The Reading / Listening - Eco-anxiety - Level 2

More children are suffering from "eco-anxiety". This is a condition that makes people worry about the future of Earth. People worry about climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss. Teachers want more lessons in schools about climate change, wildlife and the environment. They say schools teach very little about climate change. Some teachers believe it should be taught to all year groups. A campaign group found that only four per cent of schoolchildren knew enough about the climate crisis. The group said this is making more children suffer from eco-anxiety.

Another campaign group, Earth Rangers, has taken action about eco-anxiety. It said: "Eco-anxiety is not an official...disorder. However, it does affect children in very real ways. This includes feelings of fear...and despair." It wants to understand how to help children find strategies to cope with negative feelings. It said schools should make conservation activities, and help children to teach their parents about how to protect nature. The Earth Rangers president said more action was needed to help children. She said: "Children are on the front lines of climate change."

Try the same news story at these levels:

    Eco-anxiety - Level 0 Eco-anxiety - Level 1   or  Eco-anxiety - Level 3

Sources
  • https://news.sky.com/story/youngsters-suffering-from-eco-anxiety-as-campaigners-demand-more-climate-change-teaching-in-schools-12321819
  • https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2021/06/02/2240546/0/en/New-research-from-Earth-Rangers-Ipsos-mental-health-experts-shows-rising-climate-concerns-among-children-can-be-healthy-with-the-right-support.html
  • https://www.reuters.com/article/us-climate-change-health-idUSKCN2D7206


Make sure you try all of the online activities for this reading and listening - There are dictations, multiple choice activities, drag and drop activities, sentence jumbles, which word activities, text reconstructions, spelling, gap fills and a whole lot more. Please enjoy :-)

Phrase Matching

Paragraph 1

  1. More children are suffering
  2. a condition that makes
  3. the future
  4. People worry
  5. biodiversity
  6. it should be taught
  7. A campaign
  8. four per cent of schoolchildren
  1. of Earth
  2. loss
  3. knew enough
  4. from "eco-anxiety"
  5. to all year groups
  6. group
  7. people worry
  8. about climate change

Paragraph 2

  1. Eco-anxiety is not an
  2. This includes feelings of
  3. cope with negative
  4. conservation
  5. help children to teach
  6. how to protect
  7. action was needed
  8. Children are on the front lines
  1. feelings
  2. their parents
  3. of climate change
  4. official disorder
  5. to help children
  6. activities
  7. nature
  8. fear

Listening — Listen and fill in the gaps

More children are suffering from "eco-anxiety". This (1) ___________________ that makes people worry about the future of Earth. People worry about climate change, pollution (2) ___________________. Teachers want more lessons in schools about climate change, (3) ___________________ environment. They say schools teach (4) ___________________ climate change. Some teachers believe it should be taught to all year groups. A (5) ___________________ that only four per cent of schoolchildren knew enough about (6) ___________________. The group said this is making more children suffer from eco-anxiety.

Another campaign group, Earth Rangers, (7) __________________ about eco-anxiety. It said: "Eco-anxiety is (8) ___________________...disorder. However, it does affect children in very real ways. This includes feelings of (9) ___________________." It wants to understand how to help children find strategies to (10) ___________________ feelings. It said schools should make conservation activities, and help children to teach their parents about how (11) ___________________. The Earth Rangers president said more action was needed to help children. She said: "Children are on (12) ___________________ of climate change."

Put a slash (/) where the spaces are

Morechildrenaresufferingfrom"eco-anxiety".Thisisaconditionthatm
akespeopleworryaboutthefutureofEarth.Peopleworryaboutclimatec
hange,pollutionandbiodiversityloss.Teacherswantmorelessonsinsc
hoolsaboutclimatechange,wildlifeandtheenvironment.Theysayscho
olsteachverylittleaboutclimatechange.Someteachersbelieveitshoul
dbetaughttoallyeargroups.Acampaigngroupfoundthatonlyfourperc
entofschoolchildrenknewenoughabouttheclimatecrisis.Thegroupsai
dthisismakingmorechildrensufferfromeco-anxiety.Anothercampaig
ngroup,EarthRangers,hastakenactionabouteco-anxiety.Itsaid:"E
co-anxietyisnotanofficial...disorder.However,itdoesaffectchildrenin
veryrealways.Thisincludesfeelingsoffear...anddespair."Itwantstoun
derstandhowtohelpchildrenfindstrategiestocopewithnegativefeelin
gs.Itsaidschoolsshouldmakeconservationactivities,andhelpchildren
toteachtheirparentsabouthowtoprotectnature.TheEarthRangerspre
sidentsaidmoreactionwasneededtohelpchildren.Shesaid:"Childrena
reonthefrontlinesofclimatechange."

Student survey

Write five GOOD questions about this topic in the table. Do this in pairs. Each student must write the questions on his / her own paper. When you have finished, interview other students. Write down their answers.

(Please look at page 12 of the PDF to see a photocopiable example of this activity.)

Discussion — Write your own questions

STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)

(a) ________________

(b) ________________

(c) ________________

(d) ________________

(e) ________________

(f) ________________

(g) ________________

(h) ________________

STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)

(i) ________________

(j) ________________

(k) ________________

(l) ________________

(m) ________________

(n) ________________

(o) ________________

(p) ________________

Free writing

Write about this topic for 10 minutes. Comment on your partner’s paper.

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Answers

(Please check your answers against the article above.

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