How we get tree planting wrong
Lesson plan overview
This ESL lesson plan for intermediate and upper-intermediate students explores the the topic of planting trees and the factors that need to be taken into account in order to reap the full benefits of this activity. You can combine this lesson witht the lesson “The benefits of being in nature“, “The beauty of spring flower gardens” and “Farmers’ protest in Europe“.
The lesson starts with an initial discussion and moves on to the pre-listening vocabulary section. Students match different nature-related words (nouns: soil, stream, timber, verbs: graze, chop down, environmental problems: wildfire, flood).
Listening: students watch a video about tree planting. The first exercise works on the pronunciation of a few commonly mispronounced words (climate, biodiversity, triumph). Students then watch the video, divided into 4 shorter parts, for detail. There are 2 gap-filling exercises and a note-taking exercise. Before they listen to the last part of the video, students brainstorm their own ideas about the benefits of trees in urban areas. There is a further speaking opportunity with the questions following the video.
Mini-grammar: Students learn how to use the expression “by far” and use the prompts given to talk about their own experiences and to share their opinions.
Confusing words: Students work on 5 confusing words pairs (e.g. current/actual, lose/loose, dessert/desert). The last speaking activity in the lesson wraps up the topic of tree planting.
The last few minutes of the lesson are dedicated to reflection: students decide which words and expressions from the lesson will be most useful for them in the future, discuss words that are challenging for them to pronounce and receive feedback on errors.
Homework: 3 different research topics are suggested, which will allow students to have additional contact with the target vocabulary, to reinforce and enrich it through he use of authentic materials.
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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
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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