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WARM-UPS

1. HAWAII: Walk around the class and talk to other students about Hawaii. Change partners often. Sit with your first partner(s) and share your findings.

2. CHAT: In pairs / groups, decide which of these topics or words from the article are most interesting and which are most boring.

recent discovery / garbage patches / islands / plastic / pollution / shocking / footprint / beaches / paradise / tours / conservationists / sand / Wikipedia / Pacific Ocean

Have a chat about the topics you liked. Change topics and partners frequently.

3. POLLUTION: What can we do about it? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners and share what you wrote. Change and share again.

Type	Size of problem?	What to do?
plastic
noise
CO2
industrial waste
household waste
nuclear waste

4. POLLUTION: Students A strongly believe that in the future pollution will be a thing of the past; Students B strongly believe the opposite.  Change partners again and talk about your conversations.

5. MY WASTE: Are you a polluter? Tell your partner what you do with these. Change partners and share what you heard.

paper plastic bottles glass bottles batteries

drinks cans old computers / TVs / fridges… old clothes sweet/candy wrappers

6. PARADISE: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word ‘paradise’. Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories.

BEFORE READING / LISTENING

1. TRUE / FALSE: Read the headline. Guess if  a-h  below are true (T) or false (F).

a.	Scientists have discovered Hawaiians use plastic in their gardens.	T / F
b.	The garbage patches do not move and look to be permanent.	T / F
c.	The world’s first ocean garbage patch was found in the Indian Ocean.	T / F
d.	A garbage patch discoverer encouraged people to leave footprints.	T / F
e.	People are washing tons of plastic bottles on Hawaii’s beaches.	T / F
f.	The article says the  word ‘Hawaii’ makes you think of paradise.	T / F
g.	An analysis of a Hawaiian beach found more plastic than sand.	T / F
h.	Wikipedia says Kamilo Beach is best known for marine life.	T / F

2. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article.

1.	discovery	a.	rubbish
2	huge	b.	proves
3.	trash	c.	harm
4.	single	d.	creates
5.	firsthand	e.	enormous
6.	damage	f.	sea
7.	conjures up	g.	unearthing
8.	remote	h.	in person
9.	confirms	i.	isolated
10.	marine	j.	sole

3. PHRASE MATCH:  (Sometimes more than one choice is possible.)

1.	the world now has two	a.	to a single patch
2	a huge floating island of trash	b.	up on the beaches
3.	plastic ocean pollution is	c.	and litter
4.	it is not confined	d.	firsthand
5.	It’s shocking to see it	e.	images of paradise
6.	tons of plastic is washing	f.	a global problem
7.	‘Hawaii’ conjures up	g.	plastic marine debris
8.	He went on a tour	h.	ocean garbage patches
9.	more plastic particles than	i.	of the remote beach
10.	known for its accumulation of	j.	grains of sand

 

WHILE READING / LISTENING

GAP FILL: Put the words into the gaps in the text.

A ____________ discovery shows the world now has two ocean garbage patches. These are ____________ areas of the ocean which have a huge floating island of trash and ____________. The first garbage patch was discovered in the Pacific by ocean ____________ Charles Moore in 1997. The new one was found in the Atlantic by a husband and wife ____________ Anna Cummins and Marcus Eriksen. “We found the Great Atlantic Garbage Patch,” said Ms Cummins. “Our job now is to let people know that plastic ocean pollution is a global problem. Unfortunately, it is not ____________ to a single patch,” she added. Ms Cummins described her sadness at what humans are doing to the ocean: “It’s shocking to see it ____________ ….We’ve managed to leave our ____________ really everywhere.”		confined firsthand researcher huge recent team footprint litter
The BBC has just ____________ on the damage the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is doing. Tons of plastic is ____________ up on the beaches of Hawaii. This island ____________ is world famous for having some of the world’s most beautiful beaches. The very name ‘Hawaii’ conjures up images of paradise islands. No ____________. The BBC’s presenter Simon Reeve says Kamilo Beach on the island of Hawaii has been described as “the world’s dirtiest beach”. He went on a tour of the ____________ beach with a local conservationist. They analysed what was on the beach and found more plastic ____________ than grains of sand. A Wikipedia search confirms the beach’s new ____________. The website says, “it is known for its accumulation of plastic marine ____________ from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch”.		longer chain reported status washing particles debris remote

LISTENING – Listen and fill in the gaps

A ______________________ the world now has two ocean garbage patches. These are huge areas of the ocean which have a huge floating island ______________________. The first garbage patch was discovered in the Pacific by ocean researcher Charles Moore in 1997. ______________________ in the Atlantic by a husband and wife team Anna Cummins and Marcus Eriksen. “We found the Great Atlantic Garbage Patch,” said Ms Cummins. “______________________ people know that plastic ocean pollution is a global problem. Unfortunately, ______________________ a single patch,” she added. Ms Cummins described her sadness at what humans are doing to the ocean: “It’s shocking to see it firsthand….We’ve ______________________ footprint really everywhere.”

The BBC has ______________________ damage the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is doing. Tons of plastic is washing up on the beaches of Hawaii. This island ______________________ for having some of the world’s most beautiful beaches. The very name ‘Hawaii’ ______________________ paradise islands. No longer. The BBC’s presenter Simon Reeve says Kamilo Beach on the island of Hawaii ______________________ “the world’s dirtiest beach”. He went on a tour of the remote beach with a local conservationist. They analysed what was on the beach and found more plastic particles ______________________. A Wikipedia search confirms the beach’s new status. The website says, “it is known for its accumulation ______________________ from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch”.

AFTER READING / LISTENING

1. WORD SEARCH: Look in your dictionary / computer to find collocates, other meanings, information, synonyms … for the words ‘garbage’ and ‘patch’.

garbage

patch

• Share your findings with your partners.

• Make questions using the words you found.
• Ask your partner / group your questions.

2. ARTICLE QUESTIONS: Look back at the article and write down some questions you would like to ask the class about the text.

• Share your questions with other classmates / groups.
• Ask your partner / group your questions.

3. GAP FILL: In pairs / groups, compare your answers to this exercise. Check your answers. Talk about the words from the activity. Were they new, interesting, worth learning…?

4. VOCABULARY: Circle any words you do not understand. In groups, pool unknown words and use dictionaries to find their meanings.

5. TEST EACH OTHER: Look at the words below. With your partner, try to recall how they were used in the text:

recent huge researcher team now shocking

damage chain images dirtiest confirms marine

STUDENT OCEAN SURVEY

Write five GOOD questions about oceans in the table. Do this in pairs. Each student must write the questions on his / her own paper.

When you have finished, interview other students. Write down their answers.

	STUDENT 1 _____________	STUDENT 2 _____________	STUDENT 3 _____________
Q.1.
Q.2.
Q.3.
Q.4.
Q.5.

• Now return to your original partner and share and talk about what you found out. Change partners often.
• Make mini-presentations to other groups on your findings.

OCEAN GARBAGE PATCHES DISCUSSION

STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)

a)	What did you think when you read the headline?
b)	What springs to mind when you hear the word ‘ocean’?
c)	What do you think of the plastic garbage patches?
d)	What do you think should be done about them?
e)	What damage do they do?
f)	How big a problem is pollution?
g)	How do you feel when you see garbage, litter and trash everywhere?
h)	What’s the most shocking example of pollution you’ve seen firsthand?
i)	What footprint do you leave on the environment?
j)	What three adjectives would you use to describe the garbage patches.?

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STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)

a)	Did you like reading this article?
b)	What kind of pollution is there in your area?
c)	What images does the word ‘Hawaii’ conjure up?
d)	What’s your favourite beach and why?
e)	How do you feel when you see a dirty beach?
f)	Do you say something to people who litter beaches?
g)	Do you think pollution will eventually kill the oceans?
h)	How can we educate people better about pollution?
i)	What penalties should people who litter get?
j)	What questions would you like to ask the ocean researchers?

LANGUAGE – MULTIPLE CHOICE

A (1) ____ discovery shows the world now has two ocean garbage patches. These are huge areas of the ocean which have a huge floating island of trash and (2) ____. The first garbage patch was discovered in the Pacific by ocean researcher Charles Moore in 1997. The new one was found in the Atlantic by a husband and wife (3) ____ Anna Cummins and Marcus Eriksen. “We found the Great Atlantic Garbage Patch,” said Ms Cummins. “Our job now is to let people know that plastic ocean pollution is a global problem. Unfortunately, it is not (4) ____ to a single patch,” she added. Ms Cummins described her (5) ____ at what humans are doing to the ocean: “It’s shocking to see it firsthand….We’ve managed to leave our (6) ____ really everywhere.”

The BBC has just reported on the damage the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is doing. Tons of plastic is washing (7) ____ on the beaches of Hawaii. This island (8) ____ is world famous for having some of the world’s most beautiful beaches. The very name ‘Hawaii’ conjures (9) ____ images of paradise islands. No longer. The BBC’s presenter Simon Reeve says Kamilo Beach on the island of Hawaii has been described as “the world’s dirtiest beach”. He went on a tour of the (10) ____ beach with a local conservationist. They analysed what was on the beach and found more plastic particles than (11) ____ of sand. A Wikipedia search confirms the beach’s new status. The website says, “it is known (12) ____ its accumulation of plastic marine debris from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch”.

Put the correct words from the table below in the above article.

1.	(a)	recently	(b)	resent	(c)	recentness	(d)	recent
2.	(a)	litter	(b)	litters	(c)	littering	(d)	littered
3.	(a)	trio	(b)	team	(c)	teamwork	(d)	duet
4.	(a)	confirmed	(b)	refined	(c)	confined	(d)	inflamed
5.	(a)	sad	(b)	sadly	(c)	sadness	(d)	saddest
6.	(a)	hoof print	(b)	footprint	(c)	claw print	(d)	fingerprint
7.	(a)	down	(b)	in	(c)	over	(d)	up
8.	(a)	chain	(b)	chair	(c)	charm	(d)	chase
9.	(a)	along	(b)	up	(c)	down	(d)	over
10.	(a)	promote	(b)	demote	(c)	moat	(d)	remote
11.	(a)	granules	(b)	groups	(c)	grains	(d)	grids
12.	(a)	for	(b)	of	(c)	from	(d)	at

WRITING

Write about ocean garbage patches for 10 minutes. Correct your partner’s paper.

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HOMEWORK

1. VOCABULARY EXTENSION: Choose several of the words from the text. Use a dictionary or Google’s search field (or another search engine) to build up more associations / collocations of each word.

2. INTERNET: Search the Internet and find out more about ocean garbage patches. Share what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.

3. OCEAN GARBAGE PATCHES: Make a poster about the ocean garbage patches. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?

4. POLLUTION: Write a magazine article about marine pollution. Include imaginary interviews with the marine animals it affects.

Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Write down any new words and expressions you hear from your partner(s).

5. LETTER: Write a letter to a conservationist. Ask him/her three questions about the ocean garbage patches. Give him/her three opinions on how to reduce it. Read your letter to your partner(s) in your next lesson. Your partner(s) will answer your questions.

ANSWERS

TRUE / FALSE:

a.

F

b.

F

c.

F

d.

F

e.

F

f.

T

g.

T

h.

F

SYNONYM MATCH:

1.	discovery	a.	unearthing
2	huge	b.	enormous
3.	trash	c.	rubbish
4.	single	d.	sole
5.	firsthand	e.	in person
6.	damage	f.	harm
7.	conjures up	g.	creates
8.	remote	h.	isolated
9.	confirms	i.	proves
10.	marine	j.	sea

PHRASE MATCH:

1.	the world now has two	a.	ocean garbage patches
2	a huge floating island of trash	b.	and litter
3.	plastic ocean pollution is	c.	a global problem
4.	it is not confined	d.	to a single patch
5.	It’s shocking to see it	e.	firsthand
6.	tons of plastic is washing	f.	up on the beaches
7.	‘Hawaii’ conjures up	g.	images of paradise
8.	He went on a tour	h.	of the remote beach
9.	more plastic particles than	i.	grains of sand
10.	known for its accumulation of	j.	plastic marine debris

GAP FILL:

Hawaii hit by Great Plastic Garbage Patch

A recent discovery shows the world now has two ocean garbage patches. These are huge areas of the ocean which have a huge floating island of trash and litter. The first garbage patch was discovered in the Pacific by ocean researcher Charles Moore in 1997. The new one was found in the Atlantic by a husband and wife team Anna Cummins and Marcus Eriksen. “We found the Great Atlantic Garbage Patch,” said Ms Cummins. “Our job now is to let people know that plastic ocean pollution is a global problem. Unfortunately, it is not confined to a single patch,” she added. Ms Cummins described her sadness at what humans are doing to the ocean: “It’s shocking to see it firsthand….We’ve managed to leave our footprint really everywhere.”

The BBC has just reported on the damage the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is doing. Tons of plastic is washing up on the beaches of Hawaii. This island chain is world famous for having some of the world’s most beautiful beaches. The very name ‘Hawaii’ conjures up images of paradise islands. No longer. The BBC’s presenter Simon Reeve says Kamilo Beach on the island of Hawaii has been described as “the world’s dirtiest beach”. He went on a tour of the remote beach with a local conservationist. They analysed what was on the beach and found more plastic particles than grains of sand. A Wikipedia search confirms the beach’s new status. The website says, “it is known for its accumulation of plastic marine debris from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch”.

LANGUAGE WORK

1 - d

2 - a

3 - b

4 - c

5 - c

6 - b

7 - d

8 - a

9 - b

10 - d

11 - c

12 - a

 

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