Textbooks
Earth Matters (Beginning to Low-Intermediate), Pro Lingua Associates
The Earth Matters series includes two main textbooks, Our Living Planet and Going Green, as well as a supplementary textbook called Environmental Vocabulary Games and Other Activities. Units in the main textbooks begin with an illustration, pre-reading questions, and key vocabulary activities. Next, a reading introduces important environmental concepts and issues. After a comprehension check, a grammar or vocabulary exercise, and a dictation exercise, a short listening activity continues exploring the theme of each unit. An audio CD is included with each book.
Our Living Planet introduces key vocabulary and basic concepts of physical geography and attempts to instill learners with an appreciation for the beauty and complexity of the planet. There is also information on some environmental problems. The units in Our Living Planet end with a writing assignment and homework.
Going Green focuses on threats to the environment and the steps individuals can take to reduce global warming and environmental degradation. Issues include air pollution, trash disposal, the overuse of water bottles, buying locally, and electricity consumption. The Going Green units end with a variety of class and homework activities and suggest ideas for Internet research activities.
Environmental Vocabulary Games and Other Activities supplements both text books in the Earth Matters series and can be photocopied.
Academic Encounters: The Natural World (Low-Intermediate), Cambridge University Press
Academic Encounters uses a content-based, integrated skills approach to develop students' English skills while learning about various topics within the fields of Earth science and biology (some environmental topics are included). There are two textbooks, Academic Encounters: The Natural World and Academic Listening Encounters: The Natural World.
Academic Encounters: The Natural World helps students develop their academic reading, writing, and study skills. Tasks that accompany readings include reading for details, skimming, highlighting, and note taking, for example. Each chapter also ends with a guided writing assignment.
The companion book, Academic Listening Encounters: The Natural World uses a sustained content approach to help students develop their listening and note-taking skills through warm-up activities, informal interviews, and academic lectures. Tasks include listening for main ideas, details, and opinions and developing and organizing notes.
Reading Explorer Series (All Levels), Heinle Cengage Learning
Reading Explorer is a four-level reading serious that uses adapted National Geographic texts, images, and videos to develop reading and vocabulary skills. While not all of the themes focus specifically on science or the environment, the units on animals and geography can be incorporated as part of a larger unit on environmental awareness. Features include:
Earth Matters (Beginning to Low-Intermediate), Pro Lingua Associates
The Earth Matters series includes two main textbooks, Our Living Planet and Going Green, as well as a supplementary textbook called Environmental Vocabulary Games and Other Activities. Units in the main textbooks begin with an illustration, pre-reading questions, and key vocabulary activities. Next, a reading introduces important environmental concepts and issues. After a comprehension check, a grammar or vocabulary exercise, and a dictation exercise, a short listening activity continues exploring the theme of each unit. An audio CD is included with each book.
Our Living Planet introduces key vocabulary and basic concepts of physical geography and attempts to instill learners with an appreciation for the beauty and complexity of the planet. There is also information on some environmental problems. The units in Our Living Planet end with a writing assignment and homework.
Going Green focuses on threats to the environment and the steps individuals can take to reduce global warming and environmental degradation. Issues include air pollution, trash disposal, the overuse of water bottles, buying locally, and electricity consumption. The Going Green units end with a variety of class and homework activities and suggest ideas for Internet research activities.
Environmental Vocabulary Games and Other Activities supplements both text books in the Earth Matters series and can be photocopied.
Academic Encounters: The Natural World (Low-Intermediate), Cambridge University Press
Academic Encounters uses a content-based, integrated skills approach to develop students' English skills while learning about various topics within the fields of Earth science and biology (some environmental topics are included). There are two textbooks, Academic Encounters: The Natural World and Academic Listening Encounters: The Natural World.
Academic Encounters: The Natural World helps students develop their academic reading, writing, and study skills. Tasks that accompany readings include reading for details, skimming, highlighting, and note taking, for example. Each chapter also ends with a guided writing assignment.
The companion book, Academic Listening Encounters: The Natural World uses a sustained content approach to help students develop their listening and note-taking skills through warm-up activities, informal interviews, and academic lectures. Tasks include listening for main ideas, details, and opinions and developing and organizing notes.
Reading Explorer Series (All Levels), Heinle Cengage Learning
Reading Explorer is a four-level reading serious that uses adapted National Geographic texts, images, and videos to develop reading and vocabulary skills. While not all of the themes focus specifically on science or the environment, the units on animals and geography can be incorporated as part of a larger unit on environmental awareness. Features include:
- real-world content and visuals
- a variety of text types and graphic organizers
- comprehension-type questions commonly found on high-stakes international exams
- vocabulary practice, such as high-frequency words, collocations, and affixes
- videos that explain various step-by-step activities to further motivate students
- review units that recycle vocabulary and reading skills through a magazine-like format highlighting UNESCO World Heritage Sites
- a student CD-ROM with additional video clips, reading passages, and vocabulary activities
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Graded Readers
Why Should I?, Barron's Educational Books
The Why Should I? series included books that explain why readers should help protect different aspects of the environment. The books are written for L1 children ages 4-7. Topics focus on recycling and saving water and energy, among others.
Benchmark Education Company
Benchmark Education Company (BEC) provides several series of leveled and multi-leveled readers about environmental issues. In addition to readers, the series contain a variety of teacher resources, including posters, vocabulary cards, and teacher's guided. Some of the series include e-books. The books, marketed for language learners ages 8-14, allow learners to (a) learn about various ecosystems, (b) understand why they are important, (c) realize how human harm the environment, and (d) discover what people can do to protect the environment.
Footprint Reading Library, Heinle Cengage Learning
The content-based series includes texts on a variety of environmental topics, including wind power, endangered animals, and solar cooking, for example. Each reader included pre-reading and vocabulary exercises and post-reading comprehension questions.
ConceptLinks, Millmark Education
ConceptLinks provides interactive science modules on a variety of topics, and the graded readers can be purchased individually. Each book contains colorful pictures, information about environmental careers, fast environmental facts, a glossary, and post-reading activities. The two books focused on the environment are called Ocean: Exploring and Protecting and Ecosystems: Changing and Conserving. Both books are Stage 4 readers.
Reading Essentials in Science, Perfection Learning Corporation
This series, centered about global issues, includes titles on food and water safety, energy, consumption and waste, global warming, and habitat destruction, among others. The books are marketed for native-English speakers ages 8 to 12.
Junior Graphic Environment, Rosen Classroom
This series titled Jr. Graphic Environmental Dangers tackles many important environmental issues through a kid-friendly approach. Each readers includes illustrations, a glossary, an index, fact sheets, and a list of relevant websites.Example titles include Energy Crisis, Global Warming, Polar Ice Caps in Danger, and Sinister Sludge. The books are marketed for L1 students ages 8-11.
FactFiles and Green Planet, Oxford University Press
FactFiles Rainforests (Stage 2) provides information about the importance, destruction, and conservation of rainforests. FactFiles Recycling (Stage 3) teaches students about the problems associated with trash and explains how materials can be reused and recycled.Green Planet (Stage 2) explores the most important environmental stories from the last 50 years. All books include colorful, glossy pictures and a variety of pre-, during-, and post-reading activities.
Know of a another great "green" resource? Have a question about "greening" your classroom? Please contact the author.
Why Should I?, Barron's Educational Books
The Why Should I? series included books that explain why readers should help protect different aspects of the environment. The books are written for L1 children ages 4-7. Topics focus on recycling and saving water and energy, among others.
Benchmark Education Company
Benchmark Education Company (BEC) provides several series of leveled and multi-leveled readers about environmental issues. In addition to readers, the series contain a variety of teacher resources, including posters, vocabulary cards, and teacher's guided. Some of the series include e-books. The books, marketed for language learners ages 8-14, allow learners to (a) learn about various ecosystems, (b) understand why they are important, (c) realize how human harm the environment, and (d) discover what people can do to protect the environment.
Footprint Reading Library, Heinle Cengage Learning
The content-based series includes texts on a variety of environmental topics, including wind power, endangered animals, and solar cooking, for example. Each reader included pre-reading and vocabulary exercises and post-reading comprehension questions.
ConceptLinks, Millmark Education
ConceptLinks provides interactive science modules on a variety of topics, and the graded readers can be purchased individually. Each book contains colorful pictures, information about environmental careers, fast environmental facts, a glossary, and post-reading activities. The two books focused on the environment are called Ocean: Exploring and Protecting and Ecosystems: Changing and Conserving. Both books are Stage 4 readers.
Reading Essentials in Science, Perfection Learning Corporation
This series, centered about global issues, includes titles on food and water safety, energy, consumption and waste, global warming, and habitat destruction, among others. The books are marketed for native-English speakers ages 8 to 12.
Junior Graphic Environment, Rosen Classroom
This series titled Jr. Graphic Environmental Dangers tackles many important environmental issues through a kid-friendly approach. Each readers includes illustrations, a glossary, an index, fact sheets, and a list of relevant websites.Example titles include Energy Crisis, Global Warming, Polar Ice Caps in Danger, and Sinister Sludge. The books are marketed for L1 students ages 8-11.
FactFiles and Green Planet, Oxford University Press
FactFiles Rainforests (Stage 2) provides information about the importance, destruction, and conservation of rainforests. FactFiles Recycling (Stage 3) teaches students about the problems associated with trash and explains how materials can be reused and recycled.Green Planet (Stage 2) explores the most important environmental stories from the last 50 years. All books include colorful, glossy pictures and a variety of pre-, during-, and post-reading activities.
Know of a another great "green" resource? Have a question about "greening" your classroom? Please contact the author.