B2 - LESSON 3 — Extreme Weather and Natural Disasters

 LESSON 3 — Extreme Weather and Natural Disasters

Vocabulary

thunderstorm • blizzard • heatwave • showers • hail • tornado • hurricane • drought • earthquake • wildfire • tsunami • flood

Lesson aims

By the end of the lesson, the student can:

  • describe extreme weather and natural disasters;
  • talk about recent and ongoing extreme weather;
  • use Present Perfect and Present Perfect Continuous naturally;
  • discuss causes, consequences and preparedness;
  • express opinions at B2 level.

1. WARM-UP — Extreme Weather


  1. Which natural disaster scares you the most?
  2. Have you ever experienced extreme weather?
  3. What would you do during a thunderstorm?
  4. Would you rather experience a heatwave or a blizzard?
  5. Which is more dangerous: a hurricane or a tornado?
  6. Could you survive without electricity for a week after a storm?
  7. How prepared are people in your country for natural disasters?
  8. Do you think extreme weather is becoming more common?

Would you rather?

Choose one and explain why:

  • live through a blizzard ❄️ or a heatwave ☀️?
  • experience a flood or a drought?
  • be caught in a thunderstorm or strong hail?
  • experience an earthquake or a tornado?
  • spend one night in a hurricane or one week without rain during a drought?

GRAMMAR TRANSFORMATION

Rewrite using Present Perfect Continuous.

Example:

It started raining three hours ago.

→ It has been raining for three hours.

  1. The storm started two hours ago.
  2. The firefighters started fighting the wildfire yesterday.
  3. It started snowing at 7 a.m.
  4. The drought started six months ago.
  5. Strong winds started blowing this morning.

ERROR CORRECTION

Correct the mistakes.

  1. It has been rain since morning.
  2. I have been experienced a hurricane.
  3. It has rained for five hours.
  4. She has never been experiencing a tornado.
  5. They have been fighting the wildfire since yesterday.
  6. The region has been had a drought for months.

B2 DISCUSSION — CLIMATE & EXTREME WEATHER

Question 1

Do you think climate change is making extreme weather more common?

Discuss:

  • heatwaves;
  • floods;
  • droughts;
  • wildfires;
  • storms.

Question 2

Who should be responsible for preparing cities for extreme weather?

Possible answers:

  • governments;
  • local authorities;
  • scientists;
  • businesses;
  • ordinary people.

Question 3

Would you move to another country because of the climate?

Why / why not?

Question 4

Is technology making us safer from extreme weather, or are we becoming too dependent on it?

READING


LISTENING





FINAL REVIEW 

Vocabulary challenge

Describe the weather without saying the word.

Example:
"The sky is completely covered with clouds."
→ overcast

Now describe:
  1. drizzly
  1. muggy
  1. chilly
  1. hazy
  1. blizzard
  1. heatwave
  1. drought
  1. thunderstorm


HOMEWORK