	People’ s response to the effects of global warming

4 Work in pairs. Read through the opinions. Fill in the bubbles below with the factors which, according to the speakers, may contribute to global warming.


I know that every time people fly somewhere, they contribute to the global warming effect. A plane emits carbon dioxide and other harmful gases. And the number of planes, their capacity and speed are growing all over the world. Obviously, it's not very good for the environment.

People don’ t often pay attention to minor energy consumptions. For example, they can leave the bathroom light burning all through the night, or don't close the fridge door. They can boil some water and forget to make tea. Then they boil it again. They may let hot water running in the kitchen for no reason at all. One person's energy waste may not be very important for nature, but.. .there are lots of people in the world.

Lots of people buy big off-road vehicles. Those cars are designed for driving over rough ground — across the mountains or roadless countryside. However, people often use them for city driving. It’s silly and irresponsible to drive fuel-consuming cars when it’s not necessary.

People burn huge amounts of coal and oil in order to produce various goods and nice packaging for them. People often buy things they don't really need, they just want to replace an older model with a more prestigious brand. They buy more than they are able to consume, and throw away a lot too. Isn't it silly to use energy to produce unnecessary things and then use it again to eliminate the waste?



5 Do you personally think that it's people who are responsible for global warming? Choose one of the statements below and write a paragraph about it.

It’s evident that the global warming process has been triggered by human activity.

I see global warming as a natural process which can’t be affected by human beings.

I think that people’s activity accelerates the natural process of global warming, which could be much slower and less harmful without our contribution.

If we want to understand our prospects and avoid catastrophes and disasters, we shouldn't ignore the fact that the world is getting warmer and should try to find out more about global warming. Let's study how the process affects our world.

Read and study the instructions on how to do the project “Global warming”.

Guidelines for the project:

Read the hypotheses and split into three groups according to the area you are going to research

• 
  how global warming affects land and vegetation
  
• 
  how global warming affects animals
  
• 
  how global warming affects people
  

• 
  Step 1: Read the text and answer the questions to be sure that you have understood it. Then choose the most appropriate conclusion at the end of the text.
  
• 
  Step 2: Give some other examples of how human activity contributes to global warming and environment pollution.
  
• 
  Step 3: Make some research to find out if people around you are environment-conscious or not and how they feel about global warming. Use the form and do a survey and find out peoples opinions. Write a report on the results of your research.
  
• 
  Step 4: Confirm / reject the hypothesis. Make up a presentation "Global warming and its effect on land and vegetation / animals / humans". Use any other additional material (statistics, newspapers, photos or articles from the internet, etc) if possible.
  

PROJECT

Global warming and how it can change life on the Earth

Hypothesis 1: Global warming can change the geographical profile of the Earth and its vegetation cover.

Hypothesis 2: Global warming can make lots of animals extinct, which will upset the balance of the environment.

Hypothesis 3: Global warming can affect people's health, lifestyle and well-being dramatically.

Group 1

Step 1

Study the text below and consider the following questions.

1. 
   How vulnerable is polar caps ice to temperature rising? Has it been affected by global warming yet?
   
2. 
   If the ocean rises by about one meter, will it be visible on geographical maps?
   
3. 
   What is desertification and deforestation?
   

What is global warming and why do people talk about it so much? As scientists report, the average temperatures have risen by about one degree in the last 150 years. Do we really need to worry about such a little bit? Isn't it good news to those who doesn't like long cold winters and would prefer to live in a warmer climate? However, most researchers insist that even a one-degree rise can start a chain of irreversible damage to the environment. And it's not all about the future, it's happening now. Unbelievable, but the ice cover of the Earth is very vulnerable to the slightest temperature rise. Most of the planet's ice supply (which is also fresh water supply) is in the polar ice caps.

The ice caps of the Arctic and Antarctica are melting. Ice shelves break into pieces and the current brings them to warmer waters where they melt swiftly. The permanent ice cover based on land is shrinking very rapidly too.

What consequences can it lead to? Antarctic ice cap covers the territory of more than twelve million square kilometres and in some places it's about five kilometres thick. If this huge amount of ice melts, the level of the ocean will rise tremendously. And we also have the Arctic region, which is melting too.

The level of the ocean is gradually rising. It has risen by 15-20 centimetres already since the beginning of the twentieth century and tends to go higher. Using computer models, scientists predict that the level of the ocean will rise up to one metre during this century. Some islands and coastal territories are already suffering from floods. If the process of global warming accelerates, maps of all continents will change dramatically. Coastal territories and lowlands will go underwater.

Global warming is not only about dry land reduction. The image of the Earth may change out of recognition because of climate change. Global warming also reveals itself in the increasing number of droughts. Africa, Australia and some territories of Europe and Asia have experienced most severe and long-running droughts since the beginning of this century. Droughts stimulate the process of desertification, i.e. they destroy the soil level and make it unsuitable for vegetation growing.

Rising temperatures also affect vegetation via animals and birds. If animals that eat fruits of the trees move to other territories in response to climate change, the forest can't spread and will eventually die out. Even insects like beetles, bugs, and caterpillars can add to the problem. For instance, due to climate change in Alaska the insects are booming! They breed much faster in a warmer climate and literally can chew up all vegetation of the northern territories. Thousands of square kilometres of the forest in Alaska can be damaged or completely destroyed by insects by 2015.