This clip comes from GOOD magazine. The creators of the clip cite the following information sources: Thirst Relief International; UN Development Programme; UN Environment Programme; United States Geological Survey; World Health Organization; World Water Council; Worldwater.org. A big thank you to Amanda Wilson for passing the clip this way :)
- Language level: Pre-intermediate (A2) +
- Learner type: Young learners; Teens; Adults; CLIL
- Time: 40 minutes
- Activity: Speaking; Text reconstruction
- Topic: The environment
- Language: Second conditional; Language of basic statistics (‘the average person’, etc)
- Materials: Video; Worksheets
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Lesson plan outline
- Write the following on the board: Whoever you are
- Add the remainder of the text and ask students if they have any more ideas to add: Nowadays, most of us fetch and carry no more
- Add the missing words to the spaces:
- Ask students to consider whose words these are and when they were spoken.
- Wipe the board clean. Play the clip from the beginning and pause it at 0:38
- Ask the following questions:
- Do you agree with the sentiment?
- Do you think everyone in the world would agree with the sentiment?
- Ask students what they know about water. Brainstorm as much information as possible and write new/interesting language on the board.
- If students copied the text from steps 2 and 3, ask them to close their notebooks so that it is out of view. Give out copies of the Water Worksheet (included in the PDF download). Ask students if they can recall the three missing words in the first paragraph. (Answer = whoever, wherever, whenever)
- Direct your students’ attention to the 10 world water facts on the second part of the worksheet. Put students into pairs or small groups and ask them to work together to discuss and share ideas and reach a consensus agreement for each missing word or figure (all discussion to be done in English of course!)
- Allow groups to share their answers before playing the video in full.
- Ask students to hide their worksheets. Tell them that you want them to reconstruct (i.e. write down) as many of the 10 water facts as they can, as accurately as possible. When students protest, tell them that you have something that will help – give out copies of the Word Cloud which is included in the PDF download. (In order to construct all 10 water facts, each item in the cloud would have to be used once and once only.)
- Allow students to compare what they have written before showing the clip again and/or allowing students to look back at their Water Worksheets.
Wherever you live
_____________(a) is the _____________ (b) of life
As vital as the _____________ (c) you _____________ (d)
(Note: Make sure you leave enough space on the board to include the next part of the text – see step 2 below)
Invite students to suggest what the missing words are but don’t tell them whether they are right or wrong at this stage.
_____________ (a) is delivered to us where we need it, whenever we want it
Turn a faucet and there is ____________ (a) at any hour of the day or night
Glossary: Fetch: You say this to your dog when you throw a stick. Faucet: US word for tap
a. Water
b. Liquid
c. Air
d. Breathe
Answers:
1. 97.5% of the world’s water is saltwater.
2. If the world’s water were poured into a bucket, only one spoonful would be drinkable.
3. 1/6 of the world’s population does not have access to safe water.
4. Every minute, one person in India dies from a water-related disease.
5. Every minute, four people across the world die from a water related disease.
6. In North America, the average person uses 105.7 gallons* of water per day.
7. In Europe, the average person uses 52.8 gallons* of water per day.
8. In developing countries such as Mozambique the average person uses 1.3 gallons* of water per day.
9. A low-flow toilet in the US uses 1.6 gallons* of water per flush.
10. As the population grows, the availability of water decreases.
* 1 gallon = approximately 4 litres
This looks like a great lesson, perfect for my teenage students (mixed nationality), our current topic is the environment, I introduced it using your Mr W lesson, they were intrigued! In fact I’ve used several of your plans now since seeing you at the Language Show for the past 2 years, it’s about time I let you know how grateful I am for all the ideas; so thankyou very much.
Rosemary, Southampton
It’s a pleasure Rosemary :-)
Thanks very much for letting me know!
Jamie
Good lesson. I enjoyed very much and think of using it at my lessons while teaching English to my students =)
Thank you Oksana
Good luck with it :)
Jamie
I’m a teacher in primary school of Palio Kavala Greece.The subject of the lesson matches perfectly well with the activities that I’m doing in class with my students with the use of ICT’s for an eTwinning project concering Poverty and Social Exclusion:http://everyday-life-at-primary-school.wikispaces.com/7a.+Greek+School+of+Palio+kavala.
You gave me great ideas with your lesson, I’ll use them to enrich my project.
Thank you.
Thank you Kartsiotou
Very happy that you are able to make use of the lesson plan. Looks like a great project.
Good luck
Jamie :-)
This lesson worked really well with my pre-intermediate group this morning. It got them thinking outside the box and communicating quite freely about a topic that they wouldn’t normally have had the confidence to speak about.
I have been pushing your lessons and your videotelling technique with my teachers here in Phuket, Thailand.
Lovely stuff.
Mike
Great to hear from you Mike
Thanks for taking the time to write. Glad to hear that you have been puching Videotelling. I am hoping to get my book on the subject out by the end of the year. Lets’s see …
Take care
Jamie :)
Hi Jamie,
Great website! HOw would you suggest the best way would be to modify this lesson for my grade 3 students? :)