Forever chemicals

Olia | Mar 25, 2026Mar 24, 2026

LESSON OVERVIEW

The main objectives of this lesson are to:

• read an article about gut microbes reducing chemical harm;
• talk about long-lasting artificial chemicals and their impact;
• practise key vocabulary for discussing forever chemicals.

In this CRC lesson, students discuss forever chemicals (common persistent synthetic chemicals), do a quiz on their consumption habits and talk about their impact. They share details about the article they read at home, review useful vocabulary (e.g. cumulative effect, continued exposure, precautionary approach) and discuss comments on toxic chemicals. Students also read short texts about global PFAS regulations, respond to different opinions and write a short text. 

ACTIVITIES

This lesson starts with a warm-up. Students read the definition of ‘forever chemicals’ and discuss public perception of the terminology. Afterwards, they do a quiz on their PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) consumption and evaluate their personal impact. Moving on, students analyse the title of the article (Gut microbes could protect us from toxic ‘forever chemicals’) and share details they remember about it. After that, they use definitions to complete phrases (e.g. preliminary findings, biological buffer, widespread contamination) in comments about ecological and health risks. Next, students review the statements from the previous task and elaborate on how they would respond to them. They then read short texts about global PFAS regulations and industry responses and discuss questions about it. Finally, students examine different scenarios involving PFAS and choose one to write a short text. They use the target phrases from the lesson. 

ARTICLE

https://eslbrains.com/crc095

WORKSHEETS

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