There is a group of hotels in the Netherlands called Conscious Hotels that also care about the Earth. They use energy that doesn't hurt the Earth, have furniture that is good for the Earth, and only serve food that doesn't have meat. The boss of these hotels says it's important to think about how hotels can hurt plants, animals, and the land. He also says more people are picking hotels that are good for the Earth because they want to help keep the Earth safe. Another company that helps people travel without flying is getting more popular because it helps stop too many tourists from going to the same place and helps the people who live there.
Even though there are more places to stay that are good for the Earth, a teacher named Marina says we need to be careful. Some places might say they are good for the Earth, but they're not really, so we need to ask questions. Silvia from Ecobnb knows that flying in airplanes is bad for the Earth, so she says it's better to have vacations close to home. She is happy because she sees more people wanting to live in ways that are good for the Earth, even when they go on vacation.
Original news source: Tourists are rethinking their relationship with Earth' (BBC)
π Vocabulary:
Group or Classroom Activities
Warm-up Activities:
– Opinion Poll
Instructions: Create a list of statements related to environmental practices in tourism, such as "It's important to stay in eco-friendly accommodations when traveling." Ask students to move to different areas of the room based on whether they strongly agree, agree, are neutral, disagree, or strongly disagree with each statement. After each statement, have a brief class discussion on the reasons behind their choices.
– Vocabulary Pictionary
Instructions: Write down key vocabulary from the article on individual slips of paper (e.g., "sustainable," "eco-friendly," "solar energy," "local produce," "chemical-free"). Divide students into two teams. A student from one team draws a slip and sketches the word on the board without speaking or writing letters or numbers. Their team has to guess the word within a time limit. Rotate between teams for each word.
– News Reporter Role-play
Instructions: Students pair up and take on the roles of a news reporter and an eco-hotel owner. The reporter interviews the hotel owner about their eco-friendly practices, using questions derived from the article's content. The owner must respond with information that aligns with the practices mentioned in the article. Afterward, students can switch roles.
– Future Predictions
Instructions: Based on the article, ask students to imagine the future of travel and write down their predictions. They can consider questions such as "Will eco-friendly travel become more popular?" and "What new eco-friendly practices might we see in the future?" After writing, they share their predictions with a partner and discuss which ones they think are most likely to happen.
– Sketch It
Instructions: Select key phrases or sentences from the article that describe an action or scene (e.g., "use energy from the sun or wind," "serve food that is grown nearby"). Students have to draw a quick sketch representing that phrase or sentence. Then, they show their sketches to the class or a partner, who tries to guess the phrase or sentence from the article that inspired the drawing.
π€ Comprehension Questions:
Silvia and Simone created a website called Ecobnb that helps people find places to stay that are good for the Earth.
The places on Ecobnb's website use energy from the sun or wind, serve food that is grown close by, and clean without using bad chemicals.
There are more than 3,000 places to stay listed on Ecobnb's website.
Conscious Hotels uses energy that doesn't hurt the Earth, has furniture that is good for the Earth, and they only serve food that doesn't have meat.
The hotel boss is worried because hotels can hurt plants, animals, and the land.
The company that helps people travel without flying keeps too many tourists from going to the same place and helps the people who live there.
Silvia suggests that people should have vacations close to home instead of flying to help the Earth.
π§βοΈ Listen and Fill in the Gaps:
Two people from Italy, Silvia and Simone, made a Ecobnb because they wanted to find places to stay that are good for the Earth. Their website shows more than 3,000 places to stay that do things like use energy from the sun or wind, serve food that is grown nearby, and without using harmful chemicals. A lot of people are using their website to find places to stay when they travel. The two people who made the website think that more and more people, especially ones, want to take care of the Earth when they go on vacation. There is a group of hotels in the Netherlands called Conscious Hotels that also care about the Earth. They use that doesn't hurt the Earth, have furniture that is good for the Earth, and only serve food that doesn't have meat. The of these hotels says it's important to think about how hotels can plants, animals, and the land. He also says people are picking hotels that are good for the Earth because they want to help keep the Earth safe. Another company that helps people without flying is getting more popular because it helps stop too many tourists from going to the same place and helps the people who live there. Even though there are more places to stay that are good for the Earth, a teacher named Marina says we need to be careful. Some places might say they are good for the Earth, but they're not really, so we need to ask questions. Silvia from Ecobnb that flying in is bad for the Earth, so she says it's better to have vacations close to home. She is happy because she sees more people to live in ways that are good for the Earth, even when they go on vacation.
π¬ Discussion Questions:
1. What is an "eco-friendly" hotel?
2. Do you like the idea of staying in a place that is good for the Earth? Why or why not?
3. How would you feel if you stayed at a hotel that uses energy from the sun?
4. Have you ever eaten food that is grown nearby where you live? Did it taste different from other food?
5. What do you think about hotels that don't serve meat? Would you like to eat there?
6. Why do you think it is important for hotels to be careful about plants, animals, and the land?
7. Do you think more young people care about the Earth when they travel? Why do you think that?
8. Have you ever seen too many tourists in one place? What problems can that cause?
9. What is a vacation that is close to home? Would you like to have a vacation like that?
10. Can you think of a question you would ask a hotel to find out if they are really good for the Earth?
11. Do you think it's a good idea to travel without flying in airplanes? Why or why not?
12. Do you try to live in ways that are good for the Earth? Can you share one thing you do to help the Earth?
Individual Activities
ππ Vocabulary Meanings:
Click a dot next to a word, then click the dot next to its meaning to draw a line connecting them.
Words
Meanings
π‘ Multiple Choice Questions:
π΅οΈ True or False Questions:
π Write a Summary:
Write a summary of this news article in two sentences.
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