Introduction
Breaking news! Our school has entered the national competition “Green School of the Year”. The director needs a team of young eco-experts to find out how much waste, energy and water our school wastes every day and to suggest smart, easy changes. If your team convinces the School Council with the best plan, your ideas will become real, and your class will lead the “Green Team” for the whole year. Are you ready to make our school greener?
💭 Warm-up: How many plastic bottles, paper sheets or snack wrappers do you throw away in one day? Write your guess in your notebook. You will check it later!
Task
You will work in a team of four. Each person is an expert with a different point of view:
♻️ Waste Detective
Finds out what we throw away and what can be recycled or reused.
⚡ Energy Saver
Checks lights, computers and heating, and looks for ways to save energy.
💧 Water Keeper
Looks for water waste and finds ways to use less water.
🎨 Media Designer
Collects the team’s ideas and designs the poster and the pitch.
Your mission: persuade the School Council that your Green Action Plan is the best. Your team will create:
- An eco-poster (paper or digital) with a slogan, 3 action ideas (waste, energy, water), at least 3 facts and a picture or drawing.
- A 2-minute pitch: every team member speaks for about 30 seconds.
- An individual reflection: 5–6 sentences about what you learned.
The team with the most convincing plan gets the title “Green Team of the Year”!
Process
Step by step
- Meet your team. Your teacher gives each of you a role. Choose a team name and a leader for each meeting.
- Learn the key words below. Everybody needs them!
- Do your role research (about 20 minutes). Open your role card below, follow the links and answer the questions.
- Check your school. Look around your classroom and corridor. Count, take notes or photos (ask your teacher first).
- Share. Each expert reports in English: “I found out that…”. Use the useful language box.
- Choose three actions. Vote for the best ideas: one for waste, one for energy, one for water.
- Create the poster and practise the 2-minute pitch. Everyone speaks!
- Present to the School Council (your classmates and teacher), then write your reflection.
📚 Key words for everyone
waste — сміття, відходи
recycle — переробляти
reuse — використовувати повторно
reduce — зменшувати
energy — енергія
switch off — вимикати
leak — протікання
tap — кран
landfill — сміттєзвалище
pollution — забруднення
save — економити
reusable — багаторазовий
🧑🔬 Your role cards
♻️ Waste Detective
Your job is to find out how much waste our class makes and what happens to it.
- Count the items in the classroom bin for one day (paper, plastic, food, other).
- Find 3 facts: What is recycling? How long does a plastic bottle stay in nature?
- Think of one action: for example, a recycling corner or a reusable bottle day.
Links: EPA: Recycling basics · National Geographic Kids · your textbook
Help: “Our class throws away … items a day.” · “Most of the waste is …”
⚡ Energy Saver
Your job is to find out where our school uses energy and where it can save it.
- Check: Are the lights on when the room is empty? Are computers left on?
- Find 3 facts about energy: What is renewable energy? Why is saving energy important?
- Think of one action: for example, a “Switch Off” reminder sticker next to the light switch.
Links: EIA Energy Kids · BBC Bitesize · your textbook
Help: “The lights were on in … empty rooms.” · “We can save energy if we …”
💧 Water Keeper
Your job is to find out how water is wasted and how we can use less of it.
- Check the school toilets and sinks (with a teacher): are there any leaks or dripping taps?
- Find 3 facts: How much water does a dripping tap waste? Why is clean water precious?
- Think of one action: for example, a “Turn off the tap” poster in the toilets.
Links: WaterSense Kids · National Geographic Kids · your textbook
Help: “A dripping tap can waste … litres.” · “We should always …”
🎨 Media Designer
Your job is to turn the team’s ideas into a clear, attractive poster and a great pitch.
- Write a short, catchy slogan (3–6 words), for example: “Small steps, green school!”
- Make a layout: title, slogan, three action boxes, facts, picture. Use big letters and few words.
- Check the English in the poster with your team and make a speaking order for the pitch.
Tools: paper and markers, or Canva (ask your teacher about an account) · Cambridge Dictionary
Help: “Our slogan is …” · “Look at our poster!”
🗣 Useful language for the pitch
- Good morning, dear School Council! We are the … Team.
- First, we found out that … / We think we should … / It is easy to …
- If we do this, we will save … / Our school will be …
- Thank you for listening. Any questions?
Evaluation
You will get marks for your team’s poster and pitch, and for your own reflection. You can see the rules now, so you know how to get the best result.
| Criteria | 3 points - Excellent | 2 points - Good | 1 point - Try harder |
| Content | 3 clear actions (waste, energy, water) and 3 or more correct facts. | 2 actions or 2 facts. Some ideas are not clear. | 1 action or few facts. |
| English | Few mistakes. Key words are used correctly. | Some mistakes, but we can understand everything. | Many mistakes; it is hard to understand. |
| Poster | Tidy, colourful, big letters, slogan and picture. | Nice, but something is missing. | Hard to read or unfinished. |
| Pitch and teamwork | Everyone speaks, about 2 minutes, with eye contact. | Everyone speaks, but reads a lot. | Only one or two students speak. |
| Reflection (individual) | 5-6 sentences, my opinion and what I learned. | 3-4 sentences. | 1-2 sentences. |
Total: 15 points. Teacher’s conversion to the 12-point scale: 14–15 = 10–12 · 11–13 = 7–9 · 8–10 = 4–6 · 5–7 = 1–3.
Feedback: after each pitch, classmates give one star ⭐ (what was great) and one wish 💡 (what can be better). Then the School Council votes for the “Green Team of the Year”.
✅ Team checklist
Everyone did their role research
We chose 3 actions together
The poster has a slogan, facts and a picture
Everyone speaks in the pitch
We checked our English
Conclusion
Conclusion
Congratulations, eco-experts! You found out how much waste, energy and water a school can save, and you learned that even small steps can make a big difference. Now think about the question from the beginning: How can our school become more eco-friendly? Has your answer changed?
Reflection questions
- Which fact surprised you most?
- Which green habit will you start at home this week?
- What is one thing you learned from your teammates?
Want to go further?
- Make a 1-minute video: “Five green tips for my school”.
- Ask other classes five questions about their eco-habits and show the results in a chart.
- Write a short email to the director with your best idea.
- Keep a 7-day eco-diary at home.
🌍 The same ideas work at home, in your town and all over the world. Thank you for making our school greener!