Environmental Science and the Atmosphere

Hello Science English students! Two weeks we began to learn about the study of environmental science. We learned key vocabulary related to the field and we have discussed questions with partners. We practiced listening in real-world context. Finally, we designed an environmental learning center with partners and practiced the technique of presentations, first with partners, and then with small groups. It was an effective lesson, I thought, and it will be very useful for you in the future I'm sure.

Last week we learned about the different levels in the earth's atmosphere, and learned key vocabulary including mesosphere, and stratosphere. We learned about the gasses that make up the earth's atmosphere, and wrote sentences that we shared with the class. We practiced listening with a natural conversation, and wrote significant answers to questions. We then began to design an atmospheric cleaning center with partners, which is to be finished for this week's class.

In class this week, we will check the homework, and practice presentations again. I'm thinking of asking some volunteers to present their ideas at the front of the class. It is a very good experience to present your ideas in class, because you may have to do it someday in a conference. Your ideas are very important, and it is a good opportunity to begin to share your ideas with the world!

First Week

Good day Science English students! In this week's class we will start the first project, "What is environmental science?" We will begin by listening to, and practicing, a reading about environmental science. Then we will look up word meanings in both Japanese and English and then write the meanings in English. We will then write the words we learned into the sentences, and practice listening. After listening we will think about questions with a partner and write your answers in English. After this we will continue on to one of the biggest activities we will do in the class: design and presentation. This week's design will contain an environmental resource center will be used for educational purposes. You must write an explanation and design the center with you partner.

All the activities in each week's class will be checked after finishing. Please bring all papers to each class. In addition, don't forget pencils, pens, paper, and a USB flash drive if possible. We will present our designs and research to the class, so please try not to be nervous. It will be a good experience for all of you. We will practice presenting in the class from time to time. Presentations will not be completed every week but will done when we finish the unit.

Please try to come to every class, bring all the materials, try to write and speak your best in English, and try to use English rather than Japanese! In addition, please follow this blog. Speaking of blogs, we will all have a chance to make a blog about an environmental issue and also will complete some homework using blogs, google drive, and e-mail. I will write a new blog entry every week, and it will cover past homework answers/comments, things we will do in the upcoming class, and new and interesting information.

Let's have fun in SE! That's all for now. See you all in next class.