Lesson video

Hi, I'm Mr. Buckingham.

I'm so glad you decided to join me here for today's lesson.

Today we're going to write one of the most important parts of our essay where we link up all the information we've given about deforestation with the issue of climate change.

I think we're gonna do some great work today.

So let's get going.

Today's lesson is called Planning and Writing, the second main paragraph of an essay, and it comes from my unit called the Amazon Rainforest essay Writing.

By the end of today's lesson, we'll be able to write the second main paragraph of an essay, including a range of linguistic features.

For this lesson, it would be good to have access to your notes that you've made in previous lessons relating to deforestation, the Amazon and the logical argument that we've set out in our essay.

But if you don't have those with you, please don't worry.

I'll provide you with lots of help in this lesson.

Here are our keywords for today's lesson, my turn, your turn.

Subject-specific vocabulary, evidence, climate change and linguistic features.

Well done.

So subject-specific vocabulary is vocabulary that relates to a particular subject.

And evidence that information or fact to show something is true.

Climate change is a long-term change to global temperatures and weather and linguistic features are the language structures that are used within a text.

Here's our lesson outline for today.

We're going to start off by planning the second main paragraph and then we'll write it.

So as you know, we're writing an essay in response to this title, explain how reducing deforestation in the Amazon rainforest could help reduce the impact of climate change.

And all the way through our essay, we're going to try and create an authoritative tone to sound as if we're really confident about our knowledge.

By doing the following things, we will give a step by step logical argument that leaves the conclusion that reducing deforestation will help tackle climate change.

We'll provide a range of evidence to support the steps of the argument, and we'll use subject-specific vocabulary throughout.

So we've already created the outline of a logical argument for essay where each paragraph addresses certain questions.

We started off with an introduction saying, what is deforestation? How does it happen? And how does it affect the Amazon rainforest? Then we had our first main paragraph, paragraph one where we said, why has deforestation happened in the Amazon rainforest? Those were already written.

So today we're going to write paragraph two, how does deforestation drive climate change? And then that will lead towards our conclusion.

How can we reduce deforestation and how we're doing that help to reduce the impacts of climate change? So today we're writing paragraph two, our second main paragraph.

So which of these points have already been covered in our essay? Pause the video and decide.

Well done.

Good job.

So A, deforestation is being driven by agriculture and logging.

Yes, we've covered that.

B, deforestation leads to carbon dioxide being released into the atmosphere.

No, that's not come up yet.

C says, deforestation is the removal of trees from an area.

That's the definition of deforestation.

We gave that an introduction.

So yes, we've covered that.

And D says, if we reduce deforestation, we can help tackle climate change.

No, we haven't covered that.

That won't come up till our conclusion.

Really well done if you've got this.

So today we're going to write the second main paragraph answering this question, how does deforestation drive climate change? So why is this logical step so vital to our argument? Pause video and have a chat to the person next to you or a think on your own.

Well done.

Maybe you said something like this, if we can't prove that deforestation is bad for their climate, we aren't going to be able to argue that reducing deforestation will help just out climate change.

Or maybe you said this is the bit where we'll say what causes climate change.

And that's really important to our argument.

So this step where we link together deforestation and climate change is going to be really crucial.

So we know that climate change is driven by the greenhouse effect.

Let's talk it through really quickly to recap it.

We know that greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide are in the atmosphere already trapping the sun's heat and warming the planet.

And this is a natural process, which is in many ways a good thing.

It's what allows us to be warm enough for life to survive on earth.

But human activities like making goods, creating electricity, transporting things, all of these produce greenhouse gases.

And we know that that's often because they involve burning at some stage in the process fossil fuels and fossil fuels when they're burned release greenhouse gases.

So as we know, because of all this human activity since the Industrial Revolution, the level of greenhouse gases has risen and that strengthens the already existing greenhouse effect.

So it's now stronger because there's more greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

That means more heat from the sun is trapped and that increases the global temperature.

And that's what's driving climate change.

And we know the global temperature has increased over a degree since the start of the industrial revolution, which doesn't sound like a lot, but it is in the long term a really, really significant increase.

So which statements are correct? Pause the video and decide.

Well done.

Good work.

So A says, human activity has increased greenhouse gas levels.

Yes, it has.

B says, there was no greenhouse effect before humans created it.

No, that's not true.

It's a natural thing which has existed for millions of years.

C says, climate change is caused by a fall in greenhouse gas levels.

That is not correct.

It's caused by a well done a rise in greenhouse gas levels.

And D says, greenhouse gas levels are directly related to climate change.

Yes, that's true.

We can see the link since the start of the industrial revolution between rising greenhouse gas levels and rising global temperatures.

Very well done for getting this.

So how's deforestation linked to all of this? How does it get involved in driving climate change? Well, we know that in their normal state, trees and plants do a brilliant job of removing some of the carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and they store it as carbon, which is a totally harmless way of storing it.

And that means it's locked into the trees and plants and it's not contributing to the greenhouse effect.

So when those trees are cut down, they're obviously no longer removing that carbon dioxide and storing it as carbon.

So the levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere are going to increase.

But that's not all because remember those trees are burned sometimes in the Amazon or they may just rot.

And when that happens, they release the carbon dioxide that they had stored back into the atmosphere.

So that increasing the greenhouse gas levels in a second way.

And obviously that is contributing to climate change.

So can you complete the passages about deforestation and its link to climate change here.

Pause the video and have a go.

Well done, good job.

Maybe for A you said trees and plants remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, lowering the level of greenhouse gases that drive climate change.

For B maybe you said when deforestation occurs, the trees are no level removing carbon dioxide, meaning its levels rise.

And for C maybe you said when trees are burned or rot, they release carbon dioxide back to the atmosphere, strengthening the greenhouse effect.

And we know when the greenhouse effect is strengthened, that is what increases the temperature.

Really well done for filling in those blanks.

So we now need to connect all of this knowledge up to the specific example of the Amazon rainforest because we know that's mentioned in our essay title, which talks about how would reducing deforestation in the Amazon help to reduce the impacts of climate change.

So how do you think we could link deforestation and climate change to the Amazon rainforest? Pause the video and have a chat to the person next to you or a think on your own.

Well, that's done.

Good job.

Let me give you some information that may help.

Deforestation in the Amazon, which we know is severe, is a big chunk of the world's total deforestation.

And that's partly because the Amazon rainforest is simply so vast.

And actually, 20% of the world's greenhouse gas emissions every year come from deforestation in places like the Amazon.

So we can see a direct link there between Amazon deforestation, which is a big chunk of the whole world's deforestation and this big chunk of our greenhouse gas emissions each year.

And in fact, scientists now say that the Amazon rainforest is releasing more carbon dioxide than it removes from the atmosphere because of all the deforestation happening there.

So what does it mean to say that the rainforest is releasing more carbon dioxide than it is removing? Pause the video and have a think.

Well done, really good thinking.

So we know that trees remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and store it as harmless carbon when they're alive.

And we also know that trees release carbon dioxide back into the atmosphere when they're burned or when they rot.

So because so many trees are being cut down, the amount of carbon dioxide being released from the rainforest is now greater than the amount that's being removed by the trees that are still alive.

So we've got a situation now where this whole rainforest is releasing so much carbon due to deforestation that the amount that's being removed from the atmosphere is less than the amount that's being released.

So that you can see means that the Amazon rainforest is now driving climate change more than it's reducing it.

Really well done if you're able to explain that clearly.

Good job.

Now we know that our essay is going to need some evidence to back up our points and we know there are different types of evidence.

Can you match the pieces of evidence to the types of evidence here.

Pause the video and have a go.

Well done great work.

So A is a statistic.

B says, scientists say.

So that's an expert opinion.

C is, a piece of explanation, isn't it? It's describing how a process works.

And then D, it's just a fact.

It doesn't contain a number.

So it's not a statistic, it's just a fact.

Really well done to matching those up.

Now we know that in our essay usually the first sentence of our paragraph summarises the point we're trying to make.

So which of these sentences best summarises the main point of our paragraph that we're writing today? Pause the video and decide.

Well done.

Really good job.

So A says, it plays a tiny role.

No.

B says, it plays a significant role.

Yes, that's what we're gonna try to say.

And C says, it's the only cause of climate change.

Well, no, that's not true.

We saw that deforestation contributes 20% of greenhouse gas emissions.

That's a significant amount, but that leaves another 80% that comes from other human activities as well.

So it's not the only one, but it's a significant contributor to climate change.

Really well done if you spotted that.

So let's plan out this paragraph.

Now we are going to write notes using the prompts I'm going to give you based on the knowledge we've seen.

And we're going to try and include evidence wherever possible.

And in this paragraph thumb might include a lot of explanations more than statistics and facts.

So we'll try and get some of those too.

And we're going to try and include some subject-specific vocabulary that is relevant and I'll give you some to help you.

So remember in this paragraph we're explaining how deforestation drives climate change.

So we'll need to say the main point like we just saw.

We'll just say how climate change is driven by greenhouse gas levels and say how deforestation increases those levels, so there's lots to explain.

You might wanna use some of this subject-specific vocabulary like climate change, greenhouse gases or greenhouse effect, carbon dioxide, emissions, atmosphere and temperature.

So pause the video and have a go at planning that paragraph.

Well done.

Really good job.

So here's an example of the notes you might have written for your plan here.

Maybe you start off with that main point which is deforestation contributes to climate change.

Then you're saying, how does climate change work? So climate change is driven by greenhouse gas levels and human activity leads to higher levels of greenhouse gases that strengthen the greenhouse effect that leads to higher temperatures, which we call climate change.

Then we're saying how is deforestation linked into this.

So we know that trees and plants naturally remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and store it as carbon, which acts to lower greenhouse gas levels.

So when they're cut down or burned, that carbon offset is released back into the atmosphere.

And we know that that carbon offset from deforestation is 20% of all greenhouse gas emissions.

And obviously that contributes to strengthening the greenhouse effect, which we know is what drives climate change.

So as I said before, not so many statistics here.

We've got one in there, but mostly this is explanation and that is a brilliant form of evidence 'cause it makes clear to our reader how all of our information links together.

Really well done for making such great notes.

So now let's prepare to write this second main paragraph.

So as we write, we're going to want to use a range of linguistic features and I'm gonna show you some examples now.

You might want to use some formal fronted adverbials.

For instance, deforestation reduces the amount of carbon dioxide removed from the atmosphere.

In addition, it leads to more being released.

We've used in addition to build on from the last point We use fronted adverbials of time like this.

Since the industrial revolution, climate change has been driven by human activity that reduces greenhouse gases.

We can use fronted adverbials of cause.

For instance, trees and plants store carbon oxide as carbon.

Consequently, they help reduce the levels of greenhouse gases.

And we can use some parenthesis in brackets to add extra information to a sentence.

We could say carbon oxide, a greenhouse gas, is removed from the atmosphere and stored in plants as carbon.

So can you use a fronted adverbial of cause to connect this pair of ideas in a logical order? And I've got some examples for you here.

Pause the video and have a go.

Well done.

Good job.

Now of course we'll need these to stay as two separate sentences because a fronted adverbial starts a new sentence, doesn't it? So maybe you chose this, human activity is strengthened the greenhouse effect.

As a result, the global temperature has increased or maybe used due to this in a similar position.

Either one is fine, we've just got to show that there's a cause which is the strengthening of the greenhouse effect.

And then an effect which is the global temperature rising.

Really well done if you've got that.

We also might want to include some other linguistic features, maybe a compound sentence like this.

Higher levels of greenhouse gases strengthen the greenhouse effect and they contribute to rising temperatures.

Maybe we want to use that adverbial complex sentence where the adverbial clause starts with a subordinated conjunction.

Like this, when trees are cut down or burned, carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere.

We might want to use a non-finite -ing complex sentence where a non-finite -ing clause starts with a verb in its -ing form.

Deforestation creates 20% of greenhouse gas emissions contributing to the strengthening of the greenhouse effect.

And finally we might want to use a relative complex sentence where the relative clause start with a relative pronoun like this.

Trees and plants remove carbon dioxide, which is a greenhouse gas from the atmosphere.

So let's have a look at this example paragraph.

What linguistic features can you see used in this example? Pause the video, read the paragraph and see what linguistic features you can find.

Well done, good work.

Maybe you spotted the adverbial complex sentence here at the start using when.

Maybe you saw the parenthesis in brackets for CO2.

We've got a relative complex sentence where which starts the relative clause.

We've got a non-finite -ing complex sentence where adding is our verb and its -ing form.

And we've got a fronted adverbial of cause here, consequently.

And we've also got a fronted adverbial of time in 2019.

So we've got loads of linguistic features there and we'll try to do the same in our own essay.

And we can apply these linguistic features to connect together the ideas in our notes.

So if you take this note, human activity equals higher levels of greenhouse gases, which strengthens the greenhouse effect.

We could say this human activity including the burning of fossil fuels has led to higher greenhouse gas levels.

Consequently, the greenhouse effect has been strengthened.

We've used parenthesis and a fronted adverbial of cause there.

We do the same with this note, we've got trees and plants remove carbon dioxide from atmosphere and store as carbon.

So we could say this trees and plants remove carbon dioxide, which is a greenhouse gas from the atmosphere, storing it as carbon, a harmless substance.

So here we've got a relative clause adding spectrum information, which is a greenhouse gas and we've got parenthesis also adding in extra information.

And we've connected it all together with a non-finite -ing complex sentence using that word storing to start a non-finite -ing clause.

So now you try, how could you use some of those linguistic features we've discussed to make these notes into a complete sentence or more than one sentence, pause the video and have a go.

Well done.

Really good job.

So maybe you came up with something like this.

I've done one sentence, I said when trees are cut down or burned, carbon dioxide is released back into the atmosphere so that when trees are cut down and burned is an adverbial clause.

So I've got an adverbial complex sentence here, but then I've added on at the end this, accounting for 20% of all greenhouse gas emissions globally.

So that's a non-finite -ing clause.

So it is technically both an adverbial complex sentence and a non-finite -ing complex sentence.

But that's allowed me to connect all that information together.

Really well done for your effort there as well.

So now let's orally rehearse this paragraph so that we're ready to write it.

So I want you to use your plan notes or the ones I've shown you.

And I'd like to say out loud the sentences you'd like to write.

And you're going to try and use a formal tone by using a range of those linguistic features we've discussed and some of that subject-specific vocabulary you've included in your plan.

And you're going to try and connect the information up into a logical order.

You might want to start by saying deforestation plays a significant role in driving climate change.

Then you could talk about climate change and then how deforestation contributes to it.

So pause the video and have a go at already rehearsing this paragraph.

Well done.

Fantastic job.

Here's an example of what you might have said.

Now I've made it much easier for myself by writing it down.

You just said it out loud so you might not sound quite like this yet, but this gives you an idea what we're aiming for when we do come into write down.

I said deforestation plays a significant role in driving climate change.

Climate change is caused by rises in greenhouse gas levels, which have been driven by human activity since the industrial revolution.

As a result, the greenhouse effect has been strengthened, which has led to rising temperatures known as climate change.

So I've explained what climate change is and what causes it.

Now I'm looking it back to deforestation.

I've said trees and plants remove carbon do said from the atmosphere, storing it as carbon.

Consequently, they play a role in reducing greenhouse gas levels.

However, when they cut down or burned, this carbon do set is released back into the atmosphere.

Deforestation causes 20% of all greenhouse gas emissions contributing to the strengthening of the greenhouse effect.

So there's an example of how it might sound when we come to write it.

So now we're ready to write the paragraph and here's our success criteria for today.

It says, I've explained how deforestation contributes to climate change.

I've connected information using a range of linguistic features including fronted adverbials of cause and I've included subject-specific vocabulary down to the formal tone.

And finally I've included evidence to support my points.

And of course we can take those off as we go.

So now I'm going to say you had to write this paragraph.

Okay, we have our success criteria.

Let's get writing.

So we need to start our paragraph with a sentence that really sums up what we're trying to say.

So we want to say, don't we, that there is a link between deforestation and climate change.

So I think I'm going to start off with an indent and then I'm gonna start with the word deforestation.

And then I'm going to say that it plays a, I could say a huge role, but it would be slightly more formal.

Yeah, let's say significant.

So I could say deforestation plays a significant role in what? Well done in driving or causing climate change.

Now it's not the only thing is it, but it is a significant one.

So I'm gonna say it plays a significant role in driving climate change.

So we've got a very simple sentence that just tells us what's this paragraph going to be all about.

So now what I want to do is to explain what climate change is, what causes it.

So I think I wanna start off with a fronted adverbial of time to say when did this all begin? When did this start? Not becoming a problem, but when did we start causing the problem? That's right, the industrial revolution.

So I think you're gonna use a fronted adverbial of time for, since the Industrial Revolution.

Industrial Revolution has capital letters for both parts.

So since the Industrial Revolution, what's been going on come after that? Yeah, you're right.

So what's been going on? Yeah, human activity has been raising the level of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

So I'm gonna say since the Industrial Revolution, human activity has raised what levels? Yeah, those greenhouse gas levels could say in the air, but I'm going to be more subject-specific and say in the well done.

So has raised greenhouse gas levels in the atmosphere.

Okay, now I could do now a separate sentence, but I think actually I can explain all of climate change in (chuckles) one sentence.

So since the Industrial Revolution, human activity has raised greenhouse gas levels in the atmosphere, what does that strengthen? Yeah, the greenhouse effect.

So I'm going to do a non-finite -ing clause.

I'm going to say strengthening, which is a tricky one to spell strength and then strengthening.

Strengthening the greenhouse effect.

And what is that doing to the temperature? Yeah, it's raising the temperature, isn't it? So I'm just gonna get this all in one sentence and say, and raising, is it just the temperature where we live? No, it's the global temperature, isn't it? So let's say that and raising the global temperature.

And that's what call climate change, isn't it? Okay, let's check that sentence back.

'Cause we've tried to explain a lot in one.

Since the Industrial Revolution, human activity has raised greenhouse gas levels in the atmosphere, strengthening the greenhouse effect and raising the global temperature.

Okay, I think we've done it.

So now we've got to say the link to deforestation.

So we know that trees remove what from the atmosphere? Yeah, carbon dioxide.

And because of that deforestation leads to those levels rising, doesn't it? So let's start with, because we're gonna do an adverbial complex sentence.

So we could say, because trees remove carbon dioxide and I'm going to I think, explain in brackets the abbreviation we use for carbon dioxide.

What is that? Yeah, CO2, that's the chemical formula of carbon dioxide.

So CO and then a small 2 down the bottom there.

And I've put that in parenthesis in bracket because trees remove carbon dioxide CO2 from the atmosphere, then deforestation leads to their levels rising.

So I'm gonna just do my comma to show the end of my fronted adverbial clause.

Then I'm going to keep it really simple and just say deforestation raises greenhouse gas levels.

Really simple.

But there's a second problem, isn't there? It's not just that we've removed the trees and they're no longer absorbing that carbon dioxide, storing it as harmless carbon.

It's also the burning, isn't it? And the rotting, which leads to carbon being released.

So I need to say extra facts so I could use a formal fronted adverbial to add on a fact what might work.

Yeah, I could say in addition to this, couldn't I? Nice.

Well done.

So I could say in addition to this, and then I want to mention the second problem, which is that when they're burned, the CO2 is released.

So I'm going to use when as a subordinating conjunction.

So I could say when the trees are burned now, because I've put CO2 in brackets here, I can actually include it in my text now.

So I can say in addition to this, when the trees are burned, CO2, I don't have to say carbon dioxide 'cause I've already made clear what that abbreviation means.

So I can say CO2 is released back into the atmosphere.

Okay, I like that.

So we're trying to keep things really simple here.

And then because of that we can sum up what's the problem.

As a result, we know that deforestation is contributing to climate change.

So I'm gonna have a fronted adverbial of cause.

I just said that as a result.

What else might work? Yeah, I could use consequently, couldn't I? Yeah, nice one.

So let's say consequently, and I'll need a new line here 'cause deforestation is a very long word.

Consequently, deforestation is contributing to climate change.

Okay, I think we've done a really good job there and that's how this sentence kind of mirrors the first point we made up here.

Okay, let's read it back and see if we've met our success criteria.

Read with me, deforestation plays a significant role in driving climate change.

Since the Industrial Revolution, human activity has raised greenhouse gas levels in the atmosphere, strengthening the greenhouse effect and raising the global temperature.

Because trees remove carbon dioxide, CO2 from the atmosphere, deforestation raises greenhouse gas levels.

In addition to this, when the trees are burned, CO2 is released back into the atmosphere.

Consequently, deforestation is contributing to climate change.

So we've definitely explained that linked to climate change.

Have you used a range of linguistic features? Hmm, I've got a fronted adverbial of time.

I've got a couple of adverbial complex sentences.

I've got my formal fronted adverbial here and my fronted adverbial of cause here.

So yeah, we definitely have.

Subject-specific vocabulary or we've got a lot.

We've got things like greenhouse gas, greenhouse effect, atmosphere and so on.

And we've got evidence this time mostly in the form of explanation, isn't it? Which is absolutely fine.

So I think we've met our success criteria.

You've seen me have a go now it's your turn.

Use the success criteria below and your plan to help you write and make sure you say or think your sentences before you write and then check them back afterwards.

And of course it's okay to change things from the all rehearsal you did before.

So pause the video and have a go and write in this paragraph.

Well done.

Fantastic job.

Here's an example of how the start of the paragraph could look.

I've written deforestation contributes significantly to climate change, which is driven by rising greenhouse gas levels.

Since the Industrial Revolution, human activity has increased these levels, strengthening the greenhouse effect.

As the consequence of this, the global temperature has risen.

Trees and plants remove carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, from the atmosphere and store it as carbon.

So I've explained the start of the link to climate change here, and I've used a range of linguistic features.

I've got which, fronted adverbial clause.

I've got, since the Industrial Revolution, as a fronted adverbial of time.

I've got as a consequence of this as a fronted adverbial of cause.

I've got some subject-specific vocabulary, two such as carbon dioxide and greenhouse gas.

And I'm giving evidence all the way through as the explanation here of how deforestation is linked to climate change.

Let's look at the rest of the paragraph.

I've written, as a result of this, trees and plants help to reduce greenhouse gas levels.

When these trees are cut down, including in the Amazon, the carbon dioxide they're absorbed, is released back into the atmosphere, strengthening the greenhouse effect.

The Amazon rainforest now releases more carbon dioxide than it's absorbs.

Consequently, deforestation there is contributing to climate change.

So I've continued to explain that link.

I've continued to use my linguistic features like as a result of this, as a fronted adverbial of cause, and strengthening starting a non-finite -ing clause there.

I've got some subject-specific vocabulary like atmosphere and carbon dioxide.

And I've continued to give that evidence.

So for instance, I've explained that it's now releasing more than it removes.

So I've met my success criteria and my writing and I'm sure you've done the same as well.

Really well done.

So summarise our learning in this lesson.

We know that essay gives one side of an argument in a logical order, connecting information using a range of linguistic features.

We've seen that our second main paragraph explains the connection between deforestation and climate change.

And we know that we can use subject-specific vocabulary and evidence to make our writing seem authoritative.

And we know that before we write, we should plan our writing and orally rehearse what we plan to write to make it really, really effective.

Really well done for all your effort in this lesson.

I hope you're really pleased with the writing that you've produced and I'd love to see you again in a future lesson.

Goodbye.