Lesson 1: Para empezar: Nuestro mundo

1. How do we use our natural resources?
2. How do people interact with natural phenomena?
3. How should we prepare for an environmental crisis?

WL1. Students understand and engage in written and spoken language.
WL2. Interpretive Communication Understand and interpret written and/or spoken language on a variety of topics.
WL3. Exhibit understanding of content in a variety of formats.
WL4. Understand and compare cultural differences.

Description
This section introduces the specialized vocabulary of ecology and environmental conservation. It covers natural resources (renewable and non-renewable), environmental threats (global warming, deforestation, pollution), and geographic features (volcanoes, jungles, coastlines). Students learn to articulate the relationship between human industry and the health of the planet.

Purpose
The purpose is to move beyond simple descriptions of the outdoors and into the realm of environmental advocacy.

DOK 1: Recall Identify and label the different layers of the rainforest or parts of a volcano in Spanish.
DOK 2: Skill/Concept Categorize a list of human actions as either beneficiosa (beneficial) or perjudicial (harmful) to the environment.
DOK 3: Strategic Thinking Formulate a hypothesis about what would happen to a specific species in Ecuador if current deforestation rates continue.
DOK 4: Extended Thinking Develop an environmental protection plan for a "natural wonder" in Colombia, justifying the cost and predicting long-term outcomes using the Future and Conditional tenses.

Visual Vocabulary Cards: Use "Cause and Effect" cards where one side shows a problem (e.g., fábricas) and the other shows the result (e.g., contaminación del aire).

The "Future" Formula: Provide sentence starters for discussing the future: "En el año 2050, el mundo será..." or "En el futuro, nosotros protegeremos..."

Teacher selection of activities from the Imagina Vista supersite.