Can plants clean the air in your home? Many people don’t know that the air inside can be dirty. Things we use to clean and make our homes smell good can add bad things to the air. Anne Hicks, a doctor who helps children with lung problems, says that if you can smell something, it means there is a chemical in the air. This is air pollution, even if it smells good.
Air pollution inside homes is a big problem. It is different for every home and hard to control. Cars and trucks on the road make bad gas, and problems with buildings can cause mold. Machines that clean air can help, but they can be expensive. That’s why some people hope plants can clean the air.
Plants take in bad gas and use it to grow. A study from NASA in 1989 said plants can remove bad gas from the air. But, it would take a lot of plants to make a big difference in a home. Some researchers are looking at green walls, which are walls covered in plants. These can clean air better, but they are also expensive.
A company called Cundall filled a room with plants to see if they could clean the air. It was hard to take care of all the plants, and they didn’t clean the air as well as machines did. The room now has fewer plants. They also have some moss that looks nice but can’t clean the air.
Scientists are now trying to make plants that can clean air better. They are changing the plants to make them better at taking bad gas out of the air. But even these plants can’t clean the air as well as machines can. Still, plants can make people feel good and help them think better. So, while plants may not clean the air a lot, they are still good to have inside.
Original news source: Can houseplants purify the air in your home? (BBC)
Listen
Slow
Normal
Fast
Group or Classroom Activities
Warm-up Activities:
– “Air Pollution and Plants” Charades
Instructions: Write different words from the text such as “plants”, “air pollution”, “machines”, “clean”, “gas”, “mold”, “NASA” etc. on pieces of paper. Have the students pick a piece of paper and act out the word without speaking. The rest of the class should guess the word. This will help in understanding and remembering the key vocabulary from the text.
– “Sentence Creation”
Instructions: Divide the class into pairs. Give each pair a list of five words from the text like “plants”, “air”, “chemical”, “mold”, “NASA”. The pairs should create sentences using these words. This will help them in understanding the context and usage of these words.
– “Draw and Explain”
Instructions: Divide the class into groups. Have each group draw a diagram based on the information from the text, showing how plants can help clean the air. Once they have finished drawing, each group should explain their diagram to the class. This will help them in understanding and explaining the concept in their own words.
– “Storytime”
Instructions: Ask the students to imagine and tell a short story to the class involving plants, air pollution and machines as main characters. This activity will encourage the students to use the vocabulary from the text creatively.
– “Role Play”
Instructions: Divide the class into groups. Assign each group a different role such as “scientists”, “plants”, “machines”, “air pollution”. Each group should prepare a short skit based on their role. This will help the students understand different perspectives of the text while practicing their speaking skills.
Comprehension Questions:
1. What can make the air inside our homes dirty?
2. Who is Anne Hicks and what does she say about smells in the air?
3. What are some things that cause air pollution inside homes?
4. What did a study from NASA say about plants and bad gas in the air?
5. What are green walls and how can they help clean the air?
6. What did the company Cundall do to see if plants can clean the air?
7. What are scientists now trying to do with plants?
8. Why are plants still good to have inside even if they can’t clean the air a lot?
Go to answers ⇩
Listen and Fill in the Gaps:
Can plants clean the air in your (1)______? Many people don’t know that the air inside can be (2)______. Things we use to clean and make our homes smell good can add bad things to the air. Anne Hicks, a doctor who helps children with lung problems, says that if you can smell something, it means there is a chemical in the air. This is air pollution, even if it smells good.
Air pollution inside homes is a big problem. It is different for every home and hard to control. Cars and trucks on the road make bad gas, and problems with buildings can cause (3)______. Machines that clean air can help, but they can be expensive. That’s why some people hope plants can clean the air.
Plants take in bad gas and use it to grow. A study from NASA in 1989 said plants can remove bad gas from the air. But, it would take a lot of plants to make a big difference in a home. Some researchers are looking at green walls, which are walls covered in plants. These can clean air better, but they are also (4)______.
A company called Cundall filled a room with plants to see if they could clean the air. It was hard to take care of all the plants, and they didn’t clean the air as well as machines did. The room now has fewer plants. They also have some moss that looks nice but can’t clean the air.
Scientists are now trying to make plants that can clean air better. They are changing the plants to make them better at taking bad gas out of the (5)______. But even these plants can’t clean the air as well as machines can. Still, plants can make people feel good and help them think better. So, while plants may not clean the air a lot, they are still good to have (6)______.
Go to answers ⇩
Discussion Questions:
Students can ask a partner these questions, or discuss them as a group.
1. Do you have plants in your home? Why?
2. Do you like the smell of clean things?
3. Do you think plants can make the air clean?
4. What does a car do that is bad for the air?
5. Can a plant clean the air as well as a machine?
6. Is a machine that cleans air expensive?
7. What is a green wall? Would you like one in your home?
8. Do you know what moss is? Does moss look nice?
9. Can moss clean the air?
10. What do scientists want to do with plants?
11. Do you think having many plants in a room is hard to take care of?
12. Do you like to have plants inside your home? Why?
13. How do plants make people feel good?
14. Do you think plants can make us think better? Why?
15. If plants can’t clean the air a lot, why are they still good to have inside?
Individual Activities
Vocabulary Meanings:
Match each word to its meaning.
Words:
1. pollution
2. chemical
3. control
4. gas
5. mold
6. machines
7. researchers
8. moss
Shuffled Meanings:
A) Something that grows in wet, damp places and can be harmful to health
B) People who study things to learn more about them
C) A green plant that grows in damp places, often on rocks or trees
D) Something that is made in a science lab and can be harmful if breathed in
E) To have power over something, to be able to direct or manage it
F) Things that work automatically and can do tasks like cleaning or making things
G) Bad things in the air, water, or ground that can hurt living things
H) A substance that can be a liquid or a vapor, like the air we breathe out
Go to answers ⇩
Multiple Choice Questions:
1. What can make the air in your home dirty?
(a) Plants
(b) Toys
(c) Food
(d) Things we use to clean and make our homes smell good
2. Who is Anne Hicks?
(a) A doctor who helps children with lung problems
(b) A scientist who studies plants
(c) A teacher who helps children learn about air pollution
(d) A gardener who grows plants
3. What is air pollution?
(a) A type of plant
(b) A type of gas
(c) A type of smell
(d) Bad things in the air
4. What can help clean the air inside homes?
(a) Cars and trucks
(b) Food and drinks
(c) Machines and plants
(d) Toys and games
5. What did a study from NASA say about plants?
(a) Plants can make the air dirty
(b) Plants can make people feel good
(c) Plants can’t clean the air
(d) Plants can remove bad gas from the air
6. What are green walls?
(a) Walls that are painted green
(b) Walls that are covered in plants
(c) Walls that are made of glass
(d) Walls that are made of wood
7. What did the company Cundall do?
(a) They filled a room with toys
(b) They filled a room with plants
(c) They filled a room with machines
(d) They filled a room with food
8. What are scientists trying to do now?
(a) Make plants that can clean air better
(b) Make machines that can clean air better
(c) Make cars and trucks that can clean air better
(d) Make food that can clean air better
Go to answers ⇩
True or False Questions:
1. Plants can clean the air in your home.
2. If you can smell something, it means there is a chemical in the air.
3. Cars and trucks on the road make good gas.
4. Machines that clean air are cheap.
5. A study from NASA said plants can remove bad gas from the air.
6. A company called Cundall filled a room with plants and they cleaned the air better than machines.
7. Scientists are trying to make plants that can clean air better.
8. Plants can make people feel bad and help them think worse.
Go to answers ⇩
Write a Summary:
Write a summary of this news article in two sentences.
Writing Questions:
Answer the following questions. Write as much as you can for each answer.
1. Why is it important to have clean air in our homes?
2. What are some things that can make the air inside our homes dirty?
3. Can plants help clean the air in our homes? Why or why not?
4. What are green walls and how can they help clean the air?
5. Can plants clean the air as well as machines? Why or why not?
Answers
Comprehension Question Answers:
1. What can make the air inside our homes dirty?
Things we use to clean our homes and make them smell good can make the air inside our homes dirty.
2. Who is Anne Hicks and what does she say about smells in the air?
Anne Hicks is a doctor who helps children with lung problems. She says that if you can smell something, it means there is a chemical in the air.
3. What are some things that cause air pollution inside homes?
Cars and trucks on the road make bad gas, and problems with buildings can cause mold. These things can cause air pollution inside homes.
4. What did a study from NASA say about plants and bad gas in the air?
A study from NASA said that plants can take in bad gas and use it to grow. This can help clean the air.
5. What are green walls and how can they help clean the air?
Green walls are walls covered in plants. They can help clean the air better than just a few plants.
6. What did the company Cundall do to see if plants can clean the air?
Cundall filled a room with plants to see if they could clean the air.
7. What are scientists now trying to do with plants?
Scientists are now trying to change plants to make them better at taking bad gas out of the air.
8. Why are plants still good to have inside even if they can’t clean the air a lot?
Even if plants can’t clean the air a lot, they can make people feel good and help them think better. So, they are still good to have inside.
Go back to questions ⇧
Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:
1. home
2. dirty
3. mold
4. expensive
5. air
6. inside
Go back to questions ⇧
Vocabulary Meanings Answers:
1. pollution
Answer: G) Bad things in the air, water, or ground that can hurt living things
2. chemical
Answer: D) Something that is made in a science lab and can be harmful if breathed in
3. control
Answer: E) To have power over something, to be able to direct or manage it
4. gas
Answer: H) A substance that can be a liquid or a vapor, like the air we breathe out
5. mold
Answer: A) Something that grows in wet, damp places and can be harmful to health
6. machines
Answer: F) Things that work automatically and can do tasks like cleaning or making things
7. researchers
Answer: B) People who study things to learn more about them
8. moss
Answer: C) A green plant that grows in damp places, often on rocks or trees
Go back to questions ⇧
Multiple Choice Answers:
1. What can make the air in your home dirty?
Answer: (d) Things we use to clean and make our homes smell good
2. Who is Anne Hicks?
Answer: (a) A doctor who helps children with lung problems
3. What is air pollution?
Answer: (d) Bad things in the air
4. What can help clean the air inside homes?
Answer: (c) Machines and plants
5. What did a study from NASA say about plants?
Answer: (d) Plants can remove bad gas from the air
6. What are green walls?
Answer: (b) Walls that are covered in plants
7. What did the company Cundall do?
Answer: (b) They filled a room with plants
8. What are scientists trying to do now?
Answer: (a) Make plants that can clean air better
Go back to questions ⇧
True or False Answers:
1. Plants can clean the air in your home.
Answer: True
2. If you can smell something, it means there is a chemical in the air.
Answer: True
3. Cars and trucks on the road make good gas.
Answer: False
4. Machines that clean air are cheap.
Answer: False
5. A study from NASA said plants can remove bad gas from the air.
Answer: True
6. A company called Cundall filled a room with plants and they cleaned the air better than machines.
Answer: False
7. Scientists are trying to make plants that can clean air better.
Answer: True
8. Plants can make people feel bad and help them think worse.
Answer: False
Go back to questions ⇧
