CLIL teacher’s notes A2 Units

Science
LESSON OBJECTIVE In this lesson, students focus on some interesting and unusual buildings in the UK that have
been designed with the environment in mind, helping them understand the importance of
eco-friendly technology, recycling and sustainability.

LANGUAGE Unit 1: biology, go to school on foot, library; Present simple; Adverbs of frequency
REFERENCE Unit 2: bathroom, bedroom, desk, environment, fridge, kitchen, living room, recycle,
pollution, sink, toilet, window; Present continuous; There is/There are; Prepositions of place

WARMER
Write the following adjectives on the board and ask
students to tell you their meaning:
eco-friendly ecological
environmentally-friendly green
Elicit that all four adjectives have the same meaning:
they are all four ways to describe causing less harm to
the world we live in. Ask students to name some ways
in which we can protect our environment from harm.
Suggested answers
recycle products, use sources of renewable energy,
e.g. wind, sunlight, etc., turn off electrical devices
when you finish using them, walk or cycle to school
Answers
1 provide energy: solar panels, wind turbines
2 provide insulation: straw, grass, thick walls, thick
windows
3 stop rain entering: plastic sheets, mud
4 use recycled materials: rainwater, desks made from
drainpipes
5 provide natural light: skylights, large windows
5 In pairs, students discuss the questions. Elicit answers
from the class and talk about any eco-friendly buildings
that are in your town or city. Find out what students
think about eco-buildings and point out their merits,
such as usually being more energy-efficient.

?
instead of using cars or buses, take shorter showers

?
and turn off the tap when brushing teeth to save
water, choose to receive mail electronically to
save paper
1 Students look at the photos and describe the buildings.
Elicit answers about the appearance of the buildings
and what they think seems unusual about them.
2 Students read the text and find four ways in which the
two buildings are friendly to the environment.
Suggested answers
built with natural and recycled materials, grass roofs
mean better insulation to keep buildings warm in winter
and cool in summer, solar panels are a good source of
energy, skylights and large windows allow more natural
light into buildings, thick walls and windows help reduce
heat loss, wind turbines are a good source of energy
Before reading the text again, write the words in the
Vocabulary focus box on the board and ask students
to find them in the text. Pre-teach some of the more
complex words if necessary.
3 Students read the text again in detail and circle the
correct answers.
Answers
1 H  ​2 H  ​3 B  ​4 S  ​5 B  ​6 S
4 Focus the students’ attention on the five ways of being
eco-friendly and ask them to scan the text to choose the
correct examples of each that are in the word box.
?
? DID YOU KNOW?
Direct the students’ attention to the Did you know?
box. Read the interesting fact about some
eco-friendly buildings made from unusual materials.
PROJECT
Find out about another unusual building that uses
green technology and eco-friendly materials. Describe
the features of the building and how it is less harmful
than most buildings to the environment. Present the
information to the class.
1 In pairs or groups, students research in books or
online buildings that are constructed using green
technology and eco-friendly materials, either in their
country or another country.
2 In their same groups, students choose one of the
buildings they found in 1 to focus on and find out as
much information as possible. They find out what the
features of the building are and the ways in which it is
relatively harmless to the environment. The students
can decide to research the information separately
then pool information, or do the research together as
a whole. Encourage students to find photos of their
building and its features.
3 The group decides how to present their information
to the class. Allow some class time for preparation
and set deadlines for the presentation. Students
should then compare buildings and can vote on
which building is the most green.

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