Discussion topic Academy subscribers

The Comeback of the Kākāpō: Saving a Species

CEFR: A2, B1 7 slides 30 min Whole class

In the slide deck

An opening question for the class
A sourced quote
10 words to talk about it
5 questions for pair work
A comparison
A debate
A final task

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Preview: the first 3 slides, as your students see them on the board.

Objective & content

A teacher-led slide deck on "The Comeback of the Kākāpō: Saving a Species", projected full screen and stepped through with the arrow keys. 7 slides take the class from an opening question to a closing task, passing through a documented quote, the words needed to talk about it, paired discussion, a comparison and a short debate. By the end, students can state and defend a position on the question in English, using the vocabulary the deck supplies.

Documents to download (2)

Colour version In your teacher account
Black and white version In your teacher account

Pedagogical guide

The deck exists so that a discussion lesson does not depend on the class already having an opinion. Each slide hands them one more thing to think with: a fact, a quote with its source, a word with an example sentence. That order matters. Ask teenagers what they think before they have the words and you get silence or their own language; give them the words first and the same question produces English. The A2 and B1 prompts sit side by side on the discussion slides, so one deck serves a mixed class without preparing two lessons.

Suggested procedure30 min

2 min
Open the colour PDF full screen and read the opening question aloud. Take a show of hands, no talking yet.
8 min
Step through the quote and the vocabulary slides. Read each word and its example out loud; have the class repeat.
10 min
Pairs, on the discussion and comparison slides. Use the A2 line with everyone, the B1 line with pairs who finish early.
7 min
The debate slide, whole class. Insist that every claim reuses one word from the vocabulary slide.
3 min
The closing task, set as homework or written in the last minutes.

Adaptations

SupportUse the A2 prompt with the whole class and let students answer in one sentence. Leave the vocabulary slide on screen during the discussion so the words stay available.
ExtensionGive fast pairs the B1 stretch prompt, and ask them to argue the side they do not personally hold on the debate slide.

Materials & prerequisitesA projector or screen, and the colour PDF open full screen in any PDF reader: one page per slide, turned with the arrow keys. Its last page holds the teacher's notes, to read before the lesson rather than project. Nothing to install, and the low-ink PDF prints the deck for a classroom without a screen.

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