How I worked Enviroment theme in English with my elementary students
- Loren Assunção
- Jun 4
- 2 min read
Hi, I'm teacher Loren, and as teachers we all know that talking about the environment is more than important — it’s urgent. And yes, it can be fun and meaningful, even with young learners! With the theme “Save the Planet”, I created a lesson that helped my students learn English in a real and engaging way.
In this post, I’ll show you how I used the 5 E’s model (Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, Evaluate) to build a complete and simple sequence of activities. At the end, there’s a free resource I created that you can download and use in your classroom.
ENGAGE – Get Their Attention
Start with a simple and powerful question:
“What can you do to help the planet?”
Short video suggestion:🔗 “Save the Planet – Kids for Saving Earth” (YouTube, 2 min)Show how children around the world care about the environment too.
Activity idea: Ask students to point to objects in the classroom and say if they are recyclable. Use simple sentences:
"This is plastic."
"We can recycle it."
EXPLORE – Build Vocabulary
Now it’s time to explore new words and actions related to the theme.
Material suggestion: Environmental Vocabulary Flashcards – ESL Kids StuffIntroduce words like recycle, plant, save, earth, and water using visuals.
Activity idea: Mime game! Students guess the action: "turn off the lights", "plant a tree", etc.
Read more at:
EXPLAIN – Make It Clear
Use simple English phrases to explain everyday eco-friendly actions. Example:
"We save water when we turn off the tap."
"Recycling helps animals."
Tip: Create posters with pictures and short phrases. Write them together with the students.
ELABORATE – Create and Practice
Encourage students to create something that reflects what they learned.
Project idea: Make a poster with the title “Save the Planet” and include simple phrases like:
"I recycle paper."
"I turn off the lights."
"I don’t waste water."
Optional: Record short videos of the students presenting their posters in English. They love it!
EVALUATE – Review and Celebrate
Finish your lesson with a fun review! Use games or simple quizzes to go over vocabulary and phrases.
Free review game: Environment Vocabulary Game
Free Download: “Save the Planet” Activity
To help you apply everything, I created 2 free printable activities you can download and use with your students.
Activity 1: Save the Planet – Free Resource
It includes vocabulary, actions, and images for students to sort behaviors into “Good for the planet” and “Bad for the planet.” After cutting and pasting, they personalize their project. A perfect hands-on task to reinforce environmental vocabulary and wrap up your unit on sustainability in English!
Activity 2: Save the Planet – Free Resource
It includes vocabulary, actions, images and writing space, based on the 5 R’s (Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Rethink). A perfect hands-on task to wrap up your unit on environment in English!
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