ESL WORKSHEET - Plants under stress

LESSON PLAN FOR ENGLISH TEACHERS

STRESSED PLANTS’ CRIES FOR HELP

FINALLY HEARD

LinguaHouse

Apr. 25, 2023

Mixed Levels: B1-B2; B2-C1
Type of English: General English
Tags: Environment and Nature; Special Report; Animals and Plants; Nature; Environment and Pollution; Developing an Argument; Explaining and Speculating; 16-18 Years Old; 18+ Years Old; Article Based
Publication date: 04/25/2023

This lesson looks at the discovery that plants emit noises when under stress at a pitch that cannot be heard by humans. Students will listen to a news report on the topic and read an article about what will happen to the natural world in the event that there are no more humans left. Exercises focus on related vocabulary, reading and listening skills and offer an opportunity to discuss questions on the topic. (by Joe Wilson)

• CLICK HERE to download the student’s worksheet in American English (L4).
• CLICK HERE to download the student’s worksheet in American English (L5).
• CLICK HERE to download the teacher’s lesson plan in American English (L4).
• CLICK HERE to download the teacher’s lesson plan in American English (L5).
• CLICK HERE to download the student’s worksheet in British English (L4).
• CLICK HERE to download the student’s worksheet in British English (L5).
• CLICK HERE to download the teacher’s lesson plan in British English (L4).
• CLICK HERE to download the teacher’s lesson plan in British English (L5).
• CLICK HERE to download/listen to the audio in American English.
• CLICK HERE to download/listen to the audio in British English.

AUDIO TRANSCRIPT

Narrator: A recent study of plants has found that they react to being cut, being infected or not having enough water by making sounds. However, these noises are at a pitch which is too high for humans to hear. Humans can typically hear up to around 20 kilohertz, but the noises made by plants are in the 40 - 80 kilohertz range and sound as though the plant is clicking.
Studies at MIT and Harvard in the US and Tel Aviv University in Israel have found that different plants make different types of clicks. Plants which are healthy make hardly any sound at all, but stress brought on by drought and being cut down results in an increase in the noises they produce.
It is thought that these sounds can help some animals such as bats, moths and mice know what condition the plant is in and if it is healthy or not. It is interesting that we are only just now finding out about this aspect of plants even though we have been living with them for thousands of years. However, researchers point out that it’s not obvious to listen out for these sounds which is why it has taken so long. Now we know, it could have use for agriculture.
Currently, farmers monitor their crops by watching them either using themselves and the people who work on the farm or cameras on larger farms. However, being able to also use acoustic methods of finding any problems could be of significant help, especially given that plants make the most noise when there is a problem. It may be possible to use special microphones on farms that could detect the noises plants make and alert farmers to problems that they may not see otherwise.

Adapted from: https://www.linguahouse.com/esl-lesson-plans/general-english/stressed-plants-cries-for-help-finally-heard. Accessed on July 2, 2024. © 2008–2024 LinguaHouse.com. All rights reserved.