Living in English: The News - ESL Library

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Living in English: The News

mailto:[email protected]



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The News: Lesson Plan Index

p 3 - Group discussion - News intro

p 4 - Vocabulary development 1

p 5 - Vocabulary development 2 - Fill in the blanks

p 6 - Media Survey

p 7, 8 - What’s in the Newspaper? (Newspaper sections)

p 9 - Vocabulary - The Weather Forecast

p 10, 11 - Reading Comprehension - Abbreviations and Fill in the Blanks

p 12, 13 - Pair Work (Student A and B Jigsaw - The Headlines)

p 14 - Vocabulary Review - The Headlines

p 15 - Reading - Newspaper articles

p 16 - Idioms, Expressions, and Proverbs

p 17 - Find Someone Who...

p 18, 19. 20 - Teacher’s Notes

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A. GROUP DISCUSSION - Discuss the following questions about the media with your group. (Definitions

of the highlighted words appear below and on the following page.) 1. What is the name of your local newspaper?2. Does this paper publish a daily edition?3. Do you subscribe to this paper?

4. Do you know how much a weekly subscription costs?5. Can you name a national newspaper? Do you know if it publishes the paper seven days a week?6. Can you name several popular news magazines in your country? Do you subscribe to any of these? 7. Do you often pick up a newspaper or magazine at a newsstand?8. What does a journalist do?

9. Did you ever have a job delivering newspapers? If so, where was your paper route.10. Do you know what the circulation department of a newspaper looks after? 11. Do you often watch 24 hour news channels such as CNN on TV?12. Do you know what time your local TV channels broadcast the news?13. Do you get cable or satellite TV? How many channels do you get?

14. Do you have a favorite news anchor that you regularly watch?15. Do you enjoy watching documentary programs on TV? If so, discuss one of the most interesting shows you have seen.16. Do you often watch TV talk shows such as the Oprah Winfrey or Larry King shows? If so, who is your favorite talk show host?

17. Do you have a 24 hour local weather channel? Do you know what channel it is?18. Do you think that the news nowadays is too sensationalized?19. What is your favorite radio station? Why do you like this station? Do you listen to news on this station? Do you prefer to listen to AM or FM stations?20. Where do you usually get your local weather forecast - from the radio, TV, newspaper, or the Internet?

21. Do you buy a TV guide or do you get the TV listings from the newspaper? 22. If you want to know what is playing at the movie theaters, how do you find out?23. Do you ever read newspapers on-line?24. Do you get the Internet at your home? If so, who is your Internet provider?25. Do you ever read tabloid newspapers?




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B. VOCABULARY

media – methods of communication such as TV, radio, the press (newspapers, magazines), the Internet

local – in or of a place or area

edition – publication; form of a paper, book or magazine

subscribe – agree to have a paper or magazine delivered on a regular basis

publish – make public; print and make ready to sell

newsstand – a small booth or shop that sells newspapers and magazines

journalist – a person who writes for newspapers, magazines, TV, etc.

paper route – the particular area where one delivers newspapers

circulation – the number of copies of a newspaper sold to the public; the distribution of a newspaper or

magazine; the number of readers

channel – place from which TV messages are sent; the number on the TV or remote control

broadcast – send out in all directions by radio, TV; put on the public airwaves

news anchor – a person broadcasting on TV or radio who is in charge of a program and who puts together and

delivers the news from other reporters

documentary – a type of program or film that presents factual information about social topics, health, science,

etc.

talk show – a type of TV or radio program in which interesting topics are discussed and the audience or callers

are invited to join in the discussion with special guests

host – the on-air person in charge of a particular TV or radio show

sensationalized – made to create a very strong emotional reaction or intense interest

station – the place that radio or TV messages are sent from; the number on your radio dial

weather forecast – predicting or saying what the weather will be like

on-line – on the Internet

Internet provider – a company that gives (provides) Internet service

tabloid - a type of newspaper with many pictures and sensationalized stories

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C. FILL IN THE BLANKS - Choose the correct word or expression from the list on the previous page to

complete the following sentences.

1. Our community newspaper has only been in business for about a year, but the ________________________

is growing everyday.

2. I love to listen to that ________________________. They play great music all day long.

3. Al Gore, former Vice-President of the U.S.A., produced a ________________________ about climate

change, called An Inconvenient Truth.

4. I have decided to ________________________ to our local newspaper because I like to read the morning

paper everyday when I have my coffee.

5. Please don’t change the ________________________ until the hockey game is over.

6. The Sunday ________________________ of our local newspaper is always much smaller than the Saturday

paper.

7. Our son has a very large ________________________, so he has to leave the house everyday before 6:00

A.M. in order to finish delivering the papers before going to school.

8. The ________________________ newspapers publish many pictures and stories about movie stars and other

famous people, but often the stories are not true.

9. According to the ________________________, it’s going to rain, so let’s cancel the picnic.

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MEDIA SURVEY – How Do You Get Your News?

Complete the chart below by asking your classmates as many questions as possible. Ex. How often do you read the newspaper? Do you watch the national news on TV every day? What’s your favorite magazine? etc.

Type of media Classmate #1 Classmate #2 Classmate #3

Newspaper

How often/ which one, / type of articles, subscribe, etc.

Magazine

Favorite magazine/How often, subscribe, etc.

Radio

Types of programs/ how often/ favorite station, etc.

Television

Types of programs/ favorite channel/ favorite anchor/ talk shows/ cable or satellite/ how often, etc.

Internet

Uses/ how often/ Internet provider, etc.

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What’s in the Newspaper?

The list below indicates several different sections of a local Saturday newspaper.

National and International News Social PageLocal News ComicsEditorials HoroscopeWeather Arts and Entertainment

Sports ClassifiedBusiness ObituariesTravel Diversions/Pastimes

Where Do I Find It?

Directions: Work with your partner. Read the information below and decide in which section of the

newspaper you would find this information.

Information Section

1. information about a new school being built in your city ______________________________

2. stock prices ______________________________3. date of Mary Smith’s death and funeral announcement ______________________________4. sudoku puzzle ______________________________5. apartments for rent ______________________________6. precipitation in Chicago for next three days ______________________________

7. last night’s baseball scores ______________________________8. story about a high-jacking on a flight over France ______________________________9. letter to the editor about the traffic problem in your city ______________________________10. schedule of movies at local theaters ______________________________

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“Where Do I Find It?” continued...

11. cruises through the Mediterranean starting at $900 ______________________________

12. help wanted ______________________________

13. birth announcements ______________________________

14. exchange rates on foreign currency ______________________________

15. crossword puzzles ______________________________

16. coach of basketball team is fired ______________________________

17. week-end garage sales in your city ______________________________

18. where to buy tickets for the jazz concert ______________________________

19. what to expect will happen today if you were born on March 1 ______________________________

20. TV listings ______________________________

21. bridge ______________________________

22. wedding announcements ______________________________

23. used cars for sale ______________________________

24. humidity in your city today ______________________________

25. movie review of new film showing in your city ______________________________

26. a political cartoon ______________________________

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Vocabulary – The Weather Forecast

A. Directions: The words below the chart refer to different kinds of weather conditions. Put each word into the proper category. (Some words may fit into more than one category.)

Temperature Humidity Wind Precipitation Visibility

1. hail 10. damp 19. showers 28. flurries2. cool 11. chilly 20. stifling 29. thunderstorm3. hazy 12. smog 21. cloudy 30. drizzle4. sleet 13. downpour 22. rain 31. record high5. mild 14. muggy 23. gale force 32. low6. dry 15. Celcius 24. sticky 33. mist7. clear 16. gusting 25. hurricane 34. blizzard8. sprinkle 17. fog 26. Fahrenheit 35. wind chill9. breezy 18. humid 27. degrees 36. slush B. Weather Definitions: Choose the correct word from the list above to match the definitions below.

1. rather cold - ________________________2. extremely hot - ________________________3. rounded lumps of ice falling from the sky - ________________________4. severe, heavy snowstorm - ________________________5. to rain very lightly – (two possibilities) ________________________6. hot and humid – (two possibilities) ________________________7. light snowfall - ________________________8. the effect of wind in combination with low temperatures - ________________________9. fog with smoke, air pollution - ________________________10. very heavy rain - ________________________11. blowing - ________________________12. melting, dirty snow - ________________________13. the strength of a very strong, violent wind - ________________________

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Reading Comprehension

Abbreviations – weather-related abbreviations such as those listed below often appear in newspapers.

c- cloudy pc – partly cloudy na – not available fg – fog sf – snowflurries F – Fahrenheit fr – freezing rain sh – showers C - Celsiushz – haze sn – snow prob. - probabilityr – rain w -windy precip. - precipitationt – thunderstorm s- sunny

Directions: Read the Weather Page below and answer the questions that follow. (Note: The temperatures given below are in Celsius.)

The Weather Page

Local 3-Day Forecast Today Sunday MondayCloudy with 60% chance of Variably cloudy in the 100% chance of rain. showers late in the day. morning, becoming Strong winds. High 9Winds light. High 11. Low 7. mostly sunny in the afternoon. Low 5. Clearing High 12. Low 8. Winds overnight. increasing overnight.

3-Day International Forecast

Europe Today Sun. Mon. Amsterdam 9/3 r 11/3 pc 10/4 s Athens 24/10 pc 24/11 s 23/14 r Barcelona 18/12 s 14/6 pc 13/4 c Geneva 10/3 r 10/4 pc 12/6 s London 10/3 r 6/2 r 7/1 c Madrid 16/10 s 18/10 s 20/14 pc Paris 6/-1sf 8/5 r 12/9 c

Asia-Pacific Today Sun. Mon. Beijing na 19/8 pc 22/12 s Hong Kong 20/16r 20/14 hz 22/18 s New Delhi 32/16 pc 30/19/r 28/16 c Seoul 12/2 pc 11/2 r 15/8 c Singapore 31/28 t 33/28 c 30/27 t Tokyo 15/10 s 13/11 s 10/8 s

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The Weather Forecast

Directions: Read the weather forecast on the previous page and answer the following questions.

1. Which day is going to be the nicest in the local area? ________________________________

2. Which day will likely be the rainiest in the local area? ________________________________

3. Which night will be the coolest in the local area? ________________________________

4. Which day will be the windiest in the local area? ________________________________

5. On which day can a local resident leave his/her umbrella at home? ________________________________

6. On which day is the prob. of precip. 100% ? ________________________________

7. Read the international forecast. Is there any city that will be sunny all three days?

________________________________

8. Which city will have the highest temperature in the next three days? ________________________________

9. Which city may have snow today? ________________________________

10. Which two European cities have the same forecast for today? ________________________________

________________________________

11. Of those two cities, which one will have better weather over the next two days?

________________________________

12. Which city is expecting thunderstorms? ________________________________

13. Which city will be hazy on Sunday? ________________________________

14. What is the predicted high for Beijing today? ________________________________

15. List three cities that will probably not have sunshine for the next three days.

______________________ ______________________ ______________________

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Pair Work – Student A: Headline News

Directions: You and your partner have six different newspaper headlines and a sentence from sixdifferent newspaper articles. Work with your partner and try to match the sentence to the correctheadline. (Write the sentence below the headline and the headline beside the sentence.)

a) Grannies on Call Fill Daycare Need

__________________________________________________________________________________________b) New Tax on Gas Guzzlers__________________________________________________________________________________________ c) Strike Closes Schools__________________________________________________________________________________________

d) Boy Still Missing in Woods__________________________________________________________________________________________e) Police Charge Husband in Woman’s Disappearance__________________________________________________________________________________________ f) Heritage Building Destroyed

__________________________________________________________________________________________ 1. One person has died of complications from a deadly bacterium at City Hospital and twenty others remain in serious condition. _____________________________

2. A 42 year-old woman who was reported missing last week has been found frozen to death beside her car along a major highway. _____________________________

3. Middle-class singles and couples without kids are not going to benefit from the new government budget. _____________________________

4. Authorities have still not determined why the Queen of the Northern Seas slammed into an island and sank last year. ________________________________

5. A Florida boat continues to leak diesel fuel into the ocean after colliding with another ship off the coast of Washington. ________________________________

6. Gordon Yasman, the nine-year old Canadian boy who had been held in a U.S. immigration facility with his parents, arrived back in Toronto yesterday. _____________________________

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Pair Work – Student B: Headline News

Directions: You and your partner have six different newspaper headlines and a sentence from sixdifferent newspaper articles. Work with your partner and try to match the sentence to the correctheadline. (Write the sentence below the headline and the headline beside the sentence.) g) Families with Children Win

__________________________________________________________________________________________h) Homecoming for Youngster__________________________________________________________________________________________i) Cause of Ferry Sinking Still Unknown __________________________________________________________________________________________

j) Woman’s Body Found Beside Car__________________________________________________________________________________________k) Superbug Outbreak Kills One__________________________________________________________________________________________l) Oil-Spill Endangers Sea-Life

__________________________________________________________________________________________

7. Ten-year old Sean Peters has been lost in dense bush since wandering away from his family’s campsite on the weekend. ______________________________

8. Thousands of teachers walked off the job yesterday while demanding higher salaries and smaller class sizes. ______________________________

9. A shortage of daycare spaces has led to the opening of a new business that is making use of the city’s older population. ______________________________

10. Three firefighters were injured yesterday when the 100-year old Clarion Hotel burned to the ground. ______________________________

11. John Sebastian was arrested yesterday after neighbors had reported Mrs. Sebastian missing. ______________________________

12. If you are planning to buy a new car soon, think fuel-efficiency. ______________________________

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Vocabulary Review – Headline News

A. Choose the correct word or expression from the list below to complete the following sentences.

article – on call – daycare – strike – charge – budget leak - spill - destroyed - efficiency - salary - injured

1. I had my roof repaired last year so I hope it won’t ____________________________ anymore when it rains. 2. He is an excellent worker, so the boss is planning to increase his ___________________________.3. There is an interesting __________________________ in the newspaper today about the Olympics.4. If you’re not careful, you’re going to ___________________________ your milk all over the floor. 5. Maria works full time, so she has to take her baby to a __________________________ everyday. 6. The house was completely __________________________ in the fire.7. Susan is a nurse, but she doesn’t have regular hours at the hospital. She works ________________________.8. I need to buy a new car. I don’t really care what it looks like. For me, the most important thing is fuel - ___________________________.9. The bus drivers went on _______________________ when the management refused to increase their salaries.10. Five people were seriously ________________________________ in the car accident yesterday. 11. The government is planning to announce major tax cuts in its new _________________________.12. The police are going to ___________________________ Frank for the murder of his wife.

B. Match the words on the left with the correct meaning on the right.

_____ 1. headline a) hit very hard_____ 2. gas guzzler b) condition of not having enough_____ 3. woods c) the title of a newspaper story_____ 4. heritage building d) take by the police_____ 5. complications e) a car that uses a lot of fuel_____ 6. bacterium f) child, youth_____ 7. major g) difficulties _____ 8. benefit h) an old building with an important history_____ 9. slam i) walk without a particular destination_____ 10. collide j) an area of land covered with trees_____ 11. ferry k) simplest and smallest form of plant life that sometimes causes disease_____ 12. youngster l) sudden start of something ( ex. illness, war) _____ 13. outbreak m) a boat that carries people, cars across water_____ 14. shortage n) big, important_____ 15. wander o) crash into_____ 16. arrest p) get help or something good from

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Newspaper Articles

Usually the “hard” or pure news stories appear on the front pages of newspapers. These articles report the basic facts about the latest news events without giving the writer’s opinion. They are usually relatively short and well-organized. The reader should be able to answer the five key “W” questions – who, what, where, when, and often why or how in the first few paragraphs. Other details of the situation follow and the article ends with the least important information.

Feature stories are different from hard news stories. Some feature articles may provide background or additional information related to an important news event. Others may focus on human interest topics and may be personal, emotional, or humorous. Feature stories often make the reader want to do something such as take some action, become involved in a cause, or change one’s behavior.

Editorials express the opinions of the newspaper’s editors and journalists who write for the paper. Editorials appear on the editorial page which is often at the back of the first section of the newspaper. Newspapers often have a particular political point of view and this is expressed in the editorials. Letters to the Editor also appear in this section of the paper. These are sent in by readers who want to express their opinions about certain events or situations. Political cartoons, which use art to express a certain opinion, also appear in this section.

__________________________________________________________________________

A. In your group, look through a current newspaper and find a hard news story, a feature article, an editorial, a letter to the editor, and a political cartoon. Each member of your group should read one of these and then discuss it with the others.

B. Choose one of the headlines from the “Headline News” section of this lesson and write a short, hard news story about the event. First write the information that will answer the five W’s in the space provided below. Then on a separate piece of paper, write the whole article. You may use the first sentence from the “Headline News” activity to begin your article.____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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Idioms, Expressions, and Proverbs

A. Many idioms and sayings come from words related to weather. In your groups, try to guess the meanings of the following idioms. Use your imagination!

1. to be under the weather _____________________________________________ 2. to weather the storm _______________________________________________ 3. It never rains but it pours.__________________________________________4. to shoot the breeze _________________________________________________ 5. It’s raining cats and dogs. __________________________________________6. Every cloud has a silver lining. _____________________________________7. Don’t rain on my parade. __________________________________________8. to be a breeze ____________________________________________________9. come rain or shine ________________________________________________10. a fair-weather friend _____________________________________________11. to have one’s head in the clouds _____________________________________12. to save for a rainy day _____________________________________________13. to be snowed under ________________________________________________

B. Now try to match the idioms above with the correct meanings below.

A. to be dreaming or not really know what is going on _________B. to be very easy _________C. When one bad thing happens, other bad things seem to also happen. _________D. to feel sick _________E. to have a lot of work to do _________F. It’s raining very hard. _________G. no matter what happens _________H. to put away money for a time when you really need it. _________I. Don’t spoil my fun. _________J. to pass through a difficult situation successfully _________K. a person who doesn’t help when a friend is having a bad time _________L. You can find something good in every bad situation. _________ M. to make small talk; to talk about unimportant things; to chat _________

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Find Someone Who…..

Directions: Walk around the class and ask your classmates questions in order to find someone…….

1. who read the newspaper this morning. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 2. who watched CNN news last night. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3. who saw today’s weather forecast on TV. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________4. who has read a tabloid newspaper this week. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 5. who can name a famous journalist. ________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________6. who has been feeling under the weather recently. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 7. who has a fair-weather friend. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________

8. who feels snowed under with work. ________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ 9. who weathered a storm recently. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 10. who likes to save for a rainy day. ________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________ 11. who likes to read political cartoons. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 12. who has written a letter to the editor of a newspaper. ________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________

13. who can name a local TV anchor. ________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________14. who usually gets his/her news from the Internet. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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In the News – Teacher’s Notes

These activities are designed for intermediate level adult ESL learners. However, with some modifications, they may also be suitable for upper-beginner through advanced levels. The main focus of the unit is on the newspaper, but vocabulary related to other forms of media are also included.

Recommended Visuals to Accompany the UnitDifferent samples of newspapers, both local and international, including all the different sections of a paper – local, national and international news, editorials, arts and entertainment, sports, weather, business, social pages, cartoons, obituaries, etc.); magazines, tabloid newspapers, etc.

Group Work - Discussion Break the class into small groups to discuss the questions in Section A. You may need to teach the vocabulary in Section B beforehand. When the students have completed their discussions, have them share some of their information with the class as a whole. Then ask to the students to complete exercise C individually to review the vocabulary. (Ans. 1. circulation 2. station

3. documentary 4. subscribe 5. channel 6. edition 7. paper route 8. tabloid 9. weather forecast)

Group Work – Media Survey – How Do You Get Your News? Break the class into different groups. Before the students begin interviewing each other, ask them to provide as

many questions as possible for each aspect of the media. (ex. How do you usually get the news? How often do you read the newspaper? Do you watch the national news on TV every day? What’s your favorite magazine? What TV channel do you watch most often? What’s your favorite radio station? What kind of newspaper articles do you like to read? Do you read newspapers on line? Do you use the Internet when you are looking for a job? etc.) Write these questions on the board to ensure that the students are asking them correctly in their group

work. After the students have completed the survey, you may have them report back to the whole class to share some of their information.

What’s in the Newspaper? – Where Do I Find It? This activity is intended to help familiarize the students with the content of a newspaper. Have the students

work in pairs and encourage lots of conversation. The students may follow up this activity by making their own list of items of news or information and asking other classmates where they would find it in the paper.

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Vocabulary – The Weather Forecast

These exercises may be done individually as a review after you have taught a lesson on weather or you may

prefer to have the students try them in pair work. Those students who may be familiar with the vocabulary will

be able to assist others in doing the categorizing exercise. Working in pairs also helps stimulate conversation.Ans. Ex. B. 1. chilly 2. stifling 3. hail 4. blizzard 5. drizzle, sprinkle 6. sticky, muggy 7. flurries 8. wind chill 9. smog 10. downpour 11. gusting 12. slush 13. gale force

Reading ComprehensionThe Weather Page – Ans. 1. Sunday 2. Monday 3. Monday night 4. Monday 5. Sunday 6. Monday 7. Yes, Tokyo 8. Singapore 9. Paris 10. Geneva and London 11. Geneva 12. Singapore 13. Hong Kong 14. The information is not available. 15. London, Singapore, Paris

Pair Work – Headline News

Break the class into pairs and give one student sheet A and the other sheet B. Student A has six news headlines,

student B has the first sentences from the corresponding news articles, and vice-versa. In order to do the

matching exercise each student will have to tell his/her partner what the headline is and together they can

speculate as to the content of the article. The partner will then read through his/her sentences and determine

which sentence matches his/her partner’s headline. Ensure that the students write the sentences and headlines on

their sheets as these will be needed to complete the following two exercises. Ans. a) 9. b) 12. c) 8. d) 7. e) 11 f) 10 g) 3. h) 6. i) 4. j) 2. k) 1. m) 5

Vocabulary Review

This is a review and follow-up exercise to the Headline News exercise. Ans. Ex. A. 1. leak 2. salary 3. article 4. spill 5. daycare 6. destroyed 7. on call 8. efficiency 9. strike 10. injured 11. budget 12. charge

Ex. B 1.c 2. e 3. j 4. h 5. g 6. k 7. n 8. p 9. a 10. o 11. m 12. f 13. l 14. b 15. i 16. d

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Newspaper Articles

This short reading and activity introduces the students to the different types of articles that appear in newspapers (hard news, features, and editorials). In exercise B, the student will choose one of the headlines from the previous activity and write a short hard news article. (You may choose to have the students work in pairs first to brainstorm for ideas before actually writing the article.)

Idioms, Expressions, and Proverbs For exercise A, put the students in groups and ask them to guess the meanings of the idioms and proverbs. Have them fold their papers in half or cover the bottom of the page so they cannot see the meanings in exercise B. Let them use their imaginations and have fun with this exercise. Then have them share their ideas with the whole class. After sharing their ideas, let the students do exercise B on their own.

Ex. B. Ans. A. 11 B. 8 C. 3 D. 1 E. 13 F. 5 G. 9 H. 12 I. 7 J. 2 K.10 L. 6 M. 4

Group Interaction – Find someone Who….Distribute the worksheet. First have the students write the questions they will ask before they begin the oral practice and review the questions together. (This will ensure that they are asking the questions correctly as they circulate around the room.) When the students circulate around the class asking the questions they have written, and then find a classmate who can answer the question, they will write the student’s name on the line and

follow-up with one more question of their own. Ex. Did you read the newspaper this morning? If the student answers Yes, the second question might be, Was there anything interesting in the paper?, Did you read the weather forecast, Did you read the comics?, etc. Try to encourage the students to engage in real conversation during this activity. Follow-up by sharing the information with the whole class. This activity provides a good opportunity for the students to practice the new vocabulary from the unit.

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Living in English: The News - ESL Library