How green are electric cars?
Lesson plan overview
This upper-intermediate and advanced lesson plan looks into the topic of eclectic cars (EVs) and how sustainable they are. The lesson contains printable and interactive PDFs, as well as a separate set of conversation cards. Students will discuss sustainable products, will learn useful phrases to discuss electric vehicles, will talk about different aspects of EVs, and will learn linking words to contrast ideas (although, despite, in spite of, while, yet). You can combine this lesson with other lessons about sustainability, such as “Greenwashing”, “Farmers’ protests in Europe“, or sustainable transportation and urban mobility: “Carpooling and carsharing”, as well as the worksheets “Phrasal verbs: transportation” and “Phrasal verbs: the environment”.
Speaking: The lesson starts with a discussion about sustainable products, students’ experience with sustainable products, and the increasing demand for sustainable products. Then, students look at different products (Hybrid and Electric Vehicles, Solar Panels, Plant-based food products, LED Light Bulbs) and discuss whether or not they are more sustainable than their “traditional” alternatives.
Vocabulary: Students learn useful expressions to talk about electric cars and sustainability (e.g. life cycle analysis, a silver bullet, emission-free at the tailpipe, greenwashing, power grid) by looking at 6 sentences, and matching the expressions to their definitions.
Speaking: To practise, students are asked to brainstorm advantages and disadvantages of electric vehicles, using the expressions from the previous activity. Then, they engage in a pre-listening discussion, answering a few questions given.
Listening: Students watch a video called “How green are electric cars” and complete 2 activities.
Grammar: The language point in this lesson is about the linking words although, even though, despite, in spite of, while, and yet. After a short explanation, students complete 3 practice activities aimed at delving deeper into the topic of sustainability, sustainable transportation, and electric cars. Finally, students participate in a debate related to electric cars.
You can use the conversation cards to develop the topic further and to review the target vocabulary from this lesson.
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Teacher’s lesson plan
Student’s worksheet
Student’s interactive PDF
Conversation cards PDF
Pre-class activities
All video-based ESL lesson plans include online pre-class activities, which are FREE and can be completed without registration. Perfect for teachers who wish to embrace the blended learning approach. By providing students with resources and engagement opportunities before the actual class session, educators can foster active participation, enhance comprehension, and optimise in-class discussions.
The pre-class activities are optional: if you choose not to assign them, or your students don’t complete them, it will not disturb the flow of the class. You can find and review the pre-class activities for this lesson plan here:
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In-class activities
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Additional resources
Each video-based lesson plan includes links to additional resources (videos and articles), which are FREE can be found online (in the pre-class activities page. These links aim to extend the learning experience, enabling students to connect classroom knowledge with real-world applications.
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Teacher’s lesson plan
Student’s worksheet
Student’s interactive PDF
Conversation cards PDF
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