10 Unit 1 Reading II - Open Letter Interactive Lesson

Grade 10 English: Open Letter on Climate Change

Welcome to Reading II

Open Letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres

Theme

Climate Action

Vocabulary

12 Key Words

Reading Time

~15 Mins

Activities

Grammar & Writing

Getting Started: Look at the picture and answer

Youth Action

a Who do you think these people are?

b What are they doing?

Vocabulary Builder

All words loaded

Open Letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres

Grade 10 • Unit 1 • Reading II

7 August 2020

To: Antonio Guterres (UN)

His Excellency Antonio Guterres United Nations Secretary General United Nations Secretariat 42nd Street, New York, NY 10017
RE: Inclusion of Children in the Youth Advisory Group on Climate Change Congratulations on your recent announcement of seven young climate leaders - between the ages of 18 and 28 years old - to your Youth Advisory Group on climate change.
They will advise you regularly on accelerating global action and the action to tackle the worsening climate crisis. We appreciate this important focus on bringing young leaders into decision-making and planning processes related to climate action.
We also welcome the emphasis you place on receiving and giving frank and fearless advice. We support the urgency of holding government and corporate leaders to account on climate action.
We are disappointed, however, that you have not expanded this list of young climate leaders to children in all their diversity. Millions of children took part in school strikes for climate action in 2019 and early 2020.
They demonstrated their outrage and constructive solutions in equal measure. They have been agents of change in the climate debate using their channels of influence - schools, social media, and street protests.
These efforts were used to catalyse global activism on the climate crisis. We have seen children from the global North to the global South engaging with political and corporate leaders.
They engage in their home countries and within the international system - most recently at the UN Human Rights Council. They are claiming their right to a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment as a critical foundation to realizing their wellbeing.
It was, after all, a child, Greta Thunberg, who sparked this global movement through an inspiriting solo protest in 2018. By 2019, she was able to rightly assert: "We proved that it does not matter what you do and that no one is too small to make a difference."
In 2020, children are saying the same thing. Like Fabrizio, a 16 year old boy from Peru, who told us on a recent child-led online conversation, "The Future of Children is at stake now, tomorrow will be too late."
Children like Fabrizio are vocal in their anxiety that our dash to economic recovery will scupper climate change at net-zero commitments. They continue to pressure on us all for urgency, and to fight for a green recovery.
Once again, Secretary-General, we congratulate you on the establishment of the Youth Advisory Group on climate change. We ask, however, that it be inclusive of children and adolescents younger than 18.
We must respect their right to be heard and to contribute their expertise directly. We also ask that as preparations for COP26 advance, you call for the UK and Italy to give children a safe space to influence these upcoming preparatory events.
We would of course be happy to support a process that facilitates meaningful engagement with children across the globe on both your Group and COP26. If the last two years have taught us anything it is that children have a unique role to play.
Armed with information and a sense of purpose, they participate in decision-making processes and combat crises with constructive solutions. Let us make sure that we learn and apply this lesson to the planning process related to climate action. Sincerely Yours, Save the Children, Child Rights Connect

Lesson Summary

Short Summary

This text is an open letter to the UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, from child rights organizations. The organizations congratulate him on forming a Youth Advisory Group on climate change but express disappointment that children under 18 were excluded. Highlighting the global impact of children like Greta Thunberg and Fabrizio, the letter urges the UN to include younger voices and expertise in climate action and planning for COP26.

Key Ideas

  • Praise: Appreciating the UN for including young leaders (18-28) in climate decisions.
  • Disappointment: Children under 18 were left out of the advisory group.
  • Evidence: Children sparked the global climate movement (e.g., Greta Thunberg).
  • Demand: Give children a safe space to influence COP26 and future planning.

Core Themes

Climate Action Youth Activism Inclusion

"No one is too small to make a difference."

Comprehension Exercises

A. Fill in the blanks with the correct words given below.

tackle corporate outrage catalyse at stake net-zero expertise
a. The
headquarters of the company is in Dubai.
b. According to Greta, the leaders are failing to
the key issues.
c. Some viruses
the step in the production of other viruses.
d. His
in business helped him greatly to run the company.
e. Government of Nepal plans to reduce carbon dioxide emissions to
.
f. He does not have good knowledge of business. So, he has put his investment
.
g. His controversial remarks caused public
.

B. Write whether the following sentences are True or False. Write Not Given if the information is not found.

a. Save the Children congratulates Antonio Guterres on his recent appointment as the General Secretary of the UN.

b. The Youth Advisory Group on Climate Change was announced on the request of the children between 18-21 years of age.

c. The dissatisfaction is that the representation of children is not inclusive.

d. Greta Thunberg protested for the right to a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment.

e. The children demand their physical safety in the UK and Italy.

f. The children think that they can participate in decision making to fight against the climate crisis.

C. Answer the following questions.

D. Group Discussion

As a student, what roles can you play to minimize climate change and its effects? Share your ideas in the class.

Pronunciation Practice

Listen and Repeat

Click the buttons to listen to the slow, smooth pronunciation of these key words from the text.

Grammar II: Indirect Speech

A. Choose the correct alternatives to complete the sentences.

a. Abhilasha said that she

the accident.

b. The teacher explained that

c. Smarika says that

d. Sachita says that

e. My brother reported that

f. My father said that the sun

very hot.

g. Jenifer said that she

to be a nurse.

B. Rewrite the following sentences in indirect speech.

a. Raima said, "We had to cross the river and go ahead."

b. Smarika said, "I will meet you tomorrow, friends."

c. "I can't come to school tomorrow," Chandani said.

d. Dorje said, "Sorry, I cannot lend you any money today."

e. The teacher said, "Now, you can solve the remaining problems yourselves."

f. The police said, "The incident probably took place yesterday."

g. I said to him, "I live in Changunarayan these days."

h. They said to us, "We would like to join you too."

i. The science teacher said, "The coal gives off thick smoke."

j. Resham said, "I have never seen such a strange animal anywhere else."

k. "I love my children more than wealth," the father said.

Writing II

Task: Formal Request Letter

Write a letter to the Mayor of your municipality or the Chairperson of your rural municipality requesting him/her to involve the representatives of children in the decision-making process related to children's issues.

Letter Guidelines

  • Include Date and Sender's Address.
  • Include the Receiver's Details (e.g., The Mayor, [Municipality Name]).
  • Clear Subject Line.
  • Formal Salutation.
  • Body: Explain why children's voices are important in local decisions.
  • Formal closing (e.g., Yours sincerely).

Project Work

Question

Collect at least five news items related to current affairs. Design the first page of a newspaper and write your news items on it. Stick it on the notice board of your classroom.

Step-by-Step Process

1

Collect News

Find 5 current events from TV, radio, or local papers.

2

Summarize

Write short, catchy headlines and a brief summary for each.

3

Design Layout

Take a large chart paper. Create a Newspaper Name and arrange the columns.

4

Publish

Stick the completed front page on the classroom notice board.

Official Lesson Plan

Lesson Details

  • Topic: Reading II - Open Letter to UN Secretary-General
  • Class: 10
  • Unit: 1 - Current Affairs and Issues

Specific Objectives

  • Comprehend the formal tone and purpose of an open letter.
  • Identify vocabulary in context related to climate change.
  • Transform direct speech into indirect speech correctly.
  • Draft a formal request letter to a local authority.

Procedures

Reading & Vocabulary

Teacher Activity:

Play the TTS audio block by block. Explain the context of Greta Thunberg and COP26.

Student Activity:

Read the vocabulary cards. Follow the text, complete the T/F/NG quiz, and the fill-in-the-blanks.

Grammar (Indirect Speech)

Teacher Activity:

Review the rules for changing tense and pronouns when reporting speech.

Student Activity:

Complete the digital grammar exercises, rewriting the sentences into indirect speech.

Writing (Formal Letter)

Teacher Activity:

Guide students through the format of a formal request letter (Sender, Date, Receiver, Subject, Body).

Student Activity:

Draft the letter to the Mayor using the digital notepad tool.

Teacher's Guide

Step-by-Step Teaching Process

Step 1: Warm-up

Teacher Activity:

Show the initial picture of youths protesting. Discuss what climate change means and if students feel affected by it.

Student Activity:

Identify the context of the picture and answer the pre-reading questions in pairs.

Step 2: Reading & Vocab

Teacher Activity:

Use the text-to-speech function to read the letter aloud. Pause to highlight words like 'outrage', 'catalyse', and 'at stake'.

Student Activity:

Follow the real-time highlighting. Complete the comprehension questions and the fill-in-the-blanks quiz.

Step 3: Pronunciation

Teacher Activity:

Direct students to the Pronunciation section. Play the slow TTS audio for the multi-syllable vocabulary words.

Student Activity:

Listen and repeat the words, focusing on correct syllable stress.

Step 4: Writing & Project

Teacher Activity:

Review formal letter writing structure. Assign the newspaper front-page project as a group activity.

Student Activity:

Draft the letter to the Mayor. In groups, start planning the current affairs news items for the project.

Prepared by Tika Subedi—Teacher: Janajagriti Secondary School, Haldibari, Jhapa.   |   www.tsubedi.net.np   |   Prepared by Tika Subedi—Teacher: Janajagriti Secondary School, Haldibari, Jhapa.

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