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Earth: Population 6 Billion
This unit can take from 4 hours to several days, depending on student
interest and the writing activity. This unit can be used with intermediate-advanced
students ages 14 and up.
Objectives
Students will:
Read a magazine article about global population growth
Learn vocabulary associated with population issues
Discuss the pros and cons of population growth
Practice using numbers as adjectives
Write a letter to the United Nations that describes what, if anything,
should be done to stem population growth
Write a journal entry
Materials
- List of Vocabulary Words
- Earth: Population 6 Billion
- Reading Comprehension Questions
- Group Discussion Questions
- Grammar Exercise
Activity I: Pre-reading (10 minutes)
Put students into groups of 3 to 4. Ask students to make a list of the things on earth we
need to survive. Make a class list on the board.
Activity II: Predicting (5-7 minutes)
Give students the title of the article. Does 6 billion seem like too many
people for this planet? Why or why not?
Activity III: Vocabulary: Words from
the article (15 minutes)
Hand out the vocabulary list from this article. Have the students work
together to define all of the words. Then ask if they can tell what the
article is going to be about.
Activity IV: Reading "Earth: Population
6 Billion" (20 minutes)
Hand out the article and ask students to read it.
Activity V: Reading Comprehension(5-10
minutes)
Allow 5 minutes for students to complete this exercise on their own.
Review together.
Activity VI: Group Discussion (30 minutes)
Divide students into small groups to discuss the questions on the Group
Discussion printout. In order to keep the discussion going, you might want to assign each
student in a group a role: timekeeper, encourager, question asker, reporter. These roles
can be written on cards and drawn by the students.
Activity VII: Writing Assignment (40-50
minutes)
Have students write a letter to the United Nations describing the problem
of overpopulation and what can be done to solve it. Discuss letter writing conventions and rewrite.
Activity VIII: Grammar: Numbers as Adjectives
Pass out the list included in the printouts. Explain that when a number
is used as an adjective, it changes. Talk about large numbers and how
to turn them into adjectives. Have students complete the paragraph at
the bottom of the page.
Activity IX: Creative Writing Assignment
Ask students to imagine that they live in a one-room house with 10 people. Have each
student write a journal entry talking about the difficulties of this situation.
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