A town with zero waste

The main goals of this ESL lesson plan are to:

• – Explore waste management vocabulary including terms like “global warming” and “natural disasters” while learning about recycling categories through gap-fill activities and sorting exercises.
• – Study “verb + object + infinitive” structures by practicing this grammar pattern through sentence completion activities in this upper intermediate lesson.
• – Compare green city initiatives by watching videos about Japan’s zero-waste town, reading about Singapore’s environmental programs, and discussing how different places handle tourism and waste management.

The aim of this Upper-Intermediate lesson plan is to give the student several opportunities to talk about green waste management and tourism.

Warm up

Free talk questions about the cleanliness of a touristy place are presented as a springboard of discussion.

Vocabulary

Words and expressions related to traveling and disposing of garbage properly are presented (global warming, natural disasters, cut down, etc.). The student uses them to fill in the gaps.
Next, they sort out items in the box based on whether they should be reused, reduced, or recycled.

Video: Japan’s town with no waste

The student watches a video about a town in Japan that produces zero waste. They answer the questions based on this interesting video and try to complete a diagram that illustrates Kamikatsu’s Zero Waste Program. The student gives three examples for each category of waste recycling.

Grammar: Verb + object + infinitive

The student learns how to properly use the structure verb + object + bare infinitive. They complete the sentences using this structure.

Reading: Clean and Green City

The student learns about Singapore as another example of a green city. After reading the article, they compare Kamikatsu and Singapore.

In the final section, the student reviews the vocabulary by completing a dialogue about environment protection.