PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS LESSON PLAN Specific Competence: Spoken interaction Sub-competences: *introducing new topical vocabulary *generating

ideas on the topic *defining key concepts of the lesson *making suggestions about possible solutions to certain problems Holding a conversation on a familiar topic using different strategies of pragmatics (choosing the topic, expressing agreement/ disagreement, turn-taking, etc.). Listening to and presenting some points of view and opinions and comparing them with the students' point of view. Selecting information from different sources to make a presentation. CONTENTS: Problems, synonyms, word search. Power point presentation, Methods and Techniques: -defining -matching -establishing relationships between lexical units -brainstorming -expressing opinions -spidergram building Procedure 15 minutes The teacher introduces the theme of the lesson and announces the objectives to be achieved. S/He writes down on the board the word PROBLEM and asks the students to define it, afterwards they are expected to suggest some other words meaning the same. Students fill in the spidergram provided to them. Then, they are asked to brainstorm a list of problems, including minor, trivial ones and global ones. Teacher provides all the help they might need. Each student chooses a problem in the list and tries to suggest at least one way to solve it. Global issues: *tension(physical, mental, emotional) *health problems(including psychological disorders) *ecological pollution/rupture in ozone layer *disturbed family relations *corruption/dishonesty/immorality *violence and cruelty *drug-addiction *armaments/nuclear weapons *exploitation Main culprits(causes): a. degeneration of faith in basic values of life/ b. utter materialistic outlook c. excessive proclivity for ease and comfort d. lack of
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compassion e. utter selfishness/greediness f. over-industrialization g. overurbanization h. over-population i. over-busy life(time stress ps : list not exhausted Specific Competence: Listening Comprehension and Culture. Sub-competences: Identifying emotional attitudes Detecting the problem(s) presented in the song Speaking about the feelings the song arises CONTENTS: Earth Song, by Michael Jackson, Clip from The Day after Tomorrow. Methods and Techniques: - listening to song - answering questions - speaking -watching a video Procedure 10-12 minutes The teacher tells the students that they are going to listen to Michael Jacksons Earth Song and while listening they should find the problem(s) he wants to emphasize. They answer some questions like:_1. What problems does M. Jackson want us to think about? WARS, GLOBAL WARMING, DEFORESTATION, KILLING ANIMALS, EXPLOITATION OF NATURAL RESOURCES. 1. Can anyone here provide an answer to the question at the end of the movie?? (where will you be the day after tomorrow?) 3. Referring to the latest events, do you think that the Nature is revenging for all the harm we have caused???(earthquake in Japan, Tsunami, tornadoes) They also will speak about the feelings they get from listening to this song. In addition to this, they will watch a short clip from the movie The Day after Tomorrow. They will have to answer the question: What caused the flood? Specific Competence: Reading Sub-competences: detecting the meaning of unknown vocabulary in context scanning the text for specific information grasping the main ideas of the text and performing a structured work task CONTENTS: text WELCOME TO THE EARTH SUMMIT!!!
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Methods and Techniques: *guessing *scanning *predicting *gap filling *reading *comprehension check *understanding main ideas *speaking about reactions and impressions Procedure 25 minutes Pre-reading (7-8 MINUTES) Guess the meaning of the key concept: SUMMIT and of the following words and phrases: to face, sustainable development, to damage the environment, Sanitation, to improve. Skim the text quickly to find the sentences containing these and try to translate them. After getting a hint from these statements, try to predict what the text is about. (it would be a good point to write students predictions on the board and give them the possibility to compare them with the text) Scanning: (2 minutes) look through the text very quickly and find what these figures refer to and do the gap filling exercise. Detailed Reading: (12 minutes) Loud reading of the text. Getting its gist. Post-reading: (6 minutes). Answering questions to prove understanding Questions: 1.What is the Earth Summit??? 2. What kind of problems are discussed at the summit??? 3. Who are the big three??? 4. Does the text suggest any solutions to our biggest problems??? How can we change the way we live to save the world? Evaluation: (5minutes) after reading the text, which sentence impresses you most abut saving the Earth? Justify your choice. Written Production: (5 minutes). Imagine that you are the lucky student to represent a country at the coming Earth Summit. What problems will you talk about?? Why are they worth your attention??? (students work independently, writing down their ideas) !!!!!! Homework: write a short passage of about 120 words about a specific problem of our times (drug addiction, alcohol, domestic violence, broken families, immorality, etc) Explain why it deserves immediate attention, in your opinion.
WELCOME TO THE EARTH SUMMIT

In 1972, the United Nations held a meeting in Stockholm, Sweden, to share ideas about ways to take better care of the Earth. At the Stockholm summit, representatives from more than 100 countries discussed some of the most important
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problems of our planet. Since then, several earth Summits have been held and much progress has been made. In 2002, the earth Summit was held in Johanesbourg, South Africa. One of the main themes was sustainable development, or the question how we continue developing the world without damaging the environment. Experts from all over the world spoke about different topics and new ways to solve old problems. Most of the speakers talked about the BIG THREE, the three biggest killers in the world: contaminated drinking water, poor sanitation, and air pollution.. According to the World Health Organization the three cause more than seven million deaths every year. That is 15% of all the deaths in the world. 20% of the people on earth do not have access to clean drinking water. Air pollution alone caused almost 3 million deaths, most of these deaths happen in rural areas, where people burn wood and coal to cook food and stay warm. Air pollution is a big problem in large cities. Many speakers talked about war, poverty and violence. If we want to develop the world successfully, we must make sure that everyone participates. Rich countries have a responsibility towards poor countries and must always help them. Without international cooperation we will never prosper. Conferences like the Earth Summit help people understand that there are very serious problems and there is still time to take action. Only by changing the way we live can we save the earth. One of the visitors to the Summit said that what she had heard was really very important: When I listened to the speakers, I realized that many of the things I do every day are bad for the environment. Had I known that air conditioners cause so much pollution, I would have never bought one. Not until we know more will we be able to improve the situation. If all of us make small changes, we could make a big difference.

Useful Vocabulary:

Summit- 1. the topmost level attainable <the summit of human fame> :2. the highest level of officials; especially : the diplomatic level of heads of government 3. a conference of highest-level officials (as heads of government) <an economic summit> Sustainable development: development involving methods that do not completely use up or destroy natural resources Damage- to cause problems in or for (something): to have a bad effect on (a situation, a person's reputation, etc.) Sanitation- the process of keeping places free from dirt, infection, disease, etc., by removing waste, trash and garbage, by cleaning streets, etc. Diseases can spread from poor sanitation. Scanning: Fill in the blanks with numbers According to the World Health Organization, the big________ cause more the _________ deaths every year. That is ________of all the deaths in the world. _________ of the people on earth do not have access to clean drinking water. Air pollution alone causes almost ________deaths.