RAISE STUDENT’S AWARENESS OF PROTECTING THE ENVIRONMENT THROUGH STUDYING THE AIR POLLUTION

Therefore, to help my students both practice speaking skill and raise the awareness of protecting environment, I have decided to organize an extra-curricular session of English and choos

THE BRIEF OUTLINE

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Experience initiative

English Extracurricular session with the topic : “Raise students’ awareness

of protecting the environment through studying about the air pollution”

PART A: INTRODUCTION

1 Rationales.

English has played a vital role in society and made considerable contribution to education, culture, science and technology The number of people learning English for various purposes such as job, business, traveling,…

is continually on the increase everyday

In our country, English has been regarded as the most important foreign language nowadays, especially since the Vietnamese government carried out the open door policy English has been taught for a long time in Vietnam and becomes a compulsory subject However, the emphasis on transmission of structural rules and forms often serve as the principal method of teaching English in Vietnamese schools Most of Vietnamese teachers tend to focus on teaching as much grammar and vocabulary as possible This can not do much for students to assure a successful communication in daily life

Therefore, to help my students both practice speaking skill and raise the awareness of protecting environment, I have decided to organize an extra-curricular session of English and choose: “Raise students’ awareness of protecting the environment through studying about the air pollution” as the theme for my study

2 Aims of the study.

Each work has its own aims, so does this study The aims of my study are:

• To help students master English more and develop skills of group-work

• To help students raise students awareness of protecting the environment

• To fulfill my career passion and improve my teaching skills

3 Limitation of the study.

In this study, I mostly concentrate on environmental pollution around where my students live with four main events:

1 The state of environmental pollution around where my students live

2 Some reasons cause the environmental pollution

3 The consequences that might occur

4 Some possible solutions

4 The object of the study.

+ Class 11A4 consists of 42 students

+ The students’ awareness of protecting environment before and after the extra-curricular English session

5 Method of the study.

• Asking students observing the environment where they live to prepare well for their work

• Using analytic methods

• Observing and asking colleagues for ideas and experiences

• Practising the application of the study

PART B CONTENT.

1 Preparation: One week before the extra-curricular session.

1.1 Teacher:

• Prepares 4 questions to ask students before and after the extra-curricular session

Questions for the survey.

Name : Class:

Please answer the following questions honestly, thank you so much!

Question1 Which of the following statements about pollutant are true:

A Pollutant only harmful for humans

B Pollutants alter the environment in a negative way

C Pollutants refer specifically to toxic inorganic substances made by humans

D Pollutants are harmful organic substances that negatively effect plants and animals.

Question2 The following are all atmosphere pollutants, with one except Choose the exception:

A Carbon monoxide

B Nitrogen dioxide

C Nitrogen gas

D Ozone

Question3 Which one of the following is an example of a diffuse source of pollution?

A highway carrying heavy traffic

B chimney stack

C sewerage pipe

D pipe discharging waste from a manufacturing plant

Question4 Air pollution affects to?

A human health

B animals

C plants

D all A, B, C are correct

Total mark 10 mark 9 mark 8 mark 7 mark 6 mark 5 < mark 5

• Divides the class into 4 groups.:

1 Group 1(12 students From 1 to 12 in the list of the class)

Leader : HOANG DUC AN Vice: NGO NGOC ANH

2 Group 2(12 students From 13 to 24 in the list of the class)

Leader : BUI THANH HUYEN Vice: TRINH VIET HOANG

3 Group 3(12 students From 25 to 36 in the list of the class)

Leader : VU THUY LINH Vice: PHAM THI LINH

4 Group 4(12 students From 37 to 48 in the list of the class)

Leader : TRAN HAI YEN Vice: MAI THANH XUAN

• States the assignment obviously

Group 1: What is the air pollution? How many kinds of air pollution? Group 2: The causes of air pollution

Group 3: The affects of air pollution

Group 4: The solution to protect the environment

1.2 Students:

• Get the assignment

• Work in groups at home or during the break at school to search for the information needed

• Exchange and make a complete report

• Prepare 5 questions to ask other groups in the coming session

2 Procedure:

2.1 Warm- up:

Teacher introduce about the topic of extra-curricular session: The air pollution

- Teacher shows four questions that related to the environment and gave to the students to prepare at home

- Teacher calls leader of each group to answer

- Teacher gives feedback and comment

- Teacher leads to topic and announces the extra- curricular session starts

2.2 Presentation.

The representative of each group will present what they have collected in front

of the class and the rest listen to them carefully

2.2.1 Group 1 Presenter: HOANG DUC AN

The content: The definition of air pollution

HOANG DUC AN: First, I present the definition of pollution

Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into the natural environment that cause adverse change, in the form of killing of life, toxicity of the environment, damage to ecosystem and aesthetics of our surrounding (Wikipedia)

Pollution has become a serious issue after World War II in developing countries due to unchecked rapid industrialization Pollution is the root cause of many diseases that kill and disable living organisms

Picture 1: A broader view of pollution

Air pollution is contamination of the indoor or outdoor environment by any chemical physical or biological agent that modifies the natural

characteristics of the atmosphere

Air pollution is the introduction of chemicals particulate matter, or biological materials that cause harm or discomfort to humans or other living organisms, or cause damage to the natural environment or built environment into atmosphere

A substance in the air that can cause harm to humans and the environment is known as air pollution

2.2.2 Group 2 Presenter: BUI THANH HUYEN

The content: The causes of air pollution

Air pollution can result from both human and natural action or out door pollution and indoor air pollution

Picture 2: The causes of air pollution

2.2.2.1 Natural air pollution:

Natural events that pollute the air include forest fires, volcanic eruptions, wind erosion, pollen dispersal, evaporation of organic compounds and natural radioactivity

All these things are examples of serious air pollution that happen without any help from humans; although we can adapt to natural air pollution, and try to reduce the disruption it causes, we can never stop it happening completely For the rest of this article, we'll consider only the "unnatural" types of pollution: the problems that people cause—and the ones we can solve

Picture 3:Forest fires are one completely natural cause of air pollution

2.2.2.2 Traffic

In Vietnam, air pollution is rising at an alarming rate, especially in big cities such as Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City Air pollution can result from

transportation, industry, handicrafts and construction activities According to the experts, air pollution in urban caused by traffic accounts for 70 %

According to reports on ambient air situation for the period 2008 -2012, NO (nitrogen oxide) tends to increase in the rush hours in the morning and

afternoon The concentration of dust parameters tend to remain at high level, especially along the roads and highways with high traffic density Dust

pollution around construction sites is relatively serious and maintains at high level for long period of time during the construction period

Picture 4: Air pollution in Ha Noi

2.2.2.3 Exhaust from factories and industries

Manufacturing industries release large amount of carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, organic compounds, and chemicals into the air thereby depleting the quality of air Manufacturing industries can be found at every corner of the earth and there is no area that has not been affected by it Petroleum refineries also release hydrocarbons and various other chemicals that pollute the air and also cause land pollution

The Ozone layer considered crucial for the existence of the ecosystems

on the planet is depleting due to increased pollution Global warming, a direct result of the increased imbalance of gases in the atmosphere has come to be known as the biggest threat and challenge that the contemporary world has to overcome in a bid for survival

Picture 5: Air pollution from factories and industries

2.2.2.4 Indoor air pollution

Household cleaning products, painting supplies emit toxic chemicals in the air and cause air pollution Have you ever noticed that once you paint walls

of your house, it creates some sort of smell which makes it literally impossible for you to breathe

Suspended particulate matter popular by its acronym SPM, is another cause of pollution Referring to the particles afloat in the air, SPM is usually caused by dust, combustion etc

The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) defines indoor air as air within a building occupied for at least one hour by people of varying states of health This can include the office, classroom, transport

facility, shopping centre, hospital and home Indoor air quality can be defined as the totality of attributes of indoor air that affect a person's health and well being

A major concern with respect to indoor air quality is the use of gas

cookers and unflued gas heaters These two sources can often contribute a large percentage of the pollutants found in domestic dwellings

Increasingly, as dwellings have become better sealed from the external environment, pollutants being released from indoor sources are being found at higher concentrations

Picture 6: Indoor air pollution

2.2.3 Group 3 Presenter: VU THUY LINH

The content: The effects of air pollution

The nature of air pollution has changed over the past 40 years Emissions of smoke and sulphur dioxide associated with smog of the past have declined, while the proportion of pollution from vehicles has increased The health effects

of air pollution are still, however, significant Evidence from the Government’s Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollution (COMEAP) suggests that some 29,000 deaths per year (4,000 in London alone) are brought forward by exposure to man-made particulate air pollution at current levels Their current work suggests that a similar scale of premature deaths are caused by NO2 pollution, although further work is being carried out to establish to what extent these impacts overlap

Picture 7: causes and effects of air pollution: (1) greenhouse effect, (2)

particulate contamination, (3) increased UV radiation, (4) acid rain, (5) increased ground level ozone concentration, (6) increased levels of nitrogen oxides.

The effects of air pollution are alarming They are known to create several respiratory and heart conditions along with Cancer, among other threats

to the body Several millions are known to have died due to direct or indirect effects of Air pollution Children in areas exposed to air pollutants are said to commonly suffer from pneumonia and asthma

2.2.3.1 Effect on Human health

We know air pollution is a bad thing without even thinking about it Have you ever coughed when a truck drove past belching out its sooty exhaust? Instinctively, you cough to clear your lungs and protect your body and you might even cover your face with your handkerchief or sleeve to filter the air until it feels safe to breathe deeply again You don't have to be told that pollution like this might harm your health to want to steer clear of it: your body takes action automatically The only trouble is, we can't always see or smell air pollution, tell when it's affecting us, or know how it might harm us days, months, or even years in the future

Deaths aren't the only human consequence of air pollution For every person who dies, hundreds or thousands more suffer breathing problems such as asthma and bronchitis Workers exposed to high levels of dust sometimes suffer years of misery before dying from illnesses such as silicosis

Picture 8: Effects of pollution on human health

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), air pollution is one

of the world's biggest killers: it causes around two million people to die prematurely each year Many of these deaths happen in developing countries (over half a million in India alone), but wealthier industrial nations suffer too: in the United States, for example, around 41,000 people a year are estimated to die early because of air pollution Imagine how much media coverage there would

be if two million people (that's roughly the population of Houston, Texas or the West Midlands conurbation in England) were killed in a terrorist incident or

an earthquake Because air pollution kills quietly and relentlessly, and its finger

is hard to detect on the trigger, people barely seem to notice—or care

2.2.3.2 Effect on agriculture and plants

Pollution from car exhaust, factory emissions, fuel combustion and other sources can hang a brown cloud over some cities Air pollution not only contributes to respiratory diseases in humans and damages buildings, it can also affect plants The effects of air pollution on plants develop over time and can't

be undone Some plants are more susceptible to pollution damage than others according to Fred Davis, a chemist from Kent State University

Chemicals such as sulfur dioxide, ozone, fluorides and peroxyacyl nitrate damage the leaves of plants If enough leaves are damaged, the entire plant will die Sulfur dioxide, a by-product of burning fossil fuels such as oil, coal and gasoline, causes changes in the colors of leaf tissue Some sulfur dioxide converts to sulfuric acid, which eats holes in the leaves Ozone damage on leaves appears as mottled spots, which may be yellow, black or brown

2.2.3.3 Other effects

Acid Rain: Harmful gases like nitrogen oxides and sulfur oxides are released

into the atmosphere during the burning of fossil fuels When it rains, the water droplets combines with these air pollutants, becomes acidic and then falls on the ground in the form of acid rain Acid rain can cause great damage to human, animals and crops

Depletion of Ozone layer: Ozone exists in earth’s stratosphere and is

responsible for protecting humans from harmful ultraviolet (UV) rays Earth’s ozone layer is depleting due to the presence of chlorofluorocarbons, hydro chlorofluorocarbons in the atmosphere As ozone layer will go thin, it will emit harmful rays back on earth and can cause skin and eye related problems UV rays also have the capability to affect crops

Global warming: Another direct effect is the immediate alterations that the

world is witnessing due to Global warming With increased temperatures world wide, increase in sea levels and melting of ice from colder regions and icebergs, displacement and loss of habitat have already signaled an impending disaster if actions for preservation and normalization aren’t undertaken soon