Unit 9 — Youth and the Future
Track G+M · Klasse 10 · Niveau G/M
Learning objectives Link to heading
- I can read a short text on a youth-led initiative and identify the main claim and one piece of evidence.
- I can use future perfect (by 2030, I will have …) and future continuous (next year I will be …).
- I can write a 200-word reflection on a youth-led future scenario.
curriculum framework (“Bildungsplan”) alignment Link to heading
- 3.3.1 Soziokulturelles Orientierungswissen / Themen
- 3.3.2 Interkulturelle kommunikative Kompetenz
- 3.3.3.2 Leseverstehen
- 3.3.3.5 Schreiben
- 3.3.4 Text- und Medienkompetenz
(Source: https://www.bildungsplaene-bw.de/,Lde/LS/BP2016BW/ALLG/SEK1/E1)
Lead-in story Link to heading
Sam read about a 17-year-old in Glasgow who has been running a community garden on a derelict industrial site for two years. By 2030, the project will have trained over 200 young volunteers. Sam’s first reaction was that’s intimidating. His second reaction was that’s encouraging. His third reaction, on reflection, was both, depending on the day.
1. Activate Link to heading
Future-self scan. Write three lines: By 2030 I will have …; In 2030 I will be …; I hope I will still be …
2. Input Link to heading
Reading — The Glasgow Garden Project Link to heading
The Glasgow Garden Project began in 2024 on a half-acre derelict industrial site. By 2030, the project will have trained over 200 young volunteers in small-scale urban food growing. Next year alone, the team will be running weekend workshops for primary-school groups. The founder, who started the project at 15, says the most useful skill she has gained is what she calls small repeated public asking — the willingness to keep asking adults for things they could easily say no to.
Grammar — future perfect + future continuous Link to heading
Future perfect (will have + past participle) — actions completed by a future time:
- By 2030, the project will have trained 200 volunteers.
- I will have finished my apprenticeship by 2028.
Future continuous (will be + -ing) — actions in progress at a future time:
- Next year the team will be running workshops.
- In 2030 I will be living in another city, probably.
3. Practise Link to heading
Niveau G Link to heading
- Build the future perfect: (by 2030 / I / finish / school) → ___ .
- Future continuous: (at 5 p.m. tomorrow / I / study) → ___ .
Niveau M Link to heading
- Build 4 sentences mixing future perfect and future continuous about your decade ahead.
4. Produce Link to heading
Reflection, 200 words. Write about a youth-led initiative you find encouraging or intimidating. Use 3 future perfect + 2 future continuous + 1 cautious-claim phrase.
Sample Link to heading
The Glasgow Garden Project, which began in 2024 on a derelict industrial site, will have trained over 200 young volunteers by 2030. Next year alone, the team will be running weekend workshops for primary-school groups. The most striking thing about the founder, who started at 15, is what she calls ‘small repeated public asking’. According to her, the actual skill of youth leadership is not vision; it is patience with the awkwardness of asking adults for things they could easily refuse. By the time I am 23, I will have either started something small or watched the chance pass. By 2030, I hope I will be doing something — even on a half-acre, even badly at first. The project has shown me that the unit of change is not the grand speech but the small request, repeated until someone says yes.
5. Reflect Link to heading
- I can identify the main claim and one piece of evidence in a youth-led text.
- I can use future perfect and future continuous.
- I can write a 200-word reflection on a future scenario.
One thing in your notebook: Write one sentence using something you learned in this Unit.
Exam example Link to heading
Task 1 — Listening (10 BE) Link to heading
Listen twice.
“By 2030, the Glasgow Garden Project will have trained over 200 young volunteers. Next year, the team will be running workshops for primary-school groups. The founder says the most useful skill is small repeated public asking.”
- By 2030: ___ . 2. Next year: ___ . 3. Founder’s key skill: ___ . 4. Definition: ___ .
Task 2 — Reading (12 BE) Link to heading
Read the Glasgow Garden Project extract above.
- Start year: ___ . 2. Site: ___ . 3. Founder’s age at start: ___ . 4. Most useful skill: ___ .
Task 3 — Use of English (10 BE) Link to heading
Future perfect or future continuous?
- By 2030, I __________ (finish) my training.
- At 5 p.m. tomorrow, I __________ (study).
- By 2028, the project __________ (train) 200 volunteers.
- Next year, the team __________ (run) workshops.
Task 4 — Writing (13 BE) Link to heading
Write 200 words on a youth-led initiative. Use 3 future perfect + 2 future continuous.
Downloads Link to heading
Differentiation. Niveau G: scaffold card with the key structure. Above Niveau M: extension prompt linking to Klasse 11 (or post-Klasse-10 path).
Common pitfalls Link to heading
- By 2030 I will finish (= future simple) does not stress completion-by; future perfect does.
- Future continuous + state verb (I will be knowing) → ✗.
- Don’t romanticise youth-led work — name the small, boring steps.
Further reading / listening Link to heading
- BBC News — Youth-led initiative profiles.
- The Conversation — opinion essays on youth and policy.
